God Morn, Hyvää huomenta, God Morgon…and a very good morning it is when you head downstairs to your hotel’s breakfast room in Scandinavia. As jet lag hits, it is nice to be able to rely on a great start to your day. You can typically expect a breakfast that is similar to that at our favourite little country side hotel in Sweden. Each morning, they provide homemade jams, fresh homemade bread, coffee & fancy tea, warm eggs and home constructed muesli & yoghurt. Cheeses and hams are arranged nicely on plates, with hand written notes describing the product. One thing to note is that often the jams aren’t sickly sweet and set, they are really a fresh mix of berries bottled without sugar.

One thing I have learnt is that it pays not to rush a Scandinavian at breakfast time. They like to enjoy it slowly and mull over their choices. They like to sit and drink coffee, shell their eggs in peace over their side plate and arrange the shells neatly. Interestingly, newspapers are generally not read at breakfast time, rather it is a meditative time to relax or chat to seated neighbours.

Generally, the proprietors don’t mind you taking a little something to nibble on later for lunch as well. In the Norwegian Mountain huts, you are actually expected to make your lunch with the breakfast choices, not sandwiches but thin slices of bread with a topping, wrapped in food paper (like baking paper). This lunch pack is called your ‘Matpakke’. Norwegians spend their morning hiking looking out for a best view to sit and enjoy their little bundle of paper.

Yes, Scandinavian breakfasts are worth waking up for.