The Longest Day

It is close to 2 am here in Denmark right now, and the horizon is beginning to show signs of dawn.  Needless to say, this makes it very difficult to sleep, and is very conducive to partying – especially after a long, cold, dark winter.   Someone said to me a few weeks ago that one should never leave Denmark between May and September – because if summer comes, it tends to come in those months.  Well, I am happy to report that it is indeed summer here – the weather is sunny and even occasionally somewhat warm (warm in Scandinavia being about 70 F/20 C).   I am just about getting used to the fact that in Copenhagen summer requires both sunscreen and fleece.

Just over a week ago, the Danes celebrated the longest day in the year with a day, and night, of celebrating.  Although the 21st of June was actually the longest day in the year, Denmark celebrated on the 23rd, a Saturday night, in honor of Saint Hans.  I do not know who Saint Hans was, except that he has a square named after him in Copenhagen, and that he may well be the patron saint of parties.  Apparently, part of the Saint Hans’ day festivities include burning bonfires (something to do with getting rid of witches – still acceptable in a country which has not yet discovered political correctness), partying in the parks, and staying up until dawn (not difficult, since it got light out at 3 am). 

I, of course, went to one of these parties, to celebrate not only the longest day in the year but also my last day at the European Environment Agency.  We danced until dawn (i.e. 3 am), and then, at 4, when it was daylight again, took a trip up the coast to the beach to watch the sunrise.  A few hardy souls braved the temperature and went swimming -- Scandinavian style -- at 4:30 in the morning in the frigid water.  (They shall remain anonymous.  Again, there are photos, and I am willing to negotiate....)  To round out the interesting cultural experience, we also witnessed another swimmer, and were accompanied on the beach by a Danish couple who, well, really should have picked a more secluded spot for their outing.  Needless to say, if any of this had occurred at, say, Revere Beach, I suspect the police may have become involved.  However, this is Denmark, and quite routine. 

After the swimming outing, we went for hot chocolate (yes, it was that cold out) and Danish pastry at the just-opening bakery.  I got home at 6 am, to find the party in my kollegium still going on, with last year’s Danish Eurovision song contest song playing at ear-splitting volume.  And, during the entire weekend, hordes of screaming Danish teenagers were being driven around the city in the backs of trucks, wearing sailor caps.  I think this had something to do with passing exams, but I am not sure. 

Last weekend, I had another classic Scandinavian experience when I took the overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo, Norway for a brief visit.  It was quite a nice boat trip, with a beautiful fjord, lots of Japanese tourists, and a big Scandinavian buffet dinner with seven different kinds of herring.  Oslo was a fun city (though it rained one of the two days, and again, fleece was necessary).  One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the Munch museum (he of ‘Scream’ fame) – which, due to dark and morbid content, I would not recommend visiting during the winter. 

I’m now back in Copenhagen, celebrating the 4^th of July for my second time outside the U.S.  (The first was a traitorous trip from Washington to London a few years ago) – and I have officially marked the occasion by watching bad American TV shows with Danish subtitles, playing the 1812 overture on CD, and setting my computer’s spellchecker back to U.S. English – at least for a few days.