Festelavn

Hey everybody!

Last night the Danes celebrated Festelavn, which is a combination of Mardi Gras, Carnival, and Halloween. People wore costumes, bobbed for apples, and carried out a most unusual Danish tradition:
They took a barrel with a picture of a cat on it, and beat it with a stick until candy came out. It was like the strangest pinata ever. Apparently, back in the day, they used to do it with a cat in the barrel and beat the barrel until the cat came out. Those wacky Danes!

Things are going fairly well here. Monday I have a mid term in Danish, and then the Czech ambassador is going to talk to my EU Politics class. It should be really interesting. On Wednesday, I get to go to the Danish ministry of Foreign affairs for a tour. I'm excited.

Also, on my daily run I get to run through a castle. Gotta love Europe!

Just got back from western Denmark. My business and economics program went out for three days in the hinterlands. I got to see the headquarters of Bang and Olufsen, makers of fine audio-visual equipment, and Vestas, makers of windmills. Both were interesting, if not entirely what I was expecting.
I also ate a traditional Danish lunch, consisting of three toppings for sandwiches, bread, and a trifle. The toppings were pickled herring, which is not bad, roast beef, which was excellent apart from the excess of horseradish, and the dreaded liverpaste, which is a meat loaf similar to pate. Most Americans think it is disgusting. I rather liked it.
I also toured a bunker built by the occupying Germans in WWII, which was very cool. They have a real ENIGMA machine there. It was pretty cool to finally see one. Picture forthcoming.
I'll post a more detailed account of other events later on.