Deer Park and Fastelavn

After spending time hiking in one of Denmark's nature preserves, I understand why many people from Scandinavia ended up in Minnesota - the scenery was quite familiar. This Sunday I went hiking in Dyrehaven, the king's old hunting grounds. The deer still live there, but today it's a park rather than a hunting preserve. In some parts we almost slipped because of mud and in other parts ice hindered our path, but it was still a great time. We did see a herd of deer go thundering across the path, and there we also saw several groups grazing in the woods. Here's one picture I took, and several more can be found here: http://www.copenhagenpictures.dk/dyrehaven-deer-park-klampenborg-denmark.html

Like many other European countries, Denmark still celebrates its pre-Lent carnival traditions. Unlike other countries, their traditions previously included putting a cat in a barrel and hitting the barrel for good luck. Now there's only a picture of a cat on the barrel, and instead it's filled with candy. Children dress up and collect candy, and sometimes adults dress up too. It's still considered a holiday primarily for children, though that didn't stop me from getting my face painted. Happy Fastelavn!