Welcome from another day of exploring here in Gothenburg, Sweden. Last night was a tad bit of a late night (celebrating too much? Never!), so we got a later start to the day. Our group decided to go back to Haga and do some shopping for our friends and family back in the states (yeah, you’re welcome).
Our main goal of the trip today was to find a candy or chocolate store to satisfy our cravings. We’ve been told that there is very good chocolate here so we can’t wait to try it. Sadly, we will have to wait another day though, because all of them were closed, just like majority of the shops on Sunday (we didn’t really think that one through). A few of the boys were able to find some little gifts and clothes for souvenirs so it wasn’t a complete waste of a day. After walking around Haga for a couple hours we went back towards Järntorget to go to one of the cigar shops for some presents as well. This was definitely one of the weirdest shops I have ever been in. It was a mix of a cafe and cigar shop, and of course included some Fika.
It’s 3 days away from our departure and we decided to go to the most American restaurant there is out there, McDonald’s. I’ve never been a big McDonald’s fan besides their breakfast, but it was time for some good old french fries. A group consensus determined that we all think the food at their McDonald’s is much less greasy and doesn’t make you feel nearly as disgusting after eating it.
We came back to the hostel and started packing. I truly am confused on how everything fits so much better in the suitcase on the way here than on the way back. I’ve added an apron from our cooking class and a shirt from one of the companies and somehow, I have to sit on my suitcase to close it.
After a couple hours of free time, we headed over to the main hostel building to begin our iron chef night. JJ split us up into the same groups that we cooked in the other night and were told to find a recipe and make it. After we all picked our recipes, we headed over to the grocery store to find our ingredients. The part we didn’t think about was that all the food in the grocery store was going to be in Swedish…and boy did we struggle. To add to the fun, there were 18 American students walking around around at very busy time for the locals to shop for dinner. No worries though, we all successfully got our ingredients (or at least what we think was the right ingredients) and went back to the hostel to cook!
Our group decided to make spinach and artichoke dip with some crackers. The hostel was lacking in pots and pans, so we had one very big pan to use and no measuring spoons. After a few internal screams and deep breaths, we were able to somewhat successfully make the dip. Incase you were wondering, it got raving reviews from everyone too. Just call Kendall and I professional cooks from now on! The other meals included some salami and salmon bites, cheese and bread bites, and Swedish pancakes for dessert.
Tomorrow we have our final company visits of the trip and our last open dinner. Looking back, it’s crazy to think how fast the trip has gone! I’m sad to be leaving, but I’m ready to be returning to my bed, some chicken and fruit, and the same time zone as my friends and family.
Hope you all had a great weekend! See you in 3 days!
Top Takeaways:
1. Almost every candy and chocolate shop is closed on Sunday.
2. Grocery shopping in a foreign country is VERY difficult to do when you don’t have access to google translate.
3. It’s nearly impossible to watch any streaming service in a foreign country. We have tried watching Grey’s Anatomy and The Bachelor, but streaming rights are not available outside of the US.
Lyndsey Learns Swedish 