Jul Time

Christmas is in the air. And, in Sweden, they're not going to let a little "bad economic weather" rain on their holiday. A poll taken in December showed that most Swedes were not going to curtail their spending despite the gloomy national and global economies. So, shoppers are out in full force. The pedestrian sidewalks have been packed with shoppers.

The image on the left is our hood. Looking down Kungsgatan towards city centre, there was a mass of hurried buyers as far as the eye could see. Note the decorative lighted crowns that guard over the pedestrian street. The image on the right is a view into Haga, the historic section of town. There has been an outdoor Christmas market all along the street each weekend in December.

It was in Haga that I made my ultimate Christmas and ultimate fun purchase. A tomte. How cool is he? He was made in the 1920's or 30's. I found him in an antique shop last year on our pre-visit. But, I did not buy him at the time (frugal, moi?). Now, there were only three left and this little guy was in the best condition. Best of all, his price had come down. Way down. Lucky, frugal, me. For a brief description of a tomte, click on the image.

So, besides a tomte, what else defines Christmas in Sweden? Well, I guess there would be the julbock or Christmas Goat. The goat is made from straw and wrapped in red ribbon. He is placed under the Christmas tree or near the fireplace waiting for tomte and guarding presents. There is a famous large-scale version of the straw goat in the town of Gävle. Merry pranksters tend to light it on fire every year. This year, it is untorched...so far.


More on Chritsmas in Sweden can be found here. I have to file this tradition under odd: black Christmas decorations. Saw these in a shop at the Christmas Markets at Liseberg.


I mean, we did think it was a bit odd that there were very few green Christmas lights around the city. Red? Check. Green, not so much. But, black decorations? Just plain odd.

For traditional holiday drink, eggnog comes in far behind something called Julmust. It's a holiday drink specific to Sweden.


Julmust is a non-alcoholic malt-flavored beverage that, in my opinion, tastes like a cross between Mr. Pibbs and Dr. Pepper. Apotekarnes is the preferred brand to drink (thanks, Sofie). Coca-Cola, which experiences a severe drop in sales during Christmas as Swedes switch to Julmust, has begun marketing its soda as "a Must for Christmas." Oh. So. Clever. not.

Speaking of clever, here is our Christmas greeting for 2008. Click on the image for a [much] larger version. Or click here and try to find the following:

1. A cantankerous or tame blue-eyed julbock
2. A slutty or saintly St. Lucia bearing lussekatter
3. A tuneful or screeching Singing Christmas Tree of Göteborg
4. A naughty or nice tomte

The Leeky Cauldron

So, there is a food mystery here in Sweden. Where did all the green onions go? I was so used to buying a bunch of green onions (aka scallions) that when they disappeared from the produce department seemingly overnight, I thought there must be a mistake.

Now, TJ and I usually shop at two stores: ICA Maxi and Willy:S; one right after the other (cheaper produce and Diet Coke at Willy:S). The green onions. Gone from both stores. I checked the local Hemköp around the corner from our apartment just to be sure. Nada. What happened? Did the local or regional suppliers just stop growing it?

What remained in the produce department was another vegetable. One that I had always seen. A long green stack and a white bulbous bottom. Like a green onion on steroids. I had wondered what it was. It is purjolök. So, it was some type of onion or so I thought. Lök is the word for onion in Swedish. But, it is used indiscriminately (to thwart people like me). For example, garlic is vitlök in Swedish: white - onion. Hmmm.

So, the upshot is that I bought this uber onion and used it. The flavor was oniony, but just a little off. I figured this was the new onion for Winter. A whole lotta onion.

Then, one day we were in the self-checkout line at Willy:S. It was our first time buying a purjolök there. We selected onion from the menu on the touchscreen and placed the purjolök in the bag. Warning! Warning! An attendant comes over, inspects our bag, and informs us that the item in question is not an onion. Rather, it is a leek. How embarrassing. Who knew my Vegetable IQ was so low?

But, that still leaves me wondering. Where did the green onions go?

Lübeck Christmas Markets

Our trip to the Christmas markets in Lübeck, Germany was quite a fun adventure. We drove down, took a short ferry from Denmark to Germany, and arrived in Lübeck in late afternoon. Immediately headed toward city center and found the main Christmas market at Breite Straße (a pedestrian area). It was still early but the crowds were gathering. We picked the only night of the Christmas markets season when all markets and stores would be open until midnight.

So, we walked around and did a bit of window shopping. But, not before TJ had some piping hot glühwein. I had some as well. But, I really liked the spiced apple cider (äpfel punch).

The next day, it snowed. The forecast had called for party sunny skies with temps just above freezing. Um.....no. But the snow was a bonus. It's not something we get a lot in Göteborg. Of course, we did decide to drive into town instead of walking.

What better to do on a cold, snowy day then to head indoors. Which is what we did. Several of the Christmas markets are indoors. The best was the market inside Hospital of the Holy Spirit on Koberg. There was a line to get in. But, it moved. Eventually. The quality of the crafts was better than other markets around town. But, most importantly, there were three older women who were cranking out fresh waffles. Oh. My. God. Those were good. I wanted to get another, but a huge line had formed. How sad...for me.

Of course, at the market at Breite Straße, there were several booths selling small pieces of fried sweet dough covered with powdered sugar. That was a highlight. I have pictures from our little adventure posted online here. Or just select any of the images above to see them.

I end with this little guy. A genie of some sort. A grantor of wishes, perhaps. He oversaw a children's ride at the Christmas market on Koberg. I insisted that we walk back across town so that I could take a picture of him. We were in the process of deciding on a restaurant for dinner. After I "got the shot", we headed back to a Turkish restuarant we had passed. The name: Ali Baba. The meal was excellent. Our wish was granted.

Mood Today: Devilish

Just a fun little photography/Photoshop project for [another] cold, wet day in Göteborg. Clicking on the image will take you to my Flickr Photostream.