HOLIDAY WITH MY DANISH FAMILY
Sankt Hans- A midsummer night's celebration
24 June 2012
I met up with Bodil at 3:30 so we could take the scenic route
to her mother’s house for dinner. Today
we were celebrating Sankt Hans Aften, a festival of the summer solstice meant to protect against evil spirits believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southwards again. Bodil
said it would be a small group, although I still can’t get used to saying that
twenty-one family members is a “small” group.
At the house, the men turned on the barbeque while the ladies sipped on
wine. This family (like all other Danes)
drinks wine like water and I laughed every time my Danish grandma looked over
and asked why my class was empty. One
tradition of Sankt Hans Aften is lighting beach bonfires all along the coastline so Bodil
and I walked down the beach to see the excitement. My favorite fire had been set up in the Dragør
harbor and was surrounded by kayaks and boats.
It was a bittersweet moment to be sitting in the harbor with Bodil since
this was the EXACT same spot I had visited with her the first time we met back
in January—both our first and last memories in the Dragør harbor! Back at the house, the group was busy singing
Danish songs around the campfire with Jan Peter strumming the guitar. They sang a few farewell songs for me
including “I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again…..” Sad but very appropriate! I have worked so hard this semester on
discovering what the Danish word “hygge” is all about. Although “hygge” does not have a direct
translation it is often described as coziness.
Sitting by the fire pit seemed like perfect “hygge” time: great friends,
good conversation, warm fire, hot tea and not a worry in the world. Unfortunately, the relaxing evening came to
an end when Bodil, Hans and I hopped on our bike for the two-hour ride back to
the City. It was a tiring ride but it
was nice to see Copenhagen all lit up as were made out way back home. And as I peddled up to my house, the sun
began to rise….my last sunrise in Copenhagen!
For some reason, I never had the chance to blog about the
summer canoe trip with my Danish family.
Here it goes- 22 people and 11 canoes for 4 days. We would paddle during the day and then set
up camp on the shore each evening.
Seventy kilometers later we reached our final destination! I didn’t bring my camera since everything we
had was going to be put in our canoe as we traveled down the river. Didn’t want to risk losing or damaging my
camera since I don’t have much luck with electronics! The water was calm, the weather was dry and
the scenery was beyond beautiful. I have to add that although the weather was
surprisingly dry, the temperatures dropped well into the negatives in the
evening. I canoed with a long sleeve
shirt, two North Face jackets, two pairs of pants, layers of socks and a
scarf. Don’t know what I was thinking
when I packed my swimsuit! My canoeing
partner Lila and I were the only two younger girls on the trip so the others
enjoyed picking on us little ones.
Everyone was teasing us as we zigzagged through the river since we
couldn’t quite figure out how to row straight.
I kept telling them we were trying to avoid the rocks in the water but
they weren’t buying it! And I can’t even
tell you how many times we ended up backwards or stuck in the bushes after
being hit by another canoe that was laughed hysterically as we struggled to get
back on track. Loved seeing familiar
faces as well as meeting some new friends….Casper, Søren and Linda. So many memories made on my last Danish
family vacation!
