I have to make a clarification concerning the Swedish cinnamon buns that is “Kanelbullar” in Swedish. They are a bit different from their English namesakes. A Swedish cinnamon bun does not have a glazing on the top instead the top are dusted with crushed loafsugar (and rarely flaked almonds). They are baked (almost always) on fresh yeast with cardamom mixed in to the dough and a layer of cinnamon, sugar and butter spread over the dough before they are rolled up and put in the oven. A real treat!
By the way Stockholm does not look like a Kanelbulle any more. As you can see from the photos it more resembles a giant vanilla ice-cream tub. It started to snow last Tuesday and you can’t believe it’s the same city anymore. Today we had –10 C degrees in Uppsala. That reminds me of Brighton, when it started to snow at Churchill Square in January –04, (small flakes melting instantly) and people hurrying out from the shops on to the street screaming with delight “It’s snowing!”
The Brighton countryside and the countryside of Uppsala are like a Scone and a Cinnamon-bun. The Downs around Brighton are bulging like scones on a baking-tray, while the landscape of Uppsala is as flat as a Cinnamon-bun and in the winter often dusted with snow like white sugar. I just love the downs, almost as much as I love freshly baked scones, and I must confess that I had forgotten just how beautiful Sweden can be in the autumn, something that I was reminded of when taking a walk on Saturday. Some days there is a special feeling in the autumn air in Sweden, the breakpoint between autumn and winter, which I newer felt in the same way in Brighton.
Why do public toilets (in chopping centres, stores etc) in Sweden as a rule charge money for the visit?
There are no stronger reasons to keep public toilets free of charge in London/Brighton than there are in Stockholm/Uppsala. In fact London has a population of about 7 million people, compared to the 1 million living in Stockholm, just think of all the money that could be made from charging visits to public toilets in London! And in spite of that I can’t remember one visit to an English toilet that I have had to pay for (with that not said that some little pay-toilet isn’t hiding in a dark corner).
Normally one toilet visit in Sweden costs 5 SEK, about £0.40. What’s the reason for charging money for toilet visits? I have heard many explanations, to keep the toilet facilities clean for example, but I don’t buy that because all the toilets I saw in Brighton and London was very clean. In fact cleaner than the one I paid for in Sweden the other day.
As I see it the reason is
a) English shopkeepers are smarter, they know that a family will be more likely to spend a day in the shopping centre if the toilet facilities in the centre are clean and free of charge.
b) Swedish shopkeepers are penny-wise and pound-foolish.
I therefore suggest lets start a protest against toilet charges in Sweden, today!
... therefore I am very grateful to you that pointed out a “funny” spelling mistake in the entry “Dressing up”. It was not on purpose ;0) Please all of you do tell me if you notice some more horrible mistakes.
I have noticed that it’s very common in Sweden to play for money, i.e. to bet on horses, lotteries and the like. I didn’t see them before I went to England but now I see the shops everywhere, and much more frequent than in Brighton, small shops with huge tables inside. As I don’t have a TV I was a bit surprised when visiting a friend some days ago to notice that gambling programs even are broadcasted on TV on prime time, I didn’t notice that in England. I find it astonishing that, I looked it up, the Swedish canal 1,2,3 and TV 4 show around 4 hours of “gambling programs” between 17.45 – 22.50 every Saturday and 1.5 hours between 16.05 – 17.50 every Sunday.
Does this phenomenon indicate something about the Swedish society?