Danish to my Roots - Denmark Trip 2014

Denmark. What a random country, right? Well, my family is from there. To be more specific, my grandparents were born there and came over to America when they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. All growing up, my mom continued the Danish Traditions, especially during Christmas time. Every year we would celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve (they celebrate Christmas on the 24th in Denmark), and have the Ris a la mande, which translates directly as, "Rice with Almonds." For all of those who have participated in the Ris a la mande, you know how hard it is to win that darn almond! I've only won the almond once, which was about ten years ago. I hope my odds get  better soon... **Crossing my Fingers**

Anyways, it has always been on my bucket-list to visit Denmark and see where my family is from. For all of you that don't have a bucket list, I highly recommend making one! Make it a date night, or do it with your friends. Write it down, be creative and adventurous.View it often, and start making goals. I had always said "one-day" I'll go visit, but then I realized that there is no better time than the present. I found some tickets and I was on my way in less than two months.

Visiting Denmark was a life changing experience. Not only was I visiting another country and seeing their culture and how they live, but I was seeing where I was from. My roots, what makes my family the way we are. And it was amazing. Needless to say, I could write an awfully long blog on my trip. What I would like to highlight are some of the things that Denmark does that are awesome. Some things that I took back with me to Utah and want to make a part of my life here.

One thing they do in Denmark is that every time you go visit someone at their home, you bring a small gift or token to give to them. Here Julie is picking out some flowers for us to bring to her parents house when we went to go visit them.

In Denmark, it is not common to have a car. Everyone rides bikes! Copenhagen is built to accommodate bicyclists;having their own paved lane as part of the street with their own traffic light, and tire pumps on every corner. We rode bikes everywhere, and it was a lot of fun. Not to mention, everyone is in great shape because of it. 

From endless pastries to open faced sandwiches, the Danes sure know how to eat. There are pastry shops on every corner, and eating is a social event that is not rushed as it is here in America. I stayed with some of my cousins for a few days that live in Viborg, Jutland, and they made me the traditional Christmas Dinner. You can see the spread that they put on from rye bread to herring prepared in eight different ways.

Our Traditional Christmas lunch spread.. and Pia's beautiful home and design taste.

The Danish treat Flodeboller - a marshmellow cream filled chocolate pouf, and my new obsession.

It was very common to be in groups where I was the only one that couldn't speak or understand Danish, but even with the language barrier I was impressed with how friendly and open everyone in Denmark is. There are no cliques or judgments. Everyone becomes fast friends and makes sure you are having a good time. Julie introduced me to some of her friends that after 5 minutes I felt I had known them for a lifetime. They even have "buddy" restrooms so that you can stay with your friend! I got a good laugh out of the restroom with two toilets.. maybe I'll be brave enough to try it out next time I visit Denmark.

The Architecture and Design- Denmark is a leader in this area, and had my little designer eye going crazy with excitement. My favorite parts of my trip were going around seeing all of the historic castles and places. Talk about eye candy....

Amelienborg Palace - The Queen's Palace

Fredensborg Palace - The "Summer Cottage" for the Royals

Yes my eyes are closed in this picture.. But I love it because of Julie's laugh and how this picture shows how much fun we were having. Julie's sister, Emma, Julie, and myself. Braving it in the rain!

Inspired by Han Christian Andersen's "Little Mermaid" - the most popular tourist spot in Denmark (as you can tell)

Kronborg Castle - On the shore of Helsingor directly across from Sweden. This is where Holger Danske is sleeping, waiting till Denmark is in danger to wake up and defend the country. Awesome castle.

The Chapel in Kronborg Castle

Emma & Julie dancing in the grand hall of Kronborg

Vor Frue Kirke - meaning "Church of our Lady" - where the original statue of Christ and statues of all of the 12 Apostles. This is definitely a little bit of heaven on earth.

The 12 Apostles lining the hall of The Church of our Lady

The original statue of Christ

Nyhavn - "New Haven" - The most beautiful canal street and my favorite spot in Denmark. With amazing shopping and fine dining lining the canal where trading and import used to happen. Now its a beautiful destination and great place for a boat ride...

Viborg, Jutland Denmark

The Viborg Cathedral

Den Gamle By - The Old Town in Aarhus, Jutland. This is where they preserved and rebuilt every single old building that needed to be moved for other development. They value history in Denmark and created a museum of old buildings with every brick in its right place.

I found out that it is extremely difficult to ride a bike in a dress to find this place - but it was so worth it! The Denmark Temple in Copenhagen. 

The King's Garden - Right outside of Rosenborg in Copenhagen

Oh the Shopping... There was definitely not enough time to see all the artwork and design inspiration that Denmark has to offer. These were my favorite places to shop and souvenirs to take home. 

The Kubus candle holder by the Danish Designer Lassen. I was about to buy one to take home, until I did the math and realized they are about $200 a pop. A girl can dream, right? Check out other amazing designs by Lassen here: Designs by Lassen

One of my last nights in Denmark, we went to Tivoli. This is where my grandparents went for one of their first dates. It was so fun to go and see the place that they had been, and it was all decorated for Halloween.

Tivoli

Last night in Denmark painting the town with Julie

It was an amazing trip, and can't wait to visit again. Danish to my roots...

-Andrea