An Alien in Sweden

A blog about my move from England and my new life in Sweden.
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Posts Tagged ‘food’

I am still alive

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Hello and a happy new year!

Just wanted to post a quick message to say yes I am still alive and thanks to all those who have emailed me asking if I’m still blogging. The answer is yes! I’ve just been insanely busy with writing my new screenplay and traveling back and forth between the UK and Sweden.

I will write an updated blog in the next few days I promise!

Had a great night out in Norrkoping last night, was the first time I have been out in a few months and I enjoyed my first ever PlankStek. All I can say is where has this dish been all my life! It was at a bar in Norrkoping called Bar and Kok, a nice little place with some good music but a bit crowded to have a dance.

After than went to the Black Lion for a beer only to find that they charged almost 80 SEK for a Cotleigh Buzzard! Ah well so much more interesting things to write about in my next entry!

Be back soon!

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Trying to be as “UnBritish” as I can be from now on.

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

I took a step back today and realised that something was wrong with the way things are going here in Sweden. This all comes from my recent visit to the UK.

I flew into London and after a few days’ work and meetings with my publishers and authors house I took the familiar route of going out with some friends and then after a few drinks hit my local Asda to stock up on things that I cannot get in Sweden. Yes I was armed with Vinegar, Reggae Reggae Sauce and other delights that I miss.

A few days later when I was back home I realised that something was not quite right. Let’s look at it in a simple way. Since I have got here every time that I have gone to a bar I have been ordering Guinness or Carlsberg, every time I have gone shopping I have been hunting for food that I had back in England, yes I’ve cooked Curry, Lamb Chops, Fish and Chips and of course my little gifts from the UK have ensured that each and every night I have had that little bit of comfort from home. Then of course there have been the nights that I have been using the internet to watch a collection of backed up UK TV shows that I have missed since I moved here.

Ok, so why did I not just stay back in the UK?

It seems that I have forgot why I am here, the real reason that I moved to a new country was to embrace it’s culture, enjoy it’s experiences and do things that I simply did not have the opportunity to do back home in London. So it all stops here.

The next time I go to a Swedish pub I am going to enjoy some real Swedish traditional alcohol, the next time I go shopping I may swallow some humble pie and actually try some Pickled Herring instead of cussing the fact that it seems Sweden loves chicken thighs rather than diced chicken. Yes I may even try some PeppaKakor instead of McVities Hob Nobs.

The TV though…well I do need one lasting comfort from home!

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Surviving the snow and savouring chips

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

Well it is going to be a very busy few months ahead for me. First thing is that I need to apply for my Swedish personal number. Will look into that next week.

Due to work I will be traveling a lot more than I first thought, mainly to London, Paris and Barcelona. This will begin in December and will last for approximately 18 months to 2 years. I will essentially be out of Sweden for at least one week a month and from what I have read I may not even need to apply for a Swedish Personal number as if you leave the country to fly to another EU country every three weeks then you are still classed as in transit.

But we shall see.

I just came back from a good two day trip to London, caught up with some friends, relaxed but of course got stressed out with the ridiculous travel system there. Seriously it’s only a matter of time before someone dies on the tube due to overcrowding. They shut seven stations on my way from Acton to Victoria and I head at least two announcements of people being on the track. It’s just 14 months until the Olympics and I’m afraid the tube is in the worst state I’ve ever known.

But enough about London.

It snowed here in Sweden last night and the drive back from Skavsta to Norrkoping was horrendous. Luckily my girlfriend is a good driver and managed to navigate through the blizzard that faced us, though we almost had a crash when we slid on the ice. I know understand why Swedes must have winter tyres on their cars. I’ve been in some bad snow in Scotland but if that is just the start then I would hate to see what winter is really like.

But we survived.

Speaking of survival check out what I managed to get into my suitcase without breaking. Happy days!!! This means no insane prices from the Swedish store in Stockholm and at last I can actually enjoy my chips J

Have a good weekend all.vinegar!

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20 Days to Go – Where for art thou Vinegar?

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

We British love our chips. We walk into the chip shop and watch the hard working caterer carefully fry those lovely golden potato strips and then what do we do? We drown them in a sea of vinegar that results in a torrent of vinegar dripping onto your shoes. Yes ladies and gentleman vinegar is part and parcel of life here. Chips without vinegar are akin to a flower without the sun, lifeless and pointless.

So you can imagine my surprise when I heard the rumours that Sweden did not sell vinegar. Of course I scoffed at the idea as surely no country would commit such an offence. Or would they?

Last week I took it upon myself to walk down to my local stores and start a surveying mission to see what was on offer. Firstly I noticed that Sweden does indeed sell vinegar, in fact a LOT of vinegar. There was red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, organic vinegar, Balsam vinegar, green vinegar and they probably even had vinegar for dogs (joking).

All of these lovely looking vinegars were quite expensive compared to the UK. But all I wanted to find out was how they tasted. Does Sweden have a malt vinegar that you can suffocate your chips in? Certainly not in Max or Burger King so I am of the opinion that it’s looking a lost cause.

So I am really out for advice here. For any ex-pats or Swedes that can answer my struggling question. Do you sell this type of vinegar?!

Vinegar

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Part of my taste buds will forever be in England

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

My girlfriend sent me a link to a shop in Stockholm that sells English Food. (http://www.englishshop.se/)

This actually got me thinking about food and what they do and don’t sell in Sweden. Food is unfortunately something that I cannot take with me back to Sweden (but I will be smuggling in some Reggae Reggae sauce!) so it got me thinking about what I will miss.

Firstly, unlike many Swedes, I hate fish. That maybe odd coming from someone who lives on an Island but I really do not like it, the thought of eating something that’s been flopping around in rivers and seas does not really appeal to me. I don’t hate all fish, I just like it covered in breadcrumbs. How British of me.

But back to the shop, firstly I was staggered by the prices of the food but then again I have to remember that these are imported products. Also looking through the wide range of products available I realised that I have not actually tasted, and in some cases seen, these products in years. They are all very “British”!. Ovaltine, Horlicks, Robinsons Jam, Quaker Porridge, the list goes on. It’s also probably the only shop in the world that still sells “Bounce” sheets for the tumble dryer.

I know that the food in Sweden is great (but eating meat for breakfast will take a while to get used to!) and it’s not that different to the UK but there are some things that I will miss. An example was the last time I was in Sweden I ran around Willys like a headless chicken frantically searching for pasta bake and could not believe when they did not sell it. Meat is also far more expensive in Scandinavia than it is in the UK.

I’m not going to sulk because I cannot go to my local chip shop nor have an English Breakfast. I will indulge in the lovely food that Sweden has to offer, I will learn to cook new meals and try new foods. Yet deep down a part of my taste buds will always be in England.

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