Yes, it's that time of the year again, where we farewell 2004 and look ahead to a new year and a new beginning. Of course, it's already 2005 in Australia and I've been able to see the fireworks display at Sydney Harbour on the evening news. It looked amazing!

It's been a mostly good year for us, despite a few set backs with boat repairs and the awful skin infection that Lars-Göran contracted last spring (and which he still has, if only to a minor degree now). Our plans for 2005 are fairly simple: to continue to enjoy growing and being together. We have other plans about sailing away to the north and the east when in summer, but I don't want to jinx them by even thinking about that yet, as Fiona is still up on land having her hull sanded and dried out.

It's quiet and calm in Nynäshamn tonight. Centrum is deserted and there are no cars about, except down by the church where a memorial service is being held this evening. I think this will be reflected across the country as the search continues for the 3,500 Swedes still missing and for the people from all countries that have lost loved ones. If you still want to know where to go to help out, there are some links at my earlier post here. The feeling of "let's go out and party" is just not there this year. In Sweden there’s no specific ban on celebrating New Year's Eve, but most cities official fireworks have been cancelled and tomorrow will be a day of mourning..

Usually by this time of the day there is the sound of sporadic rockets going off, but it's eerily quiet. A few people have bought fireworks as we heard one or two today and saw this on an earlier stroll around town.



I guess teenagers are the same all over the world. At least with less being around this year, perhaps not so many will be killed or injured. It still puzzles me that such safety-conscious people like the Swedes allow fireworks to be so openly sold to anybody.

And I must tell you the quote of the day, overheard as I was carrying Lambi past the hospital (yes, I know she's a dog and can walk, but I was in a hurry):

Little girl: "Look mummy! That lady is carrying a stuffed toy dog. How cute!"
Stuffed "Toy" Dog: Woof! (or should that be the Swedish "voff"?)
Little girl's mother: And so lifelike!

And I think picture of the day must surely go to the owners of this car parked at the ferry terminal for the Polish ferry:



Hmm... I wonder if they remembered to pack everything?

On that note, I wanted to thank everybody who has stopped by here and emailed me or commented. It's been wonderful to read all of your feedback and both Lars-Göran who takes almost all of the pictures and I are really overjoyed that these images of our world here in Sweden bring so much joy to people. One of the nicest things about keeping this blog is that I've made contact with so many people from all over the world.

Thankyou one and all!

As well as partying, traditionally New Year's Eve is time to remember and pray for those who have passed on during the preceding year, enshrined in the song we sing at midnight - Auld Lang Syne. So don't be strangers, enjoy your night and I'll see you "on the other side"

"But you haven't made any resolutions for 2005" I hear you say. Well, I'm not into "resolutions" at all, but I do hope that I can learn

To my friends all over the world I say:

If anyone has the time, please volunteer to blog for SEA-EAT blog. This local initiative, by people from the affected areas is a tremendous source of links, news and charities, as well as emergency phone numbers and ways people who want to volunteer to help in the areas can contact the relevant authorities. It's a valuable and very worthwhile service. You can see how it all came about, by reading the article at The Guardian.

They need blog volunteers to help the rescue groups by posting relevant information. (You'll have to process tons of e-mail.)

Interested people should contact Rohit Gupta(fadereu@gmail.com), Dina Mehta (explore@vsnl.com) or Peter Griffin (zigzackly@gmail.com) as soon as possible!

Family link

To help those separated restore contact, the International Red Cross has established new Family Links pages for India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Please help wherever you are. Anything you can do, no matter how small it may seem will help. I urge you to get out in your local area and make contact with places like the Red Cross. Even a few hours collecting money, answering phones, giving out information, donating money, expertise or whatever you can. It may not seem like very much, but a groundswell of support at grassroots level is really needed and any donation of money, time, expertise will help out.



This is the front page of today's Adelaide Advertiser. I know some of my family and friends back home read this. Please think about donating time to help out. This is a tragedy that crosses all boundaries of politics, religion, race etc. It's about humans helping out each other.

In Sweden, New Year's Day has been declared a national day of mourning. There are emergency numbers and links to donate on that link from The Local. For those in Sweden who were planning parties and setting out to Systemet or buying fireworks, please send that money instead to help out the relief effort.

I am still numb and shocked by the sheer extent of the human disaster in South East Asia. The news keeps getting worse and worse. Today it is 85,000 dead across eight countries with the toll rising hourly. It is reported that possibly half the victims will be children. It shows us how tenuous and fragile our hold on life is and also what an incredible and powerful force mother nature can be.

The news services here have been saturated with the coverage. It is estimated that at this time of the year, about 30,000 Swedes are in these areas escaping the harsh northern winter. So far, 3,500 are still unaccounted for - and those are the ones booked through the charter tours. Who knows how many others are there travelling on their own arrangements.

For those looking for lost relatives and friends in Thailand, there are some hospital lists and photos available on-line as well. Phuket Hospital and Phuket Inter-Hospital. The BBC Site also has a search form and links to finding lost families in all the countries.

There have been so many heart-rending headlines about parents watching as their children were swept away, mothers refusing to let go of their dead children, newly-weds on their honeymoon being separated and one of them lost... And that is still just the rich tourists' stories. Then there are the millions of already poverty striken people who have lost their entire families, homes and livelihoods, who don't have a comfortable home to come to back to in the west, but who have to start over from the very ground where their home used to be - and they don't have anything to start over with. Their stories have yet to be told.

Please, please think about giving to one of the aid organisations who are helping out in the area. There are many to choose from and they seem to be co-ordinating their efforts. I know that people are cynical these days about donating to organisations where the money may go to "overheads" rather than the people affected. If that is a concern, you can refer to Overhead costs for international refief organisations for a guide to overheads for big US and international charities. And also for those in the States, you can use the site at Charity Navigator or Charity Watch to make sure it gets used where it is needed most.

In Sweden, Radiohjälpen has a postgiro account set up. The number is 90 19 50-6 - mark it Asien.

Svenska Röda Korset also has a postgiro account and that number is 90 08 00-4. Mark it Flodvågornas offer

Unicef Sverige pg 90 20 01-7 marked Katastrofen i Asien

Save the Children, Sweden (Rädda Barnen) pg 90 20 03-3 marked Jordbävningen i Asien

Plan has an online donation service. My step-daughter does volunteer work for this organisation and it is a very reputable one. Their pg number is 90 07 31-1

Svenska Kyrkan also is running an aid campaign. pg 90 02 56-9

Salvation Army (Frälsningsarmén) pg 90 04 80-5 mark it Katastrofhjälp

The Catholic Church help organisation Caritas Sverige pg 90 04 90-4 marked Katastrofen i Sydasien

SOS-Barnbyar pg 90 02 29-6

Diakonia who works in these areas all of the time also is collecting for this crisis at pg 90 33 04-4 marked Sydostasien

Läkare utan gränser, the Swedish arm of Medicine without Frontiers pg number is 90 06 03-2

The afternoon newspaper, Expressen also has an list of organisations where you can donate or help out.

There are others internationally as well:

International Red Cross

UNICEF (click Make a Donation and choose your country.

Care International (click on your country). Note that Care Australia has launched an earthquake appeal

Oxfam is also taking donations in many currencies.

Save the Children Fund

Doctors Without Borders

Sustainable Development and Ecological Development Society

Relief Web (Through United Nations in Sri Lanka)

Indian Prime Minister's Relief Fund

Lonely Planet has also set up donation buttons, pages for those seeking missing persons and help resources.

Within Australia, Ellie in Sydney has a list of Australian sites accepting donations. And AusAid has a very comprehensive and Australian focused list of ways you can help.

World Vision

A local Malaysian blogger, Mack Zulkifli has set up Stand Up For Penang relief appeal and is asking people to help out in Malaysia.

There is also a list of sites worldwide at Help Tsunami Victims that offer online donation services.

Maybe there are more in the area YOU live in.

There is even a Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog with a lot of aid organisations, important phone numbers and helpful links and is being continually updated. This was set up by the local residents in the stricken area.

People who want to volunteer to help in the actual area can find links at the SEA-EAT Blog above, or contact places like Aidboston, Australian Volunteers or India Times.

Also the main page and forums at The Command Post has a list of aid organisations who need both money and volunteers.

There is also a first hand account by an accredited AP journalist of aid distribution problems in Sri Lanka posted by Dhruhini. Make sure you donate to a reputable help organisation. It pains me to say this, but in times of strife like this, it can bring out the very best and very worst in human nature.

I know you are all thinking that you have no money left after the Christmas period. I was thinking the same thing, then felt ashamed as I was sitting in my warm, comfortable apartment, sleeping in a cosy bed, with plenty of food in the cupboards and most importantly my family here with me. My life is rich.

Today it's the feast of St Stephen and, as in the days when Good King Wenceslaus went out, the snow is crisp and even, if not all that deep. In Australia we call today Boxing Day, but here it's Annandagsjul (the second day of Christmas), but in both places it is the start of the post-Christmas sales.

I never ever got into all that in Australia and I haven't changed my mind here in Sweden. From watching news reports of the insanity out there on these days, I figure I'm well out of it. There seems to be no sign of mercy, no yuletide spirit in evidence. Normally quiet, passive people elbow each other in the kidneys for the sake of a handbag. Exhausted mothers wrestle for the last Christmas decorations and kids scream and scream. Instead of joy, there is an air of stress, despair and shopping rage. How quickly the "Joy of the Season" wears off!

Our Christmas celebrations were wonderful, as you would expect from a person who scored this as her favourite Christmas movie.

Your Christmas is Most Like: Miracle on 34th Street

Sweet and caring, Christmas is about helping for you. While Santa may not exist, you try to share his spirit.

Actually, my favourite Christmas movie is Blackadder's Christmas Carol, which is now traditional Christmas viewing in this house. I'd also love to find a copy of Bernard and the Genie on video as that's another classic that I'm sure Lars-Göran would appreciate. Alas, no luck scoring that one yet, but I'm looking around.

We celebrated with the family on December 24th. We set off on the train, laden with champers, goodies and pressies for Stockholm, with some members of the family scoring appreciative looks for being Christmassy.



Our first stop was at my mother-in-law's house to set up and decorate her tree and iron a large, snow-white linen jacquard table cloth for her dining room. Oh joy! Then we rugged her and ourselves up well and wheeled her around the corner to her oldest son's home, which was lit up like ... well... like a Christmas tree, I guess.



They have recently built on this wonderful glass conservatory, complete with underfloor heating. It's a beautiful, practical room and the perfect setting for our Christmas meal.

All of the family was there - 12 in all. After the greetings, it was time to get stuck into the glögg and goodies while we sat for the all-important 3pm viewing of Kalle Anka that I spoke about last year. I'm still rather bemused about this, but everyone has fun - old favourites were shown and howls of protest from the younger members of the family when they tried to pass off the Bambi segment as something "new" - after all, as my nephew said it's at least a million years old! This year it was presented by Ernst Kirchsteiger after the tv station decided to have a new presenter every year.

I talked about this with my sister-in-law as we prepared the meal and we both agreed that we were not fond of him and his tv shows. They are shows where he renovates summer houses and he is just a bit too perfect in an annoying Martha Stewart way. Sure, it all looks magnificent and we're impressed he does all that hard work without a drop of sweat, one swear word, hair perfectly done and his cream outfit unsoiled but it's a bit unreal. Christmas is not about perfection, and we felt that he had laid on the trimmings a bit too thick.

When Kalle Anka was finished, we went with the children to the cemetary where their grandfather is buried to light candles and remember him. As at Alla Helgons Dag, the graveyard was a sea of glowing candles flickering in the darkness and a very moving sight.

When we goy back to the house, we began to set out the food for dinner. It looked wonderful! You can just see my sister-in-law and myself in the background doing last minute garnishing.



On the counter are several dishes of sill (herring) in a variety of sauces, a beetroot salad, a platter of delicious smoked salmon thinly sliced, a cheese platter, a tray of different types of bread, little prince sausages, Swedish meatballs, halved boiled eggs topped with caviar, crayfish and prawns, julskinka (cured ham baked in a breadcrumb and mustard crust), smoked mettwurst, marinated rib roast, tjälknöl (moose cooked slowly then marinted in brine), boiled potatoes and a platter of sliced raw vegetables.

Everybody served themselves and took their laden plates out to the table set up in the conservatory. With the shimmering candle light and fairy lights reflected in the glass it created a cosy, friendly scene.



Of course we are all hamming it up for the camera - apart from me. I'm too busy trying to keep the squirming dog quiet and still. After several trips to the smörgåsbord, the kids were fully stuffed and staggered inside to lay on the sofa while the adults chatted outside.



I was chatting about Christmas in Australia and how very different it was to Sweden, including the fact that Santa comes when our kids are asleep, wheras tomte comes openly straight after dinner.

My youngest step-daughter told us about her most memorable Christmas. She was aged around six or seven and wavering about whether tomte was real or not, no doubt heped along by her older siblings who asked her why their grandpa or dad or their uncle suddenly needed to go out and buy a newspaper just before tomte arrived. Aren't big brothers and sisters wonderful?

What none of them knew, however, was that my sister-in-law had organised a treat. One of her workmates told her about her father who loved to dress up as tomte, go out in his sleigh drawn by a reindeer and arrive at the house ringing his bell and carrying a lantern as well as the sack full of presents. So they organised for him to also come to distribute the gifts at their home. This was held at my in-law's two-storey villa and from the picture window in the living room, you could see for miles. When grandpa spotted tomte, he called the six grand-children over to see. Annelie said she was stunned. A quick headcount revealed that everyone was present, so who was this arriving in a sleigh? She said it confirmed her belief for another few years and nothing the others told her made her change her mind. She remembered it as the best Christmas ever.

And speaking of tomte, here he is.



Gift giving is a long process, but also a lot of fun. What adds to the enjoyment is that Swedes don't simply write To Marie from Kate on the gift tag. Instead they come up with a Christmas rhyme, usually a funny, cryptic short rhyming description of the gift. Everyone joins in in trying to guess what is in the parcel. With gifts for all of us to be given out, it can be a lengthy and riotous experience. I rather like the idea of these julrim as it is far more personal.

Everyone laughed when Lars-Göran received this box of Gröna Kulor from Lambi, Bruce and Sheila. People were speculating about how they had bought them, as dogs are not allowed in the supermarkets here. We decided that the cockatiels must have taken a short break from eating the Christmas cards and flown down with the money clamped tight in their little beaks. It was a perfect choice of gift for my sweet toothed husband. He adores them. I find them incredibly sweet. They are basically a sugar coated fruit jelly, about the size of those large marbles (4cm diameter). I watched him open the box and scoff 8 of them immediately! Remember, this is straight after Christmas dinner. Where does he put it all?

It was well after midnight when we finally made our way home. Bed never felt more inviting after such a long day. We were happy with the gifts we got as well as those we gave. I was especially happy that one of my friends here in Sweden sent me a moose serviette holder.



However did she know?

I've been watching a special news service on Swedish television this morning. It’s terrifying and sad to see them showing footage from the earthquake that struck in South East Asia (India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives etc) in the early hours of the morning. It's magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter Scale means that it is the 5th strongest earthquake in the last hundred years.

The bulk of the damage was done by tsunamis (huge waves) or as someone described it.. “It wasn’t as if it was a wave coming in, it was more like the whole sea suddenly rising with about 20 ft”

The scenes are of utter devastation, with many thousands dead or missing across several countries. It's very sad. There is more about it on BBC World and Australia's ABC. My heart goes out to those families affected by this disaster. How tragic. I can't even begin to imagine.

At times like this I wish there was something more I could do besides just watch the news.

The other news was the horrifying death toll on the roads both here and in Australia. In Sweden, seven people died on Christmas Eve in car accidents. In Australia, it was a shocking 15 so far. That's 22 who woke up a couple of days ago, who will not be waking up today. On Friday they were planning their Christmas - but they never made it to whatever they were going. They got "stuck in traffic". Permanently.

So whatever you do, people - drive safely!

And all through OUR house is the smell of Christmas baking, the crinkle of wrapping paper and sticky tape and lots of frantic activity. Yes, December 23rd is the night before Christmas in Sweden.

There used to be a lot of comment in expat circles about the "right" way to celebrate Christmas, especially from the newly arrived Americans to Sweden. Nobody could get over the idea of doing the main feast and pressies on Christmas Eve. "What's wrong with these Swedes?", etc.

I have asked my family here, but nobody could tell me why this was the case. A friend in Örebro, however, explained it to me. Long ago, Christmas Day was a very sacred and holy day in Sweden and most people spent it at church for a good part of the day. Apparently, in the late 1800s at least, you were FINED and visited by the local law for NOT being in church on holy days.

So when better to party, have a few (quite a few) shots of festive and alcoholic Yuletide cheer, eat yourself senseless, open pressies and just have a rolicking good time, but Christmas Eve. And since the Lutheran (and most Protestant faiths) motto is "You play, you pay", you used to spend Christmas Day nursing your hangover and trying to sleep quietly through the church services.

And that, girls and boys, is why Swedes do the main celebrating on December 24th, not December 25th.

Today, the apartment is full of the smells of freshly baked saffron buns, cinnamon laced fruit sauce boiling away, vört bread with the lovely spicy smell of ginger, cloves and mixed spices and the smell of toasting almonds, melting chocolate and toffee. Add to that, the glögg with its infusion of spices and it's an intoxicating, heady aroma.

The phone has been ringing non-stop as the kids frantically scramble around doing last minute shopping and using us as the information service. It makes me laugh that they have left everything so late, but I guess it's typical. I'd be shocked if they were actually organised. I'm so happy we'll all be together this year.

Tonight we'll wrap all the gifts together, drinking lots of mulled wine and munching on knäck, almonds etc and then make sure we have everything ready so we only have to get up in the morning and leave for my brother-in-law's house where we are celebrating julafton with the family.

I am playing Christmas carols in the background as I type. The two CDs I'm favouring this year are by Dream a Dream with Charlotte Church (and including my favourite carol O Holy Night and Glade Jul by the wonderful Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø. This also features O Holy Night (in Norwegian) as well as my favourite Scandinavian carol, Nu tändas tusen juleljus (Now A Thousand Christmas Candles Are Being Lit).

Though according to this quiz, my favourite carol is an Aussie one. I guess you can never take the Aussie out of me!



Yes, that does bring back memories.....

I feel very at home with Christmas here now. For the first couple of years I felt a bit like a visitor at someone else's feast day. Don't get me wrong, my family here were very welcoming and I was interested in learning about my new country and its traditions. But it felt foreign. In the same way as when Malaysian friends invited us to join them for Hari Raya or Chinese friends celebrated Lunar New Year. It was great to go and share good food and drink in the company of friends, but it still lacked a special meaning that it had for our friends who had been brought up with the tradition.

Now it feels more and more a real part of me. Yes, I miss family and friends back in Adelaide, but Sweden has left its mark on me as well. I even look forward to the Christmas spread, despite no turkey, roast potatoes, gravy and Christmas pudding. An expat friend of mine here described the typical Swedish Christmas dinner as: herring in various forms, pork in various forms, potatoes in various forms, bread in various forms, and enough cabbage (again, in various forms) to provide for all the natural gas needs of a small country for a year if only we had a method to collect it. I really laughed at that. There's a lot of truth there.

My priority this year is simple. Eat, drink and be very merry!

Silent Night ... (not likely!) was the full page ad I saw in my copy of delicious for the classic Australian bubbly Jacobs Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir. I laughed at that image, knowing that it would be frowned upon in Sweden as we never joke about alcohol here.

It's a very touchy subject for reasons I still don't fully understand. I know that historically, Sweden has had an alcohol problem. It was so bad, that prohibition was tried for a time (in the days where the church weilded much more power) and there are tragic tales of poverty, death and broken homes because of it. Part of the reason it is so potent here, is that, unlike Australia, wine is not the most common drink in Sweden. After all, it's too cold to grow grapes and until fairly recently Sweden was too poor to import wine. The chosen drink was one that could be distilled from the plants available (grain and potato) - a type of vodka or snaps. Combine that high alcohol percentage of the chosen firewater with hard working conditions, very few opportunities for alternative entertainment, ease of "home distilling", a harsh climate with long dark winters where you could drink in isolation and you can see why they are part of what is called the vodka belt.

On the other hand, I found it rather amusing that one of the biggest selling Swedish exports is a vodka we know as Absolut, when the Swedish word for a teetotaller is absolutist. Talk about a contradiction.

They don't even make it easy to buy alcohol here. It is strictly government controlled (though that monopoly is under attack in the EU court system at the moment) and only available from the relatively few State outlets, called Systembolaget (the System Company). Not very reassuring name, is it? And certainly nothing as frivolous as the great Booze Brothers chain we had in Adelaide. Even the Finns manage to have the amusing name Alko for their State run places.

I had to go and get some Christmas drinks, so I had no choice but to venture to our local Systemet. This is an interesting experience. You go in, take a queue number, look at the number of people there and then try and estimate how long you have to wait. On a particularly busy day, you could face more than an hour's wait (in which case I go and shop next door in the supermarket while waiting).

"Why is there such a long wait?", I hear you ask. Well, they don't trust us not to drink the stuff before we get to the checkout, so treating us like pre-school children, they lock the booze behind glass cases with a number next to the bottle. Then when your queue number is called, you go to the counter and ask for the number of the drink you want and they will get it for you from shelves BEHIND the counter.

You aren't allowed to take photos inside, so you never saw this, okay?



That's me perusing the white wine section, pencil and paper in hand. I find it easier to quote the number than ask for the wine by name. The staff only understand it if I say "nummer 7359". If I say Jacobs Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir in anything other than a thick Swedish accent they won't have a clue what I'm talking about. Yes, I did manage to snaffle a couple of bottles for Christmas day for $A19 a bottle - I think a little Aussie bubbly is always welcome at Christmas dinner.

Today it is the shortest day of the year - the winter solstice. With sunrise at 9.44am and sunset at 2.40pm, it can't start to get lighter soon enough for my Viking. He hates the darkness and today is a dull, overcast day. Even if you sleep for eight hours, you spend much more of your waking time in darkness than in light. Yesterday on the other hand was a glorious, sunny winter day. When I looked out of my kitchen window, I saw the snow glittering in the sunshine and the blue sky and thought it must be quite warm outside. But as soon as someone passed, I saw how they were dressed:



Yep, it's arctic out there. The reason I don't register that is because our apartments are centrally heated and I'm in a t-shirt enjoying the pleasant 20.5C inside. When I first came to Sweden, I used to look out, see the sunshine and just put on something light. Lars-Göran said "You'll have to put more on before you go out" but I wouldn't believe him. "Look!" I'd say, "it's sunny, blue skies and I already feel warm". He thought I was nuts and steered me over to the thermometer on the wall. These essential household gadgets have both the inside and outside temperature on them. I would just stare at it in disbelief as it said -6C (yes, that's minus six celsius). I refused to believe him, so he led me over to the balcony and opened the door. Man, oh man, was THAT a shock to the system. I've now learned to check the outside temperature before dressing for a quick foray out doors.

In this weather, it is the dog I'm really concerned about. I know she has a fur coat and all that, but I'd love to dress her in something warmer. I do have a little leopard print coat that one of my step-daughters made for her, but I think something more like this is more her style. As a tiny, fluffy white toy poodle she is very much a pearls girl I think. Lars-Göran disagrees, but then he's no fashion expert.

The snow that fell on Saturday and Sunday is lasting well. There have been no further falls, but the temperature has stayed below -5C ensuring a crisp frost underfoot.



The fresh water ponds are frozen over and ready for skating and now even the sea is beginning to freeze in the bay where we moor our boat in summer.



Today, it is a more sombre sort of day, with near dusk like conditions prevailing. Luckily, we can counteract that darkness with making our homes as warm and cheerful as we can, with lots of interesting candle holders, burning tiny, fragrant tea-light candles to ward off the darkness.

Of course, some Swedes like a bigger fire. Remember last year I talked about the big straw goat in Gävle? Well, this morning's news reports that overnight, it has been torched again in the wee hours of the morning. I can't say it's unexpected (this is the 21st time it's happened), but still it's been done before, guys. Try something else, already!

The view of Nynäshavsbad from the boatclub just after lunch will give you an idea of daylight at this time of the year.



So, from here onwards, Sweden should be feeling a bit more...sunny.

The best news, though is that we are assured of a white Christmas.

Thankyou, Santa!

Why?

Well it seems that I have special powers - a sort of sixth sense. There have been two events over the weekend that have prompted Lars-Göran to look at me with a new found respect (or maybe fear).

The first concerns this little scene that greeted him on Friday afternoon:



This flurry of activity by the fire brigade was in response to a fire at Lydia Restaurant, just across the road from the church. No, I didn't light the fire, but a few days earlier I had predicted it. We went and had a look at the restaurant as it has recently changed hands and introduced some Lebanese food. I wanted to peruse the menu and to take a squizz at the tasteless extension they had built on the side of the place. This is a lovely, old building and they tacked on a hideous 1960s style glassed in box shaped room. I looked inside and commented to Lars-Göran that the combination of big curtains and candles on the table was not smart and that after a drunken work Christmas party it would go up in flames.

Turns out that I was right (or maybe a more militant member of the Architecture Police decided to take action).

The second event occurred last night. We went to the church at 10pm for a carol service. We'd been out already during the day and I had felt cold while coming home. So this time I dressed in my other hat and put the furlined hood up on my jacket. Of course, Lars-Göran packed up laughing and asked me where the snow was and if I wasn't being just a bit in denial about the warmish weather. I told him that I had requested snow from Santa and he would deliver it tonight. Hearty laughter ensued, BUT who was laughing when we came out of the church an hour later? There was heavy snow falling steadily and I was toasty warm and well covered to be out enjoying it.

You have to love Santa. He always comes through.

I have received mail from people wondering just how dark it is during the afternoon. To give you an idea, we took a couple of photos on Saturday just after 3pm. The first is a view across the harbour area:



Remember folks, this is mid afternoon, the sky is still blue (sort of) and dusk has just began. What a pity there wasn't any snow to brighten it up - though my good friend Santa took care of that a few hours later. The other view is looking across to the lake and park. You can also see some of the houses and apartments with their Christmas lights up. It's all mostly white lights and fairly minimalist, but classy.



As I mentioned above we attended the carol service which we enjoyed very much. Possibly I enjoyed it more, because most of the carols are new to me so I didn't have any expectations. Lars-Göran was not impressed with some of the modern arrangement done to traditional songs and I understand how he feels. When you have a particular favourite song, you don't always appreciate people mucking around with it. Still, I loved the singing, especially the choir leader's version of Ave Maria and the setting in a beautiful, vaulted church allowed the voices to rise up and create a really special atmosphere.



It is quite different to carol services back home, which are often held outdoors on a warm summer evening. There is really no other feeling like going to these. One of the special Christmas events was always the big Carols by Candelight in various Australian cities. In Adelaide, we all went down to Elder Park, on the banks of the Torrens River in front of the Festival Theatre and made an evening of it, with a picnic tea with friends and enjoying soaking up the joys of a summer evening and being together as a community singing in Christmas. The sight of all those glittering candles gave me shivers down the spine every time. My on-line friend Vegemite Rules has written a beautiful summary of the Melbourne carols service here that is worth reading. Check out her posts about this year's magnificent Myer christmas window displays as well.

Something that we don't get in Adelaide, and especially not at Christmas time is SNOW!!! And this morning, this was my view outside my kitchen window.



While my husband was curled into a foetal position on the sofa screaming "Nnnnnnooooooo!!!!!" I was feeling like a happy little Vegemite. So much so that despite the insanity of even thinking about venturing to the shops in the last weekend before Christmas, I did it anyway.

As you can see, it is not exactly a mad rush here. Though it does look rather nice with the snow lying all around. Look, there is even one person walking in the street!



This was no challenge, so we ventured into Stockholm to check out what the last weekend frenzy looked like in Sweden. The window displays were gorgeous and I spotted one or two moose accessories that really wanted to come home with me, but Mr Grumpy wouldn't let me have them. I'll have to go alone another day now I know where the shop is.



It was busy, but not excessively so and I was amazed that even this many people would brave the biting cold just to shop. While it was much colder in Stockholm than in Nynäshamn (despite us being only 50 km away) there was no snow around. Ha! Ha! There was plenty of ice underfoot, though so it was lucky I had my halkskydd with me. This is a view looking down Drottninggatan, the Stockholm equivalent of Rundle Mall.



Pretty crowded I admit, but most people were in a good mood and many seemed to be window shopping and enjoying a coffee rather than rushing about loaded down with multiple purchases. We wandered around a big department store, Åhléns, looking at the Christian Dior counter for perfume and the book section. We also wandered down to an open air market nearby called Hötorget (the Hay Market).



I really like the colours of the plants on sale here for Christmas - amaryllis, hyacinth, poinsetta, holly, wreaths of pine. It's so fragrant and a reminder that there is life still sprouting even in the darkness of December. It is worth mentioning that it is not a huge hotel opposite. It's another big department store called PUB, where Greta Garbo worked for some time in the millinery department.

We checked out the fruit and vegetables on sale there - some at reasonable prices as well. I even saw cherries! They are a real Christmas fruit back home so I was surprised to see them here in mid winter. They looked wonderful - but at $22 a kilo just a tad expensive. I did however buy some warm brända mandlar to munch on and we descended like a couple of vultures on the second-hand book stall. We are both hopeless when we get in front of a book stall. We never leave empty handed and today was no exception. Despite the sub-zero temperatures and stinging wind we managed to stay long enough to buy a big bag of books between us.

Where are we going to put them?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our dear little Australian cockatiels (Bruce and Sheila) have been busy demolishing the Christmas cards. This time, they have taken a real fancy to one from our friend Kirsty who lives in Sydney. I guess they understand the Aussie connection. And they show incredible good taste in eating the one featuring mince pies.



Mmmmmm....mince pies! Now there's something I miss at Christmas time. I must try and see if the English Shop has any left, or at least a jar of the fruit mince mixture. I'd make my own, but the chances of getting any suet in Sweden is about the same as a blizzard hitting Adelaide on Christmas day.

Only a week left now until Christmas and still no sign so far of the return of the snow. After that big flurry in November, it has quite stubbornly refused to make a re-appearance and it is sorely missed as it often brightens up what is otherwise a very grey, drab month. It is still getting darker each day - in fact to call it daylight would be far too flattering a description. It is much more like a lingering dusk. Still, the winter solstice is only a few days away and after Lucia we know that the light will return.

Yesterday I spent a wonderful lunchtime stroll with Lars-Göran and the famous Lambi in Stockholm. We had a few specific gifts to buy for the kids, so we decided to also make a fun time of it by going to the Gamla Stan Julmarknad (the Christmas market in the Old Town). So we jumped on the tunnelbana and headed there.



I love wandering around Gamla Stan, with it's maze of narrow cobblestoned roads and lanes dotted with cafés, restaurants, artisans' galleries and antique shops. This is the original Stockholm and dates from the 13th century and it really is like going back in time. Looking around you, it isn't hard to imagine what everyday life must have been like for this city.

I chose to go along Östralånggatan as I prefer it to the more popular and crowded Västralånggatan. I was entranced by the simplicity of the natural Christmas decorations that enhanced the grace and beauty of the buildings. What a contrast to the tacky, tasteless flashing lights we are subjected to in Australia.



Taking a closer look at the shop, we discovered it was Tomtar & Troll, a magical place where they make trolls and tomtar (elves). We went inside and watched them making them in the workshop and admired the variety of these forest creatures on display. Though the most popular thing in the shop turned out to be Lambi! She was travelling in Lars-Göran's backpack as per usual and was spotted by a Japanese tour guide and suddenly poor L-G found himself posing along with the dog for photographs. It was quite funny. You can peep inside the shop through the window:



Charming, isn't it? We wandered along further and came to an amazing shop called Fartygsmagasinet. This is an Aladdin's cave treasure trove of historical fixtures and fittings from ships. It was gleaming with brass bells, lights, ship models and the intoxicating smell of tar ropes. It was rather hard to crowbar L-G away from here. A little further down we came to a café - thirsty work, all this walking around!



This tiny, cosy little café had a sign above it, stating that the building dates from 1480! I still can't get my head around the history of places like this. I come from such a "young" nation and it can be hard to believe that this was all here over 300 years before the First Fleet landed on the shores of Botany Bay in 1788. It is something that I discussed one day while walking in Stockholm with one of my Canadian friends. We were both spellbound by the architecture and age of the town, much to the bemusement of our Swedish partners to whom all of this is quite normal.

Another stop we made was at Galleri Hippo which had an exhibition of "The Horse in Art". There were several others that we also took a look in on our way through the town, along with several tiny shops selling wrought iron work and candles. One window at a travel agent really caught my attention:



This is of a building in the polish city of Krakow - quite an unusual sight to see in the far more dour setting of Stockholm. Many people were stopping to look at it. Then it was on to Storkyrkan.



This magnificant church was first built in the mid-1200s and is the site of coronations and royal weddings. The country's kings are also christened here. It lies just a few steps from our destination - Stortorget (the Great Square) and the Christmas Market. And what greeted me, but kids with fairy floss!



The market is nice, but lacks the charm of those we've been to at Utö and our own at Nynäshamn. It lacked some essential ingredient in the atmosphere. Lars-Göran felt that it was not the same without snow and that maybe it was more set up with an eye on the tourist market rather than a true christmas market. Certainly the place was full of tour groups and school kids on organised outings rather than the family and friends groups that you see at other markets. I also missed the sight and smell of stalls selling wreaths and trees.

The setting, though is magnificent with those old, historic buildings as a backdrop.



This plaza was not always the site of happiness. It marks the place where the infamous Stockholm Bloodbath took place in 1520, where Christian II of Denmark beheaded 80 Swedish nobels and displayed a pyramid of their heads in the centre. I don't think the Swedes have forgiven the Danes yet.

Today, the only red liquid on display was at the glögg stall. The little red wooden booths look so rustic along side of the elegant architecture around the square.



In the booths were a range of Christmas things. Stalls selling sausages, condiments, lollies, fairy-floss, wrought iron goods and decorations. I desperately wanted a wrought iron moose serviette holder, but L-G just gave me "the hairy eyeball" look, so I'll have to sneak it in some other way. I've added it to my Christmas wish list. One stall that I was really happy to see was that selling brända mandlar. This translates as "burnt almonds" but they are not burnt at all, just absolutely delicious! You can actually make your own easily and they are a popular nibble during the viewing of Kalle Anka on Christmas Eve.

Brända Mandlar

100 g blanched almonds
100 g icing sugar
125 ml water
1 drop red colouring (optional)

(I like to roast the almonds first, but you don't have to. I just pop them in an oven at 180C for a few minutes). Place water in a heavy-based saucepan, sprinkle over sugar and place over low heat. Keep stirring continuoulsly until the sugar mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Add food colouring (optional). Stir in almonds and mix well. Spread out on baking paper, seperate the almonds with a fork and leave them to dry.

I had to buy a bag of these treats to munch on while I strolled around and looked at the stalls. The ones which really appealed to me were those with the traditional Swedish decorations:



These simple straw decorations, with their red ribbons are a real symbol of Swedish Christmas. I adore the little straw pigs the best and would like to have a whole family of them lined up at home. But I bet Bruce and Sheila would eat them. There were stars, goats, little human figures, angels and tomte. The kids loved it. The other stall that was jammed packed with kids was the one selling tomte.



I think he must be the most loved figure by children all over the world. The other loved figure at the markets was Lambi. The kids were all in love with the "little sweet poodle in a backpack" and poor L-G found himself looking like the Pied Piper with his trail of children following him around wanting to pat the dog.

We then moved off from the square and along Slottsbacken, heading to Östermalm.



To the left of the picture is The Royal Palace, leading down to the water, with the National Museum across the water at Södra Blasieholmshamnen. The weather was cold, but clear and dry, so it wasn't a trial to walk from here to Östermalmstorget, where we had to pick up a gift for L-G's son. The square was filled with Christmas tree and wreath stalls.



I just love those straw goats and pigs. They really add a bit of cheer to the scene, as do the lovely wreaths and the smell of the fresh pine, spruce and fir trees ready to be bought. I couldn't walk past here without a visit to Östermalms Saluhall. This place is a food-a-holics paradise. Think DJ's food hall on a bigger scale. The sights, sounds, colour, life and aroma of this place is uplifting. And what a superb building:



Inside you will find stalls selling a dizzying array of meat and poultry (including game), seafood, fruit, nuts, vegetables, bakeries, continental goodies (and my favourite wasabi peas), cheeses, chocolates, flowers, along with cafés, sushi. What most appealed was the smell of freshly baked vörtbröd. That is such a Christmas day smell and now I can hardly wait until next Friday.

Yes, I think that I'll be making (and eating) vörtbröd this weekend. Maybe before we head off to the Christmas concerts to "sing in Christmas" tomorrow.

And the weather service is predicting snow over the weekend.

Santa HAS heard my wishes after all.

Let's hope he remembers that moose serviette holder.

Julbord is Swedish for Christmas Table and refers to the feast that is served both on Christmas eve as well as at nearly every restaurant in the country during Advent. They are usually a fixed price meal where you serve yourself from a huge selection of foods, many of which are only seen at this time of the year.

We don't usually go to the restaurant julbord, though I've been very keen to try out the one at Utö one year. One memorable julbord we have been to with a group of family and good friends was that at the restaurant pictured here - Ulriksdals Wärdshus. This restaurant is set in the grounds of the castle Ulriksdal, just north of Stockholm and boasts a beautiful view across the parks and the waters of Edsviken. The actual food was presented in the glass conservatory that glittered like a fairy crystal palace in the snow and we loved sharing time with friends as well as trying out all of the special foods that you never normally eat.

So what did we find to choose from? Tons and tons of food. But one must eat it in correct order. Not like we'd do in Australia, where we'd load up our plates with as much as we could all at once. You first begin with the Fish course. Here it consists of a choice of 17 different herring dishes and 8 different dishes of salmon and smoked eel. There were a dozen or so varieties of salad as well to accompany this, as well as the firm favourite of Janssons Frestelse. This is washed down with an ice cold snaps.

Following that, we move on to the cold meat course. This had 20 different types of ham, turkey, brawn in aspic, paté and game (moose, red deer, reindeer and wild boar). Not a course for the vegetarians or faint-hearted. After, there came the warm dishes - a choice of 15 or so, plus 8 different types of Christmas sausage. Then there was the cheese selection, along with a big selection of desserts, cakes and lots of Christmas lollies.

After that, I didn't want to eat for a week!

When I think of gingerbread houses, I always remember the Brothers Grimm childhood story of Hansel and Gretel, where they find a wondrous house in the woods made of gingerbread, covered with lollies. It was a lucky find as they were starving at the time and began to eat the house. Despite the fact that a witch inhabited the house, I always dreamed of living there as it was a child's dream to have unlimited sweets to eat. What might have helped that little fantasy along was that Arnott's Ginger Nuts were my favourite sweet biscuits when growing up. Alas, they aren't available in Sweden and neither is golden syrup so I could make my own.

However, there ARE gingerbread houses! There is a strong Christmas tradition in Sweden to make a house out of gingerbread dough. Like the Christmas tree, I suspect this tradition comes from Germany and the Swedes have adopted it enthusiastically. You can even buy it in kit form at the supermarket! You bake it in individual pieces that can be assembled and stuck together with icing and decorated with sweets. They are used as a table decoration during Advent, then when Christmas is over, the family gathers around the dinner table and eats it up.

Each year, our local newspaper runs a Pepparkakshustävlingen (ie gingerbread house competition) and the local real estate office has the entries displayed in the window. There is a wide variety of themes - some of them rather gruesome. I've chosen a few that I like.

First was the more traditional house:



I like this one - it has a really friendly feel to it and lots of great goodies to eat. I can imagine that it wouldn't last long in this house as Lars-Göran has the sweetest tooth I've ever come across. I can just see him nicking lollies off the roof a few at a time each time he passed by. They do look irresistable, don't they?

The other two I liked had a local theme. The first one was of the local fish smokery and the restaurant attached it it (Kroken). They are located at the harbour area. Beautiful seafood and the restaurant is first class. Someone has represented them like this:



The final one that we liked was a likeness of the local church. We have a soft spot for the church, because it is where we were married. It is also such a dominating landmark when you are out sailing, standing in such a prominent position on a hill close to the harbour, so we associate it in our minds with "home". This was rather sweet - right down to the little rooster weathervane that sits atop the steeple.



I wonder if one of these will win? I'll have to watch Nynäshamns Posten and see. There were quite a few entries - I guess about a dozen or so, so there was plenty to choose from. One of the weirdest ones was a dead pig with it's head chopped off (complete with blood everywhere) and the caption read "Christmas pig's last night". Very odd!

Speaking of Nynäshamn Posten, today's front page sported this lovely picture of our Lucia:



These are some of the simple, non-commercial traditions that help me enjoy being here at Christmas.

And so on this day, December 13th every year, Lucia comes to Sweden. Compared to the trash and tack of a commercial Christmas that many other countries do, I have to say that if there's one thing that the Swedes do really well — and with a charm and a sincerity we Aussies could do to learn — it's Christmas. Despite their reputation as a cold, clean and organised people, beneath this exterior there beats a heart of the purest softness and sentimentality, and proof of that is things like Lucia.



Lucia is a well loved and cherished Swedish Christmas tradition, even though she's neither Swedish nor is she strictly speaking all that traditional, having only been around for about 75 years in Sweden. As with the discovery of how recent is the "tradition" of lighting candles at the graveside on All Souls Day, when you tell a Swede that Lucia is not that old, they react with disbelief and amazement.

So who is she? The real Lucia was a Sicilian saint who died a martyr's death on this day in c 304. She was apparently engaged to marry a young man who was not a Christian, and after an argument about money (Lucia gave money to the poor), her betrothed betrayed her to the Roman authorities, disclosing her Christian beliefs. She was sentenced to die by burning at the stake, but when the fire didn't harm her, she was killed with a sword. Charming!

I had thought that perhaps the church instituted this feast hundreds of years ago in Sweden to counter the pagan tradition of celebrating the winter solstice. You know - if you can't beat them, join them and distract them. But this was not the case. It seems that this tradition was introduced to Sweden in 1928, when a newspaper began a competition for a girl to be Lucia, inspired by one of the reporters returning from celebrations in Italy. It is a very appropriate for this time of year, as she is seen as the symbol of light in this dark world. She gives hope - soon the days will become longer again and the daylight will return.

Nowadays, little girls dress as Lucia in a white dress with a red sash, and wear a wreath of lingonberry branches with 4 lighted candles on their head (the same number as an Advent wreath). In some households, the children carry coffee and a breakfast of saffron buns (called lussekatt) and gingerbread cookies to their parents in their room. The girls dressed in white carrying lit candles and the boys ("star boys") wearing tall, pointed caps. A traditional song is sung:



This morning, I did a scaled down version, bringing L-G a traditional Lucia breakfast in bed, singing the song. However, because I spent a few years with Italians, I keep pronouncing Lucia as the Italians do (Loo-chee-a) instead of the Swedish (Loo-see-a). I'll get it right one of these days.

Yes, I baked Lucia buns as well! You can see them "proving" before being popped in the oven. As I don't trust Lambi with a lighted candle, she had to be part of the procession in her Christmas hat.



We waited for the Lucia procession to come past the apartment building this evening. It consists of the the girl chosen to be this year's Lucia here in Nynäshamn, along with her attendants in a horse drawn wagon, pulled by lovely Clydesdales with a lot of children dressed in Christmas costumes riding behind on ponies. They sing the traditional songs and wind their way through town to the church where there is a concert. We are lucky that it passes right in front of us. It was lovely to see, but so misty tonight that we couldn't take a picture.

The church was looking really pretty with it's simple lights on a tree.



We couldn't attend the concert as we had an important meeting to go to, but we caught up with Lucia again later tonight at the sailing club. She and her attendants visit various places around the town - old folks homes, church, hotels etc and the last stop is always our yacht club. We went there and grabbed some coffee, glögg, buns etc and chatted with friends. Then the Lucia procession came in singing traditional Lucia songs.



It was a beautiful, simple but very moving ceremony. Now I feel that Christmas is very near.

Everything is bursting out in festive lights here at the moment. I know a lot of people profess to hating Christmas and all it stands for, but I love it all - the glögg, candles, snow, darkness, markets, time with family and friends. All of it!



The Christmas season begins a lot later in Sweden than in most other countries. I know that in Adelaide, it's the annual Christmas pageant in early to mid-November that signals the beginning of the Christmas frenzy. Once we saw Nipper and Nimble appear, followed by Santa setting himself up in the Magic Cave and the brewery Christmas lights display set up on the Torrens at Hindmarsh we knew that Christmas was just around the corner. In fact, the pageant had barely left West Terrace when I broke out the tree and decorations.

Here, I'm much more restrained. The real Christmas season is tied to the church calendar and so we have the first Sunday of advent as the start of Christmas lights, markets and shopping. There seems much less of a frenzy here. The big excitement in Nynäshamn revolves around last week's Christmas market, next Monday's Lucia parade and the annual gingerbread house making competition. The shops are very tastefully decorated and the whole gift giving thing is more low key.

I've sent out my cards to good friends here and overseas, though this is another low-key thing here. It's not so common to send out cards to every living soul you know like we do in Australia, so I've restricted mine this year to good friends and family. One of the funniest cards I got was from a friend in Egypt. She sent one with Santa on his sleigh riding past the entrance of the Temple of Luxor. It was really amusing to see and made me wonder why in Australia we don't do more in the way of seasonal cards that reflect Australia. So many of the cards I'm getting are of snowy landscapes and very European scenes. Come on, guys, I've got enough snow here already!

Today it is Lars-Göran's birthday! I'm not allowed to say how old he is, but it is somewhere between 52 and 54. We had his family party last night. It would be easier to organise an audience with the pope than to get his family to agree on a suitable time/day to meet up and celebrate. Everyone is busy, especially at this time of the year. We can't have it on the weekend as his son is always busy recording at his music studio, the other kids work odd hours, then there is his brother's family schedule and on a weekday it has to be after work for all of us. So last night it was! We all met up at my mother-in-law's house as it is easier for her. We brought the food and drink with us and did all the setting up and clearing up. It was lovely and he was particularly happy to spend time all together. He also got a great B&D Powerfile from the kids. He was overjoyed as he's been eyeing these off at the local "boy's toys" shops here.

Afterwards, we went into town with one of his daughters and had a look at the Christmas windows in Nordiska Kompaniet. This is a lovely department store in central Stockholm and every year they set up a marvellous, animated store front display. There is great excitement on the first Sunday of Advent when it is unveiled for the first time. We used to have the Myer Christmas window display, but this is on a much grander scale.

The first window featured Santa in his sleigh. You can spy me in the corner, to give you an idea of how big they are.



The next window was a really charming display of snowmen, playing with snowballs. You can see quite a few people stopping to take a look, despite the late hour. If you look at the top of the windows, they have pine boughs that make it look as though you are out in the forest, peeping in.



We moved on to a woodland scene. It was so cute! There were lots of tiny little animals looking out of trees, from behind rocks and in the bushes. Each window has it's own music and a little verse written on a open book.



Now we moved on to my favourite window - the lolly maker. There was so much detail to look at - people mixing up christmas goodies, making glögg and gingerbread and pappa snoring in his bed upstairs. There were also a host of tiny animals under the tables and outside looking in. I'm sure any child would be mesmerised by this window.



Now we move on to something more dramatic. This is the realm of the Snow Queen. This window was in shades of silver, white and blue and looked really frosty and cold. Doesn't she look regal and haughty? Again there were lots of small animals, most of them wearing fur hats and rugged up in fur coats to ward off the chill.



The final window was of a scene outside a house with christmas cards, gingerbread figures and children frolicing in the snow. Very fun-filled and joyful and exactly what Christmas should be about.



It may have been nicer if there was snow about, but really it was a perfect evening to be out - +4C with a fresh breeze and more importantly dry underfoot made it easy to get about and look around. Not to mention the fact that there are far fewer people at that hour of the night.

The rest of the city is decked out in the minimalist-Scandinavian way - a few white lights and generally understated decorations. None of the blaring Buy! Buy! Buy! demands that seemed to have hi-jacked Christmas in so many other lands.

Checking my morning Metro, I see that today's sunrise is at 8.38am with sunset at 2.49pm. Not many hours of daylight, is it? And it's still two weeks before the shortest day of the year.

I don't normally have a problem with the darkness, but this week I seem to feel really tired. Last night I could barely keep awake during dinner at 8pm and was in bed sound asleep by 10pm - unheard of for me. Certainly, it feels like the dead of night a lot at this time of year. When you get up, it is dark, you go to work in darkness and go home in darkness. If it is cloudy and grey during the day, you even spend your lunch hour in semi-darkness. I remember during my first winter here, that I was constantly thinking it was later than it was based on the darkness outside and fought the urge to put on my pyjamas at 4.00pm!

This seems to be the time for depressions to set in. Luckily, I don't get winter depression, but Lars-Göran does, so we use our Bright Light to help create daylight in the apartment and help ward off those feelings of tiredness and lethargy that are the hallmark of this illness. Other things that seem to help, is creating a cosy, welcoming and bright living space - I do this with a lot of candles, advent lights and bright cheerful plants like pointsetta, hyacinths and amaryllis. It is also really good to go out each day when the sun is around and soak up as much of the warmth as you can. And keeping occupied helps a lot, as does going to as many glögg parties as you can.

This is another of those traditions at this time of the year. People will invite you over for a warm glögg - a type of warm, mulled and spiced wine. It is very common to have over friends, neighbours etc to share a few cups of this Christmas drink. I rather like glögg and I am happy to have a glass (or indeed several) to ward off the winter chill.

Now, people guard their glögg recipes carefully and there seems to be as many recipes as there are people in Sweden. However, I'll share onee I like with you as long as you promise to keep it secret.

Kryddig Stark Glögg

1 tbsp honey
3 sticks cinnamon
2 pieces of dried ginger
3 whole cardamom seeds (lightly crushed)
8 whole cloves
peel from a bitter orange (or lemon)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 bottle red wine
1/2 cup vodka (or cognac)
1/2 cup madeira
1/2 cup sugar

Basically, you heat all of this gently in a saucepan, then allow to cool overnight (leaving the spices to seep in). Strain and to serve, reheat gently.

Most people accompany this with thin gingerbread biscuits, raisins and blanched almonds (I like mine lightly toasted). Just lately, people have been expanding this to include a beautiful, spiced chocolate cake.

200g chocolate
1 tbsp strong coffee
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp ground ginger
125g butter
100g sugar

Preheat oven to 200C. Break up chocolate and place in a saucepan with the coffee and melt over a pan of hot water. Stir in sugar, butter, spices. Remove from heat. Cool slightly and blend in egg yolks. Whip egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then fold gently into mixture.

Spoon into a greased 23cm spring-form pan and place in the oven.After 4 minutes, reduce heat to 170C and bake a further 20 minutes.

We have a busy few days coming up, including Lars-Göran's birthday and a trip or two into things in Stockholm. But now, it's time for that early evening, relaxing after-work glögg.



Skål!

One of the best things about this time of the year in Sweden, is the smells of spices and baking that permeate the air. It's a time for warm mulled wine parties, baking gingerbread and my all time favourites - lussekatter or saffron buns.

These buns are traditionally served at Lucia, which is next Monday, but as you can guess, I don't restrict them to only that day. I get started as soon as there is a whiff of Christmas in the air. There is no nicer smell than that of freshly baked buns coming out of the oven.

They are really easy to make and the ingredients are readily available. For those in Sweden, you have to ask for the saffran at the supermarket check-out. It's sold in 0.5g packets for around 8kr. I believe you can also get it at Apoteket.

Saffron Buns (Lussekatter)
(Makes about 24)
30g fresh yeast (or 6g dried yeast)
½ g saffron
250ml milk
100g butter
1 egg, beaten
3 cups plain flour
1/2 sugar
1/4 tsp salt

To glaze:
One egg
3 tbsp milk
50g raisins

Method:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the milk and warm gently until tepid (Don't overheat or you will kill the yeast). Pour into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast. Stir well, then add sugar and salt. Next, add the beaten egg and saffron. With mixer still going, add half of the flour. Mix until smooth, then add the as much of the rest of the flour as you need and knead until smooth and pliable (approx.10 min). Note that flours vary in their absorption rate, so the quantity needed will vary. Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature to rise until the mixture doubles in size (30 minutes).

Turn out on to a floured working surface. Divide the dough into four parts, then each quarter into 6 pieces. Roll out each piece into a 20cm finger-thick sausage shape and then form it into a curly letter S. Press on a raisin in the middle of each end as a decoration. Place the buns on a buttered or baking paper-lined oven tray. Cover and leave to prove until they are light and puffy, about 30 min.

Brush with beaten egg/milk mixture and bake in the centre of a 225° C oven for 8-10 min. Place on a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Leave to cool. Or be like me and start eating them straight away :)

I'm so excited because my first copy of delicious arrived.



Of course I had to read it straight away. It's a bumper edition, full of wonderful Christmas cooking, including some luscious white chocolate desserts that I'm sure Lars-Göran will enjoy. What a joy to read - it was good even reading the ads to see how many new things are available since I left Australia. Funnily enough, it doesn't make me homesick at all, just anxious to try out some of the food. I'm thinking of doing some of the baked goodies for Christmas day (sorry, Swedes, your julbord dessert section sucks!) and I'd like to do something special for our birthdays that fall around this time.

Now I must think about getting dinner. Though take a look at those two making cow eyes at each other again!



I'm sure I should never leave them home alone.

Yay! It's that time of the year again. I love Swedish Christmas markets and really look forward to going and enjoying the atmosphere - it really is a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds.

Last year, we had a lot of snow around. It was bitterly cold and windy but oh so pretty. This year, all that beautiful snow I spoke about a few weeks ago has disappeared, leaving mostly slush in it's wake. Not as picturesque, but still that's no reason to miss out on the markets.

This year, an American friend from Falun, who was down for a birthday party joined us on Saturday and a Canadian friend, K-S, and her son LL came down from Stockholm on the Sunday for the markets. Sunday was the most fun, because of the presence of a child with us. They notice so much more detail that adults miss and we got to look at all of the stalls more closely at kid's pace.

As LL is really interested in trains, they chose to come here using the old steam train, run by NJM, the local railway museum. The trains only run on special days like this. If you look at the map on the left, you can see the route taken from Stockholm.

There is a beautiful old steamboat, Blidösund, that also makes the journey. It leaves Stockholm and winds its way through the winter landscape of the archipelago to Nynäshamn. You can choose to come by train and return by boat (or viceversa) as well, if you wish. I'm quite impressed that they seem to have co-ordinated so well.

We waited by the station for the train to arrive. It was absolutely packed to the rafters with people. You can see that there is no snow around on the platform anymore - only the gravel they use to help grip in the ice.



K-S and LL said the journey down was a lot of fun. The train chugged through the countryside at a leisurely pace, there was coffee, tea, glögg and saffron buns served onboard and the children ran around and made instant friends. What a good way to get in the mood for the Christmas markets.

From there, we went with K-S and LL down to the harbour area where we watched while the steamboat came into the fishing pier to dock. As with the train, it was really full of happy people.



We were welcome to go aboard and take a look around. It is beautifully restored and so warm and cosy. There was a restaurant and cafe aboard, so you could enjoy a meal or a snack on the way. It was very elegant and civilised, so we've decided that we might look at where else the boat goes and perhaps join it for a cruise. LL was excited when his mum said they could travel by boat next year.

Then off we went to the market, held in the nearby fishing harbour. I like the market here. It is small, very traditional market with a good range of local food, handcrafts, gifts and so on. It is a beautiful harbour setting and a friendly, family atmosphere. The smell of warm glögg, roasting nuts, grilled meat mingles with the straw laid down between the stalls to create a country feel. It was hard to capture a shot of the main area as it was jam-packed. This is of the beginning area near the smokery.



There were a few new stalls this year as well as some old favourites. I saw a stall with all turkey products, which was a first for Nynäshamn. They had it made up into meatballs, sausages, smoked as well as fresh. The Swedes are becoming more conscious of the huge amount of saturated fats they have in their diet, so turkey is increasingly being marketed as a low-fat alternative to red meat. When I first came to Sweden, turkey was really hard to find, but now it's much more common.

There were stalls selling wool, local honey, spices, hand-made pottery and ceramics, Christmas wreaths, wrought iron candle holders, straw< animals, fresh and smoked fish, lollies, handcrafts and a gorgeous stall full of every kind of chocolate product you could think of from the local company Choklad Huset.

I loved looking at the stall from Norrland with its reindeer products, cloudberry jams and Sami style hats, mittens (I LOVE those lovika mittens). I was certain that the wooden reindeer serviette holder was calling my name, but I thought I'd better not show L-G or I'd get the rolled eyes expression.

One thing that I DID get, despite his objection was FAIRY FLOSS! Thank goodness I had a child with me - I asked L if he wanted one (silly question!) and so that gave me an excuse to get some as well. Actually I got a blank look from L-G, K-S and LL when I said fairy floss. When I finally spotted a kid with one, I realised that this is an Aussie term. K-S and LL knew it as cotton candy and L-G knew it as sockervadd. But what a shock - it was WHITE. No pretty colours like I used to get at the Royal Adelaide Show. Still it tasted fantastic.



L-G was horrified I wanted to eat a pile of pure spun sugar and that I wanted it artifically coloured as well. Sometimes he takes the whole healthy living thing a bit far. It brought back so many memories. I told K-S about the Royal Show and how as kids we saved up for this one day of utter pigging out on the most appalling junk food - remember coloured fairy floss, toffee apples, Dagwood dogs, chips, doughnuts, show bags and fairground rides. Yeah, sure we were sick as dogs when we got home - but WHAT A DAY! That's what fairy floss means to me.

And yes, I was the only adult eating it at the Christmas market and a few people we knew did look at me as though I was mad.

We then went home all together and had warm glögg, almonds, raisins, gingerbread and saffron buns before we accompanied them back to the railway station to get the steam train back to Stockholm. It was so nice to have them over and share a special piece of Nynäshamn with them.

Now I'm hoping to convince L-G to take me by boat to the Drottningholm Julmarknad next weekend. Let's hope there is snow, so it looks like this again:

Yes, we are having more computer problems. Will it ever end?

This time it is the broadband internet connection. For the last three weeks it has been really slow. Really, really slow - even worse than the old dial-up we used to have. I can't reliably access any site. For example, it has taken 5 hours just to get to this page to update. Yesterday I couldn't get here at all, nor to any of my favourite sites - I can get to the sites, but then can't read or answer forum threads. Even my email is affected. After exploring every possible angle, the broadband company now believes that it is a problem with our connection or the modem they supplied us. We are waiting for a technician to come and check it out. I hope they come soon, as it has been so frustrating. Meanwhile, updates might be sporadic.

Back to Malmö...

We had a really enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner. Anders and Liz are wonderful hosts and the food, wine and company were great. Everybody brought something towards the meal and we feasted royally on turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole followed by pumpkin pie and almond filled brownies. This is all of us posing for the group shot.



It was a nice mix of people - all friendly and open, so we had a nice time. Though some of us found it very tiring.



We were sorry to leave, especially as it is so much warmer and lighter here than further north in Sweden. It was quite foggy on the Sunday when we left, but we still went into Malmö for a glimpse of this building:



Pretty cool, isn't it? This is the famous Turning Torso, a 54 floor masterpiece designed by Santiago Calatrava. It is quite a controversial project as skyscrapers are unknown here in Sweden and particularly in a smaller city like Malmö. The site used to house an enormous crane that was used by the ship building industry. When the shipyards closed, the crane (one of the world's biggest) was moved to Asia and it was decided to build something big and imposing in its place. The city wanted a landmark building, that over time would be as intimately associated with Malmö as say the Sydney Opera house is to that city.

I've seen a couple of specials on tv about it. There was one on Discovery channel, that dealt with it as an engineering feat. It is designed as a turning human torso and the logistics of building such a structure are really amazing. The other program (Uppdrag Granskning - a bit like ABC's Four Corners) dealt more with the contoversy surrounding the scheme. As you can imagine with a project of this scale, there have been budget blowouts, resentments, criticism and questions over who will live vthere and why money was being spent on such a structure when Malmö badly needs employment and low cost housing.

I have to say that in real life, it was much more impressive that I thought it would be - even on a foggy, gloomy winter day. It will be really interesting to see how it will be viewed by future generations of people.