My friends and I were commenting over dinner tonight that we could not believe that we have already been in Denmark a month and a half – a month and a half! This study abroad experience is flying by, as I suspected it would, so I am really trying hard to make the most of every moment here. Next week we will be on our long study tour trip to Brussels for my European Union class, the following week I will be paid a visit by the wonderful Gladys and Stanley (I am SO excited to see them and have them here in Europe!), and before I know it will be my long weekend in Prague, then my travel break to Russia and the UK will be upon me and then it’s May! Yes, I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but with all the travel there are shockingly few weekends left.
This past Wednesday Helle was so incredibly kind as to take the day off from work and take me on a day trip to Sweden. We explored Helsingør, a town located on the northeast coast of Zealand (the island of Denmark that Copenhagen is on), on the eastern coast of Denmark, which is quite adorable and home to several Danish landmarks. We then made our way via ferry to Helsingborg, a Sweedish town just over the border. It was hard to believe that all it took was a pleasant, 20-minute ferry ride and poof! we were in another country. Like on the ferry ride from Denmark to Germany, no was passport needed. Helle and I walked around Helsingborg, explored some very cute Swedish stores and visited Helsingborg Castle. Helle treated me to a delightful lunch at a café in town. It was interesting to see Swedish words and phrases and notice that some of the words, like the word for thank you, are the same or similar to Danish but that some of the words are completely different.
After taking the ferry back to Helsingør, we went to visit Kronborg castle, famous because it is allegedly the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Hamlet, although it is debated whether Shakespeare ever actually visited. We didn’t stay that long because it was cold and starting to snow but I enjoyed seeing the castle and taking the obligatory tourist picture.
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| Me with Helsingborg in the background |
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| Helle in front of Helsingborg Castle |
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| Kronborg aka Hamlet's Castle |
On Friday afternoon, for my class on the European Union we had a special guest lecture about the Europe's Economy the CEO of the European Policy Centre, a think tank in Brussels . Mid- presentation, our lecturer noticed that a group of students were looking concentradedly out the window and he asked them what they were looking at. Before they could answer we heard a series of what sounded like gun shots. We were all a bit shocked until our professor explained that that this was to celebrate the return of Danish troops from Afghanistan. We all rushed to the window to see a large display of fireworks being shop up from the city square nearby. We gazed until the presentor called us back to our seats and the fireworks stopped. On our walk back to the train station that afternoon there were paper Danish flags everyone – stuck in the fences, piled in the trash cans, on the lamp posts, etc. They were clearly part of an event that had taken place earlier to celebrate troops coming home, and I snagged one for my room. Showing an interesting opinion on Denmark’s involvement in the war, one flag had a sticker on it with a picture of the grim reeper captioned, “I support everyone’s troops.”
Saturday I had a really nice, relaxed day. A group of friends and I had a brunch potluck where everyone brought a delicious brunch dish and ate until our heart’s content. We had scrambled eggs, homemade cinnamon buns and banana bread, bacon, fruit salad and crepes. Yum! It was so nice to enjoy each other’s company, eat good food, and celebrate the experience and friendships we have created so far.
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| Brunch potluck with friends |
We took the bus into Roskilde (which takes a bit longer but is more scenic than the train – there are several cute neighborhoods and farms) and were heading to do some grocery shopping when a long line of eager Danes caught our attention. It didn’t take us long to surmise that that line was for Paradis, an ice cream shop in Roskilde that had been recommended to us, that was giving out free ice cream to celebrate their season opening. There were hoards of joyful young (and old) Danes who enjoyed their two free scoops. I ventured for an old favorite: one scoop chocolade, one scoop mint de chocolade. Paradis has Italian ice cream which is really creamy and which we thoroughly enjoyed eating despite the slightly chilly weather. Free ice cream is free ice cream.
Saturday afternoon a group of us set out to bake 2 cakes for a DIS party celebrating the Nordic holiday of Fastelavn. Considering that we bought cake mix from the store (they don’t sell frosting separately from cake mix so you have to choose from the fairly limited selection of cake mixes that come with a powder to make into a glaze in the box), our creations turned out pretty delicious.
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| Showing our Danish pride with a cinnamon and chocolate cake for Fastelavn |
Sunday DIS celebrated Fastelavn, which is a Nordic holiday celebrated in Denmark that is similar to our Halloween. It happens the Sunday or Monday before Ash Wednesday, and is a holiday mostly for children with an array of fun activities. People eat Fastelavnsboller, a special type of pastry for the holiday, and children dress up and go door to door singing a special song and receiving money at each door. There is also a game called “beat the cat out of the barrel”, in which children swing at a wooden barrel with a stick and try to break it. Whoever makes the first strike in the barrel is crownded the cat queen and whoever knocks the last piece of wood off the string is the cat king. There is usually fruit or candy inside the barrel but in the olden days there was an actual live black cat, which was supposed to be a sign of evil, that was inside the barrel and which people would beat to death as they beat apart the barrrell. People also decorate brances for this holiday which appartently children use to wake up their parents on Fastelavn and demand candy. Fastelavn this year is actually not until March 6th but since we will be on our long study tours then DIS had an early celebration. The party was equipped with a large buffet of cake and pastries, as well as face painting, branch decorating and barrel whacking. Great, great weekend. I am getting to be more Scandinavian every day.
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| Dressed as a ladybug, beating the "cat" out of the barrel |
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