Season's Greetings !

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Holidaze -oh my!

 

As I write, I am listening to Christmas music on Internet radio which I told you about - live365.com. Chris from Annandale, VA tells me that EM of EMjoy, the channel that I listen to, stands for electronic music.  Was it really that simple!  Ok - enough of that.  Let’s get on with the Christmas greeting…..

As I have mentioned earlier, this is the first year of all the years that I have been here in DK that I have decided to take a break from doing X-mas cards and save a wad of cash at the same time.  Instead, as promised, I am doing this blog which allows me to do lots of fun pictures that I would never ever be able to include into a paper snail mail Christmas card.

So here we go.  And since I know that you are busy with your holidays, I will present this blog in simple short story, photo & caption – style.  What I can’t promise is that it will be a short blog as yesterday I took a boat to town and snapped away on my digital camera and that was already after many other photos. Wanna see ‘em?   

OK………. You asked for it.

In the states, the big November holiday is Thanksgiving.  It's an American tradition.  Here the "bird" tradition is called Bishop Morten's Eve.  That's a total blog in itself and already discussed in my 2010 holiday blog  It's right around this goose dinner holiday, which is November 11th, that the grocery markets start to put out their Christmas holiday treats.  And it's always to the surprise of shoppers; "Can you believe the stores are already selling Christmas stuff!" is always what can be heard from one who has just returned home from the market.  But no goose dinner for us as you may recall, we were pool side in Gran Canaria at the time.

All this to say that Dan, my American neighbor just 10 doors down from where we used to live, invited Jens and me to see Crazy Christmas Cabaret at Tivoli.  We went on Thursday 23rd., Thanksgiving day.  That's how early we started celebrating X-mas here.  Our evening started with dinner at a pub called Axelborg Bodega, which is located in the square just across the street from Tivoli.  We were 5 guys for this event. Dan and I from American, Stefan from Sweden and Jens and Jørn from Denmark.

This is our meeting spot. such a cool place.  Anybody want to meet up for a drink or a bite?

Still waiting for the others

 

At the end of the square you can see the entrance to Tivoli.

 Just out front of the café the entire square was turned into a x-mas market selling everything from ornaments to sofa fabric as can be seen in this photo.

Stefan and Dan

Your blogging host Eddie and Nisse Jens

Jørn, Eddie and Jens

I'm having salmon - Happy Thanksgiving ?

Time was tight.  We swallowed our meal and made a mad rush to the Glass Theater.  Where were the others?  I wanted a group photo.  Dan was on his cell phone wishing his family a Happy Thanksgiving.

very exciting and colorful Christmas show

What a fool!  I brought my camera but left the memory flash card at home and ran out of space on the internal memory of my camera.  So this was the last photo I could take for the evening.  I was so sorry.  The show was fun and funny and unbelievably colorful.  This is the 29th year that the Crazy Christmas Cabaret has been on stage.  The show is 95% English with most actors from England and about 5% Danish with political sarcasm of current events.  I will for sure go see the show again next year as it will undoubtedly be a big production, being that it will be the 30th anniversary.

On the 26th, just a few days later, I hosted the department Christmas party.  We are 16 guys in our department and at least 3 had to be at work on the evening shift.  As it turned out, less than half of the department showed up along with 2 guys with close connections to but not actually in our department.  I invited the guys here to the apartment - they all know that we have moved to Islands Brygge with harbor view so many were excited to see it.  It's the ideal spot to meet before going out to dinner.  I served cocktails and snacks: shrimp and dip and mini  bruschetta direct from the oven.  After a quick munch and drink, we all headed up the street to the Islands Brygge Culture House.  A larger building with multi-functional rooms for parties, meetings and activities. I had a meeting with the restaurant manager and arranged for a traditional Christmas menu.

Here is a photo of the guys before the party turned wild.

I will never forget when I was a child, we were driving back from my grandmothers house in San Gabriel.  We were on the 10 freeway headed east to West Covina.  High in the sky above the city of El Monte, we cold look out of the huge gas guzzling la bamba Oldsmobile windows and down onto the roof tops of the city; half industry buildings, half run-down houses. There on one of the roofs was the letter L in green Christmas lights with a red circle and slash in Christmas light over the green L.  No L.  No L? - what an odd Christmas decoration.  Then suddenly at 60 mph it hit me.  

If only important things could stick in my mind. 

All this to say, the following Saturday, I invited my girlfriend Anne to come for a French Christmas or as the French say: Joyeux Noël.  We laid out our French flag, hand painted Eiffel tower from our French friend Fabien and cheese knife set with French wine that Patrick and Fabien also gave to us.  We started with mussels steamed in French white wine.  Couldn't find goose liver pâté so pheasant liver pâté had to do - on French flûte - au natural!

The next day was 1st Advent Sunday.  I wanted to go see Santa light the tree at the town hall square but it was just too cold and windy for me to even think of getting out of the house.  Plus I knew that with the construction of the new underground metro station being built at the square, everything would just be a big mess.  In the following YouTube clip you can see what happens every year and what I missed this year.  The clip is from 2008 but it's what I found and gives you an idea of what takes place every year.  I saw the tree yesterday on the square - it looks kind of sad this year so I don't think I really missed all that much. But check out the clip and you'll get a good idea of what takes place on 1st Advent Sunday.

Of course the entire population of Denmark cannot fit on the town hall square so every home has a Advent wreath.  Normally we have a ring of green sitting directly on the table.  Many people have a wreath hanging from the ceiling.  This year I found, at the discount market - in early November - a wreath basket that you fill yourself and it hangs from a stand.  Really cute.  I bought it with a bunch of other junk and handed it all to Jens.  This is what he made.

But let's back up a second. Before I had my work mates come by the apartment I had to do a bit of decorating.  However we had gotten rid of most of our X-mas decorations when we moved out of the house.  We had actually gotten rid of them before last year because we thought we were moving sooner than we actually did.  Most of our decorations are cheep and tacky so we figured, why transport them across town when you can just dump 'em.  That left us with very little.  But this is what I did.

There's not even enough here to do the smallest tree.

 4 of the decorations in this very expensive Royal Copenhagen glass bowl are hand made Eiffel towers that Fabian sent to us for last Christmas.  A bit hard to see.  They are the orange and purple long pieces on the right hand side of the bowl.  Can you see them?

And then Jørn, one of the guys who was in our Crazy Christmas Cabernet group, came by for a visit and he brought us these - a set of green and gold Eiffel towers.

Here you can see lights and teddy bears hanging among real pine tree.

 

It's now 2nd Advent Sunday.

2 strands of lights and a bunch of pine makes for a very nice decoration.

Somewhere at the beginging of the month Bounty managed to step on something again.  We had to take her to the neighborhood vet.  She hates the vet even though nothing at all is painful for her.  One hour later we are on our way home and change Bounty's name to Stinkerella - because of the she needs a bath and has on only one slipper.

 Now it's 3rd Advent Sunday and today we are going to get down and dirty........

  3rd Advent Sunday

just one bite and i wont ask for anything else.

  ......by making pigs of ourselves with x-mas treats.

  æbleskiver

 This year Jens just couldn't do æbleskiver but I have to have 'em.  I just have ta!  So I cheated and bought frozen.  Yuck!  They taste like re-heated old dough-nuts.

But that didn't stop us from eating them.

 It's 4th Advent Sunday now.  Notice anything different?

4th Advent Sunday.

 After 3½ weeks in a warm home (something we haven't had for 7 years) the pine sticks are totally dead and dried out (but smell even more delicious)  I bought more, new, fresh pine for a wreath re-do.  Which the Danes never do and Jens thinks I am too over the top.  Let's see.... what else?  oh yes - Hyacinths.  I've moved the tangerines onto the candle holders and put the candles directly onto the fruit and in-between the candles are Hyacinth bulbs which are just about ready to bloom.   

 Jens loves cream of rice.  This is often a specialty at Christmas time.  Here in DK, Christmas elves are called nisse.  They love cream of rice as well.  Nisse like to play games and make trouble - so does Jens.

 So on the 4th Advent Sunday, Jens made me a bowl of cream of rice - ewe!

This day we are having our first snow.  But it's only snow flurries; on and off and melts before it hits the ground.

On Monday after the 4th Advent, I had the day off and I decided that it was time to go to Tivoli to see the new set up.  The theme this year was a Russian Christmas.

Swan Lake

Red Square

Merry-Christmas-Go-Round in front of the concert hall.

 After less than an hour at the garden park, Jens and I are freezing so we take a  "warmer"  in one of the parks restaurants.  I'm so excited to taste real æbleskiver.  Damn it!  They're factory æbleskiver.  Well at least the glögg was very tasty so that warmed our spirits.

 On Tuesday I couldn't take it any longer.  The Hyacinth did what they could do; working overtime without dirt and water and too close to catching on fire. The totally scented up the house.  Such a wonderful smell.  The tangerines were becoming tangeraisins.  Now Jens was sure I need to speak to a professional when he saw me doing another number on the Advent wreath.  I swapped the tangeraisins for fresh monster size oranges.  And added eye popping colorful Christmas ribbon and nuts.

 For the last 6 weeks we have been talking on and off about going to Lübeck, Germany  to see the amazing Christmas village.  It's the Germans who invented Christmas as we know it today.  One day we are going and then the next day we are not and then on again and then off again.  We were supposed to leave on Tuesday.  But this is as close as we got to the Christmas village.  Check out the candy.  It's a Lübeck specialty.

 

 Later that day I snap these pix to warn you of this coming blog.  And presto!  Here it is.

From this pix you can get an idea of just how mild the over all weather is.  We are outdoors on the front balcony in T-shirt and sandals.

Well............ since we didn't go to Lübec, I decided to go into town.  And since they built a new water bus stop right in front of our apartment, I decided to take the public transportation into town.  It's amazing! - you can actually take the bus, train, metro and water bus using just one ticket.  Get on and off as often as you want within one hour.  But in this case for me for today, I got on the water bus and got off 3 stops later - right at the beginning of Christmas village in Copenhagen.

Here comes da bus.

Here comes da bus.

2 step off the water bus and you are smack at the edge of Nyhavn.  Probably the most trendy spot in town.

Nyhavn is lined with Christmas booths on one side.........

and restaurants on the other side.

Christmas sweaters to keep you warm.

Decorations to sweeten up your home.

Notice the garland is made of real pine.

The real pine is just beautiful.  Especially when it snows.  This is where I got the idea to do real pine on our balcony.  Because of the very cool to minus freezing temps, the pine last for a very long time.

From Nyhavn, I follow the along the main pedestrian walk way and arrive at the Royal Porcelain shop and the Danish designer shop, Georg Jensen, a silversmith internationally known and awarded as such.  In these shops they always set up dream tables.  The Royal Crystal shop used to do this as well but it does not exist any more - which I am so sorry for.  On these dream tables they create wild, beautiful and /or fun fantasies.  Although I'm sorry to say they seemed to lack a little imagination this year in  comparison to what I've seen in previous years.  Nonetheless - they are still fun to take a look at and they instill my own imagination.

Everything here is based on highly polished silver from the stars and candle holders to the forks and knives.

Don't care for silver?  Will gold do?

Interesting lamps in the stairwell.

 

This is the children's table.  One plate and one bowl cost more then your entire china set in your own kitchen.

The beauty is in the detail.

The cornucopia and the pigs are made of marzipan and meant to eat.

   Flora Danica Iskuppel / Ice Dome cost $40,000

 Just this one porcelain Royal Flora Danica Ice-Dome probably cost more than everything together in your own dinning room.  And I'm not joking.  Flora Danica Iskuppel      227,600 Danish crowns or $40,000

This one I thought was really fun.  Something for the man of the house.  Normally everything is really frilly and feminine.  Check out these colorful ornaments.  This table is based all around a fishing adventure - a true Christmas dream for many men.

Fisherman

Fishing tackle on the table.  Shells and fish in the cup.

 This display had an Alice in Wonderland / Mad Hatter tea party look to it. 

Continuing along the pedestrian walkway, I came upon a very fancy treat stand.  I took one look and I was amazed.  But I didn't buy anything.  I just snapped a photo.  Then continued on my walk.  About 20 steps away I turned around and walked back and bought 2 nut filled dates.  One for me and one for Jens.

I bought 2 huge dates filled with walnuts, almonds and hazel nut.

yum - e

 I've never been inside of Le Glace but I always look inside the window and every time it is a WOW ! experience.  Read more here about Denmarks oldest conditori.

Just beyond Le Glace is Old square / New square.  On the New square half, it has been turned into another Christmas village with plenty booths to drain your wallet.

Here we are along the pedestrian walking street looking back at New square / Old square.

That's where the Christmas booths are at and way in the background where the street curves is where Le Glace can be found.  And beyond that is where I had a mac attack and bought the very tasty nut stuffed figs.

Looking back at New square / Old square.

Along the pedestrian walking street looking towards the direction of where I am headed - Russia.

Red hearts are a very popular Danish Christmas decoration.

 Here we are at the main entrance to Tivoli.  

Beyond the entrance is a beautiful Christmas market with a Russian theme.

 2 guards - one a drummer and one a horn player, made of wood, stand at the gate.

The welcoming walkway leads you into the park.

Donner, Blixen and Prancer waiting for Rudulf.

The Red Square.

Swan Lake

 There were hundreds of Christmas booths and most with a Russian style.  Some sold Christmas items and some sold food and drink.

Dancing Russian bears - it was funny and cute.

 This booth was selling hand made icicles made of glass.  They were of all kinds of shapes and sizes and looked like the real thing.  Notice too the red hearts in the tree.  Danes love to hang red hearts on Christmas trees.

Icicles hanging from the white branch.

Lots of spinning rides in Tivoli.

 

This one is for you George.

 

More trouble making nisse.

 When my adventure in Tivoli was completed, I walked home.  The water bus does not sail from Tivoli and besides, my ticket was expired.   From our balcony we can see the shopping mall.  In blue, the lights says Fisketorv (Fish square) It's the shopping mall.  But only the fish and 3 of the letters were on.  But what I wanted you to see are all the thousands of Christmas lights in the window.

And all the lights from the inside.  My camera turned the white lights yellow but you get the idea.

 This blog is not over yet.  Jens is in the process of making ris a la mande.  It's sooooooooo delicious and it's a huge process.  You can buy it in the market already made but he got the wild idea to make it himself. So I forgive him now for making me eat rotten dough-nuts. 

We have a modern electric stove that we have a hard time trying to figure out.  After cooking with gas for the last 8 years, we tend to burn everything on our electric stove and the rice had just started to boil over and it was only on number 3 out of 10.  I want my gas stove back.  Anyway, the rice, milk and sugar are now out on the balcony table keeping cool until he is ready to add the cream - on Christmas Eve.  Photos are surly going to be added here.

So until then...........

Happy Holidays :)

Christmas Dinner

Ok - we're back and we're live.

And as promised, I'm adding to this blog as today as it is now Christmas Eve - December 24th and this is the day that all Danes celebrate Christmas.  Jens just now said to me as he went out on the back balcony for a smoke, "It's clear, Eddie, that young people live here because all the apartments are dark; they have gone to their parents house most likely."   Only old farts like us stay put.  BUT we are having a wonderful Christmas and an unbelievably  sunny Christmas.  Well.... that is until just a short time ago.  The sun went down about 3:30 this afternoon but we are on our way to long summer days.

Ok..... want to share my Christmas dinner with you.  We started this morning with setting the table and pealing potatoes.  At 3 this afternoon we turned on the oven and starting whipping up desert - which Jens actually started 2 days ago.  Go back and read this blog over again if you missed that part.

Last night Jens asked me if I thought it was cold enough outside for the rice.  Remember he boiled rice, sugar and milk?  We set it outside over night.  But as soon as he asked me about the temps, I grabbed the rice mix and stuck it in the fridge.  It's unseasonably warm this year.

Rice, milk and sugar

Half a liter of cream.

Whip it!

 

Add vanilla.

Whip it some more!

Pour the whipped cream into the rice mix.

pour it all in!

Fold in the cream and add slivered almonds.

Add more almonds.

I love almonds so add more and fold it all together.

Take just one full almond and let it sit in boiling water!

2 minutes later give the almond a squeeze.  That's how you blanch it.

Add the one and only almond to the mix.

Bury it and put the mix in the fridge.

This is the Danish tradition with the blanched almond.  He who finds the almond, wins the prize.  There is always a prize and it's always a pig made of marzipan.

The Main Course

Get a side of pig from your favorite butcher.

Slice into the fat.

Slice only into the fat and not the meat.

Rub salt into the fat and in between the slices of fat.

Stick in a few bay leafs.

Stick the oinker into your preheated oven for about 1½ hours - water in the bottom of the pan.

Celebration Juice

 Glögg is a Swedish Christmas drink that has found a permanent home in Denmark.  Glögg is almost always served together with æbleskiver.  But we are about to eat dinner so..........  

The day I went to Tivoli, I was only semi- freezing but stopped in one of the Russian booths selling drink.  I ordered me a "celebration juice".  "Can I help you?" asked the very nice looking "nisse".  With a big smiled I said, "gimme a glögg".  "Would you like a splash of rum in it?" the nisse flirted.  "How can I resist?", I answered.  Had he told me from the start that the drink was going to cost $12, I could have easily resisted his charm and the rum.  But it didn't take long before I was smiling all the way home.

You know it's a good splash of good rum when your blogging host stops to takes pictures of the mall and shares them with the world.

My friend Tami always goes to the Swedish Christmas festival in southern CA to try out the Glögg and other Swedish Christmas traditions but she didn't make it this year, so Tami, this is for you.

 Get yourself a bottle of nice red wine and glögg mix or wine already with glögg in it.

This is the quality stuff.

Pour your wine into a pot.

Add raisins.

Add slivered almonds.

Oh just dump in the whole pack.

Bring to the start of a boil and serve.

OK - now back to the main meal.  The meat is almost done so let's move on to the rest of the food.

Looks tasty.

Almost there.

Time to start the caramelized potatoes.

 

Hit the heat and melt the sugar.

Now it's melted.

So add some butter.

Toss in the potatoes.

And keep turning the potatoes until they are golden brown.

Jens had hacked into the meat before I was ready with my camera so you see only half of the pork roast here.  I hate our electric stove.  Jens must have asked me a thousand times what number to use.  I kept saying it doesn't matter because the food boils on 1 and 2 as well as on 3 and 4 and 5½,7½ all the way up to 9 - so just keep an eye on it and be prepared to scream when it boils over.  Our oven is the oven from hell.  Remember what it looked like when we moved in?  It's photo number 3 and 4 here.  It's only been a problem every day since then.  I've notice everything cooks hotter on the right hand side than on the left hand side.  Could it be those gallons of chemicals I used to clean the dang thing?! 

Just before the meat is done we are supposed to turn the dial to grill and toast the pork rind to make it nice and crispy.  Well............ we down loaded the instruction on how to use the thing but who has time to read it.  There we were, fooling around with the meat, setting it on different levels and turning this dial and that dial, turning the meat and I almost flopped it on the floor.  How in the world did the rind burn in spots?  No matter.  It was so delicious we are now in pain from eating way way WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYY too much.  

The meat is sliced and the potatoes are perfectly caramelized.

Snap that damn photo and let's eat!

Sliced meat and potatoes.

Delicious pickled cabbage and when it comes to gravy, Jens is king! 

A beautiful royal table to celebrate the birthday boy!

Now just waiting for some room for dessert.  Photo is soon on its way.

And here they are.........................

We are so over stuffed we could only find space for one serving of dessert called ris-a-la-mande. It sounds French but it's 100% Danish and not the lest bit fattening.

Now after you've boiled your rice mix and whipped your cream and mix it all together with nuts and let it cool for a minimum of some time - yes, that right, a minimum of some time - at the least - you go out to your back yard and pick a few cherries and whip up a tasty cherry sauce.  It's either that or pop in to your local stupidmarket and buy a box of cherry sauce.  

Cherry sauce.  Serve it warm or cold.

The cold sauce sank to the bottom and the warm stayed on top.

We took the very cherry Christmas dessert to the sofa table and watched Qivitoq.

A 1956 Danish film directed by Erik Balling.  An intense romantic drama.  The movie was filmed entirely on location in Greenland.  It was nominated both for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and for the Palme D'Or at the 1957 Canne Film Festival

Qivitoq

OK - that's it.  Congratulations - you made it.  That's my Christmas blog to you.  Christmas Eve is over and tomorrow is 1st. Christmas Day.  The day after is 2nd. Christmas Day.  Seriously!  Christmas is a 3 day event here.  Christmas Eve being the big event.  But on 1st Christmas Day, the entire country will be having lunch somewhere, getting bombed out of their minds.  They'll all be eating fish and drinking schnapps.  Tomorrow we'll be going to Preben and Lar's country castle. We'll have fish and please - somebody take my car keys.