IF YOU’VE EVER BEEN  TEMPTED BY HELSINKI BUT HAVEN’T YET MANAGED TO GET OUT THERE, THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE COMING UP TO GET A TASTE RIGHT HERE IN LONDON.

Our London Buzzhopper, and lover of all things Nordic Ant O’ Neill  gives us a round up of his favourite Nordic festivities,  all to be found in London’s backyard. So if you’ve been hankering for something a bit Nordic (and who hasn’t?) –  it’s your lucky week. But you’ll have some tough choices to make.

Eschew that Winter Wonderland nonsense in Hyde Park. Forget those odious ‘Frost Fairs’ that line the South Bank and allow you to buy exactly the same food you’ll get in Camden Market, but from a wooden hut. No, the real deal is to be had elsewhere. Over the next two weekends you’ll be able to sample the best of Christmas from the Nordic states and with a bit of careful planning, you could do them all.

All are family-friendly, it hardly need be said.

Here’s a roundup. Note that whilst they all centre around churches, it’s due to the fact that these (and the associated seaman’s missions) have long become the foci for Nordic communities in London. So don’t be put off if Calvinism isn’t your thing, and nobody is going to try and talk you round to the Lutherian viewpoint; they’ll be more interested in selling you food and drink.

The Danish Christmas Bazaar

This is up Hampstead way and probably the smallest of the lot. But your £2 entry will soon see you holding a Rød pølse, Denmark’s wonderful red sausages – although the Fransk Hapsdog in its cored-out bun with spicy remoulade is the clear winner here.

Saturday 28th November 11am – 5pm
Sunday 29th November 11am – 4pm

The Swedish Church Fair

Marylebonites, this one is for you. The outdoors section features Glögg, Sweden’s answer to mulled wine and a vast improvement on the British version which is like drinking a molten Glade™ air freshener. Pea soup, gifts, handicrafts, marzipan pigs – yes, that’s a thing! – and a pop-up café in the church hall where you can buy meatballs, beer and other goodies. You’ll never look at Ikea again. The £2 entry is valid for all three days.

The market runs for three days and also incorporates indoor markets in the Norwegian, Estonian and Finnish churches. The latter is the one to hit – aside from selling lots of delicious Fazer chocolate, there’s a kitchen out the back doing reindeer stew, makkara – Finland’s awesome hotdogs – Karhu beer, Lonkero (gin and grapefruit, difficult to stop drinking and even more difficult to stand up afterwards), and salmiakki and chocolate mint vodka shots. Previous events have included reindeer pens, husky-sled rides for the kids, and guest appearances by Moomintroll himself. There will also be music – it’s Sibelius’s 150th anniversary, after all – raffles, giveaways and unique Nordic gifts to buy. If you see me there I might even be persuaded to tell you how to find my favourite East End boozer, one that I’ve never written about on Buzzhopper… this one is word of mouth only. But a salmiakki shot might loosen my tongue…

Thursday 19th November 11am – 8pm
Friday 20th November – CLOSED
Saturday 21st November 11am – 7pm
Sunday 22nd November 12pm – 5pm

The Finnish Christmas Fair

The trip to Rotherithe for this one is wll worth it. The Finnish fair boasts all of that awesome Fazer chocolate, delicious korvapuusti buns and more Moomin-themed presents than you could shake a Fillyjonk at. On theSaturday and Sunday, Albion Road becomes a full-on market, with stalls from the Estonian and Norwegian churches too. In previous years there have been husky sled rides for the kids and yer actual reindeer. It’s something like 50p to get into the Finnish church hall but once inside, you’ll be able to get into the covered garden for food and drink – reindeer stew, delicious makkara sausages, and tempting-but-oh-so-lethal salmiakki shots and lonkero, Finland’s original alcopop. And Moomintroll himself will be there for the kids.

Wednesday 18th November 12pm – 8pm
Thursday 19th November 12pm – 8pm
Friday 20th November – 11am – 12pm
Saturday 21st November 10am – 7pm
Sunday 22nd November 10am – 5pm

A round up of what all our Buzzhoppers had to say about what to see and do at the Expo in Milano

Be warned – the last two weeks of Expo are super crowded. So expect long queues and big crowds. Some of the most popular pavilions have queues of up to 2-4 hours long.  Weekends are the busiest as over 250,000 visitors day are expected.During the week, Expo is crammed full of school kids – hundreds of them.  And you’ll have to be assertive in the queues, Italians (especially the elderly Italians) are prone to pushing and elbowing their way in.  Stay patient and calm. Our Buzzhopper founder witnessed an elderly gentlemen punching a teenage girl in the back as tempers frayed over the crowds and queues this week.   Set your expectations before you go and prepare yourself for the crowds and long queues.

HOW TO GET THERE

The fastest train to Expo. Milan’s extensive metro (underground) system will get you to Expo – but if you’re staying anywhere near the ‘train passante’ system – this is a much quicker, and slightly cheaper option. Taking the “passante” – Milano’s urban rail – (lines S5, S14, S6,S11) ) from Porta Venezia will get to you Expo in twenty minutes with a five minute walk to the expo entrance. The metro line from from Porta Venezia will take you 45 minutes, with a longer 15 minutes walk to the entrance. Check the map below. Buy your passante return train ticket from any newsstand, or if you use the ticketing vending machine, purchase two singles (a return ticket is not available from the machines).

For full details head over to Trenord.it

WHEN YOU GET THERE – as soon as you enter, get on the Expo shuttle which will take you to the other end of Expo and here you can start to walk back to the entrance.   This will save you kilometres  and hours of walking through the crowds to the end of Expo and back again to the entrance.  

WHAT TO SEE

Have some fun! There’s a gigantic net installation at the Brazil pavilion that’s really fun to climb around on.

The Argentinian pavilion had the best performance of street dancers “Choque Urbano”playing with different sounds – very cool, you should

check it out here 

Don’t miss The Coop –“ Supermarket of the Future” in the Future Food district. An expo dedicated to the future of food and how we will produce, consume and shop in years to come. “It’s very interesting and interactive and can scan different products in the store and information appears on the screen above you – Tatiana, 32, Paris

Buzzhoppers vote for best pavilions go to – Switzerland, Germany, Japan and the EU pavilion

The House of Wine in Italy pavilion was great- but also check out the pavilions showcasing Italian regions. –  Hana, 38, Vietnam

TOP EXPO HIGHLIGHT

Buzzhoppers unanimously voted “The Tree of Life” show in the evenings as the highlight of Expo. Weekday evenings, every half hour between 8.30 -10am and until 10.30pm on weekends. A spectacular show of music, lights and fireworks lasting about 12 minutes.

“Worth going to expo just to see this!” –  Melanie, 35, Brazil.

EATING AND DRINKING AT EXPO

“Save your money and save the the environment Bring your own refillable water bottle. There are natural and sparkling water fountains all over Expo so you can refill your own water bottle,” Jane, 45, Scotland.

Peckish? There’s a huge array of food available at Expo and the Buzzhoppers have sampled sampled a lot! It’s not cheap though. Overall, we liked the curries in the Thai and Bangladesh pavilions, and loved the fries from the Belgian stand and chunkie chips from the Netherlands ‘chip’ truck. With over 200,000 visitors a day in the final month, expect to queue a while and if you’re waiting in line for the Asian street food stands, don’t have high expectations.

“On Friday and Saturday evenings, join the party crowd in the Belgian beer hall for – you guessed it, beer and fries. This is the fun place to be!” – Dina, 32, Milan.

Don’t bother with – anything from the USA food trucks (way overpriced) and give the EUR8.50 hotdogs at the The Netherlands a miss. Order a double portion of chips. Food at Expo is generally pricey so if you’re on a budget, pack your own lunch or grab some snacks from the stands and head to the relaxing terrace on German pavilion to soak up the Expo atmosphere

Head to Brazil at Expo for the most delicious caipirinha’s  you’re advised to climb around on the gigantic net installation before you consume too many of these! They’re wonderfully addictive. – Beth, 35 yrs, USA

EXPO PICKS FOR THE FAMILY

“I’ve been several times and am a fan of the Expo. The lines at the Japan pavilion are always really long but I still hope to get there. I also liked Israel, Germany, Kuwait and Malaysia stands. – Jane, 45yrs, EXPO season pass holder

Brazil …a great massive net to climb around on, good fun. Germany – super hi tech, and interactive Coca cola stand and Nutella stand…for ‘obvious’ reasons. – Francesca – 14yrs, Milan

“I love anything ‘techie’ so I really enjoyed – Corrado, 50yrs

The Alitalia pavilion has an Airbus simulator! “I was the only one in my class who didn’t crash the plane within 3 minutes”.(BUT note that all slots for the simulator have been booked up in advance and there are no available slots until the end of Expo) The Austrian pavilion was my favourite. You can walk through the Black Forest and sense the sounds and feel different temperatures. The EU pavilion has a really interesting ‘history of food’ experience told through the lives of two people from different cultures. Although it’s suited to more younger kids, I really enjoyed it. It’s true – food unites us all! – Luca, 12 years old