Danish Christmas Cookies

For my first Christmas in Denmark, I decided to embrace several Danish Christmas traditions. Ben and I bought an advent candle to count down the days until Christmas and we are planning on opening our gifts on the evening of the 24th, after dancing around the Christmas tree. I also thought it would be fun to step outside my comfort zone and bake some traditional Danish Christmas cookies along with a few of my favourites. Along with the help of a couple of lovely ladies from my Danish classes, and some Christmas 'spirits', we attempted to make the following list of cookies:

• Gingerbread men (not Danish)
• Shortbread (not Danish)
• Pebbernødder (Danish)
  
• Jødekager (Danish - translates into Jew cake)
  
• Finsk brød (while this translates to 'Finnish Bread', my Finnish cookie co-creator tells me they are a traditional Danish cookie and not Finnish at all)
• Vanillekranse

Cookie 1: Gingerbread men
It turns out that Denmark is missing one of the key ingredients to making gingerbread men: Molasses! I visited three large stores one day in the hopes of buying the necessary ingredient...but was not successful. Finally, I decided to purchase something called Mørk Sirop (dark sirop) as a substitute. It was no where near as dark and thick as molasses, but really what could I lose at this point.


The gingerbread dough was slightly more crumbly than normal; I for one blame the lack of molasses. In the end, the dough ended up rolling out and the cookies looked pretty good when I put them in the over. However, when they came out of the oven they tasted nothing like gingerbread and were as hard as hockey pucks. So into the garbage went my double batch of gingerbread. And for those of you who are planning on visiting next year, and are not afraid to travel with molasses in your suitcase....please bring me some!


Cookie 2: Shortbread
I have always loved my mom's shortbread but have never made it myself. I used the recipe on the Joy of Baking website to make this very yummy batch. I ended up having the same problem as the gingerbread though in that the dough was far crumblier than normal. I have heard that cooking at different altitudes can affect the cooking time and the consistency of the dough, so maybe Copenhagen is located in an area that requires more liquid to be added to the mixture? Copenhagen, in general, is very dry compared to Vancouver. After the dough set in the fridge, it was impossible to roll out. The only way we could get it into cookie form was to scrunch them into finger looking rolls and place them on cookie sheets. When they emerged from the over, they were still quite crumbly....but very tasty! To make sure they held together, we decided to cover them in chocolate. In the end, this was one of my favourite cookies this year. I unfortunately do not have a picture of the shortbread, but here is a picture of the baking table.


Cookie 3: Pebbernødder
These bite sized, spiced cookies are sold at all the grocery stores. The ones we made, again from a recipe we found online, turned out exactly like the store bought ones. While there were quite successful, they are not my personal favourite. I prefer soft cookies as opposed to crunchy ones.

Here are the pebbernødder beside the jødekager.

Cookie 4: Jødekager
For the Jødekager we used a recipe we found on line. This was one of the cookies that actuall appeared to turn out at the dough stage (ie: not too crumbly). Perhaps this is because it is a Danish recipe, and not a North American recipe being baked in Denmark. This was basically a sugar cookie that is covered in brown sugar, almonds and cinnamon before being baked.


Cookie 5: Finsk Brød
I would like to mention here that our Sunday afternoon cookie baking session was complemented by some 'Christmas refreshments'. We started off with Baileys coffees, moved onto glogg and finished off with a bottle of champagne (thanks J!). This may be another reason why our cookies did not turn out as good as expected, and a reason why I forgot to take pictures of some of the cookies. Finsk brød are another sugar cookie, covered with almonds and rock sugar and baked. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of them, so instead here is a picture of J doing the mixing of the Finsk brød.

Cookie 6: Vanillekranse
We found the recipe for the vanillekranse cookies in the Mormors Mad cookbook i bought in August. Unfortunately for us, we did not look at the recipe before starting to make them, and only realized after the fact that the dough was supposed to sit in the fridge for 24 hours before making the cookies. Again, we thought, what the heck! These cookies are filled with almonds and vanilla and are, in my opinion, the tastiest Danish cookie we made. The dough is supposed to be set on the cookie sheets in wreath forms. Once we put the cookies in the oven, we realized the importance of letting the dough set....our beautiful wreath formed cookies turned into a tray sized, rectangular cookie. We cut them into square shaped forms once we took them out of the oven and albeit the poor form, they tasted quite good (they were Ben's favourite).

This is what they looked like before the oven.

Ultimately, we all had a great time making the cookies. It really helped me get into the Christmas spirit. I think the cookies turned out better than I thought too. Ben took a couple trays into work and they were gobbled up immediately by his coworkers (even his Danish coworkers who grew up on these cookies thought they tasted good).

December Danish Discoveries

Tivoli is especially beautiful to visit at Christmas. There are firework displays all December and the entire park is lit up with lights and decorations everywhere. We went on a night that was particularly cold though, and only lasted about an hour and a half in the cold. The worst part was the snow that covered all the paths. We could not believe that no one had shoveled anywhere! Such a huge liability, and not to mention the fact that my feet were freezing. The best part was stumbling upon a Canada booth at the Tivoli Christmas. The Canadian organizing the booth told us he could work on importing some of the products we really missed (the two items that came to mind were clamato juice and molasses). He had two packages of Kraft Dinner left. While we were tempted to buy one, there is no way I could spend 35 Danish kroner ($6.50 Cdn) for a box of KD, no matter how warm, cheesy and nostalgic it tastes.

Here is a picture of our Christmas alcohol selection. While we were not overly impressed with the Tuborg Christmas beer, we very much enjoyed the Christmas beer from the Orbæk brewery. This was the brewery that sponsored the tasting we attended when we first arrived in Copenhagen. The bottled beer on the far right was something that I bought before looking at the alcohol content...only 2% (but tasted liked chocolate). I know I keep mentioning how expensive everything is in Denmark, but I have finally found something that is cheaper....Baileys. This huge bottle of Baileys cost me 18$ Cdn....not too shabby, eh.


Glogg is the traditional Christmas drink. It is a mulled wine served with raisins and almonds. It is nice to buy premade glogg at the grocery store, instead of having to make it yourself.


"æbleskiver" are a traditional Danish treat enjoyed at Christmas parties. They are little balls of bread that are enjoyed with icing sugar and jam. While most Danes buy them frozen from the grocery store, those who choose to make them at home add little pieces of apple in the middle. They are delicious.

If you leave your bike in the snow it will look like this. There are bikes covered with snow everywhere!


The above photo is of a Christmas treat. It consists of a cookie topped with meringue, and then covered in chocolate. A little too sweet for me to eat an entire one, but still yummy.


In Denmark, Christmas is counted down via colourful candles such as this little 'nisser' (elf in Danish). Definitely fewer calories than the chocolate variety of calendars, which they also have. I have also seen advent calendars with dog treats behind each cardboard square, so your pooch can count down to Christmas. Maybe next year Quigley...


You are NOT allowed to have a popsicle on the bus. You are NOT allowed to eat two hotdogs without buns on the bus. You are NOT allowed to drink a bottle of wine on the bus.

CFA exam: Level 1

I mentioned in a previous post that I needed a distraction from sending out resumes, so towards the end of September I decided to sign up for the Chartered Financial Analyst Level 1 axam. I had initially signed up to write the June 2010 exam, but ended up withdrawing my candidacy because planning my move to Denmark had significantly eaten into my study time. Prior to withdrawing from the June exam, I had reviewed one and a half of the six books of required knowledge for the exam. This meant I really had my work cut out for me for the next two months.

Here is a little background on the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. To attain the CFA designation, you are required to pass a series of three exams as well as acquire sufficient hours of work experience. The Level 1 exam study material consists of 10 subject areas: ethics, quantitative methods, economics, financial analysis and reporting, corporate finance, portfolio management, equity, fixed income, derivatives and alternative investment products. The actual exam consists of 240 multiple choice questions that are broken down into two 120 question blocks. CFA candidates have three hours to complete each of the two blocks.

It took me a little while to get into the studying routine, but thankfully I had little else to do but study. My Danish course and homework took about 20 hours a week, so I did my best to devote at least 40 hours a week to studying. While the economics section was pretty straightforward, I found the section on financial reporting and analysis rather daunting. I also have never quite liked probabilities (ever since third year university and having to sit through an early morning statistics class after Wednesday night karaoke at Father and Sons), so I actually avoided that chapter entirely. Otherwise, I was at least able to cover all the other information.

It is not the actual material that is difficult...it is the overall quantity of material that you are tested on. One thing that I found really encouraging (insert sarcasm) are the friendly postcards that are sent to you regularly from the CFA prep guide companies. I particularly liked the one below and attached it to my fridge for added inspiration. Yes, it is true that the pass rate of the exam is usually between 30% and 40%, but I really did not enjoy receiving 'friendly' reminders of this in the mail. This failure rate is so very broad, and I would have much preferred more specific statistics on who is failing the exam (country, age, educational background, employment) or how individuals who purchase the study guide perform relative to those who do not purchase it. Ultimately, I chose not to spend an extra $300 on a study package.


While the June CFA exam has many test centers around the world for the three levels of CFA exams, there are far fewer locations for the December writing of the exam which is solely for Level 1 writers. Unfortunately for me, there was no testing center in Copenhagen so I decided to go to one of the biggest testing center of all: London, England. I took the advice of some other CFA candidates I met in Greece and booked a hotel very early in the area of the Excel Center; apparently most candidates like to spend the day and night before the exam near the test center. I chose to stay at the lovely budget hotel chain: Etap. It was still a half hour walk to the test center, but far cheaper than the ones right beside the Excel Center. I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I was very lucky to actually make it to the exam. I had made the decision to book with British Airways, and the flight I took from CPH was the only one to make it to London on the day I flew due to the poor weather. If i had booked with Easyjet, I would have not made it to London for the exam, would have had to repurchase all the books and wait to write the exam the following June.

Exam Day.
Of course I hardly slept the night before the exam. I was at the Excel center by 7:30am the morning of the exam. I had half an hour to sit and chat with other CFA candidates (because frankly I was sick of studying) before going through security. The one question that everyone asked each other right off the bat was "Which study material did you use?". My reply was always that i just read the CFA published material and worked through the practice questions. Apparently this really astonished most people; I guess when you are working full time and studying for the CFA exam it is useful to have a condensed version of the material to really help you prepare. This is good to know in the event that I have to rewrite this exam.

After passing through the identification and calculator checks, I was escorted to my seat in the massive exam writing room. One CFA candidate told me that there were between 2000 and 3000 people writing the exam in that room. As I was laying out my two calculators and pencil on my desk, another CFA candidate came up to me and asked if he could buy my second calculator off me. Apparently he had not checked the battery of his calculator and it had died right before the exam. I declined though, I had no idea how long either of my batteries would last. At 9:01, the fun of the exam began. Sure it was long and grueling, but the part I really appreciated was being able to go to the bathroom during the exam (I had not been sure this would be the case). I stayed for the entire three hours of the morning exam, but left the afternoon sessions when there was about 45 minutes left...I was at a point where I just could not take it anymore (likely not a good sign, lol).

Ultimately, it was a great experience writing the CFA Level 1 exam. I learned a lot and I am excited to continue learning. I unfortunately have to admit that there is a strong chance that I will be among the 60% of candidates who failed the exam, but I will not know for sure until the end of January. I definitely have developed a good base now on the material and believe that a re-write of the Level 1 exam will hopefully not take as much time. I will of course start studying earlier and perhaps consider to purchase a study guide. The more multiple choice practice questions, the better!

Dog Days of Denmark: Winter

Jobs

The one thing I was really not looking forward to when I moved to Copenhagen was applying for jobs. From what I read on many of the expat forums, I knew the process would be long and difficult. While most Danes speak English, the common language at most workplaces in Denmark is Danish. It was only after looking at several of the job search websites that I really came to terms with the fact that I may only find a job when I become fluent in Danish...and who knows how long that would take.

I started applying for jobs at one of the large international firms that hires English speaking folk as soon as I moved here. There were quite a few jobs advertised requiring a Masters degree of Economics. I applied for these jobs, and started thinking that the process of getting a job would be way too easy. I completed the online tests, and waited. Just before I headed off to Greece, I heard back from the first one....DENIED! Not even an interview. I guess I have not dealt with that much rejection, so I was pretty upset that my resume was thrown out even before the interview stage. So I left for Greece, disgruntled and discouraged.

My fellow Greece explorer, Kaitie, really helped me put things in perspective. Applying for jobs is hard! Especially with limited experience in a difficult economy. Even when you are as awesome as we are (Rule #1: Stay positive. ALWAYS). My only previous experience applying for jobs in the adult workforce was when I applied for jobs while finishing my MA. I think I sent out about 10 applications, and was lucky to get the first job I interviewed for (Rule #2: All it takes is one job). I had not really thought about those other 9 jobs in a long time...but I actually was not chosen to interview for any of them.

When I came back to Copenhagen, relaxed and prepared to take on the job market, I decided I needed a distraction while appling for jobs...something to keep my mind off of all the upcoming rejections, something to help me stay focused on the goal. So I signed up for the Chartered Financial Analyst exam. I will talk more about this exam in an upcoming post, but let me just say here than the CFA Institute sends you a big box of books and you have to learn all the material. The exam was 2 months away, so I had A LOT of work ahead of me. With studying for the CFA exam, and studying and attending Danish lessons for 20 hours a week, applying for jobs left the center stage of my agenda. I actually started using applying for jobs as my method of procrastinating from studying the CFA material.

I should also mention here that Ben's work hired an organization called Spousecare to help me with finding a job. In November, I attended a tutorial sessions on how to update your resume for the Danish workforce and what to expect from the interview process. Did you know that it is customary in Denmark to include a photo on your resume? This would NEVER be acceptable in Canada! I also got the chance to meet with other spouses who have been relocated to Denmark with their partners work and were undergoing the same process as me. It was comforting to know that there were other people who were also in my shoes. It was also great to hear about other people's interview experiences. I think attending this session and receiving some help on my resume (thanks to Mike too!) really helped me obtain an interview. Two months after Spousecare started helping me, I had a job.

Alright...now to the job. I received an invitation to the first interview the day before the CFA exam. I had barely made it to London the day before, catching one of the only flights from Copenhagen that would land in frozen, snowy London albeit a 6 hour delay at the airport (Thank you British Airways). I had only applied to that job four days before during my pre-exam procrastination. The only problem was that the interview was scheduled for 9am the following Wednesday, while I arrived back to Copenhagen at 9:30pm on the Tuesday evening. I managed to get the time pushed back to 11am, but I was still left with no choice. Poor Ben was subject to hearing me prepare for the interview for three days while touring around London. We talked about my strengths and weaknesses while touring on the double decker bus, discussed my goals while enjoying yummy English pub food, and discussed optimization while touring the Tower of London.

Thankfully there were no delays on our flight back to Copenhagen, and we made it home by 11pm on the Tuesday night. The next morning, I was off for the lovely one hour commute to the job interview.

Interview 1.
Danish interviews are a lot more relaxed than Canadian interviews. I remember my first interview at the VPD. I was sitting at one side of a rectangular table with the four members of the selection committee on the other side. I cannot remember if I was offered water before the interview. When I walked into the job interview room in Denmark, I saw a small round table laid out with cookies, tea, coffee and juice! I did not eat any cookies during the interview, but I must say that it was very nice to have a cup of tea while talking with the interview committee. The questions were typically the same as seen in a Canadian interview, so I am happy to say that all my prep work in London did pay off. I was told there were four candidates in the first stage of interviews and that I would hear back the next day if I had moved on to the second round.

Testing
That same afternoon, I was told I had been chosen for the second round of interviews. My second interview was scheduled for Friday and before that interview I would have to take an analytical test and a personality test. The analytical test involved 50 multiple choice questions that you had 12 minutes to answer. The questions involved eight categories: antonyms, deviations from a category, pairs of concepts, verbal analogy, logical reasoning, series of numbers, simple calculations and complex calculations. The personality test involved 40 sets of four statements. Within each set of statements, I had to choose which statement was most like me and which was least like me. The results of both tests would be discussed at the second interview.

Interview 2
The main part of the second interview was discussing the personality assessment. My score on the analytical test was 43; I managed to answer 46 of the questions and only got three wrong answers. My score was perfect on the numerical problems I had answered (a good thing for the job I was applying for). The results of the personality assessment were laid out in front of me and I had the opportunity to discuss whether I felt the results fit with who I thought myself to be as a co worker. This as the most difficult part because I really had no idea what kind of personality profile had been created for the job and whether or not my skills matched the profile or not. In the end, I guess they did because I was offered the job at the end of the second interview.

The timing of this could not be more perfect! One week after having written the dreaded CFA exam, I had a job. I do not start until the middle of January though, which gives me the chance to having a quick back-to-work shopping spree in Paris. I am sure this trip will be much more relaxing than the London trip; I have promised Ben he will not hear a single interview question and answer.

Julebryg dag!

One of the biggest highlights of the Christmas season in Denmark occurs at the beginning of November, almost 2 months before Christmas. On November 5, Tuborg released its official Christmas beer. On this night, all the Danes flock to 170 selected bars in Copenhagen to await the arrival of the Tuborg elves that bring around the FREE Christmas beer. Of course, this was an event that Ben and I had to experience!


Our little group arrived at the bar at about 8pm, a little late to get a table inside. We were relegated to the cold patio. We decided, however, that this would be an ideal spot to see the arrival of the Tuborg truck and the Tuborg elves. The first round of beer was expected to arrive at the bars at 9pm. The truck did not make it to our bar until 10pm.

The Tuborg truck backed down the street to where the bar was located. Once stopped, the back door sprung open while snow fell from the roof of the truck, Christmas music played, and the Tuborg elves danced and sang. Each of the Tuborg elves was carrying a case of Tuborg beer and some coveted blue hats with lights. As soon as the elves made it off the truck, they were swarmed by bar patrons, each person trying to get a bottle of beer and a blue hat. The elves did their best to make it inside the bar before they passed anything out though; this of course was a huge disadvantage to us because our table was outside. Below are pictures of two of the Tuborg elves and the crowded bar (notice the blue hats everyone is wearing).



I tried my very best to get a blue hat and a christmas beer. I rushed into the bar as soon as the elves went in, but it proved to be quite difficult to even get close to one of them. Luckily, I managed to snatch one of the last Christmas beers from one elf. I returned to our table to see if the rest of our group had been successful. A couple people managed to obtain both Christmas beer and hats, however most of us obtained one or the other. While I had gotten a beer, Ben was only able to get a Christmas hat. All in all, it was a highly entertaining evening and we will know for next year to arrive even earlier to get the prime spots inside the bar.


In Vancouver, I always looked forward to the release of the Granville Island Lions Winter Ale. However, I never quite knew which day the beer would released on. I would check the BC Liquor stores daily starting in mid November to see if the beer had been released. When it finally hit the shelves, I would buy several cases before they were sold out. I wish the Granville Island Brewery would make more of a spectacle for the release of their Christmas beer, however I understand that there is a significant difference in the size of the production capacities of Carlsberg/Tuborg vs Granville Island.

Still, the Carlsberg Christmas beer is no substitute to the rich, smooth flavours of the Granville Island Winter Ale...and I can say that right now, I am missing this beer more than sushi.

...and I am back!

I am finally back into the blogging after a long absence. The month of November was particularly busy and I wanted to focus on a couple of really important events. In short, the events were: having my level 1 Danish exam, studying for and then writing the Level 1 Chartered Financial Analyst Exam (which will unfortunately likely prove to be my first unsuccessful attempt), and then successfully getting a job in Copenhagen!

Now that those are over, I will be able to share all our Danish experiences since Canadian Thanksgiving. I will do my best to write something everyday this week. Here is a little taste of what is to come.

1. Julebryg day. The exciting day in early November where all of Copenhagen celebrates the release of the Tuborg Christmas beer.

2. Danish Level 1 final exam. I actually had to speak in Danish with an examiner...ugh!

3. London, England. Ben and I spent three days in a very cold London.

4. Danish Christmas party.

5. Random pictures taken from around Copenhagen.

6. Job interview process.

7. 10 Comments about writing a CFA exam in London.

8. The Hill. A story about the large, awkward mound of dirt outside our building.

9. My first attempt at a recipe from Mormors mad.

I am writing all these down for you as my way of committing myself to writing all these entries. Hopefully I am able to stick with it.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful month of December!