These things are all over the city, hovering over the footpath just waiting to fall. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day walking in the bike path.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Boxing Day
Another day and another family feast scheduled at Anne and Klaus'. I'm not sure how they do it and not be exhausted all day. We got some walking directions from Ida and went to meet her at a friend's apartment. As we were casually walking along the footpath so old ladies waiting at the bus stop started yelling at us and waving their hands. After initially thinking they were crazy and mean, we looked up and saw what they were pointing at:
These things are all over the city, hovering over the footpath just waiting to fall. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day walking in the bike path.
These things are all over the city, hovering over the footpath just waiting to fall. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day walking in the bike path.
Christmas Day
After a long, wine-filled Christmas Eve Timon and I decided to stay on the couch all Christmas day and watch TV. Episodes of Friday Night Lights to be exact. We woke around 11am and skype'd Australia to speak with the gang at Norman Street. And Hooray! Lucy has fixed the speakers so that everyone can hear me at once and there's no dorky headset to be seen. I got all the gossip from Australia, opened a pressie from mum and dad that I'd been keeping in my suitcase (some beautiful jewellery from Jordan) and watched a video of everyone opening their gifts. Ross rang me from London to say hi and I also got to speak with Ian, Lindsey and their extended family in Mount Helen. Then we hunkered down with bacon and eggs and 10 or so hours of Friday Night Lights Season 2 (Texas based high school football TV series). Merry Christmas!!
Christmas Eve Eve
The 23rd of December is rice pudding day in Ida's family. "Risengrod" is served warm with a chunk of butter in the centre and brown sugar sprinkled over the top. Traditionally eaten around Christmas, risengrod comes with its own song, which we sang around the table. We met at Anne and Klaus' (Ida's parents) house and we joined by Lisbeth & Jorgen (aunty and uncle) and Matthis and Emilie (cousins). We started off by 'helping' make marzipan and chocolate sweets for the next couple of days. We molded and rolled and fashioned australian animals out of almond cookie dough stuff. Then we ate risengrod for dinner and played a game where you write names of famous people on pieces of paper and put them in a bowl. Then you split into teams and take turns to identify the people by using related words. Kind of like Hot Streak for those in the know. There is also a miming round. I'm sad to say that Timon's team beat my team, despite a valiant effort. The game, normally in Danish, was turned international for our benefit and some examples of the famous people included Steve Irwin, Princess Mary, Nicole Kidman, Kylie, HC Anderson and someone/something called Kilroy. Hands up who knows what that is?
Oh! I forgot to say that Ida picked us up in the car, and while trying to park she hit a mad snow bank and wedged the car in very firmly, so much so that she couldn't get out her door and Jacob spent an hour the next day digging it out!
Now Christmas Eve (24th) is the real party here in Denmark. It is a celebration of the returning of the light (the shortest day corresponds with Christmas) and this is the day we finally! put up the Christmas tree. There are many photos of this process on Facebook so make sure you check them out, just to see what a Danish tree looks like. The day was shared with Ida's aunty Birgit and grandma, as well as Anne, Klaus and Jacob. There was lots of cooking and lots of Christmas beer while we watched the Disney Christmas special at 4pm. Shown ever year, this special shows musical clips from old old Disney movies and then screens a teaser from an upcoming film. This year was Tangled and Cars 2. Some of the old clips were in English, as we suspect there might be rules about Mickey and Donald's voices being preserved. But others, like Cinderella, Snow White and Pinocchio were all Danish. As expected the snow was deep on the ground. Now the food:
We had a most spectacular dinner of roast pork with gravy, roast duck with duck gravy, red cabbage, apple sauce, caramelised potatoes, white potatoes and an orange and pomegranate salad. Each round was re-heated and I must confess to three servings. I'm pretty sure Timon was in heaven. For dessert we had 'risalamande' which is the leftover risengrod. It is served cold, mixed with cream, almonds and cherry sauce. It was delicious. However, there is catch. Tucked inside the risalamande, along with all the chopped up almonds, is a whole almond. As the dessert is being served, someone turns around and allocates a plate to each person. Then as you eat, you must be careful not to swallow the lucky almond, and hide it in your mouth until everyone is finished. Whoever scores the almond and successfully hides it receives a special prize. Timon was very nervous that he would eat it accidentally and ruin Christmas. Luckily, Klaus won and we all enjoyed his prize of lego motorbikes!
After dinner we lit the candles on the Christmas tree (yes real candles! fire hazard!) and had a dance. Klaus had printed off the lyrics to some Danish Christmas carols so T and I held them in one hand while forming a human circle around the tree. We sang (in perfect Danish) and danced until we were dizzy. We also provided everyone with the lyrics to Aussie Jingle Bells and had a go at that. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it goes something like 'oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty holden ute'. THEN came the presents. Now unlike our traditional free-for-all present bonanza, we sat around the table and handed presents out one by one. It was great to be able to see everyone's reactions to the presents they received, and even Timon and I were lucky - we were given a guidebook on Iceland from Birgit and a novel set in Copenhagen's snow by Anne and Klaus! It was a very special evening and it was made all the more awesome by the epic snow outside.
Oh! I forgot to say that Ida picked us up in the car, and while trying to park she hit a mad snow bank and wedged the car in very firmly, so much so that she couldn't get out her door and Jacob spent an hour the next day digging it out!
Now Christmas Eve (24th) is the real party here in Denmark. It is a celebration of the returning of the light (the shortest day corresponds with Christmas) and this is the day we finally! put up the Christmas tree. There are many photos of this process on Facebook so make sure you check them out, just to see what a Danish tree looks like. The day was shared with Ida's aunty Birgit and grandma, as well as Anne, Klaus and Jacob. There was lots of cooking and lots of Christmas beer while we watched the Disney Christmas special at 4pm. Shown ever year, this special shows musical clips from old old Disney movies and then screens a teaser from an upcoming film. This year was Tangled and Cars 2. Some of the old clips were in English, as we suspect there might be rules about Mickey and Donald's voices being preserved. But others, like Cinderella, Snow White and Pinocchio were all Danish. As expected the snow was deep on the ground. Now the food:
We had a most spectacular dinner of roast pork with gravy, roast duck with duck gravy, red cabbage, apple sauce, caramelised potatoes, white potatoes and an orange and pomegranate salad. Each round was re-heated and I must confess to three servings. I'm pretty sure Timon was in heaven. For dessert we had 'risalamande' which is the leftover risengrod. It is served cold, mixed with cream, almonds and cherry sauce. It was delicious. However, there is catch. Tucked inside the risalamande, along with all the chopped up almonds, is a whole almond. As the dessert is being served, someone turns around and allocates a plate to each person. Then as you eat, you must be careful not to swallow the lucky almond, and hide it in your mouth until everyone is finished. Whoever scores the almond and successfully hides it receives a special prize. Timon was very nervous that he would eat it accidentally and ruin Christmas. Luckily, Klaus won and we all enjoyed his prize of lego motorbikes!
After dinner we lit the candles on the Christmas tree (yes real candles! fire hazard!) and had a dance. Klaus had printed off the lyrics to some Danish Christmas carols so T and I held them in one hand while forming a human circle around the tree. We sang (in perfect Danish) and danced until we were dizzy. We also provided everyone with the lyrics to Aussie Jingle Bells and had a go at that. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it goes something like 'oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty holden ute'. THEN came the presents. Now unlike our traditional free-for-all present bonanza, we sat around the table and handed presents out one by one. It was great to be able to see everyone's reactions to the presents they received, and even Timon and I were lucky - we were given a guidebook on Iceland from Birgit and a novel set in Copenhagen's snow by Anne and Klaus! It was a very special evening and it was made all the more awesome by the epic snow outside.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
HC Anderson and a daytrip to Sweden
Tuesday was set aside for Ida to do her Christmas shopping. So Timon and I decided that a visit to Hans Christian Anderson's grave was in order. The cemetery, starring HC, Soren Kierkegaard (Danish philosopher) and Natasja (reggae artist who died in 2007 in a car accident in Jamaica) is right near Ida's house and is surrounded by a high, very yellow wall. The cemetery is designated as the resting place for 'artistic and pioneering personalities'. Ida walked with us on her way to meet Jacob in the city. It was a beautiful sunny day which makes the snow absolutely sparkle. The main avenue of the cemetery is lined with very tall thin trees and the snow on the ground was deep. We found an untouched area and Ida and I lay down and made snow angels. I must have done it wrong because my coat rode up and my back and butt immediately froze on contact with the snow. Instead of helping me up, T took photos of me gracefully spread-eagled on the ground!
Later in the afternoon Timon and I spent ages in the supermarket trying to find ingredients for both rum balls and anzac biscuits. Imagine how hard it is to translate sweetened condensed milk, golden syrup and dessicated coconut! We ended up with everything but the milk and syrup, which Ida found later at another store. Now I'm pretty sure it's not that hard to make rum balls. But our effort turned out terribly. It could have been the ingredients, it could have been the skill, but ours turned out gluggy and tasteless. Very disappointing. We will have to try the anzacs next but I'm not holding out much hope. I seem to be awful at making sweet things.
On Wednesday we met Ida in the city (after a quick McDonald's breakfast - everything tastes the same!!!) and jumped on the train to Sweden. Sounds simple right? And it's supposed to be. It's also supposed to be a 25 minute trip. But it turned out that a snowstorm warning had encouraged everyone in Copenhagen to bring their travel plans forward so they could get home/away for Christmas. All trains were delayed and when we finally got on one, it turned out to be the wrong one. We got off at the Central Station and wandered around all lost until we found Ida's friend Rebecca who was accompanying us. The platforms were in chaos as the screens did not match the announcements being made every few minutes. After carving our way through hundreds of people, many with giant suitcases, we finally found the right train and squeezed on, standing in the aisles. Keep in mind it was -a lot of degrees at this time. Luckily two guys got off just before the train crosses the bridge to Sweden so T and I grabbed their window seats. It was pretty cool looking out over the water and wind turbines as we made the crossing. It could not have been more than 10 minutes on the bridge. Sweden itself looked exactly the same on arrival, deep in snow and freezing.
We got off the train at Malmo, the third largest Swedish city after Stockholm and Gothenburg. And if Denmark was cold then Sweden was positively Arctic. It was interesting to see the different architecture styles and the much more commercial focus of the city. We passed 3 Burger Kings, 2 McDonalds and 2 Subways in a very small distance. We went in and out of shops, mostly to keep warm but also to pick up a few gifts. Rebecca had to head back early to collect her son from daycare and by this point I had lost feeling in my face and toes. We all decided to leave together and found ourselves a train station. But in keeping with the day, the train was delayed by half an hour, was jam packed and then took an hour to get back to CPH. While we spent most of the day in transit, it was so very cool to be able to go to another country for the day. For 2 hours even. It's something us southern hemispherers have difficulty imagining but is a daily reality for Europeans. Many people live in Copenhagen and commute to Malmo for work everyday (and vice versa). There is no customs, border patrol or passport requirements. In fact it takes less time (normally) to get from Denmark to Sweden than it takes to get from Fitzroy to St Kilda.
We finally made it home after a long walk from the city (the weather drives everyone onto public transport, meaning the buses were packed like sardines) and we stocked up on whiskey, coke, chips and kebabs. Finally back inside we ate and drank our way through many episodes of Friday Night Lights. Ida made us Irish Coffees and the feeling slowly came back to my toes.
Later in the afternoon Timon and I spent ages in the supermarket trying to find ingredients for both rum balls and anzac biscuits. Imagine how hard it is to translate sweetened condensed milk, golden syrup and dessicated coconut! We ended up with everything but the milk and syrup, which Ida found later at another store. Now I'm pretty sure it's not that hard to make rum balls. But our effort turned out terribly. It could have been the ingredients, it could have been the skill, but ours turned out gluggy and tasteless. Very disappointing. We will have to try the anzacs next but I'm not holding out much hope. I seem to be awful at making sweet things.
On Wednesday we met Ida in the city (after a quick McDonald's breakfast - everything tastes the same!!!) and jumped on the train to Sweden. Sounds simple right? And it's supposed to be. It's also supposed to be a 25 minute trip. But it turned out that a snowstorm warning had encouraged everyone in Copenhagen to bring their travel plans forward so they could get home/away for Christmas. All trains were delayed and when we finally got on one, it turned out to be the wrong one. We got off at the Central Station and wandered around all lost until we found Ida's friend Rebecca who was accompanying us. The platforms were in chaos as the screens did not match the announcements being made every few minutes. After carving our way through hundreds of people, many with giant suitcases, we finally found the right train and squeezed on, standing in the aisles. Keep in mind it was -a lot of degrees at this time. Luckily two guys got off just before the train crosses the bridge to Sweden so T and I grabbed their window seats. It was pretty cool looking out over the water and wind turbines as we made the crossing. It could not have been more than 10 minutes on the bridge. Sweden itself looked exactly the same on arrival, deep in snow and freezing.
We got off the train at Malmo, the third largest Swedish city after Stockholm and Gothenburg. And if Denmark was cold then Sweden was positively Arctic. It was interesting to see the different architecture styles and the much more commercial focus of the city. We passed 3 Burger Kings, 2 McDonalds and 2 Subways in a very small distance. We went in and out of shops, mostly to keep warm but also to pick up a few gifts. Rebecca had to head back early to collect her son from daycare and by this point I had lost feeling in my face and toes. We all decided to leave together and found ourselves a train station. But in keeping with the day, the train was delayed by half an hour, was jam packed and then took an hour to get back to CPH. While we spent most of the day in transit, it was so very cool to be able to go to another country for the day. For 2 hours even. It's something us southern hemispherers have difficulty imagining but is a daily reality for Europeans. Many people live in Copenhagen and commute to Malmo for work everyday (and vice versa). There is no customs, border patrol or passport requirements. In fact it takes less time (normally) to get from Denmark to Sweden than it takes to get from Fitzroy to St Kilda.
We finally made it home after a long walk from the city (the weather drives everyone onto public transport, meaning the buses were packed like sardines) and we stocked up on whiskey, coke, chips and kebabs. Finally back inside we ate and drank our way through many episodes of Friday Night Lights. Ida made us Irish Coffees and the feeling slowly came back to my toes.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Hamlet's Helsingor
On Monday we decided on the brilliant idea of visiting Elsinore, the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet amongst other things. There is a castle there, originally known as the Hook (very cool name) and now known as Kronborg. Ida drove us for our first adventure outside of Kobenhavn and it took 45 minutes of highway driving. The sun was shining on the snow and it was a pretty magnificent sight. We walked up to the castle, debated the sturdiness of the iced over moat, and took in the view of Sweden over the water. We watched a ferry cross from Denmark to Sweden and dodged snowballs inexpertly tossed by Timon. What we didn't do - realise that all museums/historical landmarks are closed on Mondays. It took us a good 5 minutes of trying to open the heavy door of the ticket office before Ida realised it was good and closed (to be fair I struggle with all the doors in this country as they seem to be heavier than lead). There was nothing to be done but a trudge into town for lunch. Now it's going to sound gross, but I had a very Danish lunch of warm pate on rye bread with bacon, mushrooms and beetroot and it was amazing. I've never had warm mushy pate before but I loved it! Timon....not so much. We sat in a very old-fashioned cafe with Dolly Parton tracks on the stereo and coffee-d away the next hour.
Back to CPH along the coast (sighted a windmill!) and it was time to collect Bastian from daycare. Bastian is Rebecca's child, who is Ida's best friend. He is 1-ish. Now those of you who watched the Oprah Denmark special (Lucy) it is true what they say - Danish mothers leave their children in prams outside shops, cafes and houses. You will see a collection of prams with sleeping babies inside as you walk down the street. These prams aren't attached to anything, nor are the children. The theory is that no-one wants your baby except you. I am having A LOT of difficulty wrapping my head around this one. Anyway, we collected him and wrapped him up in many layers of clothes and sleeping bags and walked back to Ida's. By this stage of the day it was -12. Nuts.
Back to CPH along the coast (sighted a windmill!) and it was time to collect Bastian from daycare. Bastian is Rebecca's child, who is Ida's best friend. He is 1-ish. Now those of you who watched the Oprah Denmark special (Lucy) it is true what they say - Danish mothers leave their children in prams outside shops, cafes and houses. You will see a collection of prams with sleeping babies inside as you walk down the street. These prams aren't attached to anything, nor are the children. The theory is that no-one wants your baby except you. I am having A LOT of difficulty wrapping my head around this one. Anyway, we collected him and wrapped him up in many layers of clothes and sleeping bags and walked back to Ida's. By this stage of the day it was -12. Nuts.
The Second
Here is a rundown of things we've done/seen/eaten so far.
The first few days in CPH were a shock to the system. Snow lined the footpaths but didn't fall and the wind blew an almighty freeze over everything. My face has never been so cold. On our first night we were asleep by 7pm. Not surprising, considering we got a total of about 4 hours sleep on the plane(s). Remember it is also dark by 3.30pm. Our sleeping patterns have finally returned to normal, meaning we can stay up after midnight and sleep in until 11am.
Ida's apartment is very white and clean and cosy. She, like most Danish people from what I can gather, burns candles from morning till night. Whilst pretty this is a hazard for me and I've nearly set my hair on fire at least 3 times. There is very little in the way of overhead lighting here, with strategically placed lamps and candles or very low slung fixtures creating mood lighting that is generous to everyone. I'm not complaining about that at all! Timon and I sleep on a double mattress in the loungeroom and shower in Ida's bedroom. Looks crazy I know, but when you think about it really, it's very convenient.
Ida took us on a walking tour of the city and we visited Princess Mary's palace which is next door to the Queen's and the spares reserved for visiting dignitaries. We walked along the harbour and saw the new shiny opera house, the grand Marble Church and New Harbour which is the scene of nearly every Denmark-ian postcard. Please check out our Facebook albums for photos of everything. My favourite thing so far, apart from the eating of course, was The Little Mermaid. She sits on a rock in the water just off the shore, looking very demure and pretty. Lucky for us she has just returned from a visit to China!
We went to Ida's uncles house for his birthday dinner and the food was spectacular. I fell in love with this chicken with tuna sauce, which sounds gross but was gorgeous. Timon had plenty of roast pork and very dark christmas beer. Everyone made a big effort to speak English and although we were exhausted by 9pm it was a fun night. We have only come across one person who didn't speak English in the shops and that was at the pharmacy. Life has been pretty easy in that regard. We DO have to learn a traditional Danish Christmas song so we can dance around the tree on the 24th. I'm definitely nervous about that but hopefully a few glasses of wine will smooth it over.
We have spent a lot of time in the shops of CPH. Especially H&M and Urban Outfitters. Timon is on the lookout for sturdier winter snow boots and me for a warmer winter coat. We've had little luck so far, and as everything is brutally expensive here I think we will tough it out until Berlin. I did buy a warmer scarf and we both got thicker gloves so that our adventures are not hindered by the icy air. Other than walking we have taken a canal tour which was very pretty in the sun, been driven around by Ida (on the wrong side of the road!) and ridden many buses. One of our most magical evenings was at Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_Gardens). We drank coffee and ate Danish donuts in a quaint restaurant, saw ice sculptures and Santa and ate bagels and took a Christmas Express train ride. The lights were spectacular and Christmas spirit abundant.
Our visit to Christiania was definitely an eye opener. Known as a Free Town, Christiania is an area of CPH settled by hippies in 1971. Considered a commune of sorts, the area is walled off from the rest of the city and is governed by its own laws. People build their own wacky houses and live by their own rules. It sounds lovely right? Well kind of. But when we walked down Pusher Street (uh huh), it was scary and a little cold-war russia as dodgy men in dark hoodies sold weed off barrels next to open fire pits with mangy dogs hanging around their feet. Photos aren't allowed in Pusher Street so you can't tell if I'm exaggerating, but it was definitely an uneasy feeling. I can imagine in summer it's a peaceful, loved up, sunny high-town, but the grey of winter just made it look mean. Away from that main street it was a winter wonderland, with an iced over lake and deep snow making it quite magical.
We went to Ida's uncles house for his birthday dinner and the food was spectacular. I fell in love with this chicken with tuna sauce, which sounds gross but was gorgeous. Timon had plenty of roast pork and very dark christmas beer. Everyone made a big effort to speak English and although we were exhausted by 9pm it was a fun night. We have only come across one person who didn't speak English in the shops and that was at the pharmacy. Life has been pretty easy in that regard. We DO have to learn a traditional Danish Christmas song so we can dance around the tree on the 24th. I'm definitely nervous about that but hopefully a few glasses of wine will smooth it over.
We have spent a lot of time in the shops of CPH. Especially H&M and Urban Outfitters. Timon is on the lookout for sturdier winter snow boots and me for a warmer winter coat. We've had little luck so far, and as everything is brutally expensive here I think we will tough it out until Berlin. I did buy a warmer scarf and we both got thicker gloves so that our adventures are not hindered by the icy air. Other than walking we have taken a canal tour which was very pretty in the sun, been driven around by Ida (on the wrong side of the road!) and ridden many buses. One of our most magical evenings was at Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_Gardens). We drank coffee and ate Danish donuts in a quaint restaurant, saw ice sculptures and Santa and ate bagels and took a Christmas Express train ride. The lights were spectacular and Christmas spirit abundant.
Our visit to Christiania was definitely an eye opener. Known as a Free Town, Christiania is an area of CPH settled by hippies in 1971. Considered a commune of sorts, the area is walled off from the rest of the city and is governed by its own laws. People build their own wacky houses and live by their own rules. It sounds lovely right? Well kind of. But when we walked down Pusher Street (uh huh), it was scary and a little cold-war russia as dodgy men in dark hoodies sold weed off barrels next to open fire pits with mangy dogs hanging around their feet. Photos aren't allowed in Pusher Street so you can't tell if I'm exaggerating, but it was definitely an uneasy feeling. I can imagine in summer it's a peaceful, loved up, sunny high-town, but the grey of winter just made it look mean. Away from that main street it was a winter wonderland, with an iced over lake and deep snow making it quite magical.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The First
Timon is looking at me grouchily over the laptop screen as he is apparently way too trendy to have a blog. But I thought, if for nothing else, it will provide us with a comprehensive record of things we've done, people we've met and stuff we've eaten while trekking around the northern hemisphere for the next year or so.
I don't want the word 'trekking' to give the wrong impression. We are by no means roughing it, camping, hiking or cooking things on an open fire. We are in fact lazing around a stylish apartment in Copenhagen, drinking glogg and elderflower and occasionally stepping out into a beautiful winter wonderland covered in white powdery snow. We've been in Denmark for just over a week and the Christmas fetivities begin today with Julehygge, a party organised by our host, Ida, for which she has prepared soups, breads and snacks for 20 of her closest friends. I would like to say that T and I will test out our Danish language skills but they are limited to 'Tak' (thank you) and....that's about it.
We've booked our hostel in Berlin for the 28th - 2nd Jan. To get there we are facing a 7 hour bus trip from CPH leaving at 6.30am. Bleugh. Once in Berlin we are meeting up with Ross! who has been in London since January 2010. It should be one hell of a party - just me, Timon, Ross and 1 million others ringing in the New Year.
I don't want the word 'trekking' to give the wrong impression. We are by no means roughing it, camping, hiking or cooking things on an open fire. We are in fact lazing around a stylish apartment in Copenhagen, drinking glogg and elderflower and occasionally stepping out into a beautiful winter wonderland covered in white powdery snow. We've been in Denmark for just over a week and the Christmas fetivities begin today with Julehygge, a party organised by our host, Ida, for which she has prepared soups, breads and snacks for 20 of her closest friends. I would like to say that T and I will test out our Danish language skills but they are limited to 'Tak' (thank you) and....that's about it.
We've booked our hostel in Berlin for the 28th - 2nd Jan. To get there we are facing a 7 hour bus trip from CPH leaving at 6.30am. Bleugh. Once in Berlin we are meeting up with Ross! who has been in London since January 2010. It should be one hell of a party - just me, Timon, Ross and 1 million others ringing in the New Year.
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