My Relationship with Rye Bread
This relationship has been tumultuous to say the least. It began with a sense of curiousity and wonderment: what is this flat very square dark brown bread that doesn't seem soft at all? I bought a random bag of this on my first day here. Most people eat their rye bread at any time of day with jam, or with a slice of cheese, a piece of meat and some cucumbers on top. I began on my very first morning trying to adopt this practice and well, it tasted just ok. Like I said, the bread isn't particularly soft nor is it fluffy. It is quite hard and dense. This is probably the reason that rye bread keeps much longer than other breads.
After one loaf of rye it lost its novelty and I went back to normal white bread. But then I decided to give rye another chance, this time picking out a smaller loaf of the darkest rye possible. It was similar to my first loaf of lighter rye except there were lots of flax seeds and other grains in the bread which I knew to be good for me. The only problem with that was the grains always got stuck in my teeth and I had to spend time after every rye bread session flossing or otherwise.
This seems like a long drawn out story and so I'll cut it short. The pivotal moment in this relationship was when I decided to try rye bread toasted, then either buttered or with jam. It was delicious! When toasted, the edges of the rye bread turn crispy while the inside of the slice retained its normal non-toasted rye bread texture except hotter temperature wise. Slathered with butter and some good jam, this is a tasty treat I now look forward to eating in the morning or as a late night snack. I'm thinking of packing a couple bags of these babies when I go home so I can keep tasting the goodness for a little bit longer. In other words, I've been converted. As they would say in somewheres French cross Danish land: Viva le rugbrød!
The 10,000 Calorie per cup Hot Chocolate
My roommate is a woman of incredible talent. She can shop like no one can, cooks me pancakes when I'm hungover and taught me to make an unreal cup of REAL European hot chocolate.
Maybe most normal people don't drink nearly the amounts of hot chocolate that I do but I go through several tins of hot chocolate powder every winter. When it gets cold, I drink this stuff all the time and sometimes multiple cups in a single sitting. I drink one cup and I always think, well that was tasty and hit the spot but didn't quite fill the entire void. Do you know what I mean? But this cup of REAL European hot chocolate? One cup is enough.
We melted a bar of chocolate into some water in a pot, then added butter, vanilla sugar, cinnamon and milk. Then we stirred until all the chunks had dissolved and after we used the milk frother on it a bit, it was ready to be enjoyed! It was a treat that tantalizes all the senses.....mmmm. And of course it was so rich that you really cannot have more than one cup at a time. SOoo good.
The 20 km Dinner
On Thursday we had our very first dinner party amongst Club ODP. (That stands for Open-Door Policy. We've noticed some other groups of students forming very exclusive circles and think that is a load of pish posh. Instead we've decided to adopt this policy and welcome anybody to join who isn't a flake.) Lovely Maureen held it at her place which was a very cool student housing with lots of common areas to hang out. However, this cool place was also very far from my flat and my roommate and I, being very ambitious, decided we would bike the 8 km each way instead of taking the 10 minute train ride over.
The ride there was beautiful. We went through a cemetary and along streets that we didn't know existed that were home to numerous cute cafes and restaurants. We also passed this very neat looking old fashioned family market that had a maze of bushes next to it! I'll definitely be going back there. Anyway, after zigzagging our way through many streets with names I could not pronounce, we got to the dinner party even earlier than the train-takers.
The ride home was a bit different. It was near midnight so a bit colder and we got lost. But not very lost. I would say we rode about 12 km instead of the 8 km that we should have. Eventually we found our way home and the point of this story is that with all this bikeriding I think I worked off the dinner before I even got home. I was starving and ate a lot of crackers before heading to bed that night. I'm hoping this cycling is also very suited for burning my continuous intake of danishes!
This museum of modern art was actually quite fabulous and I'm glad I went. At first I wasn't sure since J Fern is much more artistic than me but the exhibits were not only on the art of architecture but also the practical and cultural side to it so was pretty fascinating. At least for the first 4 hours. The museum was HUGE. I stopped being fascinated after about 4 hours but I think this is normal. There were cool visuals like the Doppler Effect, architecture models along with real art like paintings and sculptures. Please refer to facebook for more pictures on this adventure. 
Also important, I tried my first piece of herring! It is an important food here in Scandinavia and the overall good health of the Danes is attributed to their large consumption of pickled herring containing lots of omega 3 fatty acids. Not surprisingly, I didn't much care for it. It was ok tasting. Even with all the pickledness, it was still fishy and so I put a lot of garlic cream and capers in with the fish. I suppose if I was stuck on an island like Tom Hanks in Outcast I would definitely eat it but I don't think I'll order it at a restaurant again.
Danish Women Pee In Groups
Cultural phenomenon. I've definitely noticed early on while in line for the pee room that groups of girls will go into one pee room together. Bathrooms here are a bit different than in most North America where there is one big bathroom hall divided by stalls. Here most bathrooms are unisex with either the sink and mirrors outside in a hallway while the toilets are in separate rooms or there will be several completely independent bathrooms containing their own sink, toilet and mirror.
A group of generally 2-3 girls will go into the single independent bathroom together and either come out one at a time or altogether. Maybe it's just because people over here are more comfortable with their bodies and bodily functions. (ie. showering naked in the change rooms, peeing together, etc.) So, for the sake of efficiency, yesterday I did it. I just really had to pee and to be honest it wasn't that bad I suppose. Of course, all of us had been drinking a lot so we just got in there and got right down to business. I don't know if I'd necessarily be excited to do it again, but if it shortens ladies bathroom lineups overall, I'm definitely ok with it.
This relationship has been tumultuous to say the least. It began with a sense of curiousity and wonderment: what is this flat very square dark brown bread that doesn't seem soft at all? I bought a random bag of this on my first day here. Most people eat their rye bread at any time of day with jam, or with a slice of cheese, a piece of meat and some cucumbers on top. I began on my very first morning trying to adopt this practice and well, it tasted just ok. Like I said, the bread isn't particularly soft nor is it fluffy. It is quite hard and dense. This is probably the reason that rye bread keeps much longer than other breads.
After one loaf of rye it lost its novelty and I went back to normal white bread. But then I decided to give rye another chance, this time picking out a smaller loaf of the darkest rye possible. It was similar to my first loaf of lighter rye except there were lots of flax seeds and other grains in the bread which I knew to be good for me. The only problem with that was the grains always got stuck in my teeth and I had to spend time after every rye bread session flossing or otherwise.
This seems like a long drawn out story and so I'll cut it short. The pivotal moment in this relationship was when I decided to try rye bread toasted, then either buttered or with jam. It was delicious! When toasted, the edges of the rye bread turn crispy while the inside of the slice retained its normal non-toasted rye bread texture except hotter temperature wise. Slathered with butter and some good jam, this is a tasty treat I now look forward to eating in the morning or as a late night snack. I'm thinking of packing a couple bags of these babies when I go home so I can keep tasting the goodness for a little bit longer. In other words, I've been converted. As they would say in somewheres French cross Danish land: Viva le rugbrød!
The 10,000 Calorie per cup Hot Chocolate
My roommate is a woman of incredible talent. She can shop like no one can, cooks me pancakes when I'm hungover and taught me to make an unreal cup of REAL European hot chocolate.
Maybe most normal people don't drink nearly the amounts of hot chocolate that I do but I go through several tins of hot chocolate powder every winter. When it gets cold, I drink this stuff all the time and sometimes multiple cups in a single sitting. I drink one cup and I always think, well that was tasty and hit the spot but didn't quite fill the entire void. Do you know what I mean? But this cup of REAL European hot chocolate? One cup is enough.
We melted a bar of chocolate into some water in a pot, then added butter, vanilla sugar, cinnamon and milk. Then we stirred until all the chunks had dissolved and after we used the milk frother on it a bit, it was ready to be enjoyed! It was a treat that tantalizes all the senses.....mmmm. And of course it was so rich that you really cannot have more than one cup at a time. SOoo good.
The 20 km Dinner
On Thursday we had our very first dinner party amongst Club ODP. (That stands for Open-Door Policy. We've noticed some other groups of students forming very exclusive circles and think that is a load of pish posh. Instead we've decided to adopt this policy and welcome anybody to join who isn't a flake.) Lovely Maureen held it at her place which was a very cool student housing with lots of common areas to hang out. However, this cool place was also very far from my flat and my roommate and I, being very ambitious, decided we would bike the 8 km each way instead of taking the 10 minute train ride over.
The ride there was beautiful. We went through a cemetary and along streets that we didn't know existed that were home to numerous cute cafes and restaurants. We also passed this very neat looking old fashioned family market that had a maze of bushes next to it! I'll definitely be going back there. Anyway, after zigzagging our way through many streets with names I could not pronounce, we got to the dinner party even earlier than the train-takers. The ride home was a bit different. It was near midnight so a bit colder and we got lost. But not very lost. I would say we rode about 12 km instead of the 8 km that we should have. Eventually we found our way home and the point of this story is that with all this bikeriding I think I worked off the dinner before I even got home. I was starving and ate a lot of crackers before heading to bed that night. I'm hoping this cycling is also very suited for burning my continuous intake of danishes!
 |
| We rode all the way from where Cecilie is pointing to the red dot! |
Louisiana
This museum of modern art was actually quite fabulous and I'm glad I went. At first I wasn't sure since J Fern is much more artistic than me but the exhibits were not only on the art of architecture but also the practical and cultural side to it so was pretty fascinating. At least for the first 4 hours. The museum was HUGE. I stopped being fascinated after about 4 hours but I think this is normal. There were cool visuals like the Doppler Effect, architecture models along with real art like paintings and sculptures. Please refer to facebook for more pictures on this adventure.
Also important, I tried my first piece of herring! It is an important food here in Scandinavia and the overall good health of the Danes is attributed to their large consumption of pickled herring containing lots of omega 3 fatty acids. Not surprisingly, I didn't much care for it. It was ok tasting. Even with all the pickledness, it was still fishy and so I put a lot of garlic cream and capers in with the fish. I suppose if I was stuck on an island like Tom Hanks in Outcast I would definitely eat it but I don't think I'll order it at a restaurant again. Danish Women Pee In Groups
Cultural phenomenon. I've definitely noticed early on while in line for the pee room that groups of girls will go into one pee room together. Bathrooms here are a bit different than in most North America where there is one big bathroom hall divided by stalls. Here most bathrooms are unisex with either the sink and mirrors outside in a hallway while the toilets are in separate rooms or there will be several completely independent bathrooms containing their own sink, toilet and mirror.
A group of generally 2-3 girls will go into the single independent bathroom together and either come out one at a time or altogether. Maybe it's just because people over here are more comfortable with their bodies and bodily functions. (ie. showering naked in the change rooms, peeing together, etc.) So, for the sake of efficiency, yesterday I did it. I just really had to pee and to be honest it wasn't that bad I suppose. Of course, all of us had been drinking a lot so we just got in there and got right down to business. I don't know if I'd necessarily be excited to do it again, but if it shortens ladies bathroom lineups overall, I'm definitely ok with it.
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