Pre-Christmas Wonder Weekend

What is Christmastime but that 3-week chaotic rush until you're off from work and school, filled with the pressures of finalizing gifts, the semester's projects, and spending family time?  For a student abroad in Copenhagen Hopenhagen for the fall 2009 semester, there's the added tasks of worrying about packing, fully experiencing Danish Christmas culture, and the fastly approaching events surrounding COP15.  Although I remain incredibly optimistic about these final two weeks (*eek!*), the anxiety over my forthcoming demands kind of hit me hard today at the DIS Christmas lunch party.  My host-family had to leave a little early, but I decided to stick around people for a little while longer instead of getting to work. However, my plan was to leave before they started dancing around a tree and singing Christmas carols, which just wasn't an idea I was that into.  As you could probably guess, that plan failed, and I got sucked into the loops of people mumbling to Danish songs, skipping around the giant Christmas tree.

Yes, it was hokey in a way not unlike Christmas in Dr. Seuss' Whoville, but that didn't keep it from working its magic on even the most cynical in the group.  There were probably about 300 people in concentric circles around that tree, and while the dance started out a little forced, we soon became wrapped up in the music (in both Danish and English), the connectedness of us all holding hands, and in the movement to the beat.  I decided not to play by the rules, and three times attempted to create a new circle (by just breaking free on one side and pulling the other side forward with me) whenever I felt the loop I had been slowed by congestion.  This worked the first time, but the second time I had to rejoin the original loop after causing a runaway spiral effect, and someone I didn't even know was laughing at me as she passed-by:  "I think this is happening because of you!!!"  I guess I was kind of experimenting with mob-mentality, but I know I wasn't the only one.  After all, the third time I tried to make a new circle failed because it was simultaneous with the entire group breaking out into conga-lines around the room, speeding up and slowing down the the music and the traffic.  It was insane; it was joyous, and it was the type of Christmas spirit and fellowship that change how your day feels.  Well, that and baking chocolate chip cookies at a friend's apartment right afterwards.

The earlier part of the weekend had also been an adventure and a half.  I spent Friday evening back at Tivoli.  Now, you know I love Halloween and had a complete blast when I went to Tivoli in October, but my experience at Christmas Tivoli surpassed expectations and blew Halloween Tivoli out of the water.  Many factors contribute to this opinion:  it wasn't raining, there were less people, Tivoli has had more experience making a Christmas season, and my friends and I managed to find a part of the park that we had missed before (the lake on the north side of the park).  But most all, the Danes just know how to do Christmas.  I mean, they start the season in late October, remember?  The lights are fantastic, intricate, and glistening (much unlike the hideous, carelessly decorated trees at the Solrød shopping center), the food warmed us in the cold, and the plaza that had once contained a windmill and miniature straw maze now holds a building with a new kids ride and a village of animatronic nisse (gnome-like mythical creatures at Christmas-time). That building alone proves that Christmas Tivoli is, of course, just as kitschy as ever, but the spirit and traditions put into it creates an unforgettable atmosphere.

For the record, I also hopped in the front row of Rutsjebanen/Rutschebanen--the ca. 1914 roller coaster--with my friend Leslye.   The ride is somewhat similar to Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsleds in that it smells like an old coaster and is contained within a fiberglass "mountain," but that's where the comparison ends, since the track winds around up and down a pretty small space.  It's also operated more like we're in the early 20th century.  There are no recordings of safety warnings (only Danish signs that I couldn't really read) or miniature queues that line riders up for each seat in the train.  Instead, the trains pull in, stopped both by the breakman and the hands of riders getting on, who fight in an unorganized scramble for seats.  I don't remember if anyone even checked that I'd buckled my seatbelt: the next thing I knew, operators were just pushing the car down the track to be picked up by the chain that would take it to the first peak.  From there, it was up to the breakman in the center to control the speed of the car.  I must admit that I had no idea how incredible it would be to ride a machine where the uphills provide a bigger thrill than the downhills.

Finally, I spent all of Saturday on at trip to Lübeck, Germany, a cute and historical little city famous for its Christmas markets.  Teeming with tourists like myself who had come in packs on buses and were undeterred by rain or cold, Lübeck caters directly to their crowd with Santas on motorcycles and in boats and five or six different marketplaces with glühwein, bratwursts, fried goodies, marzipan, German nativity carousels, and some high-quality artisan crafts.  The atmosphere felt a little odd--like a cross between Black Friday and a county fair, except with German cultural items.  But I was also glad just to experience some of the rich German history, which ranged from a restaurant built for the sailors guild in 1401 to the forever resting fallen church bells of a WWII-era bombing.  I obviously don't know what the rest of the country is like, but Lübeck appeared to be a cross between the brick, medieval style of Roskilde (especially the churches) and the central European nature of Prague, which simply exemplifies the gradation of styles across regions. 

In other words, it was one busy weekend, and this week will not be any calmer.  But I'll be sure to keep you updated, alright?  Facebook photos from these two days are here.