Adventure in Sweden - 9.21.2010

When traveling it is always best to not have any expectations. Expectations risk disappointment and they close your mind to the full experience. There were a few places I was interested in seeing when Siv and Suzanne took me via train from Västerås to Stockholm, but I was more excited simply to just be there. Since I had no real expectations I enjoyed every moment, even when we were walking down seemingly unremarkable streets. And after the first few hours on the first day of two I think I had already decided that Stockholm is my new favorite European city, despite the fact that my heart is still so full of Florence that there are always echoes from Italy no matter how far north I go.






More pictures and text after the jump...

Onto something good here

Bread with butter and sprinkles (hagelslag) is a common food in the Netherlands. I read about it before I came but figured it was probably one of those country trademarks. Maybe even a stereotype. But it is true. I make the children a boterham every day for lunch. Sometimes this just means bread, butter, and cheese. Or bread, butter, and ham. Or bread, butter, and Nutella. But most often it is bread, butter, and hagelslag. There are so many different kinds of sprinkles that I was astonished the first time I peeked down the aisle in the supermarket. My host parents buy just two boxes: one of chocolade hagelslag and one of fruit hagelslag.

For the first few weeks I held off from trying either. To me that is dessert, not a midday meal. But last week I gave in. It is too good not to eat, though I've been good so far about not having one every day.


Hagelslag boterham and yoki drink, which I've only seen here in the Netherlands.

The only real problem is that sprinkles are messy. They end up all over the kitchen table and on the floor. I feel like I'm always sweeping. They also stick to the children and I find rogue sprinkles in the bathroom, on the couch, and even in the bath after it has been drained. Regardless, I would never think to deprive them of this easy to make Dutch delicacy. Why couldn't I have grown up eating sprinkle sandwiches?