My European friend - Ida from Denmark

Written by Weronika Wiedyska 6B

Preview audio:

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Map of Denmark

My European friend is Ida and she comes from Denmark. Denmark is a country in the north of Europe. I met Ida last year when I was on vacation in Denmark.

Nyhavn street

Ida lives in Copenhagen which is the capital of Denmark. Copenhagen is situated on one of many islands in Denmark. She lives in a colourful house near the port, in Nyhavn street. There are many attractions in Copenhagen - you can visit Tycho Brahe Planetarium or the botanic garden. There is also the oldest theme park named TIVOLI.

LEGO House

Ida’s aunt lives in Billund. That’s the capital of LEGO blocks. There is LEGOLAND there which is the LEGO’s theme park. It’s enormous! You can also visit Billund the LEGO House where you can see all different LEGO blocks and play with them. There are other attractions in Billund like Lalandia waterpark and Givskud zoo.

Hygge

People think that Danes are the happiest people in the world. Maybe because they’ve got a specific way of living named “hygge”. “Hygge” means comfort and cosiness. The examples of hygge are an evening with the family or cinnamon buns. Hygge means little, intangible things that make people feel good, comfortable and happy.

Hans Christian Andersen’s house

Ida’s family loves reading books. Ida and her sister Anne like reading Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. There is a museum in Odense where Andersen was born.

Adam Oehlenschläger

Ida’s mother likes reading books too. Her favourite author is Adam Oehlenschläger. He is the “King of Nordic Poetry”. His most popular poem is “Gold corners”. Adam Oehlenschläger is the author of the lyrics of the Danish anthem.

LEGO blocks

Ida’s cousin has got a big collection of LEGO blocks which were invented in Denmark by Ole Kirk Christiansen. His toy company used to make wooden toys but one day they started to make plastic blocks which became a huge success. Every child in the world knows LEGO blocks!

Frikadeller

In Denmark, people eat a lot of meat and fish. One of Denmark’s national dish is frikadeller. That’s pork meatballs with potatoes, cucumbers and beetroots. They look like the Polish minced chops.

Smørrebrød

Danes often eat herrings. Ida’s favourite way of eating them is in smørrebrød. A “smørrebrød” is a sandwich with herring and other ingredients. Smørrebrød is always made of rye bread.

Danish sponge biscuit

with cream

Ida’s grandma makes the best desserts in the world. In Denmark, you can eat desserts with fruit or sponge biscuit. Ida’s grandma makes a delicious sponge biscuit with cream.

Candies

When I asked Ida if they have any special holidays, she said that they have Fastelavn. That’s a holiday after Fat Thursday and one day before Ash Wednesday. Tradition says that many years ago, people used to put a black cat into a barrel and they tried to destroy this barrel. If the cat was leaving barrel alive, the person who was trying to destroy the barrel would gain happiness. Now, children destroy a box with candies in it.