#fikafoodandfun

Yesterday’s post clearly showed how impatiently we are looking forward to the Lundian spring. After weeks of continuous rain and wind, warm temperatures and sunny days are more than welcome. And there is one more reason:

Walpurgis Eve (Swedish: “Valborg” or “Siste April”) is coming soon, traditionally on the 30th of April.

For all international students in Lund: that means that you can experience another real Swedish tradition during your stay.

I asked our blogger Caroline for the reason behind this big celebration: as the majority of Swedes she didn’t really have a proper explanation for that. So Google helped: on Walpurgis Eve, the summer is welcomed with big bonfires, songs and speeches. This tradition was particularly celebrated in southern Sweden where young people in villages of the provinces of Skåne and Blekinge came together to experience this special custom of “bringing the month of May to the village”. Nowadays, Valborg is mostly celebrated in Swedish University cities.

What`s up in Lund? Believe it or not, Lund has the second largest Valborg Celebration in Sweden (the biggest is in Uppsala). “Siste April” is marked red in every student calendar in Lund - so mark your’s too or tell your phone to do so. Stadsparken will be crowded by approx. 30.000 students sitting around, listening to the DJ, drinking and barbecuing until late afternoon when there is a bonfire.

When? Be prepared to get up early to enjoy the celebration to its fullest. And don’t miss the traditional Champagnefrukost (Champagne Breakfast with Strawberries). The celebration in Stadsparken starts around 10am!

Where? Stadsparken in Lund will transform to a major open-air party area.

Whom to bring? Your friends. Lots of drinks. Picnic blanket and some food! Show that you are a Valborg PRO: Bring camp-chairs and change your traditional breakfast to cornflakes-with-beer-to-go!

How to get there? By foot - because 1st drinking and driving has never been a good idea and 2nd there might be a lot of broken bottles on the street.

1st of May: Use the day after to recover from an excessive party or come to the main University Building opposite of AF Borgen, where some of the students will welcome spring with traditional songs. It’s free and broadcasted on Television.

How to bridge the time until Siste April??

Join the event on Facebook to stay tuned.

Watch this video to get into the mood.

Do not miss this event - you have to experience Valborg, no excuses accepted!

Keep calm & prepare for Siste April!     Anna-Lena

The week was demanding. The parties on the weekend were exhaustive. What sounds better than some very cozy cafés in Lund on a Sunday afternoon? Coffee, Tea, Chai Latte, smoothies, scones, muffins, chokladkaka, you and your friends.

You are wondering where to go? Don’t worry. We have gathered our top 6 cozy cafés in Lund.

What’s your favorite?

1. Lundaböcker

Looking for a quite, but cosy place to enjoy a hot cappuccino and a slice of a freshly baked cake? Then Lundaböcker is the place to go. Good prices and a warm and welcoming service. What more do you want? (Kiliansgatan 11)  

2. Ramklints Café & Conditori (Mårtenstorget 10) - In the heart of Lund, you can find this café which offers the city’s largest collection of cakes and pastries.   

3. Coffee Break (S:t Petri Kyrkogatan 3) - That’s my favourite. The small and cozy café calms me down. The barista is happy to serve various coffee specialties or fresh smoothies. Together with a homemade pie or scones life is perfect. Tipp: They serve a large variety of gluten-free bread and muffins, and of course lactose-free and soy milk.

4. Ebbas Skafferi (Bytaregatan 5) - One of the coziest places in town to have a Swedish fika. You can find traditional homemade cakes and cookies. It’s a little more expensive than other cafés such as Barista or Espresso House, but totally worth the extra coin...especially because the portions served are huge!

5. St. Jakobs Stenugnsbageri (Klostergatan 9) - You can hardly pass the bakery without going in! Already the look from outside is making you craving all the different sorts of fresh breads and pastries. Keep it mind that it might be very crowded during the weekend, though.

Special Tip for all tea lovers among you: TeKulturen (Slöjdgatan 13) - That’s the only tea house here in Lund. How about choosing between 130 different sorts of tea while having homemade cookies or pastries? Be aware, though that it’s closed on Sundays.  

6. Inkognito (Lilla Fiskaregatan 23) - For all chocolate lovers: this might be your place! Our blogger Caroline is convinced that they have the best hot chocolate.

Enjoy a cozy Sunday afternoon in Lund and take a break from studying.

Keep calm and have some coffee :)    Anna-Lena

Semla recipe

About 15 large or 25 small buns

Buns

100 g butter

300 ml milk, 3%

50 g fresh yeast (for sweet dough)

1 tsp crushed cardamom or the grated peel of 1 orange

½ tsp salt

85 g sugar

about 500–550 g plain flour

1 beaten egg for brushing

Filling

200 g marzipan

bun centres

100 ml milk

300 ml whipping cream

Decoration

Icing sugar for dusting

Preparation

1. Melt the butter and add the milk. Heat to 37°C.

2. Crumble the yeast in a bowl and add the cardamom or the orange peel.

3. Add the milky liquid and stir until the yeast has melted. Stir in the salt, the sugar and most of the flour, but save a little flour for later.

4. Work the dough in a food processor/dough mixer for about 15 minutes.

5. Let it rise to twice its size in the bowl, about 40 minutes.

6. Place the dough on a floured pastry board and cut into pieces. Roll into buns and place on oven paper or greased baking sheet. Let the buns rise to twice their size, about one hour.

7. Brush the buns with egg. Bake in the lower part of the oven, at 225°C for around 8–10 minutes for large buns and 250°C for 5–7 minutes for small. Leave to cool on wire racks.

8. Cut off the bun tops. Scoop out the centre of each bun (about 2 tsp) and crumble in a bowl.

9. Rough grate the marzipan and mix it with the crumbs and milk into a creamy mass.

10. Fill the hollow buns with this mixture.

11. Whip the cream and squirt or spoon it over the filling. Place the top on the bun and dust with icing sugar.

12. Serve alone with coffee or in the form of a hetvägg in a deep bowl with warm milk and ground cinnamon.

Happy Semla Day or Glad Fettisdag!

Keep calm and eat semlor :)    Anna-Lena

Small City, Big Dreams!

Recipe Source

Part 3: Swedish Chokladbollar

Did you enjoy the Kladdkaka as much as we did? Then it’s time for another Swedish delicious treat!

A quick and simple way to impress your friends once again - maybe for today’s fika on Valentine’s day?

Ingredients ¼ lb or 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature) 2½ cups rolled oats 1¼ cups sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tbsp vanilla sugar 1 tbsp strong coffee (cold) 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa Coconut flakes

Instructions

You can do this with your hands in a bowl or food processor.

First mix butter, sugar and coffee together and then add all the other ingredients. Make sure the butter is mixed in well. The batter should be easy to roll and not too sticky, you can adjust consistency with oats or coffee.

Roll batter into about 25 small balls and roll them in coconut flakes or sprinkles.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours before eating.

Stay calm and grab some extra calories this weekend, Anna-Lena!

Small City, Big Dreams!

Recipe: Honestcooking.com 

Keep Calm and Party on in Lund! 

Of course you came to study - but what would studying be without parties? A very boring life! We agree and therefore we would like to provide you with the first party insights for the following days: You have several possibilities, so let's see what we did during our first days in Lund.

Meeting my fellow students for the first time took part in Café Ariman (Kungsgatan 2; close to the Cathedral). It is central, you will find the way even if you are new and from there every other location is close. Plus, it is open every day.

So, what to do next? A Nation is always a good choice. As soon as you are a member of Studenlund and have paid the fee, you can enter any nation, even if you haven't chosen one yet. Just show the certification of your payment at the entrance. In a nation you can enjoy beer for almost half the price than usual and there are always different things going on. Entrance is around 60SEK and a beer between 30-40SEK. This week's hottest spots:

Wednesday, 14.01. METRO Club - Västgöta Nation Thursday, 15.01. International Pub - Östgöta Nation Penthouse Nattklubb - Lunds Nation Saturday, 17.01. Playground NAttklubb - Lunds Nation Baröppning: Sunset - Östgöta Nation Insider Tipp: Get there early! There are always queues and time is scarce, most clubs close at 2 am. If you don't want to end up spending most of the time waiting, you better be at the Nation 30 min in advance. A good alternative: Herkules Bar (Stortorget 1, at the main square Stortorget): You don't need to be a student to get in. Entrance fee varies, but you get a discount as a student (50SEK instead of 100SEK + 20SEK for the cloak room). Enjoy dancing until 3 am on weekends. Hungry? MCDonalds (Mårtenstorget 12, opposite COOP), Lunda Falafel (Stora Södergatan 5, next to H&M) Have a great night, Anna-Lena...