I was lucky enough to once again stay with some family in Copenhagen and to spend Christmas with them as well.
We were off to the West Coast of Denmark to spend it at my cousin’s family home in Värde.
The day we were due to leave there was a snow storm which caused a little delay but made everything look beautiful. It was a nice drive and once we got there you could smell the amazing aromas saved for Christmas time.
As the Danes celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve we went to various homes of the family, having a big feast at each. I even made my first snowman with the kids outside which I was pretty proud of. As there was snow everywhere there was also a lot of snow balls thrown of course – great fun.
The big Christmas feast included roast duck and dessert – Risalamande (ride pudding with whipped cream, vanilla, chopped almonds and hot cherry sauce) with the Danish tradition of trying to find the whole almond in the bowl of the pudding and the one who finds it wins.
After singing and dancing around the Christmas tree on the night of Christmas Eve, it was time to open the Christmas presents. I had a pang of homesickness at this moment as I received a couple of presents from home.
On Christmas day we went for a walk through some pine forests and to the family farm to feed the animals.
The next day we drove to their holiday home in Blåvand (the most westerly point of Denmark) where the houses were all hidden away amongst the sand dunes and designed so that they blend in to the landscape. It was beautiful here and we spent the next few days eating, going out for walks along the beach and through the sand dunes, eating and more walking. To warm ourselves up once we got back to the house, there was always a shot of Akvavit (Shnapps). Blåvand is also home to many German bunkers throughout the dunes which was cool to explore (there is a notice to watch out for land mines here too!!).
I enjoyed our time in Blåvand and will always remember my Danish Christmas but next stop was Morzine in the French Alps for New Years!
I flew into Geneva and caught a bus to the little town of Morzine in the French Alps where I had friends working as chalet hosts.
Again, I was extremely fortunate that I was able to stay at their house and they even had a snowboard which I could borrow – I just had to purchase a week lift pass!
It was great to catch up with Jimmy and Jo and our days were once again filled with food.
On my first day out I struggled a little but then met up with a great group of people (who I had met on the bus from the airport) and we cruised around the Alps together whilst my mates were working.
As this was only my second time in the snow they helped me out with a few tips for snowboarding and finally I could keep up. We spent New Year’s Eve going around the Alps before we went out for drinks to bring in the New Year.
The following days were spent up the mountains and on my friend’s day off. We had a massive day snowboarding over to the Swiss side and having lunch – ideal!
I loved the snow and had so much fun boarding around especially when I could feel myself improving and my confidence grow.
Eventually my time was up and I spent an evening walking around Geneva before I was bound back to London.
I could not have had a better way to bring in the New Year of 2013. More adventures awaited.
Some fun facts and info about Denmark can be found here.
Some fun facts and info about France can be found here.