Easter in Copenhagen is a big deal! While the city can seem pretty quiet over the long holiday weekend, I cracked the secret as to where everyone went: many city dwellers take off to summerhouses in the country to enjoy their vacation with extended family members and plenty of food and drink. And that is exactly what I did! On Sunday My Host Dad scooped me and his son along and we made our way to my Host Grandparents house for my very own taste of Easter in Copenhagen.
Denmark holds a lengthy Easter holiday, with almost all stores as well as many restaurants closed most of the week through to Easter Monday. And, at the same time, Easter lunch, or ‘Påskefrokost’, is almost as big a deal to Danes as Christmas dinner and is celebrated as a large family gathering, with a traditional spread of warm dishes as well as cold cuts and open sandwiches. Its just the right type of craziness. This one time the Danes really showed me how to do brunch, I had to take notes.
First me and my host family embarked on a 2 hour trip into the Danish countryside. We took a train and a bus to get to the most lovely sights in all of Denmark. Vast patches of green space and spring flowers welcomed Easter in fun and lovely colors. We passed lakes, charming town stations and the clouds drifting by in the sky. When we got to my host grandparents house I just remember sighting in relief as to just how cute their house was. It was decorated to the utmost perfection; a collection of items you wish every grandma would sit down and tell you stories about and charming interior design arrangements you can just tell and quirky cute old person put together. The place was open, sunny, full of narratives and good vibes. My host grandparents speak as much English as I speak Danish, which means nothing. Most of the time interacting with them involved honest smiles, hand gestures (my favorite was when she put both her hands on her heart to signify she liked something while I just nodded) and patience. They had a huge garden with all sorts of bird feeders and flowers. It was the most charming thing in the world. Despite the obvious language, racial, and age gap, my Host Grandparents made sure I felt as welcomed as the sunshine into their home. I sat there while my Host Dad caught up with his parents flipping through family albums and admiring the nice china that my host grandma seemed to have collected.
As the sun started to shine harder so did our appetite. Suddenly we were all gathered around the table of plate after plate of food. There were meatballs, ham, a chicken spread, salad, pork, fish.... there was everything I have ever heard about Danish cuisine. Weeks before I had joked to my Host Dad that I had fallen in love with some meatballs that had been on the freezer that I ate in a moment of desperation. I came to find out that my Host Grandma had made them and sent them. Since that day I had bothered my Host Dad to take me to his parents house asap. So he did and I loved it. What is a Danish Brunch, you ask? It's everything that the American Brunch offers except more. And since I had been bragging my Host Grandparents went above the extra mile (or kilometer I guess) to show me what it was all about. Fist there was a sort of cupcake with a ham mix that was just so creamy and delicious. Then came the cold cut ham, a salad with every imaginable seed on it, and herring fish over bread. Then pork and meatballs and cheese and bread and then multiply by two. And of course, we had beers on the side because duh, this is Denmark. We ate, we laughed, and we enjoyed the food. After we sat around, drank coffee, and peaked into the garden where birds flew by.
At the end of the lunch I told my grandparents that it was my birthday coming up and they got so excited. When we were leaving my host grandma grabbed me by the cheeks and said 'Happy Birthday!' in Danish. I said 'Tak' and got into the car on my way home with a smile on my face the size of all of Europe. Happy Easter Indeed!
Denmark holds a lengthy Easter holiday, with almost all stores as well as many restaurants closed most of the week through to Easter Monday. And, at the same time, Easter lunch, or ‘Påskefrokost’, is almost as big a deal to Danes as Christmas dinner and is celebrated as a large family gathering, with a traditional spread of warm dishes as well as cold cuts and open sandwiches. Its just the right type of craziness. This one time the Danes really showed me how to do brunch, I had to take notes.
First me and my host family embarked on a 2 hour trip into the Danish countryside. We took a train and a bus to get to the most lovely sights in all of Denmark. Vast patches of green space and spring flowers welcomed Easter in fun and lovely colors. We passed lakes, charming town stations and the clouds drifting by in the sky. When we got to my host grandparents house I just remember sighting in relief as to just how cute their house was. It was decorated to the utmost perfection; a collection of items you wish every grandma would sit down and tell you stories about and charming interior design arrangements you can just tell and quirky cute old person put together. The place was open, sunny, full of narratives and good vibes. My host grandparents speak as much English as I speak Danish, which means nothing. Most of the time interacting with them involved honest smiles, hand gestures (my favorite was when she put both her hands on her heart to signify she liked something while I just nodded) and patience. They had a huge garden with all sorts of bird feeders and flowers. It was the most charming thing in the world. Despite the obvious language, racial, and age gap, my Host Grandparents made sure I felt as welcomed as the sunshine into their home. I sat there while my Host Dad caught up with his parents flipping through family albums and admiring the nice china that my host grandma seemed to have collected.
As the sun started to shine harder so did our appetite. Suddenly we were all gathered around the table of plate after plate of food. There were meatballs, ham, a chicken spread, salad, pork, fish.... there was everything I have ever heard about Danish cuisine. Weeks before I had joked to my Host Dad that I had fallen in love with some meatballs that had been on the freezer that I ate in a moment of desperation. I came to find out that my Host Grandma had made them and sent them. Since that day I had bothered my Host Dad to take me to his parents house asap. So he did and I loved it. What is a Danish Brunch, you ask? It's everything that the American Brunch offers except more. And since I had been bragging my Host Grandparents went above the extra mile (or kilometer I guess) to show me what it was all about. Fist there was a sort of cupcake with a ham mix that was just so creamy and delicious. Then came the cold cut ham, a salad with every imaginable seed on it, and herring fish over bread. Then pork and meatballs and cheese and bread and then multiply by two. And of course, we had beers on the side because duh, this is Denmark. We ate, we laughed, and we enjoyed the food. After we sat around, drank coffee, and peaked into the garden where birds flew by.
At the end of the lunch I told my grandparents that it was my birthday coming up and they got so excited. When we were leaving my host grandma grabbed me by the cheeks and said 'Happy Birthday!' in Danish. I said 'Tak' and got into the car on my way home with a smile on my face the size of all of Europe. Happy Easter Indeed!