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Happy Påske! The merry Easter holiday is almost upon us, as the fifth week in March is about to turn a corner. Easter is one of the biggest and most important religious holidays in Denmark, and it is easy to see just how important it is to Danish merrymakers. Shops and homes are decorated with brightly-colored eggs and vibrant daffodills, and there kitchens are abuzz with preparations for each family's Easter feast.

“If music be the food of love, play on,” so said Duke Orsino in the first act of the Shakesperean play Twelfth Night. Love has always been one of the most celebrate themes in literature, music, dance, and more. It has been trilled over, moped over, cried over, fought over, and even killed over. Millions of love songs are written and played over the airwaves. Every crop of new films will always have the romantic story in there somewhere, whether it be a straight-up romantic comedy, a tear-jerker drama, or even the current favorite genre, the fantasy romance.

Dragons. Either love them or hate them, dragons have long inspired flights of imagination, a thirst of understanding the unkown, and at times, sheer unadulterated terror. Dragons do tend to do that to unsuspecting people.

If jolly old England has its fair share of the winged beasts, and Scadinavia has Jormungandr, the World Serpent writing in the great depths of an ocean encircling Midgard, Denmark has its own special flavor of dragon.

The Ugly Duckling is one of Hans Chrisitian Andersen’s most celebrated tales, and is always imparted to children all over the world. However, just what were the circumstances that led to its writing?

The tomte, also called the nisse, is most popularly known as a kindly brownie-like creature of Danish folklore. Like his British cousin the brownie or hob, the tomte has been believed to aid kind-hearted farmers with their duties, making the fields yield a bumper crop, and the livestock double in their yield of milk, wool, calves and kids even in the middle of the harshest winter.

In our last post, we focused on Queen Margrethe II's appeal and relationship with her loved ones and her Danish subjects. In this post, we'll focus on her quirky, effervescent, and colorful personality.

Queen Margrethe II is one of Denmark's most beloved figures and icons. Married to Prince Henrik, loving mother to her two sons Frederik and Joachim, and doting grandmother to her young grandkids, Queen Margrethe II remains to be one of the most vibrant figures of state today.

It's sweet, creamy, and nutty, and the best thing you've ever tasted on a chilly Danish Christmas evening. Risalamande, despite its Frenh-sounding name, translates into “rice and almonds”. It is a sweet rice porridge made with almond extract and served with hot cherry sauce on top.

Any seasoned traveller or backpacker can tell you that one of the best ways to really get to know a countryand its culture better is through its food. And why not? Food contains a large part of the heart and soul of a country or region. It takes the best ingredients the land has to offer, combines and prepares them to delight the palates of the coutnry's people. Breakfast, in particular, is a great way to experience how a country wakes up and prepares for a fll day ahead, and what better way than to go native?