"they got a noreaster' hittin' Newark..." ~ My international pilot

So, I spent Christmas with Eva and her family.  It was really great and lots of wonderful food! We all ate ourselves into food comas and drank lots of schnapps.

Eva had these adorable Tomtes (santas) made of wool! I kept picking them up and petting them whenever i walked past.

 It was a white Christmas, well Christmas Eve technically... this is the view out the dinning room window.

 For lunch Bjorn made jordärtskocka (sun root or Jerusalem artichoke, even though not an artichoke, more a root) soup!  It had shrimps in it and tasted much more exciting then it looked.

After coffee Hans played Santa and passed out all the presents.

 Then it was time for the Christmas Eve FEAST!!!

 Here is all the cold stuff!

 Sausages, home made liverpastje, the ham, beet salad, mussle and shirmp salad and some pork with peppers.

 Here we have the ham again, mustards, smoked eel, home made pickled herring (two delicious varieties), pickled salmon and bread.  Also, there were cheeses somewhere...

 And here are the warm things... Johnson's Delight on the right, wild mushrooms, meatballs and purple cabbage.

 The Fish plate!  Clockwise from 12 we have smoked eel, creamy pickled herring, shrimp and mussel salad, tomato pickled herring, and pickled salmon with mustard sauce. 

 The other meats plate!  Ham, pork and pepper spiral, mustard, liverpastje on bread and then sausages.

 Here is a bad picture of Johnson's Delight on the right, meatballs and then mushrooms.  My plates kept getting smaller and smaller because I was getting SO FULL! It was all amazing.  Well, I didn't like the Johnson's delight so much.  It is like potatoes au gratin with anchovies and a ton of salt.  Kind of an acquired taste I think.

 The chandelier was lit with REAL CANDLES! It was beautiful!!!

 Here is my Christmas presents! A yellow bag from my parents, beautiful smoky quartz necklace from Eva and Anders and some chocolates from Santa!  A very good Christmas Eve I would say!

The next day being Christmas we had all the leftovers for lunch!

 And this time I knew what I liked already so I could load up on that and skip the Johnson's Delight! haha

I gave these candle holders to Eva and Anders for Christmas and they even made it on the table!! Very pretty!

 After lunch and before dinner my cousins said I had to get outside.  I had been inside the apartment for over 24 hours with no fresh air at all.  So we went for a walk to get some fresh air, exercise and work up an appetite for dinner.  This is a waterfall in the city where they do a light show.  

 Rainbow icy waterfall!!

 This blue made it seem even colder with the ice being blue!

 Chandeliers hanging in the street between some houses.

 They were HUGE!!! 

 The beautifully set Christmas table!

 Glasses from Kosta all matching and beautiful  and the cloth napkin is from my Grandfather's parents with the Raven "R" on it.  We decided they are about 90 years old now! Pretty cool :)

For Christmas dinner we had roasted veggies with thyme and salt. 

Then seared tenderloin filets with cheese on top and a port sauce!  It was heavenly :) 

 Then baked Alaska for dessert!!

 I had to cut the first slice! It had a nice raspberry inside with cake on the bottom!

It was sooo good! I ate 2 slices I think :)

Then we went out to a pub after dinner to see Hans' friend.  I have some VERY hilarious pictures but will have to post them later.  Now it is time for Christmas with my family in NC!!! I am finally back in the states and happily spending time with my family and Sam in Pinehurst for a few days!!