Totally 80's

Halloween isn't a holiday I celebrated regularly when I was in the USA. Dressing up as someone or something else wasn't really a thing I was excited about doing after the age of 10, but this year is different.

We found another couple that are into pop culture just as much as we are, so we have had a couple of themed parties. The first was Mad Men where we dressed up as the Draper's and the Sterling's and gave a nod to the classy, yet alcoholic time of the 60's and our latest themed party was a salute to the 80's and the time of Wallstreet. Gordon Gekko and Madonna never looked so good together!

Suspenders, leg warmers, crimped hair, and bad cocktails were all the rave. But the couple that topped the cake were our guests who had on authentic sweatshirts from the 80's. That beats the heck out of shopping at H&M, even if "what is old is new again" is the latest thing.

Harvesting the Grapes

Ever since I began drinking wine I have wanted to learn more about the process of making it. After visiting Napa Valley in 2005 I wanted to go back and visit a vineyard when they harvested the grapes. That opportunity came my way five years later on the island of Møn, at a vineyard owned by my husband's family, in the country of Denmark. It was a fantastic experience, and one that I hope to repeat one day.

We began in a very traditional Danish way, by having coffee, spandauer (otherwise known as danishes) and schnapps. We began picking the grapes at the location of the first vines, on a pig farm. You read that right. The first vines were on a pig farm. The Danes love their pork!

The second set of vines were on family land, where Tobias and I had our wedding reception. By the time we made it there it was lunchtime, so we had a very traditional Danish lunch of smørrebrød (rye bread with vegetable and meat toppings), pølser (hot dogs or sausages) and beer.

After the second set of grapes were picked, it was time to stomp the grapes. The only grapes they stomp are the tiny little port wine grapes so I was able to partake in this time honored tradition made popular by Lucille Ball (and Pretty Woman) and happily check one of the things off my 'to do' list!

What up with Dutch?

There is a common misconception between Denmark and Holland (otherwise known as the Netherlands) in America. I'm not sure why, but for some reason Danish is confused with Dutch.

If you were to tell anyone from those two respecting countries that they were mistaken for one another they would get a confused look and then they would strongly state that the languages sound nothing alike. According to Danes, Dutch is more guttural.

If you were to ask an American, they probably wouldn't be able to hear the difference and that's not to say they should. It's all about what you are used to. I wouldn't be able to hear a difference either had I not lived in Denmark and had gotten used to the language.

However, this isn't necessarily about the language. I think it is more about word play than anything else. People from Holland are Dutch, and people from Denmark are Danish. A "danish" is a type of pastry in the US, not necessarily a culture or language.

The countries aren't anywhere near each other on a map. Denmark (a little more north and further east) is a relatively small country somewhere in Scandinavia, whereas Amsterdam, is capital of the Netherlands and a popular destination for many in the US (between Germany and Belgium).

The Dutch are known for wooden shoes, van Gogh, tulips, windmills, canals and bikes. The Danish are known for LEGO, the little mermaid, daisies, windmills, canals and bikes. In fact, one of the canal neighborhoods in Copenhagen (Christianshavn) was built by a Dutch architect and inspired by Amsterdam, so if you were to break it down that way, you could easily see the similarities.

Either way, I hope this little blog entry clears the whole thing up and inspires you to politely correct the next person you hear call someone from Denmark, Dutch. I'm sure the Danes will thank me for that one later.

Mad About Mad Men

My new favorite show on American television is Mad Men, brought to my attention early this summer by my good friend Beth.

It's a show about the advertising men of Madison Avenue in the 1960's and fantastically delivers all the old school glamour and intoxication of that time.

On top of being an entertaining show with witty one liners, I've always had a 'thing' for the 50's and 60's. There's just something about the history and style of that time that is so intriguing.

So after three seasons of the show, we decided to have a 1960's style dinner party to celebrate the final episode of season three.

Turns out, we're not the only ones. After a little searching, this sleepy little AMC series which premiered in the States in July 2007, has gotten quite the fan following, not to mention Emmy and Golden Globe acclaim.

Where have I been? Oh yeah...living in a foreign country.

However, it was fantastic. From the food, to the costumes, to the themed cocktails of that time, we had a fabulous time and did Roger & Jane and Don & Betty proud!