The carnival of the Swedish students

This year, I stayed away from the carnival in Copenhagen, and I crossed the Øresundbro as I often do, to see how it was in the country of our dear neighbors. Because at Lund, a university town located about twenty kilometers from Malmö, is holded every four years a completely delirious carnival organized by the students. Luckily, it fell this year, I couldn't miss that. I had already visited Lund several times, it is a cute medieval town, but a little bit tiny. And that day, it seemed that all the inhabitants of the region had an appointment here, the streets were tremendously crowded. Having showed up a little late, I missed the beginning of the parade, but I saw things that din't make me regret the trip:

I saw dancers...

other dancers...

musicians...

a pirate boat...

a truck full with anarchists inside...

some alternative culture...

the float of the medical students...

a float to make fun of the SJ trains (Swedish national railway company), 

with the sign "The Upsala of 1:65 PM never comes"...

some guys sliding on an Icelandic volcano...

But my favorite was unquestionably the Svensson float, filled out of blonds

All around, were jumping around typical elements of the Swedish folklore, the opportunity to review together the basics of the culture:

the true Swedish girl

the IKEA shelf

the moose, the animal emblem of Sweden

 more difficult: this guy is dressed in Dalahästen (Dala horse), a traditional figurine

 no, this is not toothpaste, but kaviar (infamous mixture to spread)

and this is a köttbulle (meatball), a basic of Swedish cuisine

(They are consumed in Denmark as well, where they are called frikadeller)

Personally, I would have completed the picture with a potato (present in absolutely ALL Swedish meals) and with some knäckebröd (Wasa crackers) ... Have a good carnival!

Cool, we are freezing, let's go out and walk on the water

Yes, it's cold in Copenhagen this weekend, and it's a good reason to rub our hands (with glee). These drags from DMI had however announced snow, and then not, and I prefer it. The reason for this incongruous joy? This is the subject of an article on AOK (Alt Om København), thus my Danish had been useful. For the lazy ones who will not attempt to click + Google Translation, I will explain: yippee, it's cold enough to skate on the lakes of Copenhagen! And I looove skating.

Everywhere but not in Nyhavn

To help you to make to right choice, the Berlingske Tidende has graciously made a list of all the ice rinks available in the city and its surroundings on a beautiful map. There are both artificial and natural. (By the way, if you want to sledge read that).

I went for an exploring stroll on Saturday:


Number 1, at the end of Nyhavn:

Yes, it isn't so big, but it actually replaces the magnificent ice ring that was on Kongens Nytorv the previous years, which has not been installed this year due to the works for the future metro line. Well, it's the waterfront, so it's nice anyway. Skates rental.

Number 2, Kastellet:

That's for those who like skating in the wild
But this mysterious circle seems to be made for skaters

It serves as a swimming spot as well

Number 3, the watering place of Fælledparken:

Well, there was also a similar ring. The immense park was incredibly deserted when I went on Saturday afternoon. Then I told myself that if there was a place where I could see some skaters, it would be on the great lakes.

Number 4, the Peblinge Sø, the lake in the middle:

I was right, you would have thought that all the Copenhageners with blades had made an appointment here. Well, it is understandable, those interconnected lakes make really giant ice rinks. But skating is only allowed on the Peblinge Sø, that not prevents the Danes drunk or not to walk on the others.

So in front of this heavenly vision, my heart skipped a beat. I immediately felt a urge that I had to relieve only Peblinge Sø straightaway: I rushed into the nearest mall to seize the only remaining pair of 41-size crappy hockey skates (*). For only 279 kroner (40 euros), I didn't ruined myself, but I suspect they were running out of skates.

I went back triumphantly the next day to try my new toys. It was the first time I was skating on a real lake. What about the sensations? The ice is naturally bumpy and brown, and the small ice chips we tear off form the surface with our blades are instantly swept away by the wind and accumulated in certain zones it is better to avoid skating on. As a result, the surface is cleaned continuously and we can admire the water content, like algae, herbs, and other plastic bags frozen in their movement, amazing.

Here is myself just above gritting my teeth in my new torture devices

But, there is the snag, no skates rental. And I brought friends without skates. So we came to the spot number 5, just a couple of steps away, on the cute little Blågårds Plads, where we could rent.

Number 5:

Watch out, it is overrun by trolls

I confess I didn't have time to test the rink in Frederiksberg (number 6), but I know that the park next door (Frederiksberg Have) is a good place for sledding. Perched on a micro-hill, this is the only place in Copenhagen in slope.

Otherwise, I presume that the spots number 7 and 8 in Christianshavn are quite delicious, surrounded by nature and funny houses, maybe I'll check it out.

(*) I implore you, if you know a BIG DECENT sports shop in Copenhagen, please tell me where it is.

And the day when the fat men in red invaded Tivoli

As I promised, I took a look at Tivoli at Christmas time to bring you some pretty pictures just for you (well, what I could, the night falls early at this time).

No, the little hearts are not falling.
They hang to the branches of a tree without leaves just behind.

At the edge of the lake

That is exactly my kind of humor

Of course, there is a Christmas market:

But the most impressive temporary installation is a kind of huge tent, standing on the square in front of the main stage, but a tent with walls and roof, looking like small wooden houses stuck together (I don't know if I'm very clear). Inside, a village of little elves, all animated, has been reconstituted.

Crossed by a little train:

And at the end of your trip in Elvesland, to help you to recover from your emotions, comes the unavoidable seasonal stand, the one that sells the æbleskiver/glögg duo. These are the traditional Christmas delicacies you find in all bars right now so you feel obliged to try it.

Æbleskiver, literally means "apple slices", but actually it is not that at all. It seems that however, it was made with apples in the good old days... Today, it is a kind of small round pancakes, served with sugar and jam.

In their special machine

And glögg is mulled wine with spices.


Here is the recipe if you want to try. For a liter of red wine you need:

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 8 cloves
• a piece of bitter orange peel
• some orange juice if you want
• sugar

Heat the wine in a saucepan with all the spices but don't boil it (watch out the fumes!) Add sugar to your taste. Ready! Actually, it is recommended to prepare it a long time in advance to allow the wine to absorb the flavors of spices. At serving time, raisins and almonds are often added directly into the glass, so don't forget the spoon. The real Vikings even add some vodka.

Then, I wish you a glædelig Jul (a day late) and a godt nytår, a tillykke med fødselsdagen to my original blog (a year already!) and velkommen to its little brother in English. See you next year.

I've tested for you: the Julefrokost

Anyway, I could not escape to it. And I was told since months, that it was The Unmissable Party, and bla bla bla ... For those who don't know what it is, basically, the Julefrokost is the traditional Christmas party, and I'm talking specifically about the one organized by the company. It consists of a dressed-up party with a dinner, and all Danish companies organize their own, I mean absolutely all of them. That's why in Denmark all the restaurants and banquet halls are almost fully booked every Friday night located between November 20 and December 20.

Mine took place in the suburbs of Copenhagen in a vast hall filled with candles. After an open bar cocktails phase, people started to dine. Not worth fantasizing over the food, it was just a buffet, interrupted by speeches, jokes (a stage and a microphone had been provided for this purpose), and the screening of a short funny film about the company.

After the meal, people head gradually towards the dance floor. Then, that was the time when it began spinning out of control. And it was still open bar. To give you an idea of how it looked like, imagine an student party with in the role of students, your fellow workmates, from 20 to 60 years old. Actually, the Julefrokost is the only day of the year when people allow themselves to crack down in public, with the rallying cry "Skål!" (*) And I can assure you that it's weird to see these Danes losing control of themselves while they usually are quite self-contained.

And another funny thing, on Monday morning, all the people who went there greeted me solemnly by adding the ritual formula, "Tak for sisdt!" which means "Thank you for the last time" although of course I didn't do anything for them personally. Yes, the Danes still have not yet invented the "please" (**) in Danish, but forget your "tak for sisdt" and you will pass as a lout.

(*) Cheers!
(**) This word just doesn't have any equivalent in Danish

Copenhagen at this time: the Christmas-deco

This month, it's pretty funny to walk in Copenhagen and see the Christmas decorations alongside exhibitions on the theme of the climate change conference, and everything in a happy jumble. First I wanted to put all the pictures in one article, but I think it would have been too long, so I cut it in half. So today, I'll take a walk with you on the theme of Christmas in a whole glittering Copenhagen.

Let's start by going to see the inevitable Nyhavn. Of course, the place is sooo romantic, it is the perfect place to set up a Christmas market.

It's weird, there is surprisingly very few things to eat, but on the other hand, there is a plethora of useless shops in several copies, like the woolen-things-stands, you know, the caps, scarves, what all this (but why are they pollute all the Christmas markets them like that?) There's also sellers of non-local crafts costing an arm and sellers of candles and uh... an unnecessary-trinkets-stamped-Tuborg shop, but here this is normal.

To do your Christmas shopping nearby, Magasin du Nord will tempt you with a beautiful deco unfortunately accompanied by an insufferable sirupy music (Sympathique of Pink Martini tapped me on edge the whole Saturday every time I passed by, I swear it was over and over).

The other big department store, Illum, is also weel decorated.


Just for fun, I confess that I made a trip to Christiania too, just to see if in case they would not decorated too. Well actually it was! Sellers of substances have their little personal stall embellished with garlands bright, but with techno hardcore music. I could not take photos for the reasons you know. Psychedelic.

Otherwise the streets of the old city center, there are many delicate decorations on window sills like:

And the wreaths, in the windows, everywhere, always the same symbol:

It's the Julehjerte (Christmas heart), the typical Danish decoration. Traditionally, it is a small basket of woven paper filled with delicacies and that people hang in their Christmas trees. Give to your tree the Danish touch by doing your owns it is super easy to do.

Here is the Christmas tree of Rådhuspladsen

Its Julehjerter are not baskets

Lets draw on a little bit closer... Huh, what is there at the bottom?

Ah yes, I'm stupid, obviously, bikes of course. To light the tree. Really, these Danes are incorrigible. Still, this device makes me laugh, when you look directly opposite you can see Tivoli fully illuminated ...

To be continued tomorrow: the climate-deco.

The day when an army of grinning pumpkins invaded Tivoli

Well, they left last weekend anyway, even if Halloween is next week. Actually, Tivoli has reopened just 9 short days, just the time of the autumn holidays (eftersårferie). It's a bit short to enjoy it I think.

So I know I'm a little bit late for this article. But anyway, if you live in Copenhagen, you've probably already been there, otherwise you have the Christmas holidays to catch up. And if you don't live here, you're probably asking yourself "but what she is talking about?"

Let's start from the beginning. In fact it is an amusement park located in the heart of Copenhagen (between the City Hall and the central station to be more precise). And this is not just any amusement park, it is the second oldest in the world still working after Dyrehavsbakken (*), which is also Danish (located in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen).

Tivoli was founded in 1843 by a man called Georg Carstensen. At this time the park was located outside the city and it was called "Tivoli & Vauxhall". "Tivoli" in tribute to the Tivoli Gardens in Paris, now extinct, which were named after the Roman gardens of the same name, and "Vauxhall" for the Vauxhall Gardens in London.

Because of its location, it is quite small and has no possibility of extension. So of course it's hard to compete with the major theme parks such as you know. But the designers have more than one trick up their sleeve and they managed the feat of installing an incredible amount of attractions. The modern ones are just nearby the very old ones. So, they are located a little over each other, and in this exuberant mess, it is sometimes difficult to find the entrance of your ride. But after all, it is what makes the charm of Tivoli.

It is a true coming-back to your childhood, there are funfair stands (pigeon shooting, bumper cars), and even if the park is primarily dedicated to kids, there are some exciting rides:

Dæmonen (the Demon), short but really effective

Det Gyldne Tårn (The Golden Tower), a good adrenaline shoot

Himmelskibet (The Flying Ship), where you definitively have the best view of CPH

The Vertigo, a barbaric invention:
you will drive yourself the small plane
(you can rotate it in all directions)

And for Halloween, all the park was redecorated:

In this picture is hidden a typical Danish touch, can you guess what it is?

The park is open daily during the summer. With a little bonus: every Friday evening from May to September a different group is playing on the big stage. The event is known as Fredagsrock. So if like me you are a happy owner of an årskort (annual pass), you can enter for free. Because, of course, the entrance to Tivoli is not free, but buying the årskort is completely justified if you go at least twice a year.

And it will reopen from the 20th of November to the 30th of December for the Christmas market (that promises great pictures).