~ Denmark Tour Pt. 1... "Faces, Places & Food" ~

 With the Christmas tour complete, I returned home with Danish, Swiss & German goodies, which included lots of chocolate of course!! The tour was successful & it was exciting to be able to experience the charming Danish culture; with that being said, it feels good to be home surrounded by my husband & our 5 little fuzzy faces!
I'm so fascinated by the beautiful architecture in Europe! From the moment we drove into the quaint little town of Soro it was as if we had stepped back in time!

 All pictures of Soro taken the day we arrived. (Before all the snow!)

Our first few days we spent in Soro where we stayed with Peter Vesth, (the star of the show) in his cute little danish cottage. About halfway through the tour the cute little cottage jokingly became known as the "P.V. Compound," for a few reasons, here are the top 2...1.) Come to find out, Peter doesn't drive, (can you say, "Driving Miss Daisy?!") Mode of transportation: someone who has a driver's license & a car & is willing to chauffeur or the train, (train station is down the street.) 2.) Of course, transportation or even taking a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood is a moot point because Peter locks his gate (apparently to keep the fans from showing up at his door,) & only Peter has access to the key.

It was interesting to learn that many of the Danish don't have a driver's license or own a car because it's so expensive to get a license & to buy a car. Those who don't drive, ride bikes & take the train.

Picture of Peter's yard during the first snow.

I love the color of his cottage & the front door!

Band on the run-haha! On the way to the Vesth House for our first show.
Below is the view of the neighbor's house from the skylight upstairs.

Very cozy inside the cottage & the floors are heated!

 Spiral staircase :) My room was upstairs 

The Danes have the most beautifully decorated windows for Christmas! They hang ornaments & light candles. They also hang ornaments all over the house! :)

This is the view from the living room window. That's an apple tree in the yard, still with bright red apples!

View from my room

 View #2

The yard

The tour was a mixed bag of surprises, (some good, some not so good) with a lot of funny ("This Is Spinal Tap") moments, ultimately great shows, great fun, lots of laughs & some road drama thrown in!

~ Christmas With Peter Vesth & Friends ~

Meet the players:

Peter Busborg: Music producer/writer/singer/guitar/mandolin/ukulele/sound guy/chauffeur (super talented in every way!!)

Vera Panitch: 19 year old Russian beauty fiddle player extraordinaire/bgvs

Amazing!!

The other American girl... so talented & a friend/sister for life!

Jess Leary: Singer/writer/guitar/mandolin (credits include:guitar player & bgvs for Reba Mcentire, Faith Hill & Deana Carter/writer of 2 number 1's "Mi Vida Loca"-Pam Tillis & "Where The Green Grass Grows"-Tim McGraw)

And the reason we were all gathered together... (affectionately nicknamed, Mr. Christmas...

Peter Vesth:Singer/writer/guitar/keeper of the gate-haha! Always holly jolly for every single show! His fans adore him!:)

Unplugged rehearsal...

And now for a little "taste" of Denmark...

"Flaeskesteg" - Pork Roast with Crackling (Roasted with the rind on,) glazed potatoes (potatoes are boiled & then browned in caramelized sugar,) "Glaseret skinke" - Christmas ham, (also has a sweet glaze,) the ham is served with a mustard sauce, kielbasa biala, creamed spinach, "Syltede rodbeder" - pickled red beets, pickled herring with onions & sour cream sauce "Rugbrod" - dark rye bread 

This was our dinner right before our first show at the Vesth House for the fan club. I was told this is very traditional Danish holiday food...I don't think the pictures look all that appetizing but I tried a little taste of everything & it was all very delicious!

The rye bread is especially good & much more nutritious than our bread. I don't eat a lot of meat & rarely eat pork so this was a huge change in my diet! I also REALLY missed my salads! The only raw green thing on the table is the piece of parsley in the sour cream sauce!

Peter is drinking a Tuborg (which is the popular Danish beer.) Can't tell you how it taste since I am not a beer drinker but Peter sure does like it! :-) One of the things I love about Denmark is the tap water! It's not chlorinated & tastes so pure & wonderful just like water should taste! No need to ever buy bottled water in DK!

"Aebleskiver"- meaning apple slices, is a popular Danish Christmas dessert. They are like little pancake/donuts made with a special pan. Traditionally they had slices of apple in them but they're now made without the apple slice; served with powdered sugar & jam or marmalade. They are so yummy I cannot even begin to tell you!!

I have to say I did not care for the danish chocolate; Sweden & Germany & even England with Cadbury has Denmark beat in the chocolate department! Much of the Danish chocolate is filled with marzipan. If you like the taste of marzipan, you'll probaby love the chocolate!

A box of very expensive Danish chocolates given as a gift from a fan! Peter was kind enough to share :-)

I have so much more to blog about the tour, so many wonderful pictures & stories to share...but since I also brought home what feels like the worst cold of my life, it's back to bed for me! ...Denmark Tour Pt. 2 soon! :-)