Julebord

We went to Kevin's company's Julebord party last night--lots of drinking, eating and singing. In the picture of the buffet, the third tray back is the rakfisk. Kevin had never tried rakfisk before, so he was very eager to earn his Viking horns too. The next photo is of him taking his first bite of rakfisk, and the last photo is of his priceless reaction to the very unique flavor! He tried to be very polite about it, but I think he had a bit of trouble convincing our hosts that he was a rakfisk enthusiast! After downing a couple more glasses of wine, he did manage to finish most of the rakfisk on his plate. I didn't have any rakfisk (one tiny bite several weeks ago was all I'll ever need!), but I did try some lingonberry sauce. Very yummy!

After dinner, the company gave out "awards" for the dumbest quotes and acts of the year. Kevin was nominated for moving to Norway from New York. His coworkers teased him, asking him what exactly lured him here... the bright and sunny weather, the pristine beaches, or the very affordable cost of living? It was really funny, but unfortunately Kevin lost out to a colleague who has lived in Gjovik for the past 20 years, went out cross country skiing and got lost, then had to call the office for help navigating back. We also sang Norwegian Christmas songs. This one is called "Glad Jul, Hellige Jul" and is sung to the tune of "Silent Night".

Glad Jul, Hellige Jul.

Engler daler ned i skjul.

Hit de flyver med paradisgront,

hvor de ser hva for Gud er skjont,

lonnlig i blant oss de gar--

lonnlig i blant oss de gar.

I haven't figured out how to type the o's with slashes or the a's with circles over them yet, so there are some errors. (I still can't type Gjovik properly, as the o has a slash through it. The pronounciation sounds kind of like Yervick.)

By about 11 p.m., I was absolutely exhausted and jet lagged, so I drove home. Kevin was still drinking wine and beer and whiskey and aquavit with his coworkers--I think he finally took a taxi home around 4 a.m. I guess it's official, my husband is a Viking--he willingly eats rakfisk, drinks aquavit, and stays out all night. Me, not so much! I was happily curled up on the couch with my cats, hot cocoa and a book in hand, by 11:30.