Callin' sick today

It's a sad sad day... but since I'll have to stay in all day I will find the time to enjoy some Danish TV. Or just keeping up with the Kardashians :D

Julefrokost: feast until you become a Dane

Months have gone since my last post and I apologise for that, but I thought that a great way to come back was by presenting you ultimate Danish tradition: Julefrokost or Christmas dinner.

Tuborg Julebryg

In a Dane's year, Christmas is the most festive of all festivities, although I am not quite sure Danes know what Christmas is originally all about. Here in Denmark, the beginning of the winter holidays is signed by the release of Christmas beer or Julebryg. On the first Friday of November, all the breweries that matter hand out litres over litres of tastylicious beer (with an obvious higher percentage of alcohol, just to raise holiday spirit).
That is the beginning of the end: the gigantic Christmas tree in the city hall square is lit up, gløgg and markets pop out everywhere and Danes give up their super healthy lifestyle for two months. Yes, two months, because the Christmas dinner tradition is not just about one evening but there is the dinner at your friends, usually ending in somebody crashing on somebody else's couch, the company dinner traditionally ending in sexual harassment and the family dinner where you can meet remote branches of the family tree you didn't know existed.

Tonight is our turn to throw a Christmas dinner: I set the table with red napkins, candles and shot glasses, the oven has been working the whole afternoon and I (finally) got myself to clean up the apartment. A boatload of work and the absolute idea that the most appreciated item on the table will be the bottle of snaps. Christmas dinners are THE exemplification of Danish drinking habits which, if we don't consider the long-term brain and liver damages, make Danes outgoing and full of feelings they wanna share with you complete stranger.

It must not be all about drinking, you may think, since it's called dinner and you are right. Christmas tables are covered with the most traditional and delicious food: brown bread that goes 200 grams a slice, meatballs and red cabbage. The most fortunates might experience a virtual trip to India by eating herrings in curry sauce or fried fish with remoulade, a curry based dressing. Can someone tell me why curry is a traditional element of Danish cuisine?!?!?! After three and a half years I haven't yet found an explanation to it and  this frustrates me!

You cannot say you know what a Danish Christmas dinner is until you tried one, so tonight, I will try to make you a part of it.

Merry Christmas and skål!

In advance, special thanks to:

- Tuborg, because their Christmas beer might not be the best but definitively the one with the best merchandise.

- Rema 1000 and Budget, because when quantity overrules quality they are always there for you.
- Santa Pazienza, because my boyfriend got stuck at work and I had to do all by myself.

Copenhagen and Legoland with friends

We are sorry it took us so long to get back to the keyboard but we had a busy period lately.

A friend from Italy came to visit us and we showed her around Denmark: Copenhagen, Legoland and, of course, our hometown Odense. We had a blast and it was amazing to travel around with somebody that never visited Denmark before.

On Saturday we took a one-day trip to Copenhagen and we must say, the Nordic Gods have been really against us with the weather. We managed to walk from Cph Central station to Nyhavn without getting wet but, when we turned around the corner to sightsee the Royal residence of Amalienborg it started pouring. What to say, you cannot travel around Denmark without a taste of fast-changing Danish weather and it felt adventurous to find shelter under a tree. 

To fully experience Copenhagen, we had Fransk hot-dogs at Nyhavn and visited the National museum, where we restored ourselves with hot drinks (yes, Danish summer can hardly be called summer).

You can easily tour Copenhagen in one day, but if you wish to see more museums, castles or visit the famous amusement park Tivoli, you better plan a longer stay. That is what we agreed to do next time we will be in Copenhagen.

Nyhavn, Copenhagen

Laura, Martin and me in Copenhagen

On Sunday, we decided to grow back in age and have tons of fun in Legoland. Since we are not what you could call roller-coaster daredevils, we jumped on quite attractions but we had much fun just by walking around and looking at Lego not-so-mini miniatures.

If you are planning a family and/or friends one day trip, Legoland is the perfect destination. We just suggest you to bring your own lunch bag and drinks, because, as you probably know, dining at amusement parks can be expensive. Here are some pictures of the great time we had and the things we saw and did.

3 cheap souvenirs from Denmark

Whether you are visiting Denmark for a short period or you are about to leave after a study period in the land of Hans Christian Andersen, you are probably racking your brain finding souvenirs for all your family and friends back home.

Well, we have three very cheap and space-saving ideas that might help you.

The first one is a very small version of the Danish flag, or Dannebrog, that can be found in many souvenir stores or Søstrene Grene. With a few krone you bring home this little present to decorate rooms, balconies and tables in the perfect Danish style. In fact, as Danes do, you can put the flag on the table whenever a member of the family or a friend is celebrating his or her birthday. You can also use them to welcome Danish friends that will visit you.

If you are not the nationalist type, you can offer your friends a bite of Denmark! :)

A good idea, absolutely not difficult to transport in your suitcase in a small amount, is a pack of candies. A traditional sweet from Denmark (and other Nordic countries, for what I know) is salty liquorice. The risk is that it won't be appreciated by your friends as much as other candies. We suggest you to go to one of those Bland-selv candy stores and make a customised mix.

The last idea is for those of you with a bit (but not too much) manual skills. We tried this personally and it was a success!

All you need is a lace, some pearls of your taste and Danish coins of 1,2 and 5 krone (those with a hole in the middle).

Cut about 20-25 cm of lace and tie the pearls along it (block the pearls with a knot on each side). You will obtain a very nice bracelet that recalls the Viking age. :)

In our personal project we opted for some warm colours like brown and yellow. If you want to make it even more Danish, add one or two pearls made of amber, a fossilised resin typical of Denmark. (They also have an amber museum in Copenhagen, in the Nyhavn area)

We hope that our suggestions were useful. If you have any other idea, please share it with us!