You want me to talk about food, huh?

Theater Building in Göteborg

I had a request from my friend Petrel to talk about the food in Sweden.  Where should I start? How about this: Swedes eat more bananas than any other country in the European Union. Every year the average Swede eats 19 kilograms of bananas! In case you’re not good at the conversion, that’s over 40 lbs.  I don’t know about you, but I can guarantee that I haven’t even eaten 40 lbs of bananas in my life!

Göteborg

Today we had our first ice cream treat - which is the perfect word for it when you’re in Sweden. Glass (the Swedish word for ice cream) is nothing like the ice cream in the USA, and I’m sure it has a lot to do with the lack of preservatives, guar gum, etcetera, etcetera. Kate had a cup of chocolate and hazlenut, while I enjoyed one scoop of vanilla and one scoop of Chocolate-Orange, which was a lot more refreshing than I expected. The richness of the chocolate cut with that refreshing citrus zing!

As far as the food goes: It’s pretty amazing. Our first night in Örebro is going to be hard to top. We had a gorgeous sit down dinner at the hotel where we stayed. I had the steak with 2 sauces: red wine reduction and a cream sauce that was amazing. The sauces balanced the pepper-crusted filet very well and according to our server, has been prepared the same way at the restaurant for 40 years. Kate had the Zander fish with a morel cream sauce. We have had Indian food in Oslo, quiche (greek and curry chicken) in a small cafe in old town Göteborg and gourmet pizza on the Avenyn, that although very tasty is much different than in the states. It’s an even THINNER crust than Donatos serves - and I wasn’t crazy about it. We also had our first roadside kebab stand dinner tonight. I had the hamburgare meal, which really was more the circumference of a pie and instead of just ground beef, tasted like there were spices in the meat, but not gristly like sausage. Kate had the kebab platter, which was gyro meat over a bed of lettuce and tomato. While it wasn’t the best meal we have had, it was more than adequate and definitely the cheapest meal we’ve had yet. Breakfasts are included with the hotels here, and are nothing like the bagel and a cup of coffee you get in the states. Everything  from a eggs prepared numerous ways, yoghurt, filmjölk (Google it), granolas, sausages, vegetables and fruits, and so many different breads and cheeses that you’d have to spend the entire 4 hours of breakfast to try them all. It really is quite the spread.

Göteborg

Since we didn't have any particulary sights we wanted to see today we decided to take a leisurely stroll by the canal... but it was mostly a day for shopping. I got a new pair of jeans, and made a new Swedish friend at the same store. Are they still called pen pals now that e-mail exists? I bought my friends’ child a really nice book in Swedish and English. I feel like I need one for myself to help with my Swedish vocabulary. Where’s the nearest bookstore? I bought some postcards, so that is what I plan to do later this evening. Maybe you’ll find one in your mailbox in the next week if you’re lucky. Kate bought a few gifts for family and found “Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest” in paperback for herself, since she JUST finished the other two Millenium books.

Nonviolence: Göteborg

Jared & Kate arrive in Falkenberg. Take 14.
Those who know about my love for cameras know what I'm saying.

We arrived in Falkenberg earlier this evening and I can honestly say that for the first time since we’ve been here that it is cold. The hotel is right on the beach, overlooking the Kattegatt (again, Google it) and the stiff wind is enough to chill you to the bone. Hopefully once the sun comes out it will warm up some. Falkenberg is definitely the smallest town on our trip so far, and seems very quaint - with an honest to goodness neighborhood just one street over. Tomorrow I hope to visit some of spots I may recognize from one of my favorite films: “Falkenberg Farewell”. So we’ll stop by the Turistbyrån tomorrow morning and see what trouble we can find.

Until later...

One street over from our hotel in Falkenberg.
A typical neighborhood.

Our hotel in Falkenberg, as seen from the pier