Swedish Glogg

Last year whilst in Sweden we were treated to glogg and gingerbread. It is a Christmas tradition with the Swedes where they invite close friends and family over to meet over mulled red wine.

Mulled wine is a beverage usually made with red wine along with various spices and raisins. It is served hot or warm and may be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas and Halloween. Port and claret are traditional choices for mulled wine. (Wikipedia)

I have had mulled wine – Gluhwein - before in Germany at the Christmas markets. However the difference with the Swedish one is that you add blanched almonds and raisins into it making it a very delicious drink. Matteus, who had invited us over, explained the tradition and was very patient when his little kids started munching on the almonds and raisins.

This year, the Swedish Consul General has invited me to her pre Christmas celebration and I am looking forward to raising a toast with my glass of delicious mulled wine.

Recipe for Swedish Glogg is http://www.food.com/recipe/glogg-swedish-mulled-red-wine-my-swedish-mother-in-laws-199791

Snowstorms, Snow Angels, Snow Faces and beautiful Vasa

We had a free day during the SIMP module and we had made several plans on how we were going to spend the day. Unfortunately that was not going to happen as on the day, Stockholm was hit by the biggest snow storm in a long while. And just how Mumbai comes to a grinding halt when there is an exceptionally huge downpour during the monsoons, similar was the case in Stockholm.

 

 

 

So we improvised. We were probably the happiest people in Sweden. They definitely do not appreciate a snowstorm but for us it was a novelty. We could not sit still in the hotel. We had to venture out. So about 15 of us decided to visit Vasa the museum.

We had a great time admiring the ship and learning about her history. She was the original Titanic. Not supposed to sink but sink she did after being afloat for only 30 minutes! Nevertheless we admired her beauty and the workmanship. And then we reluctantly decided to venture out from the warmth of the museum into the biting cold of the snow. We asked reception to call for cabs as the buses had stopped running, but of course the earliest cab was 5 hours away.

 

Since Vasa was located on a different island (though adjoining to our hotel's island) it was still a very long walk in the snowstorm. Not advisable said reception. So we asked if there was an alternative. And lo and behold yes, there was one! The ferry. So we quickly collected instructions on how to get to the dock and hoping to get the next one (before they stopped plying) we set off through knee high snow.

It was picturesque! White snow all over, just a narrow path. The minute you wandered off the path, you sunk into the snow as it had piled up quite high. Of course for us Indians it was a treat so instead of rushing to the ferry dock, we had to play in the snow, make snow balls and take tons of pictures. All of us enjoying the moment. Any Swede looking at us would have thought that we were crazy to be out on that afternoon.

 

Finally we got to the ferry and reached our hotel in one piece. I dread to think what we would have done if that was the last ferry of the day and if we had missed it!

On reaching the hotel we could not sit still either. So we decided to visit the Christmas markets and meet my friend AnnSofie later for a drink. The Christmas markets turned out to be a tad boring so we ended up in the warm restaurant and AnnSofie joined us there. She was so sweet, she had loaned us a whole lot of winter gear for our trip to the Artic and had first dropped it off at the hotel before meeting us. Thoughtful of her 'cos we would never have been able to lug the bag back to the hotel. Don't forget that cabs were not available and buses were not plying!

 

AnnSofie then walked us to the hotel and we happened to pass by some kids playing in the snow. They were lying down and flapping their arms. AnnSofie asked us if we knew what they were doing and when we said no she said that they were making snow angels. And she proceeded to lie down on an expanse of untouched snow and she spread her arms and then flapped them up and down, making a snow angel. Of course we had to try them! It was so much fun and for a moment we felt we were 8 years old again!

As we walked to the hotel we passed benches covered in snow, cycles covered in snow and walls covered in snow. The Swedes who were rushing home were totally amused at our eagerness to take pictures of everything covered in white powder. AnnSofie then taught us to make snow faces and that was super fun too. You stick your face into the snow and hold still for a minute. It feels prickly and then numb with the cold. When you lift your face you find the impression left behind quite like a Venetian mask! And then your face slowly gets warm again making u want to repeat the process! What fun we had that day!

 

It truly was a memorable day and I cannot wait to make more snow angels and snow faces.

Christmas Markets in Europe

There are Christmas Markets and there are Christmas Markets.

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to visit Cologne in December, thereby experiencing the Christmas markets. My friend Chi Mee took me to at least 9 of them in and around Cologne-Bonn. Each of them had a different theme ranging from medieval ones to winter wonderland ones to children specials. I enjoyed all the food and drink, the people watching and the trinket window shopping.

 

Last year we were in Stockholm for the last module of SIMP and I was excited to experience the Swedish Christmas Markets. They had 2 of them - one in the city centre and the other near the palace. Both were tiny with few stalls and wares on display. Also they shut shop early leaving me very disappointed. Probably it may have been because the day I visited was also the day of the biggest snowstorm in a long while in Stockholm.

Anyway, I have fond memories of the German Christmas markets and I shall hope and pray that I am able to witness some more of them in the years to come.

 

Hesselby Slott - our home away from home

The first week of our SIMP module was held at Hesselby Slott which is a quaint noble house in the suburbs of Stockholm. We were under the impression that we were going to be staying at a castle...........Nevertheless, the quaintness of the place and its beauty charmed us.

Hesselby Castle was built in the mid 1600s and was bought over by the city of Stockholm in 1931. Today it is owned by Tomas Ledin, a Swedish singer and is used for musical events including a music festival. The rooms at the main house are quite comfortable for a conference or a training program with a welcoming library and lovely cosy seating areas. The walls of the common areas are covered with memorabilia of Tomas Ledin, making it some kind of shrine to himself.

The estate has a unique baroque garden which was laid out at the beginning of the 1700s. Every morning we walked or jogged through the park to the lake nearby. The calming environment was perfect for us to bond in and absorb all the gyaan on sustainability. :)

On our last evening, we walked to the lake and came across hundreds of birds.

The walls are covered with tributes to the world's music greats.

In a way, a kind of Nobel prize for music.

 

Stockholm - a grand city

Stockholm is one of the finest capitals of Europe. Very statuesque and royal. And on a sunny day, it is really glorious to see the beautiful buildings surrounded by water bathed in the glow of the sun.

Stockholm is also one of those cities which conjures up a lot of images in your mind before you visit. I was certainly not disappointed on the 2 occasions I was lucky to visit.

There is much to see and do in Stockholm, so plan your visit carefully. It is located on 14 islands but unlike Bombay, they did not reclaim land. Instead they chose to connect the islands with bridges. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the Hanseatic League. Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with Lübeck, Hamburg, Gdańsk, Visby, Reval, and Riga.

Gamla Stan is the old town which dates back to the 13th century and is located on the central island. It is home to the Palace where the King has his offices, the Nobel Museum, the Stockholm Cathedral and the Riddarholm church.

The City Hall is a very impressive building and it is where the dinner for the Nobel Laureates is held.

The Vasa museum and Skansen open air museums are also must sees. Am going to check them out in December when I visit.

Walking on the rooftops is another unique activity that I did not have the chance to do and doubt very much if I can do it in winter.

However am pleased just to walk around this beautiful city and soak in the vibes or take a cruise in the gorgeous archipelago. I look forward to my next visit in December.

The view from the City Hall

The City Hall

Hanseatic architecture

The Nobel Museum

The Dala Horse (Dalecarlian horse) is a symbol of Sweden

The Royal Palace

You must cruise in the archipelago and appreciate Stockholm from the water 

The Nobel Museum

"Why was Gandhi never awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?" asked one of my colleagues.

Honestly, I had never thought of it. But it certainly put our tour guide under pressure. He believes that it might be one of the few decisions that the Nobel Peace Prize committee might have regretted. His assumption is based on the fact that no Peace Prize was awarded in the year 1948, the year Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Probably in honour of him and for the fact that it is not awarded posthumously in general.

The Nobel Museum is located in the Old Town of Stockholm called Gamla Stan. It is an impressive building and the top floor houses the committee's offices.

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Prizes are given out for outstanding achievements in Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Peace. As described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".

The first of these prizes were given out in 1901. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma, and a cash award. As per the stipulation of the will, the Peace Prize is given decided and given away in Norway whilst the other prizes are given away in Sweden.

The Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, according to the same principles as the Nobel Prizes that have been awarded since 1901. The first of which was given in the year 1969. It is interesting to note that this prize was not part of Alfred Nobel's will but was instituted by The Sveriges Riksbank.  

We visited the City Hall in Stockholm where the dinner commemorating the Nobel Laureates is held.

Some interesting facts:

• The Nobel Prize cannot be shared by more than 3 people in any discipline.
• It can be received by individuals or institutions.
• The Curies were a very successful 'Nobel Prize family'. Marie Curie herself was awarded two Nobel Prizes.
• From 1974, the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation stipulate that a Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, unless death has occurred after the announcement of the Nobel Prize. Before 1974, the Nobel Prize has only been awarded posthumously twice: to Dag Hammarskjöld (Nobel Peace Prize 1961) and Erik Axel Karlfeldt (Nobel Prize in Literature 1931).
• 3 Nobel Laureates have been under arrest when they were awarded the prize.
• German pacifist and journalist Carl von Ossietzky
• Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi
• Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo
• 2 Nobel Laureates declined the prize.
• Jean-Paul Sartre, awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, declined the prize because he had consistently declined all official honours.
• Le Duc Tho, awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. They were awarded the Prize for negotiating the Vietnam peace accord. Le Doc Tho said that he was not in a position to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the situation in Vietnam as his reason.
• Leonid Hurwicz, was the oldest Laureate till date, who at the age of 90 years received the 2007 Prize in Economic Sciences.
• The youngest Nobel Laureate is Lawrence Bragg, who was just 25 years old when he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his father in 1915.
• The Peace Prize has not been awarded in the following years 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1966, 1967, 1972 mainly due to war.
• 830 Laureates and 23 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2011.
• Minutes just before the announcement, the Nobel Prize awarding institution calls the Nobel Laureates to inform them that they have been awarded the Nobel Prize. These calls can come at unexpected times and reach Nobel Laureates in unexpected places.
• Richard Ernst was on a flight from Moscow when he was informed by the captain that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• Amartya Sen heard the phone ringing at 5 a.m. and thought something tragic had happened.
• James A. Mirrlees asked politely for some proof when he received the call.
• Alfred Nobel, was a bachelor, extremely rich, lived all over the world, owned companies in several countries, was the creator of dynamite and died in San Remo, Italy.

Cruising in the Stockholm Archipelago

After the course in Stockholm, I had decided to spend the weekend in Helsinki. Initially I had thought to fly there and back. But when I told my friend AnnSofie about it, she offered to join me and suggested that we do a cruise to Helsinki and back. I was a bit skeptical about it considering I was flying out of Stockholm on Sunday afternoon but AnnSofie reassured me that I would have plenty of time to make it to the airport from the cruise terminal. So I went with the flow and it turned out to be a superb plan over all.

Pranati and her sister Ankita joined us on the cruise making it a lively foursome. We had 2 adjacent cabins booked and the accommodation was pretty comfortable. We hardly spent time in it as we had so much to see and do on the ship.

The Gabriella is part of the Viking Line and has excellent live entertainment, a range of restaurants and duty free shopping.  

Some of her statistics are:

Built: 1992 Split, Croatia
Ice class: IA SUPER
GT/NT: 35,492/22,542
Length: 171.2 metres
Breadth: 27.6 metres
Draught: 6.4 metres
Speed: 20.5 knots
Main engines: 4 x Pielstick 12PC 2E
23,760 kW
Passengers: 2,420
Berths: 2,402
Cars: 400
Cargo units: 900 metres

Being on a cruise was a "first" for me. It certainly was cheaper and more exciting than taking a flight to Helsinki and staying in a hotel. It was great value for money and the food was awesome. Pranati and Ankita who are vegetarians had many options to choose from. We danced the nights away to the music of the live bands performing hits from the 70s and 80s.

I was told to expect a lot of drunk Swedes and Finns but I didn't see any. I did see a lot of older people and a lot of families who were there to have a great weekend.

Cruising in the archipelago off Stockholm is a real treat. It is the largest in Sweden and the second largest in the Baltic Sea. It comprises of almost 24000 islands, some inhabited and some deserted.

I am glad that I went with the flow and experienced something totally out of this world.