I feel like it’s about time I introduced myself. My name is Chris (nickname: Deoquaza / Necro) and I’m an intern working for Duh-Events since september. My activities here consist mostly of doing things Jeroen doesn’t feel like doing, and preparing things for our big events. But my biggest project here is the organisation of our current edition of Intel Pack4DreamHack with Jeroen and Rob. Among that I’ve been writing most of the news posts here these past few weeks and to my surprise, people actually seem to like them. So to fill up some free time and maybe waste some of yours, I thought a blog would be a good idea to brighten your day.

Now, I’m the sort of guy who likes to tell fun facts, especially when those facts result in someone being entirely grossed out or horrified (Jeroen can know). I also happen to like food, but I’m not really fond of fish, which isn’t really a good thing when you’re going to Sweden. To combine those two things, I’m going to tell you all about what you absolutely shouldn’t eat during your time in Sweden, unless you don’t mind never enjoying life ever again. What may come as no surprise, most dishes are centered around fish, leaving me to believe that fish are evil. For your viewing pleasure, I will also include pictures to show you the true horror of what is about to come.

Blodsoppa
Coming straight out of a gory slasher movie, this dish is appropriately called Blood Soup. Why exactly is it called Blood Soup? The key ingredient here is tasty, tasty goose blood (or the blood of a sacrificial virgin). To make it somewhat tastier than a bar of iron, the Swedes plop in some stock, vinegar, wine, cognac, syrup, ginger and pepper. To make proper use of the goose that gave its blood, they roast it and serve it on the side to keep it all together. A fun dish when you want to scare your vampire-fearing friend, otherwise it’s just nasty.

Surströmming
There’s something about Swedes and rotting fish. One of their iconic dishes is this monstrosity which is basically fermented herring locked away in a tin can, never meant to see the light of day. The brine with which it’s canned with is the key element in the rotting process to make this “thing” what it is. Typically when someone is crazy enough to eat Surströmming, they open the can outside, mainly because it smells like someone ate tons of deviled eggs and then had explosive diarrhea. I don’t know about you, but usually I don’t eat something that’s been rotting for a few weeks and smells like a sewer. Avoid at all costs!

Lutefisk
This is something I like to call Fish on Literal Acid. Originally Lutefisk is a Norwegian dish, but apparently the Swedes also like it every once in a while. Lutefisk is whitefish prepared with acidic lye, and some other treatments involving soaking it in water. When first soaked in lye, the fish becomes so caustic it could cause chemical burns. So to prevent from burning away your insides, the fish is soaked in water for a few days to make sure it can be eaten. In the end you have something that once used to be a fish, but now looks like something a cat vomited back up, having a gelatinous texture. After all that soaking, it’s still caustic enough to dissolve most silverwares. Luckily, Lutefisk is only served during Christmas, because having to spend time with your family wasn’t horrifying enough already.

Bonus: Hakarl
This dish isn’t actually Swedish, but I still thought it was worth mentioning. We all know sharks are deadly, but there is a special breed of shark which meat is extremely poisonous, so even while dead it can still kill you. Hailing from majestic Iceland, Hakarl is dead shark, fermented for a few weeks in a hole in the ground to force the fluids out of it, after which it’s hung to dry outside for several months. I absolutely have no idea why people would eat this. Apparently it tastes awful due to high levels of ammonia, so basically it tastes like piss to the max, and the smell is even worse. Luckily this dish is only eaten in Iceland. Just stick to your trusty fish sticks and mackerel, you don’t want anything to do with this.

These are just the dishes I found the most revolting, I’m pretty sure there are more that I dare not mention (Palt, Messmör). Swedish can be a weird and funny language so make sure you don’t order the wrong thing while in a restaurant. Before you know it, you’re gobbling down rotten fish which might also be moose (you never know). The upside? Some of the names for these dishes make for wicked online nicknames.

This will be my first time going to Sweden and DreamHack, so I’m pretty excited for the journey and the festival itself. DreamHack to me is like the Disney World for gamers, you should’ve been there at least once in your life.
For those few people who came here trying to find out a bit more about me, a few things:

• Nicknames: Deoquaza / Necro.
• Age: 21.
• Study: Communication IEMES.
• Favorite games: Pokemon, indies.
• Favorite music: metal / dubstep / melodic stuff and goodness.
• Favorite movies: Fantasy, Marvel, Disney.
• Favorite food: lasagna, spaghetti, hamburgers, also bacon.
• If it wasn’t obvious yet, I really don’t like fish.
• Expectations of DreamHack: turned up to 11.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at DreamHack and on the bus!

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