Friday, 15 November 2019
Hygge in Copenhagen
Hello All,
We are in Copenhagen having a blast so thought it easiest if I write one blog for everyone.
Of course we arrived exhausted - for the record Premium Economy (Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong; Lufthansa to Copenhagen via Munich) is turning into basic coach. God knows what it is like back in coach. Premium Economy has 2 at the sides and 4 (yes that's FOUR) in the middle - man I would be pissed if they shoved me in a 4 seat row. The movies were great - I binged on Japanese films and Bill did John Woo apparently.
Anyway after too many hours we found out way to our Copenhagen "home". And just as I put my foot on the stoop, my mobile died. Yes the ONLY method of communication we had and at 20% my phone stopped. Luckily Bill's had a wee bit of juice and so we sent a text and there was our lovely hostess, Ingrid (our exchange partner's mum). She was waiting inside and I think she might have heard me swearing. I think the Pope heard me swearing.
We have a hygge one-bedroom flat on the ground floor. There are a couple of "odd" things - everyone in Copenhagen has no problems about not having curtains on their ground floor windows! Yep as you walk along you can see into people's places. Our windows have the lower half covered with some kind of privacy frosting. It doesn't look much from the inside but it does work. However I was mildly surprised when I saw a guy a delivery truck at my height. He couldn't have cared less - I guess people are so used to it, they wouldn't be so impolite as to look inside someone's bedroom?!
The second is the heating - man it's warm in here. The first thing we did was turn off the heating. Only left the bathroom one on. BTW I hate rainfall showerheads. Who ever thought they are a good idea? Everyday your hair would be wet and in your eyes. We have a dual shower head head but the first shower was not fun.
Frabulous joy, we opened the fridge and there was a plethora of beer. All sorts. We also had a lovely bunch of yellow roses and some great danish bread and things so we could survive til we shopped. The bread here is divine.
Food is expensive in Denmark - or Copenhagen at least. But I do realise we have had afternoon tea at museums and they always charge a premium. But a cup of coffee, a mug of tea and a croissant costs about AUD25. Best croissant I've ever had, it was heavy with butter, and the Earl Grey was delicious. The Danes are serious about their coffee - so Bill's been happy so far.
A craft beer costs about 60DKK which is about AUD12. And so far we've had some fabulous craft beers. No complaints there. We like to treat ourselves to a beer or three around 3ish. The bars here are uniformly "cosy" and the service is friendly. Everyone speaks English, excellent English - it's just plain embarrassing.
Okay that's all for now. I will be updating this daily.
Sunday 24 November 2019
Five Plus Weird Things in Copenhagen
Oh my it's our last day in Copenhagen and I'm reflecting on some of the strange things we've encountered.
If you want this with links and pictures go here
First - traffic lights - for some reason, the Danes have nailed the crossing timing. Every time we get to a set of lights, they change within a few seconds. It seems that it's not just me but it's a new "intelligent" traffic light system. Now come on world, if the Danes can do it - everyone can.
Second - baby prams. So everyone bikes everywhere. What I didn't realise is that people here love their prams -- riding ones and pushing ones. They all seem to come in twos too. I don't know about the Dane's fertility but rarely do you see a single pram. Not saying they are twins but clearly they're not mucking around with this one-child business.
Speaking of which - babies are everywhere. And everyone pushes them from mummies to grandparents -- lots of grandparents. And they seem to like it. Even when the bubs are left outside, in their prams, in the cold. Shakes head. This New Zealand woman found it weird too.
Third - cleaning products. I can't seem to find the same ones I usually use. I like to use a little bleach in the shower (for mould) well I went to several stores and they were sold out. So either the Danes are really clean or there's a world wide shortage of bleach. EEkk. At our apartment, I was scrounging and opened a bottle of something and immediately took a big sniff--that's a dangerous thing to do. Don't do it.
Fourth - TV. I have never seen so many romance movies airing. Yes it's the time of year for Jule Christmas Romance movies. There are usually about 4 each night on telly here. They are the crappiest, cheeziest, Hallmark movies you can imagine. The Danes are romantics at heart.
Auction tv shows -- while Australia continues its love affair with renovation television shows, and America still loves a desperate housewife, it's all about the auction here. We can't understand a word of them but in various guises people guess what things are valued at and them compete in various ways. We're crap at guessing prices. It seems the the more tortured the piece of porcelain the more it fetches.
Fifth - Food and Drink. Sweets-yes the Danes LOVE their sweeta (I mean lollies); they are second only to Finland (really? see this article) at 8.51 kilos per head per year. Every corner has a 'candy' shop that's filled with gummy type chewy lollies. I love them. My figure doesn't. One of the reasons that Danes, with the highest "happiness" rating, don't live the longest. There's a lesson in that, right?
Coffee - okay it's a national sport here. They are the second biggest spenders at over 3 euros per cup in the world (see here). (Swiss rank #1). Drink as much as you can. I'm not a great fan -- I hate that coffee breath that heavy drinkers get.
Bread - while we might know that dark-rye-nut laden bread used in open sandwiches-we've discovered a bread/croissant type bun.
Oh - it's 2pm. Time for Glogg. I will write about glogg but not right now. It's drinking time.
If you want this with links and pictures go here
First - traffic lights - for some reason, the Danes have nailed the crossing timing. Every time we get to a set of lights, they change within a few seconds. It seems that it's not just me but it's a new "intelligent" traffic light system. Now come on world, if the Danes can do it - everyone can.
Second - baby prams. So everyone bikes everywhere. What I didn't realise is that people here love their prams -- riding ones and pushing ones. They all seem to come in twos too. I don't know about the Dane's fertility but rarely do you see a single pram. Not saying they are twins but clearly they're not mucking around with this one-child business.
Speaking of which - babies are everywhere. And everyone pushes them from mummies to grandparents -- lots of grandparents. And they seem to like it. Even when the bubs are left outside, in their prams, in the cold. Shakes head. This New Zealand woman found it weird too.
Third - cleaning products. I can't seem to find the same ones I usually use. I like to use a little bleach in the shower (for mould) well I went to several stores and they were sold out. So either the Danes are really clean or there's a world wide shortage of bleach. EEkk. At our apartment, I was scrounging and opened a bottle of something and immediately took a big sniff--that's a dangerous thing to do. Don't do it.
Fourth - TV. I have never seen so many romance movies airing. Yes it's the time of year for Jule Christmas Romance movies. There are usually about 4 each night on telly here. They are the crappiest, cheeziest, Hallmark movies you can imagine. The Danes are romantics at heart.
Auction tv shows -- while Australia continues its love affair with renovation television shows, and America still loves a desperate housewife, it's all about the auction here. We can't understand a word of them but in various guises people guess what things are valued at and them compete in various ways. We're crap at guessing prices. It seems the the more tortured the piece of porcelain the more it fetches.
Fifth - Food and Drink. Sweets-yes the Danes LOVE their sweeta (I mean lollies); they are second only to Finland (really? see this article) at 8.51 kilos per head per year. Every corner has a 'candy' shop that's filled with gummy type chewy lollies. I love them. My figure doesn't. One of the reasons that Danes, with the highest "happiness" rating, don't live the longest. There's a lesson in that, right?
Coffee - okay it's a national sport here. They are the second biggest spenders at over 3 euros per cup in the world (see here). (Swiss rank #1). Drink as much as you can. I'm not a great fan -- I hate that coffee breath that heavy drinkers get.
Bread - while we might know that dark-rye-nut laden bread used in open sandwiches-we've discovered a bread/croissant type bun.
Oh - it's 2pm. Time for Glogg. I will write about glogg but not right now. It's drinking time.
Monday 9 December 2013
It’s All About the Food - Xmas Food
Christmas Around the World
Well we know Xmas is about two things, presents and food. I like my Christmases white – which is why I try and have them overseas and that fact that the cold allows for great yummy food. I love the snow, the smells of spice in the air and the winter clothes that cover the body.
Well we know Xmas is about two things, presents and food. I like my Christmases white – which is why I try and have them overseas and that fact that the cold allows for great yummy food. I love the snow, the smells of spice in the air and the winter clothes that cover the body.
USA – first, many
American families have a Xmas Eve celebration.
In my hubby’s family it’s Chinese food – and if you think that’s not so
strange, they’re from the Deep South and Chinese food isn’t great there. (I think Australia has some of the best
Chinese food I’ve had – so colour me biased).
So they cook their own version of Chinese and eat it at his sister’s
place – its spring rolls (egg rolls in their parlance), stir fry. So why do so many people have Xmas Eve
because often the family Xmas food isn’t that great (according to the many
online discussion groups I visited) – forget the Norman Rockwell Xmas.
 |
| Sweet Potato |
US Xmas is a replay of Thanksgiving – turkey, drippings (the
juice in the pan), gravy. mashed potato,
sweet potato (I particularly like the marshmallow added), dressing (stuffing
but made on the stove top),
green bean salad (here’s the classic recipe),
and jello salad (made with jelly and a can of cocktail fruit). Finally there’s a cool whip salad – which is
made with fake cream, jelly and whatever is on hand, usually some kind of
tinned fruit, marshmallows and for some reason cottage cheese—its an ungodly looking
mess and sweet as. There are hundreds of
variation here.
 |
| Jello "Salad" |
Utah is the centre of the “Jello Belt”, and
has the highest consumption per capita of any state; you aren’t Mormon if you
don’t have a green (green is a
flavour not a colour note) jello salad at your table. Mormons are much more
inventive with their salads and include carrot, raisins, potato chips, or
cornflakes. Notice the words salad? It makes them sound healthy – they’re NOT.
 |
| Cool Whip Salad |
Turducken - is another of those crazy US things -- not for the vegetarian or the feint hearted. The turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck and a chicken. The latter two are deboned. Phew I wondered who thought up that combination -- I mean seriously what made someone thing of shoving these three birds inside each other? It must be incredibly rich and not really to my taste but it is called the "ultimate" Xmas food. It takes hours to prepare though google and you'll see some Aussie butchers have done the hard work; then of course there is the hours it must take to cook all the way through. Apparently the recipe originated in Louisiana - nuff said.
 |
| Xmas Cake |
Japan – The big food items in Japan are KFC and Xmas Cake. KFC
is so popular it is ordered months in advance and people queue for it. The Xmas Cake (KURISUMASU KEEKI) is much more to my taste, it’s a shortcake (sponge)
topped with cream and strawberries. In
the past, cakes that weren’t sold by Xmas Day were considered past their prime
and unmarried Japanese women over the age of 25 (!) became known as Christmas
Cakes. Obviously this has changed.
 |
| American Fruit Cake |
Speaking of Xmas Cakes, the American Fruit Cake is
chockablock full of dried fruit, candied peel and nuts and I mean chockablock –
there is very little cake. I made one once and my mother loved it. It is not a
traditional Xmas cake however. At the
other end of the spectrum is the parsimonious Dundee cake – which has few
fruits (currants, raisins, sultanas and cherries) but lashings of whisky – not Scottish
much. Stollen German fruit cakes and Panettone Italian
cakes are two European Xmas versions. The French King Cake has a charming
tradition – it used to have a broad bean
in it and the person who finds it is then King/Queen for the day—today it has porcelain
or plastic figurines instead. (It’s an old tradition and Samuel Pepys recorded
eating the cake). Variations of the King
Cake are seen in Spain and Latin America celebrating Epiphany; in America it is
most likely to be associated with Mardi Gras.
Of course we all know the tradition of adding threepences
and sixpences to the British Xmas pudding.
Because of their high silver content, the only danger is to
dentistry. But definitely don’t do this
with contemporary coins!
 |
| Glogg the way I remember it |
Scandinavia –
forget the Xmas food- it’s all about the drink, Glögg. This we had in abundance in Denmark, Sweden
and some other countries, hic. It is a high
octane mulled wine served hot made with a potpourri of spices and red wine,
port, and brandy. And often had a lone
peanut in the bottom. I don’t know why
the peanut and hubby and I still ponder this. We had loads of indepth
discussions about this in the course of our research. It certainly kept us warm as we toddled back
to the hotel.
In Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (e.g., Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania), an elaborate and ritualised meal of twelve meatless dishes is served on the Eve of Christmas (24th December). This is because the pre-Christmas season is a time of fasting, which is broken on Christmas Day. As is typical of Slavic cultures, great pains are taken to honour the spirits of deceased relatives, including setting a place and dishing out food for them
Finland (Santa's Home) Joulupöytä (translated “Christmas table”) is the name of the traditional food board served at Christmas in Finland, similar to the Swedish smörgÃ¥sbord. It contains many different dishes, most of them typical for the season. The main dish is usually a large Christmas ham, which is eaten with mustard or bread along with the other dishes. Fish is also served (often lutefisk and gravlax), and with the ham there are also laatikot, casseroles with liver and raisins, as well as potatoes, rice, and carrots.
Italy - On Christmas Eve, Southern Italians celebrate with a dinner called the Feast of the Seven Fishes, which features seven seafood dishes prepared every which way. There is no traditional menu, but there are some popular dishes, including pan-fried smelts, calamari, homemade linguine with clams, baked eel, and baccala, or salt cod. Why seven dishes? It's unclear, but most explanations point to how the number seven is referenced in the Bible and the Roman Catholic Church. Some families prepare more than seven seafood dishes, with the numbers having religious significance.
Apparently New Zealand has claimed the pavlova as their Xmas dish. What?!
Finally, for those people who are on their own or are a bit strapped for Xmas dinner - it's Christmas Tinner. Yep, Xmas dinner in a can -- according to the Huffington Post it has nine layers. From breakfast to Christmas pudding. It's probably a hoax but that hasn't stopped people from ordering it - it's sold out.
So I wonder what your Xmas fare looks like? Have a happy day!
T
Mexico - I had this in Mexico. Menudo is a traditional Mexican Christmas dish that had TRIPE (and I ate tripe) but it's disguised by hominy and spices. The tripe is cooked for hours and it is delicious -- spicy and warming (remember it's cold there). Rumour is that it's good a cure for a hangover, but I can't vouch for that.
UK - while the UK has turned it's poor reputation for food around - I cannot forgive a country that invented blood pudding, or fruit cake or mince pies However the worst addition to the Xmas table has to be brussels sprouts - no matter how they are done - what were they thinking?
Some Other Traditional Feasts - Buffet Style - taken from this website
In Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (e.g., Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania), an elaborate and ritualised meal of twelve meatless dishes is served on the Eve of Christmas (24th December). This is because the pre-Christmas season is a time of fasting, which is broken on Christmas Day. As is typical of Slavic cultures, great pains are taken to honour the spirits of deceased relatives, including setting a place and dishing out food for them
Finland (Santa's Home) Joulupöytä (translated “Christmas table”) is the name of the traditional food board served at Christmas in Finland, similar to the Swedish smörgÃ¥sbord. It contains many different dishes, most of them typical for the season. The main dish is usually a large Christmas ham, which is eaten with mustard or bread along with the other dishes. Fish is also served (often lutefisk and gravlax), and with the ham there are also laatikot, casseroles with liver and raisins, as well as potatoes, rice, and carrots.
Italy - On Christmas Eve, Southern Italians celebrate with a dinner called the Feast of the Seven Fishes, which features seven seafood dishes prepared every which way. There is no traditional menu, but there are some popular dishes, including pan-fried smelts, calamari, homemade linguine with clams, baked eel, and baccala, or salt cod. Why seven dishes? It's unclear, but most explanations point to how the number seven is referenced in the Bible and the Roman Catholic Church. Some families prepare more than seven seafood dishes, with the numbers having religious significance.
Apparently New Zealand has claimed the pavlova as their Xmas dish. What?!
So I wonder what your Xmas fare looks like? Have a happy day!
T
Tuesday 12 November 2013
Woke Up This Morning
Woke up this morning is an almost cliche way to start a blues song. And that's exactly what we did when we were in Mobile, AL - we woke up this morning and decided to drive to the heart of Blues - Clarksdale MS.
We had heard a lot about Clarksdale - most particularly we know of the ShackUpInn - a very unusual place to stay and in the spirit of research for this show - we drove 7 hours to spend two days in the hard of the Mississippi Delta.
Clarksdale is right at the top of Ms is a small town (pop about 20,000); it is the birthplace and world capital of the Blues and location of the famous Crossroads intersection of Highway 61 and 49. Now if you don't know what this intersection is then you ain't got no soul--it's where Blues legend Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the devil in return for musical talent. (Eric Clapton called Johnson the most important Blues singer who ever lived). It is also the birthplace of John Lee Hooker, Sam Cooke and Ike Turner. Bessie Smith died here after a road accident. Most associated with the place is Muddy Waters--who is rumoured to have been born in a shotgun shack on Stovall Road - there is a plaque commemorating this (an historical Mississippi Blues Trail marker).
In the Delta Blues Museum is a mock up of Muddy Waters' shack. The Museum is small but well stocked and has plenty of videos and memorabilia for any Blues fan. Speaking of blues - Delta Blues is one of the earliest forms of blues -- so named because its in the Mississippi Delta - famous for rich soil and dire poverty. Scholars might argue about exactly what is Delta Blues but they agree it's about the bottleneck slide, rhythm and instrumentation -- and as a non-Blues expert that's all I'm preparaed to say.
We were delighted with our accommodation at the Shack Up Inn. The Inn is a fascinating concept -- the owners have resurrected an old (Hopson) Plantation and turned the cotton gin it into rooms; they have also purchased genuine share cropper (shotgun) shacks and decorated them authentically A little too authentically for my taste and after two nights I was looking forward to 1500 count sheets :) I've uploaded a video on YouTube - unfortunately the pictures are on my now missing Iphone.
Obviously there are plenty of Blues places to visit. Red's is one of the most famous - here's a video of its history.
Red's is a jook joint -- now jook joint has a long and rich cultural history. I remember first reading about them in Zora Neale Hurston's "Characteristics of Negro Expression" -- here is a fuller explanation. There's a Jook Joint Festival in Clarksdale every year. There is nothing like a jook joint for getting into the Blues and for really experiencing the music and the culture.
We had heard a lot about Clarksdale - most particularly we know of the ShackUpInn - a very unusual place to stay and in the spirit of research for this show - we drove 7 hours to spend two days in the hard of the Mississippi Delta.
Clarksdale is right at the top of Ms is a small town (pop about 20,000); it is the birthplace and world capital of the Blues and location of the famous Crossroads intersection of Highway 61 and 49. Now if you don't know what this intersection is then you ain't got no soul--it's where Blues legend Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the devil in return for musical talent. (Eric Clapton called Johnson the most important Blues singer who ever lived). It is also the birthplace of John Lee Hooker, Sam Cooke and Ike Turner. Bessie Smith died here after a road accident. Most associated with the place is Muddy Waters--who is rumoured to have been born in a shotgun shack on Stovall Road - there is a plaque commemorating this (an historical Mississippi Blues Trail marker).
In the Delta Blues Museum is a mock up of Muddy Waters' shack. The Museum is small but well stocked and has plenty of videos and memorabilia for any Blues fan. Speaking of blues - Delta Blues is one of the earliest forms of blues -- so named because its in the Mississippi Delta - famous for rich soil and dire poverty. Scholars might argue about exactly what is Delta Blues but they agree it's about the bottleneck slide, rhythm and instrumentation -- and as a non-Blues expert that's all I'm preparaed to say.
We were delighted with our accommodation at the Shack Up Inn. The Inn is a fascinating concept -- the owners have resurrected an old (Hopson) Plantation and turned the cotton gin it into rooms; they have also purchased genuine share cropper (shotgun) shacks and decorated them authentically A little too authentically for my taste and after two nights I was looking forward to 1500 count sheets :) I've uploaded a video on YouTube - unfortunately the pictures are on my now missing Iphone.
Obviously there are plenty of Blues places to visit. Red's is one of the most famous - here's a video of its history.
Red's is a jook joint -- now jook joint has a long and rich cultural history. I remember first reading about them in Zora Neale Hurston's "Characteristics of Negro Expression" -- here is a fuller explanation. There's a Jook Joint Festival in Clarksdale every year. There is nothing like a jook joint for getting into the Blues and for really experiencing the music and the culture.
Saturday 12 October 2013
5 Things - Copper Canyon
FIVE things you didn’t know about Copper Canyon
It’s in Mexico - Chihuahua State.
It’s larger than the Grand Canyon
Access only by train
One of the world’s GREATEST train journeys
You can stay in a hotel ON the actual canyon….!
Five things you should know about the Train Journey
Journey starts in Chihihuahua and ends up in Los Mochis – 16
hours roughly
ChePe is the name of the train – 90 years and 90 million
dollars to complete
Mexican trains are FAIRLY cheap so go first class the restaurant car is great
It leaves VERY early in the morning…so you should arrive the
night beforehand and stay in a hotel nearby AND ARRIVES AT 1AM – SO DOUBLE
CHECK your hotel will have someone there to pick u up
Be patient … trains were often late
Five Travel Trips
Go in the winter – then you don’t have to fight the crowds
and you get a seat on the right side
Don’t be afraid of eating the food at the stops – I did and
didn’t get sick at all
Stay at the hotel on the canyon
Mexican buses are fabulous so don’t be afraid to catch them
Take the tours – don’t be a wimp like me
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