Coffee and Cake

Last week was semester break in schools and universities in Denmark, so everyone was travelling all over the country - except us (well, we did just get back from Jessie and Gar's wedding!). Instead Esben's parents came to visit us for the weekend. And because we had visitors, the baking utensils came out - you know me, any excuse. I have been looking forward to making some recipes from Lilly Higgins' book Make, Bake, Love, which I bought over a year ago. This was the perfect opportunity, because it is part of Danish culture to drink coffee and eat cake - and I don't want to be the one who starts breaking with tradition  now, do I? I opted for the coffee cake - one of my favourites, and it goes well with coffee. How did it turn out? Put it this way: my in-laws are still talking to me, and they even took some home with them! Actually, they said they loved it, so that's a good sign. I think it was a good first attempt, and I can always tweak the recipe next time :o)

Jessie and Gar's wedding in Hamburg

We're just back from a fab weekend in Hamburg, where we celebrated the marriage of my cousin Gar and his beautiful bride Jessie! I had visited Hamburg 12 years ago, while on Erasmus, and I remember it being an amazing city then. Well, 12 years later and it's even better. The harbour area is still as beautiful was it was 12 years ago, but now other areas in the city have all been developed, and they have done a great job of mixing old and new architecture to make it one of those 'wow' cities in Europe. Of course the reason we were there was to join in the wedding celebrations of Jessie and Gar. Jessie is from Hamburg, but has been living in Ireland for about 15 years (or perhaps a little more). Esben and I were able to get the train from Aarhus (a relaxing 5-hour trip with no bag-weight restrictions), which left us right in the city centre quite near our accommodation. We had been looking forward to the wedding, and our trip away for the weekend, so it was lovely to meet up with family when we got there. Esben and I took the underground train, which also went overground, to the registry office, and it was one of the most beautiful journeys through a city - the sun was shining, blue skies and a little cold out - my favourite weather. We arrived at the registry office, which was situated in a lovely, leafy suburb, and I spotted Jessie immediately - she was wearing an amazing purple coloured coat, and I could get a small glimpse of her dress. I was excited! Once we got nearer, I could see the dress up close - amazing dress! It was white lace, 50's style, with a magenta-coloured ribbon around the waist, and a kind of peticoat underneath to give the bottom of the dress more volume. There was also a magenta coloured layer showing from underneath the dress. She looked beautiful! And my cousin Gar looked very dapper in his wedding suit (I'm not biased!). The lady conducting the ceremony was very friendly and put everyone at ease, so there was lots of fun and laughter in the fairly-packed room. Afterwards we went on a bus-tour of the city - this was a great way to see all the sights, to meet more of the wedding guests, and to relax a bit before the dinner later on. In the evening we all met up at "Die Turnhalle" restaurant, and the evening was brilliant - great food, wine, and company! The speeches were very funny, and we danced into the early hours of the morning. We're already thinking about the next trip back to Hamburg!

Wishing Jessie and Gar all the very best for a wonderful life together! xx