Food!
It’s time to share some of the food experiences.
Where to begin??
Let’s start with the meatballs. Even though I had set myself a goal of trying each country’s specialty meatball dish, this just wasn’t practical! However, we did make a point of visiting a restaurant in Stockholm called, “Meatballs for the People”. We figured that this would be a logical choice!? Meatballs were pretty much all they served. And we were rewarded with a delicious array of this Swedish signature meal.
When it came to pastries, I had better luck in consistently delivering on my goal to sample the delicacies each country had to offer. (Does this tell you something about me? Of course it does!) The winner in the cinnamon bun contest was Denmark; they were just so soft. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo!! However, here is a photo of afternoon tea at the market in Stockholm, where we tasted a cinnamon scroll and a Swedish Semla.
In my Last Minute Important Stuff! Post I mentioned Danish hotdogs. Well, it was actually Norway where we tried a Scandinavian hotdog. In Bergen we discovered a local hotdog place; a store-front near the harbour, where you could choose from a long list of different meats, then add a topping. My reindeer hotdog was scrumptious!
Of course I was looking forward to having the Danish Smorrebrod. After enjoying these lavish open sandwiches when I was in Greenland, I couldn’t wait to have them again. And we weren’t disappointed!
Still in Copenhagen, in fact on our first night there, we had dinner at Kodbyens Fiskebar, a restaurant which we saw on the TV programme “Somebody Feed Phil”. We had a starter of squid and daikon, both presented as thin noodles. Then we each had a starter plate of fish and chips; the fish was lightly smoked, which added a wonderful flavour dimension, and the chips were served in a paper cone. We also had a salad of baby gem lettuce with radish and a type of pesto drizzle. The whole meal was wonderful.
The exceptional quality food continued on the Havila. The ship’s policy was to reduce wastage as much as possible, and so there were no buffets at lunch or dinner, and only a very small number of options at breakfast buffet. Rather, we ordered from the menu at each meal. And at dinner this consisted of small “tasting” plates. We were recommended to choose at least three small plates, which gave us an opportunity to sample a range of food at every meal. Each night we could pick from about six to eight options, half of which would remain on the menu for the whole voyage (lasting 6 nights) The other half of the options would be replaced after 3 nights with a new range of dishes. Local produce featured often, and so I tried many new things.
In Finland, we stayed in the Muotka Wilderness Lodge. Here, the meals were all buffet style, with a reasonable number of choices of high quality and very tasty dishes, often traditional or locally inspired. It was Valentines Day while we were there, and the chef had decided to create a dessert extravaganza. For a long while, no one wanted to spoil it by selecting something from the wondrous spread. Finally, someone gave in, and then we all couldn’t wait to sample his creations.
It seems fitting to finish this post with such a delightful demonstration of culinary creation as that Valentine’s Day spread.
But I also want to mention something about the feature photo. This was taken on Level 9 of the Havila ship, Polaris. It became a usual practice when the ship was underway for us to retreat up here, and watch the panoramic view slide past us as we cruised on our way. We would read, enjoy a hot chocolate or a wine, or simply ponder the ever changing scenery.