Cross-cultural post

I'd love to post about our trip to London, but I am trying to decide whether to break with the Danish theme.  The countries do have a few things in common, like Viking raids.  In modern life both countries have switches on their outlets, as described by a friend on sabbatical in New Zealand.   Neither country uses the Euro, making it fun for coin collectors.  The U.K. and Denmark have traffic signals that go from green, to yellow, to red, and then before the green cycles back the yellow comes on again to let you know it is time to shift (I haven't seen any automatic shift cars in Denmark).  Not only is Denmark a great country for cycling, they help extend the life of your car's clutch, too.  As for those of you wondering, the license plates are similar, too.  The significant difference is that the Danish plates are metal and the English plates seem to be fiberglass.

Christmas, part two

As a follow-up to both the Lego post  and first Christmas post, I present you with the Lego advent calendar!  You can buy it in the US for the same price ($34) as you can here (180kr) and there are many varieties.

After talking with parents and neighbors I have learned a lot more about Christmas traditions.  Young children receive small gifts each day in December leading up to Christmas, with slightly larger presents given on Sundays.  Candles are lit each Sunday of advent and special candle holders are made for this.  Some families decorate the tree together, but others hide the tree from the children until December 24.  In the late afternoon everyone goes off to church, except the mother who stays home to prepare a large meal, maybe goose or duck.  Afterward they eat and then the tree is revealed.  The candles are lit and everyone dances around the tree singing songs (too many, say the kids).  Finally, after waiting all day during which they have watched the Christmas specials on television, the kids open the presents and stay up late.  On December 25 families prepare another meal while the children play with their toys.  Ham, sausage, meatballs, and herring are among the foods and this meal is shared with the extended family.  On December 26, the second day of Christmas, most people relax or go off for another large meal with another set of relatives.

Julemand, the Danish Father Chistmas, is not as important as nisse (plural of nisser).  These are little old men or elves dressed in gray and red and porridge is left out for them.

Because it gets dark so early it seems that candles are also a big part of the holiday.  The stores display a variety of shapes and colors and they seem to be featured in every catalog from every store.

I may be leaving out many traditions (sweets?  public activities?  Lucia?), but it is only November.

H.M. Dronningen

We got to see the queen!  She came to town to unveil the cathedral's new gate.  I am not quite sure what we expected - a crown?  horse and carriage? - but she arrived in a Volvo sedan.  She seemed to be wearing regular clothing, but she never turned to the crowd so it was hard to see.  Despite the lack of pomp, it was still exciting to do something completely different.  The local paper's article can be found here.

Before - the new cathedral gate is draped while photographers, police, guards, and citizens mill about

During - the queen is in a blue coat to the left of the gate

After - the new gate, not designed by the queen even though she is an artist

To some of us, this was an exciting chance to see the queen's number plate

Eating out

Many people write food blogs that make your mouth water and take beautiful pictures, but this entry won't be like that.  Sorry.

We have been here for over three months and today was the first time we ate in a restaurant.  When people learn we are vegetarians they recommend Riz Raz, which is also recommended by several guide books.  Maybe this is why the wait staff greeted everybody in English.  It may be a tourist trap or a less than authentic Danish experience, but it had a fantastic buffet with fresh falafel and hummus, about ten salads, some hot pasta dishes, and a selection of pestos.  By most standards in Denmark it was inexpensive, which means less than $20 a person, but tap water costs 18 dkk (>$3) a liter, which was a surprise to me.  It was a treat and now I have something to write about for my Danish assignment, which is a presentation on, "What I did last weekend."

The restaurant was a bit off the beaten path near this very European street.

Eggs

Eggs do not appear to be sold in a standard quantity (sorry I am missing the ten-egg carton).  Egg sizes may be a bit random, which is why the label on the 15-egg carton shows that there are two sizes inside.  There is a chart inside the carton with the approximate size and weight of different eggs.

Very large (XL) - >73g
Large (L) - 63-73g
Medium (M) - 53-63g
Small (S) - <53g 

Most recipes list ingredients (e.g., flour, sugar) by weight and not volume so it wouldn't be a problem to weigh the eggs, too.

Field trip follow-up

A little belated, but here is a brief summary of Robin' field trip.

Despite reservations, Robin said the trip was pretty nice.  They did many games, mostly consisting of running around and tagging.  There was hanging around in the cabin chatting while the girls did make-up for each other and the boys barged in, causing the girls to shriek.  Robin would take out one of her books and read a passage that people found boring, which made everyone quiet (but annoyed).  It was a clear night, which was good for a hike under the stars.  The next day was more of the same.

No one got much sleep, but the food was tasty and the company was pleasant.

Legos

In the grocery store

More grocery store Legos

 I procrastinated over this post because I couldn't figure out how to spin it.  In the land where Lego was invented I went searching for something unusual or clever, but found only things that exist in the US.  It is true that Legos are sold along with the candy at the checkout line and even the grocery store has a decent selection.

In the toy store

I thought the toy store would have kits that were not sold in the US, but with writing entirely in English I knew this wasn't true.  I was excited to see a postman kit (not mailman), but it is already sold on websites back home.

We haven't visited Legoland yet (we'll wait for better weather), so I'll have to let you know if it is different from Legoland, California.  Will there be the international symbol of need, as seen in California and recently in New Zealand?