Fleur and her internship in Borås, part 3

Fleur in Borås: “The first two months went so fast!”

March was a very nice month! Unfortunately it was the last time I could snowboard as all the ski areas closed. I got company by my two friends from Holland that I visited Gothenborg and Stockholm with.

Fika!

One of the nicest Swedish traditions is fika. Fika stands for “getting together with friends or family with a nice cup of coffee and some sweets”. Fika is an important part of the Swedish culture. Everyone partakes, on different times and different ages. Therefore there are a lot of coffee places that offer sweets. In the Netherlands we say: “Shall we get a drink”. In Sweden the saying goes: “It’s time for fika”. It’s very nice to feel the atmosphere in the coffee house. It’s always busy and for sure a nice tradition. Fika doesn’t have to last for hours, it could also be for half an hour.

Semla

On the occasion of the well-known fika, it was my turn to try all the Swedish cakes and sweets. Semla is a ball with some almond paste and cream in it, and some powder sugar sprinkled on top. In March there was a ‘semla-day’ so during fika we all ate a semla. I don’t like almond paste so I wouldn’t take another semla, but I can for sure recommend the Swedish kanelbullar and the chokladbollar.

Internship

During my internship we also have a fika every day. I see it as a sort of coffee break, but they really call it a fika. We don’t have the sweets daily, but you can also have a fika with a cup of tea and an apple. The first two months went so fast! I am working on my research assignment and am not doing the daily activities. Mostly, I am busy with computer work, looking things up and preparing for my research. It’s still very fun at my internship and I feel very welcome.

Visit

The second weekend of March, I got company from my friends! I was looking forward to see them again and to visit new cities with them. During the second day we went shopping in Gothenburg, which you can do very well in this city. After two nice days, we took the train to Stockholm. The trip went very well. The Swedish trains are so much nicer than the ones in Holland.

Stockholm turned out to be a very lively city! After arrival we went straight to the guards change at the royal palace. Afterwards we visited various museums there. The royal palace is located in the old part of the city: Gamla Stan. This part is very nice because of the small streets, cosy cafes and the good atmosphere. Together with various nationalities from the hostel we went to visit the city’s nightlife. It was super nice to see more of Stockholm, eat good food and do cultural stuff. Unfortunately the way back to Borås didn’t go that smooth. I had a 2,5 hour delay but the good part was that there is good catering on the train, enough plugs and good WIFI. I really like to go back to Stockholm.