What else have we been doing?

Seems like I have only been posting trips and events.

What else have we been doing in Denmark you ask?

A few weeks back we drove up the coast to Helsingor where we went to Kronborg Slot. It was a beautiful drive.

  

   

  

Last Sunday we went to our first football game! One of Seth's co-workers invited us and we had a great time! In true local fashion we biked to the train station, took our bikes on the train, got off in Brondby and biked to the stadium...in the rain! The fans were so into it. It reminded us of being back at Duke chanting in the student section.

    

    

 

We still enjoy just walking around and taking in the city. Here are some recent photos we took. Our time here is flying by!

Giving Thanks

I am a little late making this post. We made a traditional Thanksgiving meal and had a few friends over. It took me a couple of weeks to find all the necessary ingredients. I even had to order some things from a UK supermarket that I had no chance of finding here.

Our Thanksgiving Menu:
Classic herbed turkey 
Mom's stuffing
Creamy rustic mashed potatoes
Roasted brussel sprouts with bacon, walnuts, & shallots
Fresh citrus salad
Warm Danish bread
Libby's pumpkin pie
Linda Bell's apple crisp

We are thankful for our families and friends back home that we miss terribly. We are thankful for new friends we have met in Copenhagen that make being away from home easier.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Gobble! Gobble!
  

We had a massive 15 lb bird! I coated it with lots of butter, rosemary, and thyme and stuffed it with garlic, onions, and more rosemary and thyme. It turned out great!

  

  

Madrid & Valencia: Oct. 27 - 31

I recently got to do a girls' trip with my good friend Liz, who just moved to London with her husband Jeff! It is so nice to have a good friend nearby that is going through a similar experience. It was such a great trip! We'll be meeting up again soon...next time with the husbands in tow!

We stayed at the Westin Madrid, a beautiful hotel with a great location. On our first full day we walked around Retiro Park, drank cava in Plaza Mayor, and found the Mercado de San Miguel, a market with different food booths.

 

         

We went to a Flamenco show at Cardamomo! Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. I wanted to post a video, but can't get it to work! 

Last meal in Madrid! Breakfast of champions! Mmmm meats.

  

Other Madrid highlights: 

  

Next stop, Valencia!

We took the high speed train from Madrid. It was only a 90 minute ride. It is a great way to get around Spain. I should note that weather in Spain was fantastic! It was in the mid-70s and sunny the whole time so we had to go to the beach.

  

We also had to have paella...and more meat!! This Iberic ham literally melted in our mouths.

Other Valencia highlights:

NOMA

 Noma is known for its reinvention of Nordic Cuisine. "New Nordic" is a big trend in Copenhagen, and it started here. All ingredients are foraged in Denmark and seasonal ingredients used to update more traditional Danish dishes. Noma has been voted "Best Restaurant in the World" 4 out of the last 5 years.

It was such a special night and experience, and the service was out of this world. I would highly recommend it for those who are open to a culinary adventure and not worried about the price tag. You do not have to do the wine pairing, but it really is a must if you want to experience all that Noma has to offer. The wines were delicious and really complimented the dishes.

The Manager printed out the menu, including the wine pairings, for us at the end of the meal. This was a nice touch! 

Look closely! Those are real ants! This was one of my favorites of the night. These particular ants add an acidity and tangy-ness, which complimented the tartar beautifully.

 This was their take on a shrimp ravioli. The shells were similar to lily-pads.

 This was the pumpkin and beechnuts. I love having pumpkin dishes this time of year!

 This was the egg yolk, potato, and elderflower dish.

Bone marrow "tacos"? The leaves on the side were used for the shell, topped with the flowers. Mmmm!!

I tried not to take too many pictures so I wouldn't take away from the evening. A couple of other dishes I really liked were the reindeer moss and flatbread with rose petals. The reindeer moss was lightly fried and came with a creme fraiche dipping sauce. The rose petals on the flatbread had surprisingly a lot of flavor and it was light and crispy.

We can scratch this off the bucket list!