Sand, Surf and Snow

Jurmula Beach, Latvia

A Taste of Latvia

As if I hadn’t experienced enough hospitality yet, I took up my penultimate invitation and flew to Latvia, just in time for Russian Orthodox Christmas. My lovely Russian friends with whom we had many a dumpling in Caen took me in from the cold in Riga, and I got to experience another part of Europe, where had I not had people to visit would otherwise not have been to.

One of the thing that sticks most about my time in Riga is the food. For memories’ sake, I asked Katja and Polina to write down everything we tried. Both the Russian and Lativan Lido’s took me back to my Sizzler days (circa 1992, but at 1971 prices), but introduced me to some of the tastiest food this side of the Eastern block.

I’ve done my best with the Russian, Latvian and ango-version spelling, and due to the dark, cost nature of the restaurants, I didn’t take any photos. These photos are all sourced elsewhere (click for links), but give you an idea of the cuisine, which is delicious.

борщ (Borshch) - traditional red soup with sour cream and garlic

Холодец (Holodiec) - boiled meat and jelly

Hvorost - fried pastry, similar to Italian crostoli

блины (Blini) - Russian pancakes

Mors - hot brewed cranberry drink

Soļanka - soup with garlic, sour cream, black olives and lemon

Pelēkie zirņi - Latvian grey peas with bacon and onion

Голубцы (Golubci) – cabbage leaf rolls with meat and rice

Драники (Draniki) – potato pancakes with sour cream

PS: Never can say goodbye...

As I said to my friends, it is merely See You Soon and not Goodbye, and I can’t completely leave Sweden without mentioning a little more of the mischief that went on there. It was just 4 weeks ago I arrived, but with everything I have done since, it could easily seem like an eternity. Airports come and go, and already I am 6 flights away, trying to remember everything that happened.

Coming from Copenhagen on the train, I busied myself with iPod Swedish lessons. Combined with my acquired knowledge of the language on my Summer trip, I thought I had it covered when I wanted to interrupt someone and ask for help. Thank goodness I stuck with “Prata du engelska?” (Do you speak English?) instead of what I thought was “Excuse me”. I almost told a complete stranger to “Shut the hell up” because håll käften and ursäkta sound quite similar (despite obvious differences in spelling), and I was really nervous.

Nevertheless, I arrived without offending anyone, and was already back where I left off with my Swedish friends. It was still Kalmar, but now it was Kalmar with snow. We threw snowballs at each other on the way to the student bar on Saturday night, and the big stone ball by the mall wasn’t rolling in its watery base any longer. Instead it was frozen, motionless, and I toyed with the idea of sitting it on vodka instead of water for year-round movement. Then I remembered I was in Sweden and was overcome with images of the local licking the fountain.

We didn’t stay in Kalmar long, opting for a cheaper 6 hour bus to Stockholm in preparation for Christmas and New Year. I was fortunate to have the hospitality of the Hedberg family in both Stockholm and Mariefred, where I spend my first White Christmas. I had sent my letter to the North Pole and was well and truly inundated with my wishes coming true. As previous photos have shown, flying down hills on a Snow Racer and trotting through the forest on horseback are a far cry from my usual BBQ in the park for Christmas, but it was a completely unforgettable experience that I don’t think I would have traded for the usual given the option.

Back in Stockholm, the snow-covered balcony was the perfect spot to watch the New Year’s Fireworks, all of which are completely legal, unlike Adelaide where even weak little sparklers were banned from outdoors at the risk of starting a fire in the 40-plus heat. We took a walk by some of the many waterways, where thin layers of ice and snow hid the waters and boats were frozen into position at their moorings.

So I’ve covered the snow, Christmas, New Years, and a few other things. The more I do, the more I want to remember every day - and yet the last few weeks have slipped by, and the journey is almost at an end. The pictures help tell the story, but they don't always cover everything. Now, I think it’s safe to move on to Latvia, which I did just over 1 week ago…

Hejdå Sverige

Swedish Eye Candy

I like looking at wallpaper. I've never lived in a house with wallpaper, but there is a LOT of it in Sweden and it's REALLY COOL. I think it's because I like patterns. Bright patterns. Some people think they're too loud but I like them screaming :) I would spend all day in interior stores in Sweden because (a) they fill me with happiness and (b) it's -18 outside.

On my travels I've come across a few illustrators that caught my eye. The latest one is Ingela P Arrhenius. I can barely afford anything she's created but I did manage a small notebook, because I have hardly any notebooks and I needed a new one *cough cough*. Here it is, isn't it just so... Swedish? Snyggt!

Some of Ingela's work:

Another place that I could spend all day in is Svenskt Tenn. I wasn't prepared to sign over my first-born there either, but I did employ my "browse-diamonds-at-Tiffany's-and-buy-a-keyring" technique, resulting in a very flashy gift bag. I think the lady on the bus thought I was pretty fancy.

Sveskt Tenn is where you can indulge your Josef Frank fantasies. Wallpaper, fabric, lamps, foot stools and tea trays in all the patterns you could want. Staying with my friend Rebecca at her parent's house didn't help me much - her mother has great taste. Thank goodness she reminded me that I needed an Elephant lamp and a Manhattan map stool, I'd forgotten all about them!

This is my last day in Sweden, and I depart with a heavy heart and a very light purse. I spent the last 2.5 weeks having an absolute ball, thanks to my favourite Swedish people. As we said, it's not goodbye, just See You Soon!!

Christmas Eve

What English Lacks

One of the best things I've collected this year is words. With so many friends from all over the world, speaking some pretty interesting languages, you begin to realise that despite the superfluous lexemes existing in our lexicon, we sometimes have to use many words where some countries have figured out just one.

One of my favourites so far is hygge. One of the fundamental aspects of Danish culture, hygge doesn’t have an equivalent word in English. Some translate it as ‘coziness’ or ‘tranquility’, but it’s more than that. It describes a state of mind, an atmosphere, a little space full of the good things in life. Hygge is a complete absence of anything annoying, irritating, or emotionally overwhelming. When you’re on the couch with someone special and the fire is roaring and you’ve got hot chocolate, that can be hygge. When you’re lying under a tree in park on a summer day, the sun warming your face, listening to the wind through the leaves, that’s hygge.

With Denmark’s long, cold winters, you can understand why Danes would want to cheer themselves up a little with some candles and a good chat with family or friends. Hygge and Christmas are closely related in Denmark – Danish does not have a word for Christmas, and use Jul to describe the season. It has pagan origins, a winter feast, and food is often a good part of hygge. Jul provides lots of opportunities for hygge - Gingerbread cookies or a hot cup of glögg are almost instant hygge, provided the setting is right.

Swedes have a similar thing, but they don’t call it hygge. Swedish and Danish are quite close, they share many traits and words, but not even Sweden has hygge. Sweden has fika.

Swedes drink coffee. On average, 4.5 cups per day, the highest in the world. Fika isn’t about drinking coffee, just like hygge isn’t about any one thing either. Fika is like a mini-hygge, a chance to take a break in a busy day and enjoy some good conversation over a drink. You can’t eat too much, otherwise it’s called lunch, or dinner, but you can enjoy a cinnamon bun with your coffee. It can be short, like a work break, or much longer, stretching over hours as you catch up with an old friend.

If you’ve ever been to Ikea, you might have noticed they sell a lot of candles. Scandanavian people love candles, and candles are one of fika and hygge’s best friends. Many houses don’t even have overhead lighting, it’s just too harsh. At Christmas, you just light the Adventsljusstake, the Advent candles that sit in everyone’s windows. Of course, having candles in the window all night can be a little risky, so you can buy electric ones. And that’s what I plan to do today, find an adventsljusstake, on REA (sale). And cram it into my suitcase so I can enjoy Christmas in July later this year.

And maybe a little hygge. I love that word.

Let It Snow

The new year has begun but the adventure isn't over just yet. I could hardly stop writing just because I've left France - and much of the last three weeks of 2009 was the most memorable, probably due to recency, but more likely due to all this white stuff lying around.

I left Caen, made a stop in London and then flew to Copenhagen, where upon stepping out of the plane saw for the first time snow falling from the sky. I'd seen some dirty leftovers in Seoul last year, and a tiny bit in Paris when I arrived, but this was the first REAL snow. It was floating down, and as I made my way out of the Copenhagen metro, I stood and watched as it settled on my bag and on the street.

I happened to be in town at the same time as some very important people with their big private jets who were discussing something about how warm it is, but I think they must not have been spending enough time outside, because it certainly wasn't warm where I was standing.

A few days later, on a train to Vejen near the German border, I saw more of it than I had imagined. The train journey was supposed to take 3 hours but it took 6, and all the changes along the way that annoyed everyone else were my opportunity to get outside and play in the stuff. It was causing havoc but it was also something out of a fairy tale.

The sound that snow makes when you crunch it under your boots is hard to describe and even harder to imagine - it's kind of squeaky and crunchy at the same time. I imagine if you could turn the sensation of chewing alfoil into a sound, it would be similarly entertaining, without the pain. You can kick the snow drifts and send puffs of white into the air. You can lie down in it and wave your arms and legs about or you can roll it up and throw it at people. You can eat it (but not the yellow parts as I'm told) or just look at it as it fall silently, making even the ugliest things beautiful. It's a highly versatile and entertaining substance, and to think, it's just water...

I was in Vejen to visit my very first friend Chris, who moved to Denmark about 3 years ago. He and his girlfriend Kristina have a very good backyard for playing in the snow, so that's what we did. We searched the garden shed for good sleds but all we found was a few plastic bags and some old skis that just sank in the powdery snow.

We shared some hygge (to be explained), a Christmas table, and a few snowballs, and as soon as it had begun, Denmark was over. I had a date with a fat man and some presents in Sweden...