Funny fact: the food most of us know as the “Danish” is called “Viennese bread” (wienerbrød) in Danish. Supposedly an 18th Danish baker went down to Austria and learned to make the flaky pastries there.
I was never much one for Danishes, but after our trip to Denmark, I’m a convert. The real McCoy tastes like a smashed croissant with jam and shaved almonds on top. This one was still warm from the oven.
It was really lucky our hotel wasn’t serving breakfast on our last morning, or we never would’ve discovered this bakery. It had so many exotic, amazing-looking treats we were flummoxed over what to order. The bakery line was long, though, so there was no time to spend drooling over each delicacy.
The food in general in Denmark was…..interesting. I understand there are some world-renowned restaurants in Copenhagen. These we didn’t get to and probably didn’t get a very broad experience of Danish food. We did have a nice cafe lunch with traditional open-faced sandwiches called smørrebrød. Don’t you love the slashed Ø’s? I do.
We also had some truly stellar burgers at a little cafe near the beach. Then there was the meal at the Greek/ Spanish/ Italian restaurant that also offered an Asian buffet. I know! I know! We should’ve known better, right? But there were very few restaurants in the area, and it had been recommended by a local. Sure enough, it was quite busy with locals. Let’s just say we were really bummed we hadn’t gone for a second burger instead.
However, we ended on a high note with these breakfast treats.
I’m thinking this is where Cinnabon must’ve gotten the idea. Like, let’s recreate this, but on steroids.
I managed to learn about three words/ phrases in Danish, but every attempt to use them was met with amused smiles. Not the “you poor tone-deaf idiot” smile but the “why on earth would you bother learning that?” smile. Everyone seemed equally amused when we asked if they spoke English. Of course! came the reply.
It was interesting, though, to try to figure connections between Danish and German and English. I could make out a few.
And I’ll take smiles for my three words of Danish, thanks very much. So far anyway, it’s never hurt to try.
More on our trip to come, and soon, a guest post from my friend and fellow children’s author, Joyce Moyer Hostetter.
Emily Smith Pearce 