Hello Helpers and welcome to the 5th edition of Around the HF World, brought to you by Aleksandr. In this series, we find out some interesting facts about the various countries that our members belong to by talking to them! Today, we have two special guests – Lucifer, a Marshal and Icequeen, a Commodore.
Hello Lucifer and Icequeen.
Lucifer: Hello Aleks
Icequeen: hii
How are you both today?
Luci: I’m alright how about u
Icequeen: I’m alright too
The Countries Interview
I am good, thanks for asking. Let’s enjoy today’s trip with some questions. Can you tell us your nationalities?
Icequeen: Nationality-wise I’m British Asian, ethnicity: I’m fully Bengali
Luci: Nationality, I’m Swedish, ethnicity: Half Swedish, part Spaniard, part Bengali
That’s a lot of countries for two people. You can choose one or more to talk about in this blog. Which will it be?
Luci: Sweden
Icequeen: I have a lot of Swedish friends so I may as well adopt Sweden as part of my nationality too, but no we’re speaking about Bangladesh since we share that surprisingly
Such nice choices for the blog, two nationalities. Can you tell us about some traditions from Bangladesh and Sweden?
Luci: In Sweden, there are a multitude of traditions relating to paganism and Evangelical Christianity such as the most popular one, Midsommer or Midsummer. It’s often celebrated in late June with flowers, dancing around the maypole, and foods like pickled herring and strawberries which are absolutely delicious. In more casual settings, there’s fika which is a coffee break and its often a cultural importance as Swedes like to take time and relax with pastries and coffee. Swedish traditions typically are seasonal and natural related than Bangladesh 🙂
Icequeen: Bangladesh is curry heaven, it has the best curries in the world. Fishing and rice is a staple part of the culture, you’ll see many rivers and villages with lakes and paddies all over Bangladesh. South Asia has a very rich history and a lot of the cultures are intertwined between India/Pakistan/Bangladesh. Islam is the most widespread religion in Bangladesh, but there are Hindu and Christian Bengalis too! The two major Eids (celebrations in Islam) and Independence Day are very big national celebrations and you’ll see the streets filled with massive festivities crowds, bright colours, traditional songs and ofc food. This is random but a Swedish friend taught me that Sweden also has a very smelly fish as one of their traditional foods.
Those are some really interesting traditions. Can you tell us about the types of food that are traditionally found in Swedish and Bengali cuisine?
Icequeen: Bangladesh has very unique fish and vegetables. A lot of them are leafy and radish types and they go very well with fish. One of my favourite is mas biran (fried fish) made with ‘Ayr’ which is a chunky meaty Bengali fish. ‘Shutki’ is another popular soupy dish to make and its made with dried fish and loads of vegetables such as ‘oori’ and ‘mula’. I would translate them but I don’t know what they are in English. A special curry made on a lot of occasions is ‘manksho and aloo’ which is beef/cow meat with potato curry. I also love ‘haag and eesa’ prawn and spinach curry!!
Luci: As a foodie, the most popular one in Sweden is köttbullar, or Swedish meatballs made from ground beef or a mix of beef and pork (I like the beef one), seasoned ofc unlike the Brits and pan-fried. Served with creamy gravy, lingonberry jam, and potatoes. Then ofc the prinskorv which are small sausages often served at holiday meals, especially during Christmas and Midsommer. Janssons Frestelse which is a delicious casserole made with potatoes, onions, anchovy fish (sprats), and cream that my mother used to make for us during the Christmas festivities and I love it. Raggmunk which are crispy potato pancakes as we swedes are known for having a pancake day. Then there is the well known and commonly referred to as the most nastiest fish by some and the tastiest by select few, the Surströmming, which is fermented Baltic herring with a side of flatbread and potatoes.
Both cultures are so diverse. What are some common tourist spots in Sweden and Bangladesh?
Luci: Gamla Stan (which is known as the old town) in Stockholm where most of the history is a lot colourful buildings, cobblestone paths, and not to miss the Royal Palace. You can shop, dine, and love history at the same time #historynerdsily. Vasa Museum in Stockholm (most popular one out there) is where I think correct me if I’m wrong the 17th century warship that sank on its maiden voyage but was discovered fully intact ❤️ Icehotel in north sweden, Jukkasjärvi, which is a hotel built of ice and snow I’m sure you’ve heard of it on social media, that is rebuilt every winter and a great place for drinks and a good place to see the northern lights. Did I mention we have a theme park!!!!! Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg is our largest amusement park which I want to take Trails and Icequeen as my family and I have gone annually to for including the winter/Christmas markets.
Icequeen: Ah fun fact: I have never been to Bangladesh. However, a big part of the culture is to go and visit the village that your family is from. Family is super important and a lot of extended family will be nearby or in-fact living in the same village. As a tourist, Dhaka, the capital city would be a popular place to go to, I’m from a different city called Sylhet. There’s plenty of river cruises, and historical places to see! Sadarghat Port, Sonargaon, Tara Masjid, Pink Palace are some of the top attractions in Dhaka. Sylhet has a lot more natural beauty, the Ratargul forest is located outside the Sylhet district city and is known as the ‘Amazon of Bangladesh’ 🤩, 4-5 months of the year the trees are submerged in water. Other scenic spots include: Bholaganj, Bichanakandi and Jaflong.
Wow, such beautiful places were mentioned. From what you spoke above, how would you rate each other’s countries based on traditions, food and places?
Luci: Tradition- 8.8/10, Food-10/10 I love fish and curries, Places- 7.9/10
Icequeen: Sweden: food 7/10, places 10/10, tradition idk much at all 6/10. My only true negative is that Sweden is way too cold
Excellent, now the last question of the blog, would you recommend people to visit these countries in the future?
Luci: I would absolutely recommend it but bring some warm clothes so you dont freeze:)
Icequeen: 100% yes make sure you visit but be careful of monsoon season!!
And this was the interview with Lucifer and Icequeen about their countries, Sweden and Bangladesh. I will give to those countries based on what they described a solid 8/10. See you guys in the next Saturdays with another mysterious person.
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