Exploring Day

Just down the hill from our apartment at the Sven Lovén Center, the Atlantic awaits. We threw stones into it, only to have them bounce and skid on the ice. Something about the stones bouncing was hilarious to me, no matter how many times we did it. A heavy rock, hurled up in a high arc finally broke through the ice, into the sea.

We walked to the Saltö Nature Reserve through a forest that reminded us of visits to Mount Shasta, pine trees all around. We listened to unfamiliar bird calls and pondered over mysterious signs in Swedish. We came out onto a sandy beach layered with clam, mussel, and oyster shells. Jeremy remarked on the temperature change from the forest to the beach; the windy shore was noticeably colder than the path through the woods. We saw only two other people crazy enough to be out hiking around on such a chilly day.

Moss-covered rocks that reminded Chelsea of the trolls in Frozen.

Next, we drove into Strömstad and found Mellow Café for a delicious lunch. Jeremy's Hungarian heritage required that he order the Paprika Soup. When we got the Chocolate Balls for dessert, the cashier informed us that they are a Swedish delicacy that children Savannah's age learn to make. We loved the place. Great food, hip atmosphere. We started looking around and noticed a surfboard hanging on the patio, an enlarged cover of the Los Angeles yellow pages hung as artwork, and wondered if we loved it so much because it's meant to feel like California. Savannah already has plans to try the fluffig pannkaka next time we eat there.

Finally, we made it to the grocery store. Not the crummy small one we found on our first, desperate night here, but a beautiful, large grocery store that I have fantasies of returning to without my children, roaming slowly down each aisle, trying to figure out what everything is. You get your plastic bags at the beginning (2 krona each, about 25 cents) and you have to check out some sort of scanner thing to plug into the cart in order to unlock one to take into the store. We did not even attempt to figure that out. Grabbed a little hand cart and got dinner supplies. Two days in Sweden, and we've had pizza and ramen for dinner. We're easing into it.

When we came out of the store, it had started to snow. The girls were stunned and overjoyed. Snow! Falling from the sky! They couldn't get enough. Although they were both born in winter in Massachusetts, they have no memory of living in a place where snow is normal for many months of the year. They have skied in California, but only been snowed on once, and it was a wet, windy, blow-you-off-the-side-of-the-mountain kind of snow, so this was a revelation for them. When we got home, they immediately went out to play in it, although it was a light snow that didn't accumulate.

First day of exploring Tjärnö and Strömstad in the books. Next stop: Gothenburg.

Our First Swedish Smörgåsbord

I think we just went to our first smörgåsbord in Sweden. (smör = butter, gås = pat, bord = table; therefore "buttered bread table" or "sandwich table")

Breakfast at the bunkbed hotel, aka Scandic Rubinen, seems to be a smörgåsbord. Behold!

 Table full of delicious European breads. My mom would approve.

Gluten-free station. Thoughtful Swedes.

 Coffee station. No cream. Lots of milk: regular, skim, organic. 

Sugar comes in cubes, sweetener in pellets.

 Fruit and veg. Savannah took a cucumber slice, 

then remembered that she does not eat cucumber for breakfast.

 Cheese! So much cheese! All the cheese!!!

Check out that massive hunk of organic cheese!

 And the fish: anchovies and herring. And pickles. We did not indulge.

 The meat section of the bord. (That first plate is pate.)

Hot station. I loved look of the food served in these beautiful pots. The hard-boiled eggs had little messages written on them, "Smile!" and "Good morning!" in English. Too cute. The pancakes were Swedish style, thin like crepes. Delish. Chef's suggestion was spiced oatmeal with stewed cherries. Oh, and at the far end was a tube labeled "Kaviar". Guess what it contained?

I forgot to take a picture of the sweets, but there was another little table with pastries. Savannah and I sampled and shared a Swiss roll, which was topped with some little yellow fruit, which I had to google to identify as a golden berry. You learn something new every day! (In reality, we learn many new things almost constantly here.)

This was a perfect breakfast for the birthday girl, who turns 9 today. Sadly, Chelsea is still recovering from a stomach bug and was unable to enjoy the feast. She got a "take away" of "roasted bread" (aka toast) to munch very slowly back in the room. I asked to be sure it was ok to take food out of the restaurant, and the person I spoke with seemed shocked that I would even wonder, and sprang into action, making toast and getting me a to-go cup for coffee.

I'm thinking that a re-creation of this feast will be an excellent addition to our homecoming party.