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!

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!

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!

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!

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

Southern Migration

Here in Denmark, week 7 is "Winter Holiday", which you need because everyone needs a holiday from Danish winter. Surprisingly, though, most opt to increase the winteriness by taking ski vacations in Norway or the Alps. Not us, though! We headed south to warmer climes. Specifically, Berlin. And specifically, only marginally warmer. Here are some pictures of things that happened.

C makes sure we don't forget her

Please look after this bear

C and E ready to head out for our first day of adventuring

We really like Schloss Sanssouci, in Potsdam. Here is one view in the park

And here are C and B at the baths in Sanssouci

This is one of the smaller palaces at Sanssouci

Sightseeing can wear you out

Back in Berlin! We saw the Reichstag

Alexanderplatz

Still Alexanderplatz. C really got into the "former East Berlin feeling"

Near our hotel, the Zoo Station and Gedächtniskirche

We went to the zoo! C liked it a lot

Also the Aquarium, where there were some big fish

 

Collecting sticks in Tiergarten

Checking out the Siegessäule

Ka De We - a massive department store

Exhausted

December 6--Advent at ADAFT 2013!

B's been away in Leipzig all week, but he's coming home today!  He says the Germans are pretty serious about Christmas, and that even the Leipzig train station is festive!

I can't take credit for these photos, but enjoy the holiday decorations from the south!

December 23rd--Advent at ADAFT!

Today B and I made stollen, which some of you may know is German and also delicious. I feel compelled to say this because even though lots of Americans know about stollen, it seems that no Danes do, which is strange since Germany is RIGHT THERE. Danes are overall uninterested in German Christmas traditions, remaining convinced that gløgg, æbleskiver, and pebernodder are the keys to a good time.

But I am actually not super keen on gløgg. And besides, as previously mentioned, stollen is delicious and needs no other justification.

I'm not including the recipe because if you didn't already plan to make stollen, you don't have time to do it now. So just look at ours and be happy instead!

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!