Fika, what makes Swedes different

Article and photos:Ngoc Quyen(from Northern Europe)

If there is one very interesting way of life that sets Sweden apart from its Scandinavian neighbors, it is fika! Fika is related to the Swedish lifestyle of lagom. Lagom is an adjective that means just right, not too much and not too little. It is difficult to translate the meaning of lagom into any other language.

Swedes use lagom as a common national compass, forming their own way of living, behaving, communicating, and even eating. They are not as cold as their Finnish neighbors. Their lifestyle is not as rushed as the Norwegians right next door. And of course, they are not as passive as their southern neighbor Denmark, famously nicknamed “the Italy of the North.” Because of this extremely lagom lifestyle, Sweden is the only country in Northern Europe to have its own style of enjoying coffee – fika.

Fika in all its forms

The Swedish fika is not just simply the act of enjoying coffee, but also encompasses the art of social interaction and enjoying life in this peaceful kingdom. It is completely different from the way Americans enjoy convenient takeaway paper cups of coffee, and is not as formal as the Japanese tea ceremony. You cannot call a cup of Starbucks takeaway coffee that you hastily enjoy while walking down the street a fika. And of course, the industrial lifestyle of Westerners also hardly allows you to have enough time to meditate with a steaming cup of tea, regardless of the wind and clouds. Interestingly, the descendants of the Vikings can combine both of these things into a simple word, fika. In this respect, the Swedes seem to be similar to the Vietnamese way of life!

In Sweden, you will be able to hear, see and feel the fika atmosphere everywhere. From luxurious coffee shops located in the heart of expensive hotels in the city center to coffee shops hidden behind narrow streets like alleys in Vietnam that only locals know about; from warm sunny summer days to dark, rainy and snowy winter afternoons, even from home to office... fika is everywhere.

In Sweden, you will hear, see, and feel the fika atmosphere everywhere. From the luxurious coffee shops located in the heart of expensive hotels in the city center to the cafes hidden in the narrow streets like alleys in Vietnam that only the locals know about.

If you are invited to a Swedish friend’s house, you will definitely enjoy fika at home with delicious cakes baked by the host. In Swedish companies, short breaks during work hours are also the times when you should fika with your colleagues to strengthen the office relationships which are quite loose in this country famous for its individuality. Even a shy guy can use the excuse of “let’s fika” to date a girl he has secretly liked for a long time but has not dared to ask out. Swedes have dozens of reasons to fika like that.

Fika has history too!

Going back in history, coffee was introduced to this Nordic country in the 17th century, but it was not until the 18th century that it became a typical drink for the nobility and the bourgeoisie of that time. Unfortunately, King Gustav III did not like this delicious drink, but on the contrary, he issued many harsh laws against the consumption of coffee in the country, including heavy taxes, fines for those who dared to... drink coffee, and even conducted searches throughout the kingdom to... confiscate people's coffee making tools!

However, perhaps the devotees of this drink already know that once you get used to coffee, it is difficult to give up its charm. Just a whiff of coffee aroma in the air is enough to make you feel every little blood vessel in your body tense up with caffeine. There is nothing more wonderful than the feeling of walking into a small pastry shop (konditori) in the heart of the city, ordering a cup of hot black coffee, pressing your hand to the cup to feel the warmth spreading as if holding a lover's hand.

Nowadays, everywhere in Sweden, fika has become an indispensable cultural feature in daily life. Besides coffee, the sweets eaten with fika are equally interesting. All are collectively called fikabröd, which means cakes eaten while enjoying fika. However, the most popular sweet is the kanelbullar cinnamon roll. Kanelbullar is so famous that the Swedes dedicate October 4th every year as the national "Waffle Day"! In addition, around the time of the Santa Lucia Festival of Lights (which takes place in mid-December), people will replace the cinnamon roll with the golden lussebullar raisin artisan cake, fragrant with saffron and roasted raisins. And in the coming April, when Europe in general and Sweden in particular are preparing to enter the Lenten season before Easter, the puff pastry covered with fresh cream semlor is the most popular.

A friend of mine, a native Hanoian girl, who was only used to drinking Thai Nguyen black tea in Vietnam, after more than six months living in Sweden, has become a fika fanatic without even realizing it. Even Swedes who have been used to fika since childhood, whenever I talk about the joy of fika outdoors on a cloudless blue summer day, I see their eyes sparkle with joy like a child being given candy. That joy can immediately spread to the surrounding space with just a simple invitation: "Come on, let's fika!".

More information:

+ Airfare from Vietnam to Sweden ranges from 18-21 million VND/round trip. If you intend to travel to Sweden and other Nordic countries, you should book tickets early, because ticket prices will skyrocket in the summer.

+ To get to Sweden, you must transit in a third country. You can choose a flight route that transits in Denmark or Finland, then fly to Stockholm or Gotheburg, the two largest cities in Sweden. In addition, if you buy tickets from low-cost airlines such as Turkish Airlines, you will have to transit twice.

- The Swedish currency is krona. 1 krona is equivalent to about 3,500 VND. A cup of cappuccino costs between 30-80 krona depending on the level of luxury of the bakery you go to.

- Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden (after the capital Stockholm) is also considered the capital of fika culture. If you have the opportunity to come here, don't forget to stop by Cafe Husaren, address: Haga Nygatan 28, to enjoy a giant waffle for 50 krona/piece.

- When entering the shop, get used to the typical greeting hej hej here. Just sit in the shop for about 5 minutes, you will hear these cute greetings from customers and waiters. When receiving coffee, don't forget to say thank you in Swedish: takk takk. Swedes are very happy to see that you can speak their language!

The Thanh