Kanelbulledagen

October 4 was Kanelbulledagen. (translation: Cinnamon Bun Day)

A day to celebrate and pay homage to warm, sweet, baked goodness? Why the heck not. Mark it on your calendar for next year, people.

My lovely sister-in-law gave me a heads-up on this. And lucky for me, because I might have passed right by the posters and bakery windows topped up with cinnamon buns without quite having figured it out. While Swedish cinnamon buns have been a tradition dating back to the 1920s, its namesake day was created  in 1999 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sweden's Hembakningsrådet (Home Baking Council). 

A little more online searching reveals that Hembakningsrådet was formed in 1949 by several Swedish food companies that produced flour, yeast, margarine and sugar. So in truth, my excitement about Kanelbulledagen is the perfect consumer response to a crafted promotional and marketing endeavor. But it would seem most of the Swedes and Swedish bakeries share my enthusiasm for Kanelbulledagen, since it's been 13 years since inception and going strong.

Throughout the day the bakeries, and supermarkets, churn out batches of the cheerful little brown, coiled buns. The best Swedish kanelbulle is in my opinion a bread roll that is firm but tender, sweet and a little buttery (without being goopey, toothache-inducing sugary), cinnamon with hints of cardamon, and the little pop and crunch of the requisite pearl sugar sprinkle. Another good thing about Kanelbulledagen - the prices are lower!

So on October 4, after running errands in Lund I made a point of joining the rest of Sweden by swinging by Ramklints Conditori, getting in line and scooping up my share of the warm rolls. At home, we warmed them up and served with tea, especially delicious with the cool autumn weather outside.

...

Since arriving in Sweden, I've been obsessively trying out local cinnamon rolls in search of the perfect creation. Below are my three favorites ... thus far.

Kanelbulle from Lund's Stadsbibliotek (City Library). Most libraries here have a
cafe of some sort tucked away in the building. It's a great idea: to take a break
from studying or to read your library treasures with a coffee and snack. 
Lund's main library makes their own kanelbulle, which the counterlady 
boasted were the best around, and she wasn't far off. Quite buttery
and soft, but delicious flavors, and what I imagine a 
Swedish grandma would serve up.

Impressively decorated chocolate balls

are also offered up at Stadsbibliotek. 

Delectable Danishes at the Stadsbibliotek. Chatting with my mother, 
I mused that the kanelbulle is to Sweden as the Danish is to Denmark.
She asked what the Danes call Danishes ... good question. They call it
weinerbrød, or Viennese bread! Yep, that's right - read it here.

My number one favorite kanelbulle can be found at Vendel Bakery
in Malmö. Great texture with the perfect blend of cinnamon and 
sweetness, organic, and big (that's the American in me, 
I want a good-sized kanelbulle for my 25 crowns).

Vendel Bakery storefront: a modest entryway at street level,
from which you walk down a few steps into ...

... a basement bakery. So cozy and warm inside, and such intoxicating
smells wafting out of the back room. It's a good remedy when I'm
missing Arizmendi Bakery in the Bay Area.

Vendel's cardamon rolls are exceptional too. Both are addictive.

Some of you might recall an earlier posting about Ramklints, in which I tried 
the kanelbulle. This time around the sampling was much more satisfying,
whether because of the freshness or my enthusiasm I can't say. No matter.

Ramklints actually had a poster addressing the cinnamon bun 
in the first person! "We love you, Cinnamon Bun."

Ruby loves you too, Cinnamon Bun!

Kolonilotter

I was on a museum outing in the city of Landskrona earlier this summer when I came upon the amazing little garden plots shown below! And being the person that I am, I was fascinated by the "shire" like quality of it (as in The Shire of Middle Earth, as described by JRR Tolkien). Granted there's no round doors or homes recessed into the earth -- but the tidy, bucolic, miniature-ness of the gardens smacked of hobbits to me.

Kolonilotter, or "allotment gardens", can be found in many of Sweden's cities with denser populations. Researching online, seems like this European tradition was imported into Sweden in the late 1800's. (For more info here's a Wiki link and a blog posting with a great description of allotment gardens, their history, and the blogger's enthusiasm/obsession about it.) I'm guessing an area of the city was set aside and then divided into small tracts which was then leased out to individuals. With both city populations and industrialization increasing, it was thought these allotment gardens would be a healthy diversion for residents to connect with nature and also supplement their food supply with home-grown fruits and vegetables. 

The kolonilotter seems to serve the same purpose today. The little gardens are basically a rented backyard. Most of the little sheds/cabins are without electricity and running water and not intended for habitation. But in some cities apparently some of the little cabins can serve as a summer residence. 

In Staffanstorp I (Roger really) chatted up some of the gardeners. After 50 or so years of existence, the Staffanstorp kolonilotter will be translocated within the year further away from the city center to make way for "development." The two older ladies we spoke with seemed a bit sad, but resigned, about leaving behind their little gardens that they have nurtured so lovingly for years. Another lady told us after unloading a bag of fresh-picked plums on us, that there has been some push back and the "developments" will be appealed and perhaps delayed. I've got my fingers crossed.

Thinking about the kolonilotter, and San Francisco's beautiful community gardens, and the rooftop garden at Alamo School where I used to work tended by parents, students and dear Mrs. Ames, and Amy Franchesini's Victory Gardens project -- makes me think about how many of us have this need to feel connected to growing things and the cycles of nature. 

In Sweden, supporting that connection seems more embedded in the culture; perhaps linked to the long winters and the corresponding fanatical appreciation of summer. But I like to think that more people in U.S. cities are recognizing that need for connection to nature and food, and perhaps new, intriguing trends and traditions will "grow" in this direction. One can hope.

So neat and tidy! Am I right, can't you see a hobbit wandering
through this scene?! This garden is in Landskrona.

Some of the gardens are the summer home
away from home, but just across town! (Landskrona)

Complete with orderly walkways, fences and gates. (Landskrona)

Some of the gardens in Staffanstorp have been abandoned
as people anticipate the imminent demolition of this location.

And with gardens being abandoned, some Staffanstorp gardeners
 have seized the opportunity to expand their area into 2 plots!

Yep, that's corn stalks! I chatted with this gardener, a sweet
lady, who said she is able to grow her entire summer produce
needs and shares the excess with her grandchildren.
Ruby got to pick a few tomatoes with her too!

Torup Castle

A happy belated Mother's Day to all you moms!


On May 13 we had a great morning outing to Torups Slott, or Torup Castle, one of Sweden's medieval castles. It's a 15-minute drive south of Staffanstorp. The existing castle foundation was built in the mid-1500s (the estate likely dates even further back, but it seems this earlier history is foggy) when Skåne (Sweden's southernmost province) was under Danish rule. In the centuries that followed it had many owners and a colorful history which includes a tragic boating and drowning incident on the lake, an infamous Danish traitor, a castle fire and being the site of a farmers' riot against an unfair conscription policy.


In 1970, the city of Malmö purchased the property and runs it as a public recreation area, with running and nature trails in the surrounding beech forest, two historical museums, educational areas, and more. It's been nicely thought out, and seems popular with the locals and I'm guessing tourists as well. The castle itself is private and leased to the estate's heir until 2035. Unfortunately for me there are no public castle tours scheduled for 2012. Our morning there we visited the café's picnic area, and ran about the castle gardens which were picturesque and serene. 


We went back the following Sunday as well, to take advantage of the great weather. We walked along one of the forest paths, and although we didn't make it as far as the museum, Ruby and I ended up being fascinated with the snails and slugs of epic proportions. 


At some point I'll have to get my running shoes on and go exploring further.

At the entrance to the castle's gardens.

Ruby being forced to pose like a tourist.

A view out of one of my
childhood storybooks.

These stakes are for growing hops. I'm unsure if the hops are being 
grown for purely exhibition and education purposes, or if there 
is a nearby brewery benefitting from the harvest.

West view of the castle. The glass sculpture by Danny Lane didn't 
quite do it for me, but there are some stunning
sculptures on his website.

Small door for small people.

Running through the woods: the idyllic childhood experience!

Wood sculpture on the trail path, to mark the spot where two kids 
picking berries had a fairy siting.

It's charming ... in a goofy kind of way.

Snail/snigel. And a hefty one at that.

Slug/skogsnigel. This one is just freakish by my standards.

Billie the Brave

May Day Bonfire/ Majbål

May 1, or May Day, is celebrated in many northern European countries as the start of spring holiday - think dancing around the May Day Pole, lots of flowers and lovely girls. There is also, new to me -- Walpurgisnacht (German), or in Swedish - Valborgsmässoafton, celebrated on April 30 exactly six months from All Hallow's Eve during which big bonfires are lit in many cities at nightfall. Same roots though, a celebration of spring and the end of long nights.

Sweden's socialist tradition has celebrated May 1 as International Workers' Day since the 1930s. I love this place. Government and businesses close for the day and each city hosts workers' marches and speeches. I'm not sure how big a crowd the marches and speeches draw these days, as I'm guessing many people just enjoy the day off from work. I'll check it out next year. I missed the marches and speeches this year, in lieu of a day celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday with a seaside picnic. 

But we did manage to go out for the Staffanstorp May Day Bonfire, or Majbål, on April 30, Apparently during the day there are lots of students drinking heavily, perhaps like a big frat party in the parks, but the evening is more mellow with families enjoying the local bonfires. In Staffanstorp there was a band, majorettes, somebody making speeches (in Swedish, content unknown to me), and then the Scout troop marched in with torches to light the huge mound of branches and kindling. Unfortunately, the branches seemed fairly green and the whole thing took about 40 minutes of sweaty troopmasters and troop parents to get it blazing. 

Ruby suffering from jetlag, passed out before the bonfire got going. But I thought it was pretty neat.

Roger and Ruby heading up the knoll near Staffanstorp's 
waste water treatment plant where the bonfire was located.

The pre-fire show

And finally it's roaring and crackling! 

There's something so primal and fun about throwing things into a fire.  

Billie checking out the scorched earth aftermath.