catching a sea kayak at Grundsund
Fika can happen anytime, anyplace, anywhere. You’ve probably come across this Scandinavian breakout phrase (alongside 2016’s ‘hygge’ and 2017’s ‘lagom’ – of which more later) which, excitingly, focuses on coffee and cake. But fika is about so much more than snacks. Nothing less than a social institution in Sweden, it’s stating the importance of taking a proper break from work to catch up with family, friends or colleagues, over a little something. No boss can, or would, stop you – in fact, according to the wise words of Wikipedia, ‘to some extent it can be considered impolite to not join one’s colleagues for fika’. It’s a reflection of the fact that the Swedes really do have this work-life balance thing worked out – and I see so many examples of it during a long weekend in the west of the country.
Gothenburg does good fika