CHAPTER XIII

SWEDEN. NORWAY. DENMARK Stockholm restaurants--Malmö--Storvik--Gothenburg--Christiana-- Copenhagen--Elsinore. Stockholm Of all the restaurants in the capital of Sweden the Hasselbacken, in the Royal Djurgarten Park, is the most interesting to visit should it be open, which it is from the beginning of March till the end of September. During the early part of the season Tziganes play in one of the small rooms, whereas in summer a somewhat noisy orchestra plays in the garden. The price of dinner, _à prix fixe_, is 3 kronor 50 öre; this includes soup, fish, meat, _relevé_ (generally a Swedish guinea-fowl called _hjärpe_) and ice. Wine and coffee are of course extra. The Hasselbacken is often used for the giving of banquets of ceremony, but the dinner at 3 kr. 50 öre is more likely to interest the stranger within the gates than the more extensive feasts, so I give a typical menu of this very reasonably priced repast:-- Purée à la Reine. Saumon fumé aux Epinards. Selle de Mouton aux Légumes. Gelinottes rôties. Salade. Soufflée au Citron. Quite one of the best restaurants is in the Hôtel Continental opposite the Railway Station. The food here is excellent, _tornedos_ (1 kr. 50 öre) and _nässelkalsoppa_, an excellent soup made from a sort of young nettle, being specialities. The prices are slightly cheaper than those of the Hasselbacken. Operakällaren is a very good restaurant and one of the most popular. They serve here a _déjeuner_ at 1 kr. 50 öre consisting of an excellent dish of eggs (a speciality of the place) and meat and cheese or so-called "sweet" (generally a very unwholesome stale cake with cream). The _table-d'hôte_ dinners are excellent, one being at 3 kr. 50 öre and the other at 2 kr. 50 öre; the first consisting of soup (thick soups being a speciality of the place), fish, entrée, meat, and _relevé_ (generally _hjärpe_), with a _compote_ of Swedish berries called lingon (a sort of cranberry) and an indifferent sweet or ice. Here, as in most Swedish eating-places, objection is taken to coffee being served in the restaurants, people being requested to take it in the café, which is generally the next room. Supper is served at the Operakällaren, and the restaurant is crowded for this meal. It costs 2 kronor and consists of a _smörgasbord_ or copious _hors-d'oeuvre_, an entrée, and meat. The Grand Hotel is fairly popular, owing to the smartness of the dining-room and the "swagger" way in which meals are served. The food is not as good as the decorations. The lunch costs 2 kr. 50 öre and the dinner 3 kr. 50 öre. The Hôtel Rydberg is also most popular, and the food is good. A great feature is made here, as everywhere, of the _smörgasbord_ (literally "bread and butter") table, which has a room to itself and on which are a score or more of dishes, there being some wonderful combinations of smoked eels and other fish and eggs amongst them. There are from five to thirty of these dishes, all delicate and appetising. The guests eat them standing. In the same room is a huge plated spirit-stand containing a number of different spirits, white brandy called "Branvin," and other drinks resembling Vodka. The crayfish, _krâftor_, a little larger than the French ones, excellent in flavour and served in a terrine, the _bisque_ soup, _caviar_ served, as of course it should be, on a bed of ice are good at the Rydberg and the cook manages to make even a ptarmigan toothsome. It is a favourite place for people to sup at after the theatre. The _table-d'hôte_ dinner costs 3 kr. 50 öre and the lunch 2 kr. 50 öre. Caloric punch is a favourite drink here, as elsewhere in Sweden, and two men think nothing of drinking a bottle between them after dinner or supper. The Café du Nord is very crowded and very popular, although more bourgeois than the others. The food is good, meals being served mostly _à la carte_. A good _filet de boeuf_ costs about 90 öre. The business men who mostly patronise this café dine from 3 to 4 P.M. Many people sup there in the evening. There are some excellently painted pictures in black and gold, rather daring and French in subject, on the walls. There are also the Café Anglais (fairly good) and the Hamburger Börs. The Berns' Salonger, the Blanch Café and Strömparterren are cafés where coffee, punch, liqueurs, and sandwiches may be had. The former is the only one open in summer and winter, the two latter being opened on 1st May without regard to the temperature, and closed on 30th September. Malmö At Malmö, which is the landing place from Kiel, there is a good dinner or lunch obtainable at the big hotel with twin turrets which faces the statue to Gustavus Adolphus. Storvik At Storvik, a station on the Storlieu line, there is a restaurant which is celebrated throughout Sweden. You are charged 2 kronor, which is the price of a meal at all railway refreshment rooms, and help yourself at a big central table, crayfish soup, fish, meat, poultry, game, and sweets all being included in the meal, and a glass of light beer. Gothenburg The restaurant of the Haglund is a good one, and I give one of the menus of its dinner at 3 kronor:-- SOPPA. Potage à la Parmentier. FISK. Saumon grillée à la maître d'hôtel. KÖTTRÄTT. Langue de Boeuf Garni. Sauce aux Olives, ou Fricandeau de veau aux pois. STEK. Poulet à la Printanier. Compotes. EFTERRÄTT. Bavaroise hollandaise ou Framboises. National Dishes There are very few Swedish national dishes, milk, cream, butter, and fish being, however, excellent. The _Smörgasbord_ is the great institution of the country. _Plättar_, or Swedish pancakes, are also good. Norway Norway is by no means a happy hunting ground for the gourmet. Salmon, halibut, and ptarmigan are the usual luxuries, and they pall on the palate after a time. The Hôtel Victoria at Christiana is well spoken of in the matter of cooking, and the Brittania at Throndhjem is said to cater well considering the latitude it is situated in. Denmark From the gourmet's point of view there is little to write as to the Copenhagen restaurants. That of the Hôtel d'Angleterre is good, and a good word can also be said for the cooking at the Hôtel Phoenix. The Tivoli Gardens are the summer resort of Copenhagen, and all classes patronise them, rich and poor both being catered for. They are a magnified Earl's Court, with the Queen's Hall and the booths from a French fair added. There are restaurants of all kinds at the Tivoli, some being very popular and surprisingly cheap. One of these restaurants, the Danish one, is of interest and gives a very good national meal for 3 kronor. The Café National is an excellent place at which to sup, cold poached eggs in aspic being one of the delicacies of the house. All the world makes expeditions to Elsinore, or as the Danes, regardless of Shakespeare, call it, Helingsör. There in the Marienlyst you may see Hamlet's grave, which is so excellently built up that one would believe it to be really the burial place of a Viking, and you can lunch at the Kursaal, whence there is a delightful view across the Sound to Sweden. There is a second park at Elsinore where Ophelia's pool is shown. The meals in Denmark are preceded by a feast of little delicacies, "sandwiches with the roof off" as they have been aptly described, which both men and ladies eat as they stand and chat before going into lunch or dinner, as is the custom in Sweden and Russia also. N.N.-D.