We had reserved a table for a buffet dinner that Saturday evening at a folk music concert in Tjärnberg, which is a tiny village out in the boondocks about 45 miles northwest of Arjeplog. It was during the drive to this concert that we stopped to take a picture of the mountain-top snow. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we took our assigned seats, and enjoyed the company of the other guests at our table while we waited for "our turn" to come up to what had to be the longest smorgasbord we'd ever seen! The very word smorgasbord comes from the Swedish word smörgåsbord, which, literally translated, means "sandwich table". But there was a whole lot more than sandwich fixin's at this table!
A traditional Swedish smorgasbord always starts with cold foods, for example 4-5 bowls of herring - each with different seasonings or sauces, caviar, several kinds of salami and other cold cuts, very thin slices of dilled salmon, cheese, bread, salmon paté, liver paté (yuck), deviled eggs, thin slices of cold roasted deer, moose, ham, beef, and horse (yes, I said horse!!). There is always 3 or 4 different kinds of salad, a big bowl of pickled beets, and a huge platter of fruit - all of which is washed down with a tall mug of cold beer and a shot of spiced vodka. Then, just when you think your stomach is going to explode, you are welcomed to the "warm table", which includes 3-4 different meat or fish pies, 3-4 kinds of potato casseroles as well as regular boiled potatoes, meatballs, a kind of cocktail frank called "prinskorv", baked salmon, and at least 2 different kinds of quiche. Then, just when you've started looking around the room hoping to find a stomach pump, you're invited to the dessert table. The offerings on the dessert table are, gratefully, much less - a brownie-like cake, cinnamon rolls, ice cream with fruit preserves as a topping, and often a torte - a Swedish specialty. Swedes absolutely MUST have coffee after a meal, whether or not they eat dessert. But, to drink coffee WITH a meal is nearly as socially incorrect as spitting on the floor!
While we ate our dessert and drank our coffee, some of the musicians for the evening's entertainment couldn't resist giving an impromptu mini-concert, which made for a very fun and festive end to the 2-hour dinner. Then, everyone filed out of the restaurant to another building called the "pub", which is where the folk music concert took place. It was a wonderful evening of good music and plenty of laughs, as many of the musicians also told hilarious stories between tunes. We stayed until the concert ended at 11 p.m., and drove back to the hotel with music still dancing in our heads and big contented smiles on our faces.
If you're interested, please read my final story about this very pleasant weekend, which I've called "The Wilderness Center."
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