

Men varifrån fick farmor Eva sina traditioner?


Only 3 weeks until our Göta Canal cruise! Now is the time to read up on Victorian table etiquette.
Augusta never described in her diary what she ate on her Göta Canal trips – did she and her family bring their own food or did they buy food on board? What food could you buy?
The Swedish author, Carl Jonas Love Almquist, in his classic novel, Sara Widebeck (Det går an), published in 1838, described the dilemma of choosing what to eat aboard a steamboat departing from Stockholm on Lake Malaren:
The family fathers had to “consider very attentively what they may venture to eat on board without becoming completely bankrupt…” Also, there was the issue of food safety: ”Many gentlemen here still had lingering memories of cholera.” But from the novel, one learns that, depending on social class and the ticket one bought, one could purchase food and drinks from a buffet downstairs, and coffee was provided even to people on deck.
It sounds pretty fantastic:
“ When it is time for lunch and dinner, the beautiful dining room is elegantly set with linen tablecloths and fresh flowers.”
“When the gong sounds, it’s time to sit at the table for a two-course lunch or a three-course dinner. Coffee is served in the afternoon, usually on deck, weather permitting.”
“Tradition has it that the guests change to something a bit more elegant for dinner. It does not have to be dark suit, smart casual wear is quite enough.”
With this in mind, I decided to consult my new indispensable book on Victorian etiquette and politeness, and copy down the most important points to remember when dining aboard M/S Juno,
The following quotes are cherry-picked from the chapters on Etiquette for the Guest and Table Etiquette:
Hmm, I don’t know how I will eat without my eye-glasses, without drinking wine, and only two vegetables. Sitting gracefully in my 1850s dress, and with my chair not standing on Kerstin’s dress, might also be challenging. Eating without gloves, no problem!
Augusta celebrated New Year’s Eve 1851 with her friends. She was 24 years old and life was still good:
Today we were invited to Bååthens1. There were 10 other guests from Norrköping, and of the most boring kind. Luckily there was a tiny Mrs Lundmark from Malmö who was particularly talkative, just like the hostess, and as Gustaf2 and I made up the 3rd and 4th members of this little coterie, we could congratulate each other on our contribution to making the evening pleasurable. A simple supper consisting of lutfisk and porridge as well as steak and a pastry was taken and the party ended around midnight. It is now 2 am, the new year has begun; will it give us clear or cloudy days? The future will give me answers.
The wonderful answer is that 1852 was a momentous year for Augusta – the year she met her future husband Adolf Leonard Nordvall.
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1Seved and his wife Ulla (Ulrika Josefina) Bååth (http://www.skanskebatar.se/gen_public/000/0008/247.php)
2Gustaf Adolf Eklund, merchant who also built the New Theatre (Eklundska Teatern) in Norrköping