We took a day trip over the Øresund Bridge to Malmö, Sweden, so Nic could connect with his Swedish roots. Check out the Øresund Bridge online if you’d like to see some amazing engineering!

After exploring museum exhibits in Malmö Castle on everything from snakes to Renaissance apparel to Jewish refugees, we decided to fika. The Swedish concept of fika is all about taking an afternoon break for coffee and a sweet treat, remembering to slow down and connect with others and just pause from the rest of the day. Workplaces even include fika breaks in their daily schedules. It’s a noun and a verb and pretty amazing, in our opinion. We went to a bakery recommended by our guidebook as a local favorite and indulged in some popular pastries, cake, and beautiful coffee. We have high standards for baked goods and coffee, and this place did not disappoint. Now, if only we could fika without our children, since we suspect we haven’t actually experienced the full concept yet. It was not slow. It was not quiet. It was not relaxing. At least it was delicious, and we certainly connected socially with our children.

We would also like to bring home some Danish rye bread, or rugbrød. This staple is nothing like normal bread back home. This bread is dense, full of seeds, and so much more filling than normal wheat bread. I compared the nutritional content of wheat bread and what we’ve bought here at the grocery store, and Danish rye bread has three times the fat, a little over half the carbs, and about the same protein as wheat bread. And it’s way more delicious with a nice hearty texture. We’ve enjoyed it with jam, peanut butter, and a thick slab of local cheese – yum! It is truly a meal in itself.