Fika

Sit down, relax, enjoy this cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? But, how often do we really sit and relax? In Sweden, their culture revels in a practice known as Fika. Fika is a concept in the Swedish culture that basically means to have coffee. And your coffee is usually accompanied by a pastry, cookie or pie. But in its deeper sense Fika means to have a break, most often with one’s colleagues, friends, date or family.

And it’s a must in the workplace. The Swedes may attribute their business success to the Fika, where members of organizations come together at 9:00 am and 3:00 pm for a Fika daily where team members organically discuss and innovate.

Fika really stresses the act of relaxing, slowing down, taking time to unwind. And it’s more about socializing. It is a legitimate reason to set time aside to enjoy moments of quality time. It’s a tradition observed frequently and accompanying sweets are crucial. We have made it a new year’s resolution to start embracing the practice of Fika at Hotel Ändra. In our culture of ‘busy’, it’s nice to have something to look forward to that encompasses slowing down, destressing and just generally enjoying a small break.

So, let’s all take note from the Swedish culture. We think Seattleites drink a lot of coffee, but Swedes are among the top consumers of coffee and sweets in the world. And it’s no surprise, they have found a way to really savor the sweeter things in life.

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