1. Celebrating Christmas in Italy

A blog post for travelers curious about how Italy celebrates Christmas and planning a trip to Rome or Naples during the festive season. Check out what are the most beautiful Christmas native scenes to see, the greatest Christmas markets to visit and the best traditional Christmas food to sample in Italy during the winter holidays season.

2. Swedish Christmas Recipes

A blog post on Swedish Christmas food for cooking fans who want to celebrate the holiday season in traditional Scandinavian style: three Swedish Christmas recipes to try during winter holidays in Sweden, including Potatis Korv (Sweden Christmas Sausage), Ham a la cajsa warg (Swedish Ham) and Swedish Cabbage Pudding.

3. New Year’s Eve in London

A blog post on how to celebrate the new year in London. For a romantic gateway with your loved one, have dinner at one of London’s finest restaurants and enjoy a Medieval banquet at the Ivory House. And if you are on a family stay in London, go ice skating and shopping at the London Christmas Fair, take a river cruise down the Thames and see London fireworks.

4. New Year’s Eve in Paris

A blog post on the best things to do when celebrating the New Year in Paris.  Recommended attractions include the Moulin Rouge – one the most famous cabaret shows in Paris, partying, playing with firecrackers and seeing fireworks displays in the streets, and having a festive dinner with foie gras and champagne at a Paris brasserie.

5. Christmas in Spain

A blog post on the best Christmas markets in Spain for travelers planning to celebrate the festive season in the Iberian peninsula.  The Spanish Christmas markets reviewed in this article include Plaza Mayor Christmas Fair in Madrid, the Feria de Santa Lucia in Barcelona, and more family-friendly attractions and Christmas shopping spots in Andalusia.

Quaint and rustic, this seaport town will mesmerize you from the moment that you arrive. The nearest airport is Göteborg Torslanda Airport making it easily accessible by way of this international airport.

No winter holiday in Göteborg is complete without taking in the Gothenburg’s Liseberg theme park. Here you will be treated to the largest Christmas market in Scandinavia. More than 80 rustic market stalls and shops will entice you with arts, crafts and festive foods. Remember to bring you purse for those last minute gifts as you are bound to find that certain something for that certain someone here. Five million twinkling lights and 700 Christmas trees will bedazzle you. The illumination of the lanes extends from the Liseberg amusement park, past Götaplatsen, along and beyond the main boulevard Avenyn.

For those who have brought their skates enjoy the ice rink and an ice bar to further experience the winter holiday atmosphere. The winter festivities official commence at the end of November so by December they are most certainly in full swing. While the festivities do conclude by the end of December the city’s illumination of lanes and parks remains a vision of gloriousness well into the New Year holiday season for your continued pleasure.

It is clear to see why this special Christmas atmosphere in Göteborg has made Göteborg a famous winter holiday stop for good food, music and a festive Christmas atmosphere. This city has itself own holiday tradition which is brought to life annually at this time of the year for additional Christmas enchantment. This tradition is known as include Christmas at Liseberg, the crowning of Lucia. This entertaining Christmas light show is held outside the Museum of Art and the Christmas lights in the city centre. The show is held as many as three times a day and commences between 5 to 23 December. Christmas in this Nordic region will be like none other.

Photo of Christmas decorations in Goteborg, Sweden, originally posted by Mikael Miettinen

Candle lighting has always been the foundation of the Swedish holiday traditional but it is the Swedish holiday dishes that annually are the supreme element. With the following Swedish traditional dishes such as “Potatis Korv,” “Ham a la cajsa warg” (Swedish Ham) and cabbage pudding (Casserole) you will not go wrong for the holidays. These three very traditional Swedish dish recipes are fairly comprehensive and easy to follow.

1. Potatis Korv (Sweden Christmas Sausage)

2 lbs. lean pork, ground
2 lbs. lean beef, ground
6 med. potatoes, shredded (uncooked)
3 tsps. salt
2 tsps. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 med. onion, chopped

Must be mix very well together then formed into rolls about 4 inches long, 2 inches in diameter. Once completed cut waxed paper or parchment paper into 6-inch lengths and warp sausage well. Remember to tie both ends tightly with string. Next prick waxed paper with a fork (do not prick parchment) then place in kettle of simmering salted water. Cook slowly for about 45 minutes.

2. Ham a la cajsa warg (Swedish Ham)

7 to 9 lb. ham, slightly salted
2 tsps. whole cloves
2 tsps. marjoram
2 tsps. allspice
2 tsps. rosemary
6 bay leaves

The Ham must be placed in plenty of cold water for approximately 12 hours then roasted. Take care that the ham is not too salty.

Firstly, remove the rind then place the ham on a large piece of baking foil. Add crush allspice, cloves, rosemary, marjoram and bay leaves in a mortar. This mixture must be rubbed into ham on all sides then wrapped entirely in foil. Next, insert a meat thermometer through the foil so that the tip reaches the thickest and meatiest part of the ham then place the ham in baking pan and bake it in the oven at 350F. When the thermometer shows 170F the ham is ready. This dish is served hot or cold and usually with boiled potatoes, mustard, red cabbage or other vegetables.

3. Cabbage Pudding (Casserole)

1 to 2 lb. head white cabbage
41/2 tbls. rice
Salt
11 oz. ground beef
Butter for frying
2/3 cup water
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup milk

Firstly, cut off the bottom part of the stem of a head of white cabbage the chop the cabbage into pieces. Then brown them in butter in a frying pan. In another pan boil rice in 2/3 cup water and 1/2 tsp. salt for approximately 20 minutes. While the rice cools mix ground beef with 1 1/2 tsps. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Then add the rice and 1 cup milk. Place the cabbage and meat in alternate layers in a buttered oven-proof dish. Remember to keep the top and bottom layers cabbage only. Next bake in an oven at 350F. for 3/4 to 1 hour and serve with boiled potatoes.

Enjoy!

Photo of Swedish Christmas dinner originally posted by plindberg

Green Wave: Well known to be one of Europe’s best cycling cities, Copenhagen closed one of its main avenues to car traffic. Located in the Nørrebro area, Nørrebrogade will be a  bike-only street for the next 3 months.

London Gay Travel:  The History Royal Palaces deny the accusations of homophobia made by British news blogs and newspapers. HRP was accused of banning the Time Out Gay & Lesbian guide to London in bookshops at the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace,  Hampton Court Palace, Kew Palace and the Tower of London.

Hotel Gossip: NFL star Adam Jones was involved in a fight  on Tuesday night. The violent altercation between ‘Pacman Jones’ and the personal security guard he was given by the Cowboys football team took place  in a luxury Dallas hotel.

Strange Hotel: Vagabondish publishes a breathtaking picture of the ice hotel located in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden.

The Swedish green fee is much lower than that in other parts of Europe. The country, strewn with scores of golf courses, boasts championship courses, Pay and Play courses, snow courses and courses that open at all hours. But Halmstad Golf Club, Barsebäck Golf & Country Club, Bro Hof Slott Golf Club, Falsterbro Golf Club and Ljunghusen Golf Club are just superb.

• Halmstad Golf Club

Halmstad Golf Club, situated on Tylosand, houses the South and the North Courses, par 72-championship courses. Doglegs, plateau greens, brooks, ravines, sloping fairways enhance both beauty of the landscape and challenge. The club welcomes players of all classes. This tranquil club hosted the Solheim Cup in 2007 and PGA Open Championship in 1982. Though sea sounds and salty sea air reach your ears and nose, you can not see the expanses of water.

Halmstad Golf Club is situated 90 miles North of Göteborg.

• Barsebäck Golf & Country Club

Barsebäck Golf & Country Club, a leading golf club in the country and one of the best ten European clubs, features two 18-hole courses: Masters- a championship course and Donald Steel. On the Oresund coast, the Masters course is known for true and fast greens, links, sand dunes, heather fields, fairways fringed with pines, woodland, parkland and marshland- home to migratory birds. Seven holes are in the pine forest and four on the sea side.

Barsebäck Golf & Country Club is situated 15 miles North of Malmö

• Bro Hof Slott Golf Club

The Stadium course at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club is a recent addition to the long list of Swedish golf courses. The Scandinavian Masters would be played here during 2010 – 2017. This eco-friendly course has inclined fairways to prevent water logging and bunkers of crushed marble. The second course, Castle Course is being built at the club and would be ready by 2009.

Bro Hof Slott Golf Club is a 30-minute train ride from Stockholm.

• Falsterbo Golf Club

Falsterbo Golf Club in picturesque Falsterbo Peninsula that draws migratory birds in autumn has an 18-hole links course. Thin vegetation, sand dunes, fine turf in low lying areas, sand bunkers and water hazards make the game interesting and taxing. International and national tournaments are organized at the club where golf can be played through out the year.

Falsterbo Golf Club is situated 20 miles Sud of Malmö

• Ljunghusen Golf Club

Ljunghusen Golf Club, overlooking the Baltic Sea, is tree-less and full of heather. This flat course poses two major challenges, heather and wind. Asymmetrical fairways, a dozen water hazards and eighty bunkers demand excellent golfing skills. The European Men’s Team Championship in 2001 and the Telia Tour Grand Prix on the Challenge tour during 1996-2004 were organized at the club.

Ljunghusen Golf Club is situated 15 miles Sud of Malmö

Photo of Swedish golf course originally posted by paip