New Year's Eve in Copenhagen

New Year's Eve in Copenhagen

Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005, Copenhagen

I've stayed inside during the daytime. I wrote some e-mails, researched flights I might take to get from India back to the U.S. next fall, etc. Grethe went out briefly, but she was here most of the time, too.

I have felt a little cold, tired, and achy. I hope I don't have the flu. It helped to take a warm shower. And I just finished watching the Queen's speech TV. It will soon be time to leave for the party at Kurt's and Finn's. Grethe left two hours ago for her party.

I took a nap this afternoon in hopes it would help me stay awake until after midnight. Last night, I also felt bad when we arrived at Jens' and Robert's, but the aches and feeling of fever left me while we were eating dinner. It may just be my joints reacting to the cold air.
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I got a bus fairly quickly and was at Kurt's and Finn's too early. I walked around their neighborhood for 10 minutes until time for me to arrive at their apartment.

It was nice to see Kurt and Finn. They had invited me earlier than the others so we could visit before anyone else was there. They told me a little about the other guests who were all new to me--a lady who worked at SAS with Kurt and once was married to an American and living in Elke, Nevada; a woman who is a nurse and an amazement to everyone for having made a quick decision to buy an expensive fur coat recently; an architect who also does landscape architecture and is a close friend of Finn's; and a former lanscape architect who does ceramics. They were all nice people, and I enjoyed spending the evening with them. The last man, the ceramist, made an auto trip all the way from Denmark to India (via Turkey, Iraq, Lebanan, etc.) for 8 months when he was a young man. It was fun hearing about that. And the other guy had many stories to tell about a 5-week trip he made to the U.S. camping out as he toured the country.

Kurt served a before-dinner drink with raspberries from his garden in Austria. There were chips and macadamia nuts, too. For dinner, we started with white wine and liver dumpling soup. Next was a salad plate with ham, two kinds of goat cheese, lettuce, and pickled bell peppers of various colors. The main course was a tuna steak with green peas, mashed potatoes-carrots-celery root, and bernaise sauce served with red wine. For dessert, we had a scoop of strawberry ice cream in a plate of cream drizzled with various berries in their own sauce and served with a white dessert wine. At midnight, we had champagne with dransekage (baked pastry made from ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites). It was a very delicious meal. And a filling one!

Just before midnight, we watched a popular program which is re-broadcase each year here: "Same Procedure As Every Year. " At midnight, we moved to the glass-enclosed balcony to watch the fireworks in the neighborhood as the national anthems were played in the background on the TV.

The party broke up just after 1:00. The buses were no longer running, so I walked home. It only took 30 minutes. I watched part of a variety program from England on TV, then went to bed.

This has been my 21st year in a row to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve in Copenhagen. Andit's been my last. I won't return next year. It's a bit sad to know this is the last time, but with Arne gone there is no reason to keep returning. I'll miss the traditions, the atmosphere, the food, etc. They have been wonderful holidays over the years. I'm sure I will always incorporate some of the foods and traditions into my celebrations in the future, but it's time to move on with my life and let being in Denmark be a part of the past.