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

Berlin Bound

Last week was autumn holiday in Denmark, so E and I took our own holiday to Berlin! We hadn't been there in over ten years, when we last went together in high school. It was great to be back, and see things from our adult perspective. We also got to visit my old host family in Potsdam, where we also revisited Sanssouci and other familiar places around town.

Near our hostel in Berlin, crossing the river

Morning sun on the Reichstag

This area sure has changed a lot

The palace at Sanssouci (which means ohne sorgen)

E in a nice spot on the Sanssouci grounds

See above

I like this picture because of all the different things that are in it. Evergreen trees, red ivy, leafy deciduous trees, Romanesque arches, and a windmill! Awesome.

E with B's old host family (and new daughter-in-law) after a nice dinner in Potsdam

The Deutche Dom, Berlin Concerthouse and Französischer Dom in Berlin

The Berliner Dom and Fernsehturm - a nice contrast of new and old

B about to get his zoo on

A pretty tree in the zoo

Autumn in Aarhus, the sequel

We are in the middle of some fine fall weather here in Aarhus, and we've been celebrating with lots of walks in the nearby forests and around town. Also, lots of hot chocolate. Here are some pictures from recent walks - one to the forest south of town a couple weeks ago, and one to the forest north of town today.

Marselis Skov

A small bear statue at the edge of the forest. We like it a lot

 

An awesome fungus! This year has been great for fungus in the forests, I guess because of the very wet summer.

Grow tall, little mushroom!

From near the Queen's summer palace, there is this nice lawn then some trees, then the bay. Very nice.

Some fall colors

And some nice oranges

Riisskov

A view through the forest and towards the bay

E in the forest

Some cool mushrooms

Sitting on the dock by the bay

See those long shadows? Yeah, that's what the light is like here at noon!

Things That Make Sense, But Are Still Wrong

There are lots of little things that make life different in Denmark than in the US. Many of those things I don't care about, some things I like better here, and others I prefer in the US. This is about a couple of things I have been thinking about recently, where deep down, I know that the way here makes more sense, but darn it, I just don't like it.

1. 24-hour clocks. Digital clocks here nearly universally give "military" time. I have to admit this makes a lot of sense. Why should there be two different times during the day both called 7 o'clock? It clears up confusion! If someone tells me their flight leaves at 8, I don't have to ask whether that's a.m. or p.m. If it were p.m., they would have said 20:00. Despite all of that, I just don't like it. Every time I look at a clock, I get a little confused. It's especially confusing when doing time-math, which I'm used to doing modulo 12 (e.g. what time is 5 hours after 11, 4 of course!). For some reason, doing this in 24 hour time becomes very hard, when in fact it should be easier! Plus, I want to go to bed at 11, not 23! It's just wrong, and that's all there is to it.

2. Colored money. The bills here are different colors depending on their value. I know what you're thinking - that sounds awesome! It makes it super-easy to tell the bills apart from one another. That's all true, and it makes great sense. I just can't overcome the feeling that I'm buying stuff with Monopoly money. Real money should all be the same color (preferably a sort of ugly shade of green).

On another topic, Danes are famous for not wanting to boast. One funny place you see this is in advertising, where the goal is to try to say that your product is good without sounding like you are bragging. For example, it is acceptable (but pushing it) to say that your beer is "Probably the best beer in the world" (Carlsberg beer ads). My personal favorite, though, is for a bank called Nykredit. Their ads feature a solid blue background with only these words:

"Nykredit er en bank"

This means "Nykredit is a bank". I love it! Really, what else do you need to know? Come on, it's a bank. You put your money in it. Then later you can take it out. That pretty much says it all.

Weekend in the West! (and North)

E and I took a trip to the northwestern coast of Denmark this weekend with some friends from the department. We rented a summer vacation house for a night, got a car in Aarhus, and drove out to the far side of the country (almost a 2 hour drive!). What was the occasion? Celebrating South African M's successful filing of her dissertation last week!

It was a really nice trip, if a bit cold and rainy. Nevertheless, we had some good walks on beaches, ate good food, played some games, and nobody blew away!

Here are some pictures:

B and E next to Svinekloev Hotel

Dunes!

Walking along the beach are Danish N, British C, and the daring duo!

Something is funny in the state of Denmark

British C works hard to get the perfect shot

In the evening, we hyggered ourselves with some games