Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas!

A very God Jul to everyone! The Daring Trio sends their warmest wishes and hopes your days will be merry and bright.



Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

December 23-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

We're home again, and while Aarhus might not be as showy as Hamburg at Christmas, it's still certainly cozy. Behold Jutland's finest!



Monday, December 22, 2014

December 22-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

Our Christmas trip to Hamburg continues to delight!

The Rathaus and the historic Christmas market in front of it. We bought some marzipan here

C got a finger puppet "moo"

The fairy tale ships on the lake

Can you spot the Danish Christmas wishes?




Markets and lights across the lake. There's a big tree in the middle of it!


Germans really know how to deal with the darkest time of year!

Sunday, December 21, 2014

December 21-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!`

Today I want to talk to you all about a special German thing that's even more special at this time of year-- Rittersport!

Look at that little red square!  Don't you feel more festive already?

Seriously, though, as the Germans say, Rittersport are square, practical, and good.  And that seems very workmanlike.  But last year we discovered that every year Rittersport has special seasonal and annual flavors that rarely make it out of Germany.  They're exotic!  And fancy!  And limited-edition!

Last night B picked out this current seasonal flavor for his "welcome to Germany" treat.

What a smiley snowman!  Also very festive.

Well, all this got me wondering about all things Rittersport... and before long I discovered their blog.  Yup, if you ever feel like reading German chocolate dissertations, this is the place to go.  And right now there is voting for the 2016 winter special edition squares!  Look at all the lovely contestants.  Let's give them a round of applause.

For those who aren't up on Northern European confectionary, the flavors you can choose from are as follows:
Apple cinnamon
Baumkuchen
Baked apple
Stollen
Dominosteine
Burnt cashew
Burnt almond with white chocolate
Mulled wine
Pomegranate
Coconut macaroon
Lebkuchen (gingerbread)
Tangerine
Chestnut
Nougat and marzipan
Nougat cream with winter spices
Orange Marzipan
Plum and cinnamon
Chocolate mousse with orange and chilli
Speculaas (Dutch spice cookie)
Cinnamon


Clearly some of these flavors are right out.  Apple cinnamon, for instance, does not go with chocolate. Neither does stollen.  And Dominosteine, while delicious (see our previous post), are unlikely to fit into the prescribed dimensions of a 100 gram Rittersport square.  So I'm pulling for  orange marzipan and chestnut, not least because today I had roasted chestnuts for the first time and they were delicious!  Also because both would be excellent with dark chocolate rather than milk and it would be great if the seasonal flavors were vegan this time around.

Let's get the vote out, people!



Saturday, December 20, 2014

December 20-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

We're in Hamburg! It's famous for its Christmas celebrations, especially it's numerous and impressive Christmas markets. So, we decided to see for ourselves. It's not a very long trip by train - only about 4.5 hours from Aarhus. C was a champion traveler, and we've had a great time so far.

Here's the sight that greeted us as we left the main train station:

How German! And here are some decorations. Germans invented the Christmas tree, you know.

We found a carousel! It was C's first experience on such a contraption. And she loved it! So much!

Friday, December 19, 2014

December 19-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

One thing about living in Denmark is getting used to the crazy variation in day length through the year. On the up side are long summer evenings with sunsets that never seem to end and lots of opportunities for cozy candles in the winter. The downsides are trying to get your baby to go to sleep in full sunlight and never seeing the sun in the winter. We have just about reached the shortest day of the year, which for us comes in at around 6 hours and 55 minutes. That means a summer day here can be almost 3x as long as a winter day!

As exciting as Christmas is, I also get really excited about the solstice. The days may be really short, but they start getting longer! It's like getting a present from Earth's orbit.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

December 18-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

During "Jul", you can find little Christmas markets scattered all over town. Most of them are clusters of 5-15 huts selling small gifts and various food things. We also have a big one full of crafts at the "Ridehus", the former cavalry barracks and current exhibition hall downtown. There are some foods and drinks that you can count on seeing:

Gløgg: Mulled wine with raisins and slivered almonds
Brændte mandler: Almonds cooked with sugar until they get kind of caramelized and delicious
Pandekager: Crepes with various (usually) sweet fillings
Pebbernødder: Little cookies with cinnamon and cardamom

And here's our main market:


Wednesday, December 17, 2014

December 17-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

There's just one week left!  We're giddy with excitement (and the heady virtuous feeling of just having finished addressing all our Christmas cards) so tonight's post is a little silly.

The Daring Duo is almost never silly.

We want you to go get elf names!  Do it, do it!  Just click here and you'll be on your way (if you're not too giddy to remember your first initial and the month you were born).

Sincerely,
Nipper Floppy-Feet and Squeezy Sugar-Socks

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

December 16-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

The other day we wrote about all the exciting things C has been saying lately.  (And by the way, we updated that since we forgot so many words the first time around)!  But the astute reader will have noticed that there weren't any pictures.  And what is our blog, really, if not a place to share pictures of our charming offspring?

So.  There you have it.  It's a couple months old, but rest assured that C is still just as wonderful, even if the weather is a heck of a lot worse.


Monday, December 15, 2014

December 15-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

It's corny, I know, but I actually really like the stop-motion animation film about Rudolph.  Come on, who doesn't love the elf who wants to be a dentist?  But the best part  is the end, when the toothless Yeti is hanging up Christmas decorations and Burl Ives sings "Holly Jolly Christmas."

I leave you to it.




Sunday, December 14, 2014

December 14-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

One more picture from Leipzig! This is of the very impressive decorations at the Leipzig main train station. Pretty cool! And just to show you that Aarhus can also put on an impressive light display, the view down our main shopping street:

December 13-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

C is learning new words just about every day. People often ask if she is learning Danish. She is! But mostly English, though she understands quite a bit of both. In an effort to quantify it (and to satisfy our curiosity and love of making lists), here are Clara's words. In total we count 41 English words, 19 Danish words, and 7 ambiguous. So there you have it, our baby speaks ~72% English!

Clothes:
Shoes (pronounced "shoosh")
Hat*
Boots

Colors:
Blue
Pink
Green
Orange

Food:
Clementine ("tine")
Zucchini ("kini")
Cheese

Verbs:
Eat
Push
Move
Hop*
Dance*
Turn
Help

Assorted
Mama
Daddy
Baby*
Fish ("ish")
Mouse ("mimi")
Bee*
Please
More
Balloon
Tree
Up
Down
Not
No
Yes
Pool
Two*
Stinky ("tinky")
Tea
Toes
Nose
Eye
Key
Door*
Moon
Hand
Home
Owl
Oh no!
Boom
Hole*

Danish:
Bog (book)
And (duck)
Tak (thanks)
Tog (train)
Oppe (on top of)
På (on)
Bil (car)
Øf øf (the sound a pig makes in Danish)
Gok gok (the sound a chicken makes)
Pige (girl)
Blåbær (blueberry)
Boller (rolls)
Nej (no) 
Pingvin (penguin)
Tung (heavy)
Tom (empty) 
Tur (turn, as in "my turn!")
Kanin (rabbit)
Tegne (to draw)
Tit-tit! (peek-a-boo)
Hej-hej (bye-bye) 


*The English and Danish versions of these words are similar. Which one is she using? No one knows!

Saturday, December 13, 2014

December 12-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

We got our Christmas tree today! C is really excited about it (enough to immediately learn how to say "tree"!), and couldn't wait to decorate it.

December 11-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

Tiny C loves books.  We read all the time around here and our biggest indulgence is new English picture books.  Lately we've been enjoying three Christmas-themed stories, and thought you might like to check them out.  They're sweet.

And as they always said on Reading Rainbow, "but you don't have to take my word for it!"

Take C's.

Shall I Knit You a Hat?  A Christmas Yarn
This was a present from Grandma last year, and C loves to explain that her mama knits hats with yarn, just like Mother Rabbit in the book.




Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas
C already knew Fletcher the fox from her book Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, and she was delighted when a new story about him arrived in the post.



Lotte i Sneen
OK, this one's in Danish.  Honestly, we're suckers for good picture books, no matter what the language!  (No kidding, we have German and Dutch picture books at home too).  Lotte the cow is one of our favorite characters, and her friend the postman is the sweetest sidekick.


Thursday, December 11, 2014

December 10-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

It's a funny truth that Europeans, generally, do not share the wild Nutcracker-mania that sweeps the US every December.  The Nutcracker is actually Russian--well of course, right?-- and didn't hit American shores until sometime in the mid-1960s.  But hit it did, and I can tell you that all American ballet dancers have a crazy love-hate relationship with this ballet.  On the one hand, we're sick of it; on the other, so many good memories!  On the one hand, why can't we dance more "serious" ballets?  On the other--look how much money the company made off it this year!  On the one hand, every Tom, Dick and Harry, thinks they know about ballet from having seen a Nutcracker once; on the other, people are actually interested in your work!

So you won't be surprised to know that my first couple years in Denmark felt like a decadent holiday, a totally relaxing break from overgrown mice and saccharine sugarplums.  And then, of course, I started to miss it.

And you won't be surprised to know that I actually bought tickets to see a Nutcracker last year, when Den Kongelige Ballet (Royal Danish Ballet) brought their new production to Aarhus.  Overall, I was underwhelmed.  I've seen a lot of Nuts, and this one wasn't even original-- it was the Balanchine version that New York City Ballet does.  And I didn't think that many of the dancers felt comfortable with that style.  But I did love the sets and costumes.   I loved the inspired blend of old and new; and that the production looked so Danish, so classically European and yet so modern and bright.

See for yourself.






Wednesday, December 10, 2014

December 9-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

Dear readers, you all know that we're staying in Denmark for Christmas this year.  Hard to believe that we haven't had an American Christmas since 2010, isn't it?

So there's clearly no song more appropriate to share tonight than this Perry Como hit from 1959. 

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam,
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze,
For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home.

Luckily for us, we live in Aarhus, the "City of Smiles," and we have the world's cutest baby, so we can pretty much count on a "friendly gaze" even if we won't be...

Home for the Holidays


Tuesday, December 9, 2014

December 8-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

B and I are facing the possibility that this will be our last Danish Christmas.  We don't know for sure, but it could be.  This means that we feel an obligation--a SACRED obligation--to do as many Danish Christmas things as possible.

One of the most Danish things to do at Christmas is to drink gløgg, the hot, sweet spiced wine.  The thing is, though, I don't actually like wine.  I do like the spices and it smells kind of nice (if wine-y), so this year I found the perfect solution.



The solution is not apple cider.  Hot spiced cider is of course delicious and perfect in every way, but it has nothing to do with Danish Christmas.

The solution is this:


It's non-alcoholic gløgg!  Made primarily from elderberry and blackcurrant juice, it's spiced and ready to be heated up.  I raise a glass to you all and say "Skål!"

Monday, December 8, 2014

December 7--Advent at ADAFT 2014!

 When I was a little girl my mom and I watched White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney every year.  Not only that, but we had Bing's Christmas album of the same name (yes, it was an LP) and listened to it all through December.  So even though we've mentioned White Christmas on the blog before, I'm bringing it up again because for me, it's the sound of Christmas past.


Since we moved to Denmark, we've only had one actual white Christmas, though we have had plenty of snow.  I read last week that on average Aarhus only gets a white Christmas once every 12 years.  That's OK, though--some of us are still hoping!




Sunday, December 7, 2014

December 6-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

Germany is a nice place to be around Christmas time, with most cities hosting a bunch of nice Christmas markets. The city center of Leipzig is no exception. I tried to take some photos, but my night-time photo skills are not great. So here's one I found on the web. Very cozy!


Saturday, December 6, 2014

December 5-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

B is home from Leipzig! And this meant that we had to have cupcakes. C helped with putting the liners in the cupcake pan. They were delicious gingerbread cupcakes with chocolate ganache. That made us think that chocolate and ginger is a wonderful, and perhaps underrated, combination. For example, this time of your in Germany they have festive Dominosteine (little cubes of gingerbread and other fun stuff coated in chocolate), and in Denmark we have honninghjerter (hearts of gingerbread coated in chocolate). We feel that this is an area where the US is lagging behind. Step it up, US.
Dominosteine


Honninghjerter

Thursday, December 4, 2014

December 4-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

It's still early days--maybe you haven't decorated or baked yet.  Maybe.  We're big fans of festive, so our little apartment is already adorned with lights and Julestjerner, the traditional Danish Christmas stars.  They're kind of like origami, and B and I are completely addicted to folding them.

Need a guide?  This lady will talk you through it (in Danish) and you'll be a Julestjerne pro in no time!



And while you're working on that, here are B and C (and a little mousey friend) getting our place gussied up.



Wednesday, December 3, 2014

December 3-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

Hello all! Sadly, E and C are celebrating the beginning of advent in a different city than I am. The good news is that I'm here to bring you Christmas cheer from Leipzig! There are lots of nice Christmas markets through the city center, and some really nice Christmas lights. And here's a friendly little tree that greeted my when I first arrived at the train station. Happy advent from Germany!


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

December 2-- Advent at ADAFT 2014!

I always promise B that ADAFT won't turn into a food blog.  But since part of our theme this year is "food in my belly," I want to share this recipe.  It's for beans and rice, so it's what lots of the world eats, and it's also delicious.  (It'll be getting at least an honorable mention at the Lifeys).


 

Monday, December 1, 2014

December 1--Advent at ADAFT 2014!

The thing about having a kid is, suddenly you experience all these things from your own childhood again.  And all those things seemed just sort of normal and mundane at the time, but now you're 30 and are struck by the unbearable sweetness of life and all those perfectly ordinary, tiny little things make you cry. 

Like maybe you are reading The Runaway Bunny out loud, and you get to the end:

"Shucks," said the little bunny.  "I might just as well stay where I am and be your little bunny."
And so he did.
"Have a carrot," said the mother bunny.

And you are inexplicably all choked up.

Or maybe you are listening to Raffi.  Even if you were a cynic, or thought that he could get a little sappy, once you have kids, Raffi will slay you.  You'll be sniffling away over "One Light, One Sun."

Which brings me to my point.  We were listening to Raffi the other day (we being C and me, of course) and I got kind of inspired by his song "All I Really Need."  It's just been Thanksgiving and it's coming up to Christmas, and you know, it's true.  The best things are the song in your heart, food in your belly, and love in your family.  So that's what we're bringing you this year. 

Happy Advent.  I hope you find a new song in your heart.






Sunday, October 19, 2014

Exploring Prague

Last week was the Fall holiday, which means it's a perfect time to take a quick trip. Prague had been on our list of places to see for quite a while, so we went! We spent a very nice few days tromping through the alleys and hills. It's really a beautiful city.


Here's the view from the hill of the famous Prague Castle. More cities should put their awesome cathedrals and castles right on a hilltop, since you get to see them from just about anywhere in the city.


Case in point- the view up to the cathedral from the river.



And here it is again peaking over the Wallenstein Pallace (home of the Czech senate).


And here it is from the base.

The river is a major element of the city center, dividing the "Old Town" on the east from the "Still looks really old to me Town" on the west.


Morning light on the water.

The most famous bridge over the river is the Charles Bridge:

 



The old parts of town are kind of a warren of small alleys and streets. It's awesome for exploring, but also easy to get lost in. Here's C doing some exploring:


Beautiful old buildings are everywhere. To wit:


and:



As were old steps. That's good news for C, since going up and down steps is currently the Best Thing Ever.


Also, for a big, old, city, there were a ton of trees around. That was great, since we were there in the Fall.



And finally, one last view overlooking the city from Petrin Park, a very hilly forest area (with some great playgrounds for C!).