Christie's Adventure: ikea

After the hockey game tonight I experienced Glögg for the first time with some of the girls. You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about….well; Glögg is an authentic Swedish spiced warm wine, generally served with raisins, almonds, and Ginger biscuits with blue cheese. Glögg is a popular hot drink during the Christmas season and it’s yummy!

You can buy ready to heat and serve Glögg at the Systembolaget (liquor stores) here in

Sweden

, also it’s easy to find non-alcoholic Glögg at almost any stores this time of year, including Ikea!

Here’s a recipe I found online if you’re interested in adding a little Swedish tradition to your Christmas: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/swedish-glogg/detail.aspx

Swedish Glögg might even be sold at Ikea in CanadaJ

My first Swedish Glögg experience

Glögg being heated by a candle

Its official I’ve been a resident of Sweden for exactly one month today. Here’s a quick reflection of all the things I have learnt about the country.. I’m currently calling home.

The traditional meal in Sweden is usually meatballs with potatoes and lingonberry sauce (kind of like Cranberry sauce). Swedish pancakes are also a favourite (thin like a crepe).

CANDY! Marabou, Berries, Swedish Fish, Wine Gums, Gum Drops.... Basically you name it, they have it here. All grocery stores have a bulk section for candy, It's quite popular to have a huge bowl of candy in every household at all times (in our house the candy rarely makes it into a bowl before it’s all gone!)

Tubes (like toothpaste tubes) are used to package foods such as caviar, mayonnaise, mustard, and other condiments.

ALCOHOL- buy all your alcohol at liquor stores, they do sell beer and other alcoholic beverages at the grocery stores but with less alcohol percent.

Drinking water from the tap is safe! The water is clean, fresh, and ice cold, it’s highly encouraged to drink

water from the tap in Sweden.

Shopping: Ikea, H&M, & Bik Bok are just some of the Swedish retail stores. It’s quite common to see big department stores in Sweden like Media Markt and Bauhaus (Home Depot). Get your shopping done before 5pm many stores close early especially on weekends.

Swedish snus is tobacco, EVERYONE is doing it. There are two formats for snus, loose and portion packed. One bonus you don’t see guys carrying around water bottles to spit into (yuck) so glad the boyfriend doesn’t do this nasty habit!