Advent at ADAFT!

It's the last day of November, and that means just one thing--tomorrow everyone starts their Advent calendars!

We love Advent calendars of all kinds: chocolate, Flash-animated, candles... but we know there's always room for one more! So we, the Daring Duo, are proud to present Advent at ADAFT. Visit the blog every day between now and Christmas to discover a delightful treat that's Danish, festive, and maybe even both!

See you tomorrow when all the fun begins!

Tired of Turkey? Why Not Try a Vöner?

I figured in these days after Thanksgiving, when everyone's been eating turkey, turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, even turkey pancakes--well, what better time for the Scandinavegan to make her move?

You're sick of turkey, I know you are. You're wishing there were some delicious, high-protein, plant-based alternative... one that doesn't have a dumb name like "Tofurkey." Something tasty and exotic, yet not too frightening...

Behold the Vöner!

As I was saying: high-protein, plant-based, exotic yet somehow familiar, non-stupid name... well, you can't win them all.

But what IS it? And why does it seem so familiar? It's a vegan döner, the Turkish street food that's taken Germany by storm in the last 15 years. You can find döner everywhere in Germany, but if you're lucky enough to wander by Boxhagener Straße 56 in Berlin, you'll find yourself here, at Vöner, home of the vegan version.

So German, and yet so Berkeley.

Of course, we were there on an October evening, so it actually looked more like this.
Still super-hyggelig, though!

And if you're worried about authenticity (who doesn't worry about the authenticity of their soy-based meat analogs?), well, fret no more. It comes on a spit, just like the real thing. Yes, you saw it here on ADAFT, a giant sizzling spit of seitan.

All jokes aside, though, it was tasty, filling, and very reasonably priced. So next time you're in Berlin, remember what the Scandinavegan told you, and head right over to Vöner!

A New Shoreline

Before I moved to Denmark I used to like the Ingrid Michaelson song "Far Away." I still like that song, actually, and while listening to it the other day this line caught my ear:

"Far away, far away, I want to go far away, to a new life on a new shoreline...."

The thing is, I think almost everyone secretly wants that, the chance to have a totally new kind of life. And I got it. I have done just exactly what this song is about. Wow.

Here's the "new shoreline," as we mostly see it in Aarhus.




It reminds me a lot of this painting by P. S. Krøyer, which I absolutely love.


The first time I saw it was in the art museum ARoS, where they have a nice big original. I liked the painting so much then that we bought a poster reproduction, which now has pride of place in our living room. Whenever Danes come over, they get very chuffed that we're also Krøyer fans. He's a really famous Danish painter, best known for his paintings of the sea and Danish seaside life. Most of his work was done up in Skagen, where he was friends with a whole bunch of other well-known painters and writers. Even though he painted at the turn of the century, Skagen still looks like it does in those paintings.



There's just something eternally appealing about ships and the sea, I think. Lately I've been listening to this folksy playlist of songs about sailing.

Longer Boats-- Cat Stevens
Greenland Whale Fisheries--Peter, Paul and Mary
Far Away--Ingrid Michaelson
Blues Run the Game--Simon and Garfunkel
The Water is Wide--John Gorka
Oh, Sail Away--The Kingston Trio
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald-- Gordon Lightfoot
Sloop John B--The Beach Boys
I Courted a Sailor--Kate Rusby
Birds and Ships-- Natalie Merchant
The Sailor's Grave on the Prairie--Leo Kottke
Traveling II (I Love, I Love)-- Dar Williams