påskmat (Easter food)

We had the pleasure of celebrating Easter dinner both on the Eve of the day (påskafton),

 and then again with other friends on Easter Sunday.

I am sharing a picture of the "firsts" we had at our svensk friend's, which some enjoyed with a little snapps (a shot) or beer.  I share it simply because it was delicious, and because it is not something I would have had in the US.

It is an open faced sandwich
 (which is almost the only way I see swedes have sandwiches),
with buttered dark bread, hard-boiled egg, herring, and chives.  Lovely.

Påsk. Swedish style

For this blogpost, rather than writing myself, I am sharing an article from The Local,  an English language  news source.       http://www.thelocal.se/20110421/3525

Easter in Sweden: when the witches come out to play

Brightly colored feathers in blues, reds, yellows and glaring pinks tied to long willowy twigs sold beside daffodil buds tip off the arrival of theEaster season in Sweden.

The local supermarkets in their weekly adverts also exploit the food associations of chicks, lamb, påskmust (*see below), eggs, sweets and the obligatory “påskkäring” orEaster witch to draw in customers gearing up for the upcoming gluttony of Påskafton.

Easter celebrations and traditions for the secular Swede are nearly as sacred as Christmas to the Swedish culture. Even devout atheists pay respect to the long-standing traditional norms that the holiday dictates in Sweden. Easter is a big deal to the entire country.

Religious Easter isn’t completely removed from the celebrations of the modern Swede. Swedes are traditionalists after all.

There will always be the group of churchgoers on Easter Sunday. Most likely they are the same gang who went to church for julotta Christmas morning. However, Easter today, has little to do with Christian beliefs for the majority of Swedes.

Children dressed as witches give a clear indication that Swedish Påsk origins predate Christianity. Folklore alleges that witches flew off on broomsticks to dance with the devil at Blåkulla.

In Sweden, this tale ties in with Easter. And so on skärtorsdag, Maundy Thursday, modern Swedish children dress up as påskkärringar (Easter hags) paint their faces, carry a broom and knock on neighbor’s doors for treats, much like American children do at Halloween.

Children also contribute to the tradition of Easter worldwide. What would Easter be without beautifully painted and adorned Easter eggs? Swedes just revere their Easter eggs –the decorative and the edible versions.

Semlor are still on sale despite the Lenten fast, and anticipation of the big day grows in the week beginning with Palm Sunday. In conservative communities there is an air of solemnity.

It would be taboo to get married or baptize a child during this week. And many die hard traditionalists still scowl at the modern disregard of a sober Good Friday and snort at the mention of potential merriment that evening.

Only in recent years are cinemas allowed to be open. Good Friday is more appropriately named in Swedish Långfredag – Long Friday, the most unhappening day of the calendar. Fun not allowed.

However, once the mourning of the crucifixion of Christ is over, the proverbial good times roll.

Saturday morning resembles a resurrection of sorts.

Spring is in the air, merriment is on the menu. The family will sit down to an ample feast in the afternoon on Påskafton, or the Eve of Easter. Eggs and lamb are the quintessential Easter fare that very nearly connote Påsk all by themselves. They represent the fertility of the spring and the rebirth of the year after the long winter.

Bonfires are lit in some regions of Sweden in the late afternoon.

Some say they are to scare off the evil influences of the Easter hags and their journey to Blåkulla. Others take the opportunity to clear gardens for the coming spring. For some regions, including the Stockholm area, the bonfires must wait until Valborgsmässafton or Walpurgis Night at the end of April to banish the remnants of winter.

Elizabeth Dacey-Fondelius

(A note from Carolyn: Påskmust, and its Christmas equivolent, Julmust, is a cola drink that is very popular in Sweden.  I actually do not think much of it.  I do not drink a lot of Coke, but I do enjoy it very much a few times a year.  Julmust/ Påskmust tastes like off-brand cola: Kinda flat and not bursting with flavor. But I have been told that here, when Julmust hits the market, Coke sales drop.  The ad below basically says, I think, "What is best?  Påskmus or Julmust.  No, the taste is not the same."  So there you have it.)

Hamburg

In early December, John and I and two friends started a trip to Hamburg, with a focus on going to the well known Jul (Christmas) Market.  But there was a bad storm, and although we could get part of the way there, we had to turn back.

What happened: There was a lot (!) of rain and wind coming from the west.  The water in the canal surrounding Malmö was ~ 3 1/2 feet higher than is typical.  One way to get to Hamburg from Malmö, which is the way we planned, is to take a train to Copenhagen, switch trains, and then travel southwest to the water's edge - where the train gets on a ferry !!! (I know!!) -  the ferry crosses to Germany, and then on to Hamburg.

Well in December, the wind was so strong that the water level was too low for the ferry - because the water had been blown east - which I find shocking - and we could not cross.  We were refunded the money for the train ticket, and were given credit for our hotel, so we took the trip in late February.

When the train gets on the ferry, everyone must get off the train and get onto deck of the boat.  This is a fast picture I snapped while walking along the train to get back on as we approached Germany.

Note - Do not take a picture of food without asking permission.  

Sales persons can get rather nasty about it...

Uhh, this just doesn't look good to me.  It looks raw...

Below is St. Peter's Church:

For more information: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter's_Church,_Hamburg

The three pictures below are from Hamburg's beautiful city hall, or , "Rathaus".  

What is interesting about the picture below, is that we had gone to a very nice department store (I do not think I saw anything under ~250 Euros).  There was a new line of clothes being promoted.  Rather than a fashion show, the store had the clothes displayed on racks, and was serving wine, champagne, and small desserts, with a DJ playing (heaven help me!) techno music. Anyway, we got a kick out of the fact that the alcohol was being generously served to the general public. 

Can one say enough about German Sausage?  The answer is "No!!"

If you have never tried mayonnaise on your French Fries, give it a try.  Yes, really.

I love French Baguettes, I love Swedish whole grain bread, which is similar to the roll pictured below, but I have to say, the German bread you see here, is the best bread I have ever had. 

Below: Inside the Hamburg train Station. 

The Fish Market.

Honestly, not for me.

One goes early, as the fish market, on some days, opens as early as 4 AM.  

One can get a variety of items: fish, baked goods (though be smart - I bought a roll that was so dry, I ended up throwing it away), flea-market stuff, produce, and seafood. There is a music hall with full bar which is open very early in the morning.  So at ~ 8:15, we were disappointed to find a hall full of middle aged (20ish aren't up that early on a Sunday morning) people drinking and swaying to the music of a mediocre rock band.  Some were drunk enough that they were having trouble standing.  

Not high on my list of places to recommend. 

A working harbor.

I love this picture. 

I absolutely love the plaque below.  It was seen at St. Michael's.  Look at it carefully.  

I find the cross and the crown of thorns, being held before Christ, to be so poingnant.