So far things have been great. The only problems I’ve had are that people are too nice. I flew in with Per from Lyon. That was an experience because most of the flights were delayed or canceled due to excessive fog. But somehow City Airline was able to land the plane and got us on in a timely fashion. It was a pretty sweet flight since there were only 7 on a 50 person Embearer plane. These planes were very similar to the CRJ-45’s we few with Independence Air. It was quite bumpy throughout the ride but I was so excited sleep was out of the question anyway. I was also surprised that the airline served a meal for such a short flight. According to Per it was an assortment of Swedish Christmas food. Many of the flavors in the plate I had never tasted before nor ever thought to combine. Oh I forgot the free beer! Although the ride was clear and we could see some cities from the sky, when we got into Gothenborg it was again extremely foggy and we were worried about more delays. However we landed fine with only minimal delays. Adrian was right there to pick me up and we were off to his place for the night. When we got in I was greeted first by the family’s black lab. It was nice to see a nice big dog, it had been awhile. Most of the dogs throughout France were small little toy dogs, poodles terriers etc. After I met the rest of the family we chatted a bit and then they invited me to have a little snack with them. It was a little after mid-night and it didn’t occur to me until now that may have been a little odd, especially since the entire family partook. I didn’t think much of it since they had lured me into trying all the different herring. The dishes they had were an assortment of bread, an assortment of herring in different herbs, spices and sauces, some excellent ham, this puréed liver, a creamy potato and herring casserole, and a smooth but spicy mustard. There is a special Christmas bread, it’s dark and looks like a chocolate bagel with a dried fruit like raisins but it’s not as strong since I don’t like raisins. Then there was the herring. They had three different types the first was a really wild mint, peppermint and dill hearing in a sweet vinegar sauce. It was amazing, never would I have thought about such a combination. To me, herring has a fishy flavor, but this sauce balanced it out very well. I know this sounds weird but it was allot like wine with an initial taste, mid palet flavors and finishing taste. The first thing that hits you is the mint, not very strong but subtle. Then the slight fishy herring balanced well with the dill in the mid palet. Then there is a slight sweet peppermint flavor to finish off the bite. Absolutely amazing and I swear I will figure it out and incorporate it into my cooking. It was amazing to have such a tiered flavor system in such a simple food. The next herring was in a red onion sauce. I couldn’t get a whole lot from this but it reminded me of the sweet onion sauce you get at Subway … just kinda red. The last of the herring was a sweet mustard dill herring. Not as deep as the “peppery minty dill herring” but overall I think my favorite. It was smooth, sweet with a little bit of tartness from the mustard as well as some heat from the mustard and some sweet dill with the herring fishy taste. I could put this on a lot of things, but I think it goes best on bread as a type of sandwich. Then there was the ham. The ham is cooked very much the same as we do although instead of glazing it in a caramel or sweet brown sugar glaze they have a sweet mustard glaze which is neat. Then there is this puréed liver which is really good for liver. Most liver has the weird softer then meat but not quite fat texture but the Swedes puree it and add something to it to get rid of that weird look and flavor but it still tastes like liver, I don’t know it’s hard to explain you just have to see for yourself. The casserole was also very interesting, it reminded me of the cheesy potato casserole we have back in the states, just instead of cheese it is a creamy and light herring flavor. As you can see the Swedes are very big on mustard. They served me a nice spicy but yet smooth mustard similar to Dijon but not nearly as hot. It was quite pleasant. Again I can’t wait to get my hands into some of these combinations and I hope to integrate this into my cooking. Before I get off into another tangent I wanted to thank Adrian and this family for their incomparable hospitality. I really appreciate it and I hope to figure out a respectable gift to show that appreciation. Although it may because of the holidays, I was impressed with the collectiveness of the family. They ate together, and when they finished they cleaned up like a well oiled machine. It was like watching a pit crew for racing team. Then at the train station there was a line for currency exchange. They had one of those little number systems like at the DMV or the deli where you take a number and then they call your number. Finally a PROPER QUEUING SYSTEM! So far things are really looking good considering I’ve only been in the country 11 or 12 hours.