Glædelig Jul!

We are enjoying the Christmas season in Copenhagen. We took another walk last night to see the skating rink at Kongens Nytorv and browse the Julemarked along Nyhavn. Next time we may actually rent skates and try out the ice for ourselves. The lights around the square are beautiful and it was crowded on the ice and on the streets.

Last weekend we attended our choir's Julefrokost. We had traditional food including a herring course (three kinds + marinated, roasted, and "curry" - in a mustard sauce). Second course was various kinds of pork including the traditional flæskesteg. There was a dessert of rice pudding and beer, wine, and snaps. The meal was catered in a badminton clubhouse. Badminton is big here, not just for picnics.

During the meal we sang a few songs including "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer" in Danish, Whisky in the Jar, When you Wish Upon a Star, and some others I have since forgotten. We also sang "skål" songs for the frequent toasts during the meal. We held a gift exchange after dinner where everyone brought a gift then people took turns rolling a die (have to roll a six) to see who could pick a (wrapped) gift from the gift table. When those were gone, the game continued with people stealing gifts from other people until time expired. I ended the game with a DVD ("Phone Booth") and bubbles. Between activities and songs we got to know some of our fellow choir members better. Much of the entertainment came from the other group in the room, 20 or so new aspiring police trainees. They had started before we arrived and were still going strong (more or less) when we left. So, we survived Julefrokost season. It was fun and we look forward to it next year.