Scandanavian Hot Dog Progession

Previously, when I thought of hot dogs, I thought of New York. I have discovered, however, that the Scandanavians have taken the traditional hot dog to new levels (highs and lows).

Executive Summary

From a simple mustard and ketchup combination, to an overladen disaster complete with shrimp salad and mashed potatoes, my degree of enjoyment of various hot dog varieties in Denmark and Sweden can best be summed up in the following chart:

Discussion

The first option is the traditional mustard and ketchup combination. The bread is slightly warmed on a grill and the sausage is also grilled. I found it tastier than a new york dirty water hot dog as I prefered the meat grilled.

Moving up from the traditional, is what's called a French hot dog. The only change here is that the sausage is inserted into a baguette through a circular hole rather than placed in between a sliced bun. There is no discernible change in taste, it's just a little less messy to eat.

Moving on is the first step in a range of swedish hot dogs: the addition of deep fried onions. The addition of the crunchy onions gave a nice constrast to the soft bread and things were looking up. From this level, numerous toppings can be added as set out below in the menu that graces many hotdog stands in Sweden.

The next option is the danish ristet hotdog, topped with mustard, ketchup, remoulade, fresh onions, fried onions and pickles. At this point, I believe the hot dog as peaked. It was delicious, perfect balance of sweet and salty and my favourite.

I skipped over the next intermediate levels of hotdogs that the Swedish have invented as set out in the below menu and went straight for the grand-daddy of them all.

In short, I hated it more than I thought I would. A nicely warmed piece of flatbread was then topped with cold shrimp salad, hot mashed potatoes, salad, mustard, ketchup, lettuce and tomato. I could not understand the logic behind this combination and found the entire concoction inedible.

Before wrapped up

An aerial view of the completed "hot dog"

Conclusion

After sampling the last "hot dog", I only had one question: "why?". Lesson learned: know when to stop adding hot dog toppings for the sake of it and the only potatoes that should be near a hot dog shoud be fried.

Copenhagen, Denmark

I have fallen in love with Copenhagen. Granted it was summer (although the weather was colder than the winter back home) and the sun was out for one of my three days, but it is a very very liveable city and quite beautiful.

Nyhavn

Another girl in my hostel room, Marta, and I became fast friends and we spent our time in Copenhagen touring together. Being an architecture student, Marta shared her knowledge and showed me a side of Copenhagen that I wouldn't have seen otherwise including visits to the Danish Architecture Centre and Danish Design Centre.

The exterior of the public library (nicknamed the "Black Pearl")


Outside the library are deck chairs for views of the canals, perfect for an ice-cream break

Marta and I covered all of the major tourist sites, including Tivoli Gardens, the new harbour, the palaces and city halls and of course, the Little Mermaid. I have heard so many people complain about how small the statue was and what a letdown she is, so my expectations were low. So low in fact, that they were exceeded and I thought she was quite beautiful. Although I prefer Disney's ending to the story rather than the original version, the statue itself is worth a visit.

After surviving on Thai food and hotdogs (more on that in another post), Marta and I decided that it was time to try some local food so we headed to Skipperkroen at Nyhavn and both ordered a sample platter containing fried plaice, roast beef, remoulade, marinated herring, chicken salad, cheese, salad and an assortment of breads.

Marta and I at Skipperkroen

A lot of the stereotypes that one hears about Copenhagen are true: everyone speaks English, the women are beautiful, no-one is overweight, the people are so kind and helpful to tourists and it is a stunning city.