The never ending Danish Christmas – Part 2

Christmas Day + 2

Wake up around 11:30 – no need for breakfast – another feast awaits me today.

Today’s meal comes from my cousin’s family friends (I think I’ve already seen just about every loosely related Danish relative I have over here). But before I could enjoy the meal, I had to overcome one of my newly found fears… bikes. I had recently visited Amsterdam and was terrified by the cycling gangs which roamed the streets (ok I may be over exaggerating here). Link to Amsterdam blog

It had also been about 5 years since I had last been on a bike so this was going to be interesting. Still, the novelty of riding a bike through the snow in Copenhagen and my determination to conquer this fear helped me get through.

At first everything was easy, be it a bit cold, as we rode through the park and town to get to the house. But as the traffic grew and the streets got icier, my lack of riding skills became ever so clear. We stopped at some street lights and waited for our green light. Once we could go, I attempted to mount the bike but failed abysmally. My cousin had already crossed the road and was laughing uncontrollably at me. I then began to laugh hysterically at myself which just made the whole thing much more difficult. I fell off the bike over and over again and just as I was ready to go, the light turned red so I backed myself up and waited for my second attempt. I had received strange looks from the other cyclists, car drivers and even the old lady walking her dog through the snow. I’m such a bike novice.

But somehow we arrived at the quaint little house unscathed (well my ego may have been somewhat bruised).

I took part in yet another 5 course meal which lasted the entire day as we drank even more schnapps. I was surrounded by one of the sweetest families. I wasn’t even related to them but they still treated me as one of their own. We spoke about life, love and politics (getting into deeper topics as we downed more and more schnapps). It was also during this evening when I was told ‘only to drink schnapps when you’re happy’ otherwise the consequences can be disastrous. Fortunately, I was in a constant state of bliss (unless I was cycling) while in Denmark so had nothing to worry about.

As the evening was winding down I found myself diverting all energy towards digesting my food and keeping some form of dignity in this drunk state of mind. But, inevitably, I had to pull myself up off of the couch, put all my layers of clothes back on and psych myself up for the cycle through the snow.

Surprisingly, I was quite the pro as I cycled home (this just means that I didn’t fall off and embarrass myself too much). The freezing cold air outside had woken me up and sobered me up as well. After arriving home, I stumbled back to the couch, watched more Parks and Rec and then fell asleep in a state of bliss J

Day off

I took this day off from the festive feasts to explore the city of Copenhagen and be a bit of a tourist. Couldn’t visit this place without wandering around the city centre.

After sleeping in, I checked all the details for the next part of my trip (off to Sweden for New Years with some mates) but soon realised that I had booked my flight to Stockholm instead of the small town of Umea where my friend lived. After feverishly booking another flight, (thank god it was cheap) I made my way to the metro and easily found myself standing in the centre of Copenhagen.

I had been here before with my parents and sisters about 6 years ago but still wanted to explore the city. I walked down the famous Nyhavn canal and around the harbour to see the statue of the Little Mermaid. It was surrounded by tourists but I still managed to get a sneaky photo and walk on. I quite liked how the industrial buildings sat behind the Little Mermaid. I saw it as a nice juxtaposition between fairy-tale and reality but I may just be reading into this too much.

I also got great views of the early sunset from the city’s old fortress looking out over the old city houses and churches. Twas picturesque.

I then spent an hour or two in a cosy little café called ‘mormors’ (grandma’s) reading, writing and eating. I had a delicious hot chocolate with whipped cream on top and 2 big scones (this is all I needed to eat today as my body was still recovering from the masses of food I had inhaled over the past few days). I then wandered around more of the city, revelling in all the Christmas lights which adorned every building (I loooove Christmas lights so this was perfect). I walked down the main shopping street and watched a few buskers do their thing while hopping into the occasional retail store to take advantage of the free heating.

I ended up at Tivoli gardens and took a few happy snaps with the statue of Hans Christian Anderson (I had done this 6 years ago with my family so it was mostly for nostalgic purposes). This relaxing day in Copenhagen was just what I needed as the next day going to be full of booze and food… again.

    

Christmas Day + 4

My last full day in Copenhagen was most definitely my biggest. But I dint know this yet.

I woke up and made myself all pretty before heading out to another Christmas lunch. This time it was with all my cousin’s friends and their kids who collectively owned a summer house in Sweden. This bunch of Danes were perhaps the rowdiest and most quirky bunch of people I had met over here.

The food was themed ‘Swedish’ although I couldn’t really tell the difference between this food and that which I had been eating all week. Nonetheless, it was delicious. There was more beer and even more schnapps so I knew this would probably get messy.

There were about 20 people in the house, half adults and half kids (Was great to have some more people my age to hang out with at this point too). ‘Skol’ (cheers) was shouted out so frequently that I felt as if I was constantly sculling schnapps and beer.

It became very apparent just how great a festive mood everyone was in once the singing started (yes, there was singing). Two or three guitars popped up out of nowhere and everyone started to sing Beatles hits alongside Danish pop and rock songs. And they even took up my request to hear the Danish national anthem. They rose to their feet and drunkenly shouted out the song while swinging to and fro in one anothers arms. It was a surreal moment. They even asked me to sing an aussie song and all I could think of was ‘You’re the Voice’ by John Farnham. By some stroke of luck, they all knew it, so we chanted that classic anthem together (of course, all out of tune) and they helped me feel at home.

The night went on much in this fashion until us kids decided to head towards the city for more drinks and dancing without the oldies. We grabbed some beers for the road and made our way out. We started at a small bar which was pretty empty but had a good chat and quickly downed a pint of beer before moving on (I was already struggling to drink any more alcohol by this point of the night).

Next stop was a small bar full of locals spending their Tuesday night getting schwasted. Jager Bombs happened to be the equivalent of one pound each so the guys I was with bought 10 at a time (there were only 4 of us) and lucky me always received one of the extras. I was on Struggle Street by this point. We had 2 or 3 rounds of jager bombs (I can’t remember many details) and some beer to wash it all down before moving on.

The last place we got to was a great bar/ club. There was pop music you could sing and dance to and the drinks kept flowing. Unfortunately, I was completely smashed by this point so could only dance to about 4 songs before the alcohol took over any sense of control I may have had at this point. I’m not sure if I said goodbye to anyone, but I stumbled past the cloakroom, collecting my coat and scarf and then wandered down the streets of Copenhagen, letting my feet lead the way.

I was too drunk to get into a moving car at this point and knew I’d pass out if I sat down so I just continued to stumble around looking for a kebab shop or some other form of fast food proprietor. I was unsuccessful. How can there be no kebab shop?! Damn you Copenhagen.

So I had a tactical vom in a park and hailed a cab. I basically threw my phone at the cab driver, asking him to take me to the address my cousin had put in my phone earlier that evening. In what seemed like just a few seconds, we arrived. I threw some money at the cabbie and made my way back up to the house and onto the couch. I even got changed into my PJ’s (now that’s a bonus).

I have no idea what time it was when I got to sleep but I had to wake up nice and early to catch my flight to Sweden the next day. Tomorrow will not be a good day… oh well, I guess that’s just future Andy’s problem.

The never ending Danish Christmas – Part 1

All I wanted for Christmas was to be surrounded by family (no matter how distant the relatives were) and to see snow. But I got so much more than this.

I left London and arrived in the cold and windy Copenhagen on the night of the 23^rd of December. I was super excited to experience a Danish Christmas but was also slightly apprehensive about spending the festive season away from my family back in Australia. I had only met these relatives once, 6 years ago, and didn’t know what to expect.

But all those negative feelings left my body as soon as I gave my cousin a big warm hug at the airport. We spoke about life and other random things during the 45 minute drive to the small town of Ringsted where most of the family lived. I then met my grandmother’s brother-in-law (yes the relations are confusing – most of the time I was not sure how I was related to everyone) and more hugs were shared. After an hour or so of more catching up, I retreated to bed and prepared myself for the proper meeting of the family tomorrow.

Christmas Eve

The 24^th of December is when most Scandinavians celebrate Christmas so I was thrown right into the thick of it. I went from house to house, eating, drinking, sharing presents and getting to know everyone properly.

We started with a simple Danish breakfast in the morning with bread, cheeses and an assortment of juices as we prepared our stomachs for the enormous dinner which was yet to come. The big feast that night consisted of 4 different roasts, a huge amount of potatoes and some red cabbage on the side. Perhaps a salad or some other veges would have been nice but that’s just not how the Danes do it. No fussing about. No wasting time or precious space in ones stomach with lettuce and beans.

I brought 3 bottles of wine from London and they went fast. We then moved onto the beer and schnapps which were a lethal combination. We had all gotten well and truly drunk and it was only 6:00 PM (ok maybe I was the only one who couldn’t hold their schnapps).

We eventually moved onto dessert which was a traditional rice pudding (doesn’t look quite that appetising in this picture) which all Danes eat on Christmas. To make it even better, they would put a whole almond in the mix and the one who got it would get an extra Christmas present. But I was too impatient to slowly chew my food and sort through the pudding so I just inhaled it all. I think I even ate the almond but was too afraid to admit it. In the end, no one found the almond so they just gave the present to me (the foreigner). I got a lolly jar, full of lollies. Winning!

Danish Christmas carols were next and I was in no state of mind to sing in this oh so difficult language. Nonetheless, I persisted and made a right fool of myself. Thank god my family are a loud, unashamed bunch of misfits who just laughed throughout and sang out of tune. This had already been such a unique and fun Christmas.

After more and more merriment, the few of us who didn’t have children and such made our way into to town to drink and dance at one of the local bars. I had never been out during Christmas celebrations back in Aus but I was more than happy to keep changing things up.

Before I could even take everything in, I had a beer shoved into my hand and we were all drinking the night away. The place smelt like every bar does, of sweat, smoke and dirt (mmm home sweet home). I was introduced to the family friends and other more distant relatives, each of whom bought me a shot of schnapps. Now it would just be rude of me to turn down such an offer so I took each shot in hand, yelled out ‘SKOL’ (cheers) and moved on to the next greeting.

While the rest of the night is somewhat of a blur, I do distinctly remember my 70 something year old relative ripping up the dancefloor with his stellar moves. The man is so fit and can handle is alcohol like a pro. He was the spriteliest out of all of us and loved a good boogie. We spent the next few hours dancing to Western pop music and Danish hits which I pretended to know and sing along to (I thought I was a pro but was most likely butchering every song). The old man and I stumbled on home around 4:00AM, arms wrapped around one another until we reached the house and split off into our own rooms. I crashed in bed and fell asleep before I could even fully take off my pants. Clearly, the perfect end to my first day of Christmas celebrations here in Denmark.

Christmas Day

I woke up around midday with a killer hangover and made my way over to the window to open the blinds (sunlight will help me wake up). But low and behold… SNOW! It was the 25^th of December and the entire town of Ringsted was covered in a thin layer of pristinely white and glowing snow. All I could think was ‘I’M WINNING CHRISTMAS’. Unfortunately, this joy was quickly ripped away from me by my pounding headache and sore body.

I had a quick shower and face timed my family back home just as I had promised but was not looking my best. All my mum could do was laugh at me in this state. She knew all too well how schnapps always comes out on top but failed to warn me (cheers mum). My older sisters gave me the typical disappointed look but simultaneously revelled in my pain. I said hi to the rest of the family (anyone who was still awake in Melbourne) and then made my way out of my room to see how the old geezer was going.

I was a mess but he was just as happy and energetic as usual. He gave me a big smile and asked me how I was. How does he do it? How is he not hungover after last night?

Respect. Clearly the man is a true Dane.

While the 25^th is usually the big Christmas day for my family back home, this would be our recovery day. No big lunch held outside on the balcony in sun overlooking the beach like in Australia (My family sent me this picture to make me jealous and, I must admit, it kinda worked). Today the whole family spent the day collapsed on the couch with one another, slowly waking up and getting back to normal.

Of course we had copious amounts of food. There was herring, meatballs, roast pork, potatoes, salad, turkey and some other form of seafood. And of course it was all on delicious rye bread (everything is eaten in the form of an open sandwich).

The rest of the day was spent watching Disney clips on TV (a tradition for most Danes) with more eating and drinking (I took this day off from Schnapps – I would hang out with the little ones and drink soda). I then said my goodbyes to most of the family as they went back home in the evening to have an early sleep. Then a few of us stayed to watch Mama Mia and the 5^th Harry Potter.

This was not by any means similar to my family’s traditional Christmas but it was still pretty damn great! Plus it wasn’t over yet – tomorrow I go to Copenhagen to visit the other half of the family and partake in even more festive feasts. Bring it on!

Christmas Day + 1

I was lucky enough to be taken in by one of my other cousins (I think her dad and my grandmother were siblings…. But don’t quote me on that) who lived just outside of the Copenhagen’s city centre. She had always been seen as the cool older cousin as she didn’t live in the small town with the others, was more cultural and went out to trendy bars and restaurants.

Less than an hour after arriving at her place, I met even more relatives as I began to eat yet another mammoth Christmas lunch. We started with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on rye bread (a different but surprisingly great combination), then had two different types of herring, some roast pork, a few bowls of potatoes, salad and every type of condiment you could think of.

Dessert with the customary rice pudding followed and, of course, schnapps and beer was served throughout the afternoon. After this 5 hour lunch, I found myself slowly falling into a food coma while trying to talk to more of the family.

By this time of the trip, I just assumed that every person I met was a family member and called them all ‘cousin’. Despite my terrible family tree skills, all of the Danes were welcoming and showered me with love and praise. I couldn’t be happier. I was surrounded by happy, friendly and somewhat intoxicated people. This is how all Christmas’s should be.
To top it all off, I had a quick run around outside in the snow, took the mandatory snowy selfie and then retreated back within the warm house.

Fortunately the night ended early as I spent the rest of it just chilling in front of the tele with copious amounts of tea while talking nonsense with my cousin. I ended the evening falling asleep while watching Parks and Recreation. A perfect end to yet another perfect day.