Swedish Fika

Wise men say "You can't buy happiness but you can buy coffee which is pretty close".

Fika is the Swedish word for a coffee break, which involves mingling and socializing with people over a cup of coffee. This is mostly accompanied with cinnamon buns and cookies. 

Just like the French have their wine, the British have their tea, for Swedes, it's all about "fika". Swedes and coffee are two things that go hand in hand and the fika culture makes Sweden a favorite destination on a coffee lover's list.

Sweden is one among the world's leading coffee consuming nations and fika is a very popular term here. This is probably one of the few things one notices about Swedes right after their courteous nature.

The use of the word "fika" first appeared in 1913. Grammatically the word can be used both as a noun (a coffee break) and as a verb (having coffee).

The fika culture was a new revelation when I came to Sweden but now it has become very much a part of my life. Though tea is my first love but I am totally in awe of the Fika culture. I have friends who can't go without coffee and then there are few fellow mates who are gradually getting to love Fika or should I say that coffee love is gradually sinking in?

Fika is much more than having a coffee. This is the mid-morning and mid-afternoon coffee break which gives a moment for quality time with family, friends and colleagues. Fika mainly includes kanelbulle which is a traditional Swedish cinnamon bun. The love for kanelbulle is so much that Swedes have a day dedicated to it called Kanelbullens dag (Cinnamon Bun Day) celebrated on October 4th.

To conclude if you want break from your hectic life, it's always a good time for a fika and as the saying goes "Everything gets better with a cup of coffee".

New girl in the city

Hej! here I am blogging from Goteborg, lagging three and a half hours behind my fellow Indians.

The evening sun is ready to return to its slumber and there is a slight chill in the air. This is beautiful, I mean the city, its people and living all by yourself in a new country, new surroundings, midst of new culture along with new people.

I have this big mug of tea in my hand as I am not at all a coffee person. This reminds me coffee is an important part of the Swedish life, Swedes take out time even in between their busy schedules, just for a fifteen minute coffee break! Fika they call it!  It's going to take me some time till I lose my taste for tea or why should I, I like this Indianness in me.

It's different, from what I thought when I was packing my baggage back at home. I had the eagerness to start a new life but it didn't sink in that this would be different.

It has been around two weeks since I arrived here but I already feel independent and much more self reliant after all I am trying my best to adjust in the Swedish way of life, learning the city names, understanding the street boards written in Swedish, shopping by looking at the pictures on the cartons and boxes, doing the calculations and conversions in Swedish krona and trying to remember the new Swedish words I come across everyday. How does it matter even if I picked yogurt twice thinking it's milk.. wisdom comes from doing mistakes and at the end some help from the courteous Swedes always helps. I do miss home and friends, especially when I see the families around or a bunch of friends hanging out in cafes or when I have to carry those big grocery bags all by myself..sigh! 

It's indeed tough to do cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and completing course assignment well within the deadlines. Ah! I have got this big assignment and pretty less days left and assignment takes me to college and lectures. Lectures are usually interesting minus the home assignments and assignments are also tolerable if they don't tire the brain much!

I know I can't have it all at the same time but hopefully I'll cherish it at the end.
Sweden give me reasons to love you ;)