Travel the World: Sweden

“Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours.” – Swedish Proverb

“Sweden is a country located North of Europe. It boarders Norway and Finland. It also has weather extremes. In the winter some of the areas have no sunshine. In Sweden residents pay little or nothing for basic needs but taxes are high. Sweden is a bit larger than California. Swedish highest elevation is 6,926 feet and lowest elevation is 7.9  feet. Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, had a population of 1,372,565 in 2010. The animal predators in Sweden are brown bears, wolves, Lynx, wolverines, and the golden eagle. Vikings ruled Sweden for centuries. The Vikings farmed and stole. Their religion was Norse until the 10th century. Sweden became Christian. During World War 2 Sweden was unharmed and this is because all of Europe used the Swedish banks to store money. “- written by my son Peter
Contentment: Europe

Area: 449,964 sq. km

Population: 8,960,000

Capital : Stockholm

Religion: Lutheran, Roman Catholic

Language: Swedish

Literacy: 99%

Life Expectancy : 80

Currency: Swedish krona

Swedish Number Game:

It is so easy to play this number game. First we googled the Swedish numbers online then we wrote them using Funchalk on our coffee table. All you need to do is call a number out and have your child find that number which is written in Sweden. Whoever gets the number correct can eat a Swedish fish.

These amazing Funchalk can be found at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KWFF8ZK . We love the bright colors and how they can be used on blackboards, whiteboards, windows, mirrors, glass, and plastic. The most amazing thing about this chalk is that it is non-toxic, odorless, dust-free, hypoallergenic, and eco-friendly. We also loved how it does not smear when writing on the blackboard. I wish I have learned about Funchalk earlier because it is the best chalk out there.

Flower Wreath:

In Sweden men, women, and children wear a flower wreath on their heads while dancing around a maypole. Midsummer’s Day is a way to celebrate summer. It is celebrated every year on the longest day of the year and the shortest night, known as summer solstice.

Swedish Woven Hearts:

Santa Lucia or Saint Lucia’s day (Dec 13th) is the day to celebrate light on one of the darkest days of the year. These hearts symbolize sharing and loving others in honor of Santa Lucia.

To make these: You need to draw a half circle with a square. Divide the square in three parts. Cut those three even strips. Weave the strips together. Look at the pictures below to see how.

Try the World:

“No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.”- Julie Child.

When I saw Try the World subscription boxes, I knew it was perfect to not only try new food from around the world but to teach my children to learn to cook and eat great food. Try the World exceeded our expectations. Every item was rich in flavor.

We were blessed with this incredible subscription box. This box came with double chocolate crisps, rosehip fudge, flatbread crisps, elderflower saft syrup, sweet licorice, lingonberry jam, sweet and hot mustard, and ground coffee. We really enjoyed learning which part of Sweden each item came from. We also were given many different recipes so that we could create different tasty things with our yummy food items.

For more information please visit http://www.trytheworld.com

We enjoyed the elderflower saft syrup by mixing it with mineral water, raspberries, and blueberries. We added the rosehip fudge to vanilla ice cream. It was so good that we wish we had more.

We took double chocolate crisps and sweet licorice with us when we went fishing. We wanted to enjoy our Swedish box for as long as we could. We are not big fan of licorice but this licorice was too good for words.

Swedish Dumplings:

Let me just start by saying that this is now our favorite meal. I think we will be making it once a week. The recipe below was included with our Try the World: Sweden box.

1. Cook 3 slices chopped bacon over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 diced small onion, cook until the bacon is browned. Mix in 1 1/2 tablespoon of mustard, set mixture aside, and reserve the bacon fat in the skillet. Whisk 2 tablespoon of butter into the skillet. Keep Warm.
2. In a bowl, mix together 1 lb. peeled, boiled, and mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup flour, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon of salt. With floured hands, shape the dough into 1/2 cup sized balls. Create intent in each ball, fill with the bacon mixture, and pinch the hole closed. Chill for 30 minutes.
3. Carefully drop the dumplings into a large pot of salted boiling water and gently stir. When they float to the top, about 5 minutes, transfer to a serving plate. Serve drizzled with the bacon-butter and lingonberry jam.