Standard Swedish breakfast fare

The most common Swedish breakfast is made at home and centers around a smörgås (open-faced sandwich) consisting of bread, margarine or butter and a slice of cheese. You can spice up your smörgås with a variety of traditional toppings, including gurka (cucumber), tomat (tomato), and cold cuts such as skinka and nötkött (ham and beef). Contrary to popular belief, Swedish pancakes are not typically served for breakfast. (Sorry folks, IHOP got it wrong!)

Muesli, a common breakfast item in Switzerland, is also very popular among the Swedes. The blend of flakes, grains and sometimes dried fruits is usually served with filmjölk, a soured yogurt similar to buttermilk.

Coffee (kaffee) is an absolute must with any Swedish breakfast. The Swedes love their coffee strong; don’t be surprised by the lingering caffeine buzz…

Common for Swedes, daring for foreigners

For a more authentic (and fishy) morning treat, try knäckebröd (crisp bread) with kalles caviar. This delightful combination of fish paste and bread is not for the faint of heart. But, if you want the full Swedish breakfast experience, by all means try it. It tastes great on eggs, too!

You can also opt for an interesting dish consisting of makrill fillet (mackerel fish in tomato sauce) on a piece of soft bread topped with cucumber. This may sound a bit strange, but it’s actually quite tasty.

For a DIY-breakfast, you can purchase the above items from any local COOP or ICA grocery store in Stockholm.

Best restaurants for a Swedish breakfast

If you’d like to have a nice sit-down meal, here are three good options:

Cafe String

Nytorgsgatan 38
Breakfast: Saturday–Sunday 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Website

Café String is situated in the heart of SOFO, the bohemian district of south of Stockholm’s city center. It has a relaxed, friendly vibe with a good selection of Swedish breakfast foods, including waffles, fresh fruit and a variety of juices. String is very popular with the locals, so come early!

Sirap

Surbrunnsgatan 31 A
Breakfast: Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Website

Café Sirap is Stockholm’s best choice for an “American- style” breakfast, and it should be — the owners are American. The contemporary atmosphere is very inviting, and the large portions remind you that America is king when it comes to big breakfasts.

Clarion Hotel

Ringvägen 98
Breakfast: Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 7:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m
Website

The Clarion offers more than your average hotel breakfast buffet. Expect a wide variety of warm and cold options along with Asian-style breakfast favorites (lactose- and gluten-free alternatives are available). If you stay at the hotel, the room rate does include breakfast.

Your favorite Swedish breakfast dishes

Have a favorite breakfast spot in Stockholm? A delicious recipe that can be made, even in a hotel kitchenette? Share your favorite Swedish breakfast tips below!

The post Stockholm: What’s a typical Swedish breakfast? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Let’s do breakfast!

Berlin-style breakfast is a jackpot for Cheapos, especially on weekends, when cafés roll out all-you-can-eat buffets. Laden with German breakfast basics—cheese, cold cuts, vegetables, fruit, jam, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and crusty rolls—the best spots offer extras like Sekt (sparkling wine), exotic fruit, and homemade spreads. Coffee, tea, and the Berlin favorite, Milchcafé (coffee with milk), usually aren’t inclusive.

We recommend showing up before 11 AM, when the buffet is freshest, the staff is alert, and the crowds are thin. (Most spots serve breakfast from 10 AM to 3 PM) Once you’ve occupied a table, take your time—read a newspaper, people watch, and make plenty of trips to the buffet. Do it right and you won’t be hungry until dinner.

Where to go?

The cozy neighborhood favorite Schwarze Pumpe (Choriner Str. 76, one block east of Kastanienallee) is a Cheapo hit. For €4.90, you can graze the basic but high-quality buffet with great scrambled eggs. Order a Milchcafé, load your plate, and have a seat in the rustic-cozy interior or on the tree-shaded sidewalk. (Breakfast à la carte is available the rest of the week.)

Vegetarians, leftists, and budget travelers are also fans of the vegan-friendly buffet (available Friday and Saturday from 11 AM to 2 PM) at the grungy café-bar-collective Morgenrot (Kastanienallee, 85). A colorful spread laid out on the bar in this dingy, art-filled space features tofu cream cheese and fruit-studded yoghurt. In keeping with its leftist mission, the café asks for €4¬–8, depending on your income.

If you prefer breakfast à la carte, try the Kiezkantine (Oderberger Str. 50). Operated by a non-profit organization for the mentally challenged, this homey place is beloved for its bargain breakfast. Ample enough for two hungry travelers, the Grosses Frühstück (big breakfast), a composition of cheese, ham, salami, fruit, hard-boiled eggs, vegetables, warm rolls, and seed-studded bread, is only €4.20 (students pay a reduced rate of €3.30). Gourmet it isn’t, but filling it is.

Snap up a flea market bargain

Walk off breakfast while exploring two of the city’s best flea markets, which get going around 11 AM. The Mauerpark Flohmarkt (Bernauer Str. 63-64, at the western end of Oderberger Str.), a maze of stalls next to a scrubby park that once bordered the Berlin Wall, is well stocked with chic and cheap souvenirs hand-crafted by local designers. Look for photographs of Berlin, silk-screened T-shirts, glass bead jewelry, and trendy clothing. Pick through the junkier stands to find retro teapots, vintage leather purses, and LPs.

Afterwards, stroll south on Wolliner Strasse to reach the Flohmarkt am Arkonaplatz (Arkonaplatz). It’s small, but the items on display in this picturesque square are more valuable—and more expensive. Expect vintage sunglasses and retro vases in groovy shades.

Check out the Wall

Cap off your tour with a stop at the admission-free Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall Memorial, Bernauer Str. 111), which is hidden five blocks east of Arkonaplatz (take Anklamer Str., then make a right onto Acker Str.) Study an original stretch of the Berlin Wall up close and from the top of a lookout tower across the street.

From there, pick up a tram on Bernauer Strasse or walk west to the Nordbahnhof S-bahn station to continue your Berlin adventures.

The post Cheapo Morning Out Berlin: Sunday brunch, flea markets, and more appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.