Tag Archives: food

Almhult, Sweden and the World of IKEA

It couldn’t have been any greyer — flat skies and a persistent thin drizzle keeping everything damp to the touch outside. But we had a destination in mind — the IKEA Museum in Almhult, Sweden — located in the original 1950s building that had been the first store in the retail empire.

The exhibits are spread out over several floors, but the entire experience moves at a sensible pace when compared to the slower-paced decision making necessary when shopping in one of their retail stores.

Levels of exhibits at the IKEA Museum in Almhult, Sweden — the original 1950s store in the IKEA empire.

The museum’s purpose is to explain the origins and history behind the founding of IKEA and why the harsh economic conditions of the region, both before World War II and immediately afterwards, had contributed to the ideas that fermented inside the head of Ingvar Kamprads.

Interestingly, the museum goes back to the rural poverty of the mid-1800s, a time that saw tens of thousands of Swedes emigrating in hopes of a better life, usually to the United States of America.

Once the exhibit arrives at the pre-war years of the 1930s, it very truthfully reveals that Kamprad’s beloved grandmother was a devoted follower of Hitler and believed in his cause. Fortunately, although Kamprad himself flirted with those ideas as a young teenager, he soon proved that his destiny was to empower Swedish society as a whole through good design at a fair cost.

Watching a documentary segment at the IKEA Museum in Almhult, Sweden.

The exhibits that showed how the building must have looked in 1958 when it opened were particularly interesting. There was nothing there that we wouldn’t have had in our own home today.

1958 Photo Mural & Furniture Juxtaposition-IKEA Museum in Almhult, Sweden.

A beautiful showroom demonstrating the evolution of modern design ideas at the IKEA Museum in Almhult, Sweden.

We arrived at lunch time after I needed to sleep in a bit (chronic insomnia struck again!) and headed straight for the meatballs. Mark were the classic ones, but mine were salmon instead.

Deborah Harmes eating lunch at the IKEA Museum in Almhult, Sweden.

The lounge area of the cafe had a gas-effects fireplace and it was a cozy place for the informal business meetings we saw being conducted.

Business meeting being conducted in front of the fireplace at the IKEA Museum cafe in Almhult, Sweden.

It’s a very pleasant museum and the historical aspects of the exhibits allow the visitor to understand the background history that eventually created the global powerhouse that is the IKEA retail empire. Highly recommended!

A windowfront display of green glass in the shop at the IKEA Museum in Almhult, Sweden.

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©A Wanderful Life 2007-2019
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Deborah Harmes is a freelance writer, editor, and photographer and may be found at http://www.deborahharmes.com — Linkedin — Twitter — Instagram — Alamy photographic portfolio.

Monday Market in Rural France

One of the joys in living in Europe is the quality of markets — no, not supermarkets (and those are frequently quite delightful, too!) — regional weekly markets where the products are straight from the fields or cheesemaker or butcher or fishmonger into your shopping basket. AND they are picturesque as well!

Here are a few scenes from our Monday market inside and outside the medieval market hall in Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives in Calvados, Normandy, France. Enjoy!

Fruit & veg including HUGE sacks of carrots at the Monday Market.

Market vendors outside the medieval hall.

Feathered friends and pretty plants.

Shopping baskets (yes — I’m going to buy a new one!) and flowering plants.

And finally — the clothing on offer may not be to our taste — but someone must want it!

A variety of clothing is sold at the Monday market.

A New Kind Of Chutney — Yum, Yum!

There are other things that I do besides writing and photography and one of them (occasionally!) is cooking something special. What’s wonderful about making chutney is that you can enjoy those brightly coloured jars of goodness all year long.

We have loquat trees in our back garden here in Australia that are simply groaning with fruit right now. I had never even heard of a loquat tree until we moved to this part of Victoria, so I had to do some research into them. They’re a stone fruit, originally from China. And since ours are 65 years old, they are HUGE and full of fruit!

The birds have been circling the trees, so I decided that I’d better get cracking and use some of that gorgeous orange-yellow fruit before they ate all of it. So I spent hours today chopping and prepping what turned out to be a very spicy chutney. It smells and tastes like it will be worth it!

Here’s THE RECIPE!

Now — back to work on some photos. More soon.

4 Things To Do On A Sunday in Melbourne, Australia

We’ve been back in Melbourne, Australia for a week now, so it was definitely time for one of our favourite pursuits — a day out and about in the city for a few hours of food and culture. Seriously, Melbourne is such a vibrant city that even if it is a gray-sky and gloomy day, if you are bored — you just need to get up and get OUT of the house!

Glistening even on a gloomy autumn day, a partial skyline view of Melbourne, Australia across the Yarra River from Southgate.

Here are 4 things to do on a Sunday in Melbourne.

1. Arrive at your destination without the hassle of finding an overpriced parking place if you travel by train for an easy way around the city. The comprehensive train network makes Melbourne such a joy to travel throughout!

Turnstiles inside the Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, Australia

2. Eat a reasonably priced lunch in an eclectic food court inside a beautiful building at Southgate. There are also some wonderful luxury stores and full service restaurants in this multi-level building complex.

One of the multi-level entries to the Southgate shopping & dining complex alongside the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia

Diners at the food court on the lower level of the Southgate shopping and dining complex in Melbourne, Australia

3. Go to the Sunday Market at the Melbourne Arts Centre to see quality handcrafted art, craft, and food items. The row of glass-overhang-covered artists has an enthusiastic audience each weekend.

Sunday Market flag indicating the weekend event outside the Melbourne Arts Centre in Australia

Artists and craft vendors lined up alongside the Melbourne Arts Centre each Sunday

4. Spend an inspiring afternoon at a world class museum — the NGV on St. Kilda Road. There were hundreds of people milling around inside this large art museum, but there was a very happy and relaxed vibe. Autumn leaves were swirling around outside of the beautiful bluestone facade and the people strolling by were dressed appropriately for the cooler temperatures.

Autumn leaves falling outside the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia

The current winter blockbuster show at the NGB is Monet’s Garden, a travelling exhibit from France. But since we have seen so many of these works at various venues worldwide, we chose to visit several of the permanent exhibit galleries as well as one special exhibit — Dior and Yamamoto: The New Look

Dior sketches from the 1940s post-World War II “New Look” collection

Dior black wasp-waisted dress and black hat from the 1940s post-World War II “New Look” collection

The other enjoyable exhibit, in part as an observer of the effect of it on the audience as they either walked by or interacted with it, was Clinamen by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, a sound and motion exhibit with round white ceramic bowls floating in a round pool of deep blue water. The gentle clink as bowl contacted bowl tinkled pleasantly in the atrium space.

Floating ceramic bowls in a pool of water at the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia create a ringing sound as each one gently bumps into an adjoining bowl

Floating ceramic bowls in a pool of water at the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia create a ringing sound as each bowl gently bumps into an adjoining bowl.

Chew On That In Paris

Quick photo of the day because I’m about to jump countries (again!). We’re leaving on the Eurostar tomorrow from Brussels (lots of photo essays from here in the weeks ahead) tomorrow and heading to London for an overnight before flying to the USA for several weeks.

Today’s photo is an example of the ornate bread that is on offer at a boulangerie in Paris, France.

View of a boulangerie window in Paris

So while I work on some new articles and do photo editing as I travel — chew on that for now!

Barcelona Market Shopping At Night

Photos of the day for today are from the huge enclosed market — the Boqueria Market — which was dedicated in the mid-1800s and which is easily accessed from the wide and tree-lined pedestrian walkway of La Rambla.

We had a pleasant stroll though this market and took a small packet of chocolate truffles back to our apartment. It was quite a happy and lively atmosphere and I was surprised to see just how many people were out at night buying their fruit, vegetables, and all other manner of food products.

Cut fruit dealer at the Boqueria Market in Barcelona, Spain

Happy night-time shoppers in the Boqueria Market in Barcelona, Spain

On The Verge Of Christmas in France

We weren’t certain what to expect at the St. Girons Christmas Fair on Sunday, but we headed across the bridge to see what was unfolding.

Headed to the Christmas Fair in St. Girons

Oh my — it was all rather underwhelming. I had been hoping for something along the line of the amazing Christmas markets that I had been to in Germany. But the folksy fair was a very accurate portrayal of the fact that France is generally not the same kind of consumerist society that we have lived amongst in Australia, the UK, or the USA. It seems that the holiday season here is more about families gathered around the table to enjoy food, drink, conversation, and company than about how many gifts are under the tree for each person. And isn’t that charming!

Here are a few pictures from Sunday’s Christmas Fair — followed by a few more from the previous day’s weekly Saturday market. That actually would have been a good place to purchase last-minute Christmas gifts since there were some splendid items for sale at very fair prices.

Christmas balloon seller in St. Girons, France

Carnival-style booth at the Christmas Fair in St. Girons

Hand-cast candles for sale at the Christmas Fair in St. Girons

Food sales benefiting the Autrefois le Couserons association

Christmas quiche seller at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

Market stall selling straw goods in St. Girons, France

Happy Holidays to one and all!!!