To fully embrace the Spanish culture, tapas are a must! Tapas are typically eaten for dinner, which is served between 9 to 11 PM. The only way to stay up this late and eat this late is have lunch after or around 1 PM with a little siesta after eating lunch. Keeping lunch in mind, lunch is the biggest meal of the day, and breakfast and dinner are much smaller. Tapas fulfil this niche of a smaller dinner late at night. It is also very typical for Spaniards to go out to eat for tapas around town. The price of tapas are around 2 to 5 euros, depending on the location of the tapa bar. In the south of Spain and in smaller towns, it is typical that a tapa is free with drinks. It can be anything from the list below or a unique creation from the chef! Patatas Bravas One of the more typical Spanish tapas, is patatas bravas. Patatas bravas, is a type of potato dish served with a tomato based sauce. The tomato based sauce can be spicy or more a plain tomato taste. This sauce can either be drizzled over the top of the potatoes or in a small bowl next to the potatoes. Jamon Serrano Jamon Serrano, is a type of dry-cured Spanish ham. It is typical to see the ham legs around the town in various meat shops. When severed, it is plated in thin slices and often times diced. It can be also severed with fruit, cheese or bread. Olives Olives, as my best friend who lived in Spain for a year says, are the back bone of the Spanish Economy. If you have the chance to drive through the south of Spain, it feels like about 80% of the country side is filled with olive trees. From all of the olive trees in the south, the olives are transported all over Spain to become a simple but tasty tapa. Pan con Tomate Pan con tomate is translated as a bread with tomato. In it simplest form that is exactly what it is. It is made by spearing tomato on to a toasted piece of bread, often times topped off with olive oil or crushed garlic. Often times this the pan con tomate can also be served with Manchego cheese, which is also a type of Spanish cheese similar to a hard form of Monterey Jack. Not only can this dish be eaten as a tapa but also breakfast, either way it is delicious. Croquetas Croquetas are loved by all ages in Spain. They are a small fried roll usually with potatoes, meat, fish cheese, vegetables or a commination. Most typically in Spain they are filled with ham, chicken or cod and served warm. Tortilla de Patatas
Not be confused with the typical Mexican tortillas, tortilla de patatas have a base of eggs and potatoes, this is also why it is known as a Spanish omelette. In addition to the eggs and the the potatoes, it is common to have onion or garlic mixed in. Often times, although controversial, additional vegetables can be added in such as green peppers, ham or mushrooms. Tortilla de patatas is made by having the potatoes sautéed and then the eggs added to the soften potatoes. Once cooked, the tortilla can be served either warm or cold typically in a triangle shape.
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Hygge Hygge is one of the main culture identities of Danish Culture. Every person wants to experience hygge in their day to day life. This can be sought out by lighting candles, comfy and cozy blankets, being with friends and family. The essential idea of hygge is feel the warm feeling inside when you’re feeling happy. For me personally I feel the most hygge when drinking a hot cup of coffee or tea snuggled up with my dog while reading a good book and only couple candles lit as a light source so the light is just bright enough for me to enjoy the book. If you ask every Dane, there will be an exact answer since this since hygge is always trying to be obtained. Mainly the reason why hygge is believed to come about is because of the long dark winters, where the sun is only in the sky for about 5 hours a day. Just because the sun is in the sky does not mean that it is sunny out. Therefore, seasonal depression can be a real thing to a lot of Danes with little to no sunshine during any given day. Hygge is a way for many people to combat seasonal depression and do things that they enjoy and make them feel the warm fuzzy feeling inside during the long winter months. Bicycles If you are not an aggrieve bike rider I would not recommend riding a bike during rush hours (just before work and directly after work). Bikes are taken very seriously in Denmark and are one of the main modes of transportation. The way that the Danish see the use of bikes is a cost-effective mode of transportation as well as a good exercise to start and end the work or school day. Bikes almost everywhere have their own lane as well as their own light at the stoplights, which turns green a little bit before the car’s stop lights do. This goes to show that bikes typically truly have the right of way over cars. One bike that Danes have claimed to have invented is the Christiania bike, which is said to originate from the district of Christiania in Copenhagen. The district of Christiania is talked more in depth in a future post, but generally it is known as the hippie district of Copenhagen. These bikes are said to hold small children as well as items such as groceries. The Christiania bikes goes to show that Danes are even trying to make their bikes function like cars! Inward gasp
Typically, in my interactions with most English speakers the way that a person shows that they are interested or paying attention in the conversation is a simple “yeah” or “mmhmm”. While in Denmark they have a different way of showing that they are interested, by having an inward gasp. The gasp is typically a very short inward gasp, sounding similar to the the way that americans and many other cultures show they are shocked or surprised by a fact or something that has just occurred. The inward gasp thing at first was a big culture shock for me, since I thought everyone was shocked or surprised by near everything that anyone was saying. But toward the end of stay in Denmark I even started doing it when while conversing in Danish. Once starting to the inward gasp myself, I noticed it is also a simple way for people to know that the other person does not need any further clarification on the topic that is being discussed. |
AuthorBorn and raised in Colorado but feel most at home when traveling. ArchivesCategories
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