Wanna be Foodies in Scandinavia

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Trysta

I knew we were in for some interesting food experiences, just based on what I had read about all three of the countries we were visiting. So, this post is dedicated solely to our gastronomic adventures through Sweden, Norway, and Iceland! It is also dedicated to Chip, the most dedicated food-photographer I know!

SWEDEN

One can’t visit Sweden without enjoying a famed Svenskt Smörgåsbord. Also, notice how the portions get smaller through every course!

1st Plate: Seven different types of herring, boiled new potatoes, sour cream and onions.

2nd Plate: Three types of salmon, two types of reindeer (meat and Pâté), venison, and two potato salads (one with shrimp, one with herring).

3rd Plate: Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam and the traditional Jansson's Temptation (chopped potatoes with anchovies).

4th Plate: Cheesecake, apple strudel, and "cookies".

Mid-summer also means strawberry season in Sweden! The strawberries we bought at a road-side stand on the way to Lake Siljan were delicious, but dessert at our hotel restaurant was even better…

Strawberries topped with strawberry sorbet and sprinkled with brown sugar. Super-sour fruit roll-up on the side. Invisible surprise inside...pop-rocks!!

NORWAY

Eating in Norway was unbelievably expensive. But, how often can you embark on this culinary craziness?!

Whale steak wrapped in bacon (Joe's yummy salmon filet in the background).

Moose stew (it looked absolutely disgusting on the plate, but it was super tasty!).

Bergen had one of the best first markets I have even seen. Not only could you take home whatever you wanted to enjoy for dinner, but there were also hot grills ready to cook up your selection for instantaneous enjoyment.

Tasty fish market dinner: King crab-legs and salmon.

ICELAND

This meal was tapas style, thank goodness. The restaurant was really dark, which I was also grateful for!

Smoked Puffin!

Bergen’s Fjords

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Trysta

After our time in Oslo, we took the train across Norway to the west coast for a few days in Bergen and the Fjords. The train ride was beautiful, passing through tiny towns tucked into the Hardangervidda mountain range of Norway. Watching the landscape change as the train climbed and descended was breathtaking.

View from the train.

Another, completely different, view from the same train.

We spent the day on Hardangerfjord. The weather was absolutely perfect for a boat trip: unending sun and a bit ton of wind.

Hardanger is known as the “Garden Fjord” because of the numerous fruit orchards that line its lovely banks. Nice work glaciers. You’ve done well for yourself!

We spent our lunch break in the town of Eidfjord. Supposedly there is a Viking burial ground, the largest Iron Ace burial ground in West Norway with almost 400 graves, in the hills surrounding this town. After several hours of hiking, we were never quite sure if we had found the site. There were several signs, but I guess we needed a Las Vegas-style indicator to make it clear! Perhaps the burial ground was under these rocks.

Or somewhere in this field.

Or maybe, after several thousand years, it had been washed away by the Fjord tributary.

Regardless, it was a great hike – buried Vikings or not!

Olso, Norway

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Trysta

Viking Ship Museum – More great Scandinavian ships! This time…from the Vikings. In the Viking age it was customary to bury the dead in boats, so that they could pass into the next life and have everything they needed. Oslo is home to three Viking burial ships, all of which were discovered and excavated between 1867 and 1904 in rural Norway. The ships were built between 800 and 900 AD and were, at some time, active ships before they were used for burial.

The Oseberg is the best preserved of the ships, because it was buried in blue clay, and then covered in stones and turf. The ship was 66 feet long and held a crew of 30 men. The wealthy woman buried inside the Oseberg was sent to the next life with a wagon, horses, leather and textiles, beds, fine clothing, and even her slave girl. Quite a haul!

Nobel Peace Center & City Hall – Oslo’s beautiful City Hall hosts the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony every December 10th.

One small corner of the City Hall foyer

What I found to be most interesting about City Hall were the portraits of the current royal family, which are painted in a very modern and edgy style. When the King first saw his portrait he said, “Well, I guess I do look like that.” Both the King and the Queen are fans of their facsimiles.

The King's portrait

The Queen's portrait

Munch – Norway is the home country of Edvard Munch, creator of The Scream series. There are actually four pieces in the series, two lithographs and two paintings, all of which hold The Scream moniker.

'The Scream', 'Anxiety', and 'Despair'

Munch led a tortured artist’s life: his mother and sister both died from TB during his childhood, he lost a finger during a heated argument while trying to break up with his girlfriend, and became a recluse for the final years of his life while suffering from an eye disease. He used his paintings, as opposed to people, for company. Munch left numerous journals, filled with details regarding the motivation behind each of his pieces and the processes/methods he used create them.

Vigeland Park – Edvard Munch was often in the company of Gustav Vigeland, Oslo’s favorite sculptor. Two hundred and twelve of Vigeland’s sculptures are displayed in a huge park, which is open 24 hours a day, free for any visitor to enjoy, despite all of the sculpture’s R-ratings.