Erasmus+ project – Denmark
The week before the Easter break, we, Valerie, Lilith, Teo, Paul and Max (6c) got to visit Aalborg, a city in northern Denmark in the course of an Erasmus+ project. The topic for all students, German, Danish, Spanish, French and Austrian was “trendy food” which did not seem very interesting to us at first, but we were proven fairly wrong. Apart from working in groups we participated in all kinds of fun and instructive activities. Sustainability, fish, nutrition and Danish culture were only some of the aspects of our trip. We could even prove ourselves as real chefs in a professional kitchen where we learned to cook new, healthy meals with sustainable ingredients that ended up being delicious. Mussels, vegetarian lasagna or ice cream with crispy worms were only some of them. Early in the morning we witnessed a fish auction at the North Sea where Danes spend hundreds of Euros on fresh fish.
Every day, we waited for the sea between Denmark and Sweden to freeze as it is an official law in Demark, that a Swede can be hit with a stick if he arrives by foot over the frozen sea, which we found quite surprising. Everyone there was incredibly friendly and funny which made it easy for us all to make many new friends. No matter if that was at the science lab, calculating calories by burning chips or bowling in the beautiful center of the city, working in school, or comparing our countries’ nutrition.
We learned a lot, not only about food but about other cultures and traditions such as the “Dannebrog”, Mediterranean diets, eating worms or ice-cold weather conditions despite the sunshine we had. At the same time, we could improve our French and Spanish and even got to learn a little Danish. (Everything from “thumb (tommelfinger)” to “I’m hungry (Jeg er sulten)” to “smelly ham (stinkende skinke)”.) No matter where they were from, everyone participated and gained friends from all over Europe and a quite unique experience. Who would have thought that “food” can bring us all this close together?
Lilith Springer, 6c
