On the coast

I love the northcoast in Denmark. I totally understand why all the rich people have built their crazy big mansions on this stretch from Copenhagen to the north tip. There's something mesmerizing about the sea, the blue, the everchanging landscape. Tine and I went for a drive up and down the coast the day before Christmas. The weather was beautiful, and it was so nice to see her and catch up!

We began at Kronborg Castle in Helsingør.

Here, we waved over to Helsingborg in Sweden on the other side of the blue.

Later, we drove to Hornbæk for a quick walk on the beach.

Christmas

And so it was Christmas. Mine was spent in the whisky belt where my father lives with his wife. We had a superb dinner, ate way too much, drank heavily, too, and laughed so hard throughout the night. Now I'm in the middle of Jutland where my mom lives. We plan on watching a lot of films the next couple of days… But first; Christmas:

Sølve looked very festive (and happy)…..

Each of us had an assignment in terms of dinner. AE made appetizer; salmon rillette which was a big hit.

 NP made sweet potatoes and was teased a lot because he is 'allergic to potato peels'….

My father cooked three ducks (!) for 7 people, and here he's carving the first one. Notice the classy lamp on his head - he needs it to see in the dark outside when he checks the grill (we grill our Christmas dinner).

 The three. NP wore sweatpants to dinner so he could eat more and not be constrained by uncomfortable trousers...

 Sølve had to unbutton. The more food the more buttons went.

 It's a tradition, that when my father lits the candles, the rest of the family goes into a nearby room and turn off all the lights. That way, when he calls out that he's ready, the lights and the glory of the Christmas tree is extra great when we see it. And then we dance around the tree and sing psalms and goof a little before opening presents.

 This year, we didn't finish until 3am when the last bottle of whisky had been opened, some more duck had been eaten, and old stories had been told.

The next day we were slightly hungover and tired when we had to get up early to catch a train south for my uncle's Christmas dinner. Luckily, more alcohol and Christmas food did the trick to clear our heads.

It's always great when the house is full of kids, uncles and aunts, grandparents and good food!

Reunited

I recharge when I see my three younger brothers. Time with them is one of the best things I know, so I have long been looking forward to seeing them this Christmas. Today, we all gathered at my father's house and went out for a long walk with my father, Gitte and Gitte's mom. We walked for a long time looking at the big houses, the sea, and talked. 

 One of the mandatory band photos. See more here.

Copenhagen glimpses

Man oh man, things are busy when you're visiting the north! The days are spent running around the city trying to catch every coffee date I've made. But it's nice, and I can't tell you how my heart is bursting with love for all the fantastic people I know here. So a little stress is quite alright. My birthday was superb, I felt extremely lucky from 6,30 in the morning when I was woken up to a breakfast table in the north to midnight where I was having a small party at a café in Copenhagen surrounded by 20 of my favourite people. Bliss!

My birthday on Tuesday (turned 26) started at 6,30 when my father and his wife woke me up for a half hour breakfast before they went to work and my youngest brother left for high school. NP was also home, and when we had waved the others off, we went back to bed for another two hours of sleep.

Later, I went into Copenhagen, had dinner with Chris and AnCa and headed over to Din Nye Ven (Sankt Peders Stræde 34, Indre By) where friends from near and far came. There were the lovely high school ladies, fellow journalists, the oldest young brother and his girlfriend and almost the whole crew from Montreal. The night ended at a smoky bar downtown before I walked back through the foggy, sleepy town. What a truly great way to celebrate a new year.

Foggy city…!

The next morning I met up with Christoffer and Esben at Dyrehaven (Sønder Boulevard 72, Vesterbro) for some Danish lunch classics and a long talk.

Later, I walked into town for some Christmas shopping and met up with AnCa. We had coffee at Democratic Coffee (Krystalgade 15, Indre By), walked around and had some epic laughs as always.

 At night, I headed over to Hviids Vinstue (Kongens Nytorv 19, Indre By) to meet Chris, Iben, Mette and Annemie for some glögg. The place is over 200 years old, and it was stuffed with people, mostly the ones over 50. It was great! And we stayed there for hours talking and laughing.

 The architects in their matching salt'n'peppa dresses.

Yesterday, I had breakfast with Chris at Kaffe (Istedgade 90, Vesterbro) before we went downtown for some more Christmas shopping. I love Kaffe's 50 DKK breakfast; a bun with cheese, a croissant and a coffee of choice. Super.

 Copenhagen!

The second coffee went down at Ricco's (Fiolstræde 42, Indre By) with a peek-a-boo Chris in the window.

Later, I met with Cecilie at Bertels (Falkoner Allé 54, Frederiksberg) for a cheesecake and some catching up. She's one of the only people I've known since I was born, and she's like family (no photos though, my camera acted up!). Now I'm in the north for another few hours before going back into the city.