Each year for as long as I have lived in
Melbourne we have gone to the Scandinavian Xmas Bazaar, which is always held on
the first weekend in December in the Swedish Church in Toorak.
And this year was no exception; we followed
tradition and went along on Saturday the 1st December. I believe that
it has become an iconic Melbourne tradition for those in the know as regardless
of the weather it is always very well visited.
Although called a church, it is not your
normal church – the two storey mansion is based in one of Toorak’s most magnificent
tree-lined streets, and was once the home of the Governor of Victoria in the
days before the Government House was built. The Swedish church purchased the
building in 1956.
In spite of being held in the Swedish
Church, the bazaar combines the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway and
Sweden, and you can always find lots of Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian
design, home wares and craftsmanship.
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| Swedish Dala Horses |
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| Santas little helpers.. |
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| Cute pig in a tin |
And of
course you also get the chance to try and have the opportunity to purchase all
kinds of Scandinavian foods like Danish hot dogs with crunchy fried onions,
pickled cucumber, mustard and tomato sauce. You can also try Danish æbleskiver with sugar and jam (which
are a bit like Dutch Poffertjes /pancakes), frikadeller on rye bread (Danish meat balls),
Swedish waffles with ice cream and strawberry jam, and not to forget Danish
pastries, cakes and sweets from the Danish Deli....oh, and maybe a Danish beer or two..
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| Danish Hot Dogs |
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| Danish æbleskiver |
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| Danish Frikadeller |
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| Swedish waffles |
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| Cakes, bread and sweets from the Danish Deli |
There
are also musical and dance performances throughout the day and lots of family
friendly activities such as farm animals, face painting and a bouncing castle.
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Doggie stop
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| Old style beer crates |
All in all its a fantastic event, and I get to stock up on things that are otherwise hard to find here in Australia, such as herrings and Danish treats!
Have you ever been to the Scandinavian Xmas Bazaar? Or do you visit any Xmas markets or have other traditions you do every year? And have you ever tried a Danish hotdog, or maybe frikadeller?
