Weekend Whereabouts: Fastelavn and Frozen Lakes

This past weekend my host family and I celebrated Fastelavn, a Danish holiday that takes place on the Sunday seven weeks before Easter. This tradition was started in the middle ages to celebrate one last feast before lent but now it is a holiday celebrated mainly by children. Many kids will dress up in costumes and neighborhoods and schools hold celebrations where children can line up for a chance to swing at a barrel or piñata. This tradition started as freeing a cat from a barrel but thankfully, the cat has since been replaced with candy. The first one to knock out the bottom of the barrel to release the candy is named the Cat Queen and the one to knock the last piece of barrel off of the string is named the Cat King. In my host family's neighborhood, they also held a costume contest where my host brother won funniest costume!

While seeing all of the creative costumes and watching the neighborhood kids wait excitedly for their chance to swing at the barrel was fun, one of my favorite Fastelavn activities was trying Fastelavnsbolle from bakeries across Copenhagen! Fastelavnsbolle, or Fastelavn buns, are pastries that are only available during January and February so of course I had to take the opportunity to try as many as possible. Thankfully some of my teachers were nice enough to bring some to class so it didn't leave too big of a dent in my wallet!

Traditionally, Fastelavnsbolle are soft, simple buns filled with a vanilla cream and topped with a chocolate frosting. These buns are now known as gammeldags Fastelavnsboller, or old fashioned Fastelavn buns, as bakeries have started making buns with more complex flavor palates (like the one pictured above). While the gammeldag Fastelavnsboller I tried have been amazing, my favorite Fastelavnsbolle was a cream and lemon curd filled bun from Bodenhoff Bageri. As someone who doesn't usually go for lemon flavored desserts, I was blown away by the delicate pops of flavor from the dough, lemon, and powdered sugar!

With Fastelavn, this weekend also brought the sun! My host family and I took the opportunity to bike out to the lakes! It was my first time biking through Copenhagen and while it may have been confusing at times, it is definitely something I hope to become more familiar with.

Since it has been so cold in Copenhagen recently (the coldest

winter in 17 years), the ice on one of the lakes has gotten thick enough to safely walk across! This is the first time this has happened in almost a decade and it was amazing to experience! After parking our bikes, we quickly joined the crowds of people out on the ice. We took turns running and sliding across the patches without snow and when we inevitably slipped, our failures were met met with laughter and encouragement to try again.

I am grateful to have spent so much so much time with my host family and for finally getting to see the sun again! Having multiple days of gray skies has made me appreciate the days of sunshine so much more. I am looking forward to more sunny days as spring slowly makes its way to Copenhagen!