Bethany and Lissa Drive Around

I’ve had many chances to be grateful for my job this past summer, which has been filled with music, friends, beer, and beautiful gardens!  I will be posting a few highlights in the next couple of days, starting with:

Warren-Wilson College (Swannanoa Fiddle Week)

http://www.warren-wilson.edu/external_index.php

http://www.swangathering.com/

I was in residence as the official New England Fiddle teacher at The Swannanoa Gathering’s Fiddle Week this past July.  I loved teaching classes, meeting new fiddlers, jamming with other staff members, going for jogs along the Swannanoa River, and giving the beer tent a lot of business in the evenings.  I also loved the beautiful setting, and the amazing gardens.  The Swannanoa Gathering is hosted by Warren-Wilson college, which has a strong commitment to environmental stewardship.  As it states on their web site, “The mission of Warren Wilson College is to provide an education combining liberal arts study, work, and service with a strong commitment to environmental responsibility and experiential opportunities for international and cross-cultural understanding in a setting that promotes wisdom, spiritual growth, and contribution to the common good.”  Being at Warren-Wilson College almost makes me want to go back to school, until I remember that I don’t ACTUALLY want to go back to college again.

The campus has a number of gorgeous flower and vegetable gardens, which provide food for the cafeteria, and supply a weekly farmers market.  I hope you’ll enjoy the photos, but if they’re not enough I recommend coming to Swannanoa’s Fiddle Week NEXT year, where I will be on staff again!  Check out their web site (above) for details if you’re interested.

Here are a few favorite blogs that I’d like to pass on to all of you!

http://www.youwillnotbelieve.us (a witty column about wine, with lots of other things of interest thrown in)

http://blog.ameliamason.com/ (my former fiddle student Amelia has blossomed into a talented journalist, who writes about music in an informed and thoughtful way)

http://chrispandolfi.com (a great banjo player with lots of interesting things to say about music and community)

http://www.tourbeerblog.blogspot.com/ (a kindred spirit beer blog from the incredibly talented singer songwriter Sarah Siskind)

http://cooking.cattailmusic.com/ (my Brattleboro neighbor, Scott Ainslie, is a great blues guitarist, and talented chef)

http://www.thegardenerseden.com/ (a gardening blog by a VT based landscape designer with REALLY BEAUTIFUL photos)

http://bluegrassintelligencer.com/ (just goes to show, you shouldn’t believe everything you read)

http://www.folkmopolitan.com (even fiddlers need fashion advice from time to time)

http://www.leaplittlefrog.blogspot.com/ (sweet vignettes on health and wellness from traveling Irish flute maven Shannon Heaton)

Happy reading!

At long last…. the guide you’ve all been waiting for!

The easiest kind of beer to find in Denmark is any pale lager, and Carlsberg and Tuborg pretty much have the monopoly on the market.  (Actually, they’re the same company so they really do have the beer market completely nailed down).  Bethany and I put ourselves to the test, and were able to find a few other beer makers along the way that we enjoyed.  Here are my top five.

5. Herslev Økologisk Paaske Bryg, brewed by Herslev Bryghus (in the style of an English pale ale) it’s organic!!

4. Fresh pressed orange juice!  OK, I realize this is not beer, but this juice was SO good I had to take a picture of it so I could remember the specific brand for later.  Seriously good.

3. Refsvindinge Ægte Fynsk Boghvedebryg, brewed by Refsvindinge Bryggeri (in the style of a German Hefeweizen)

2. Refsvindinge Havgassen, brewed by Refsvindinge Bryggeri (in the style of an English strong ale) best if served in an English pint or Trappist glass.

1. ANYTHING made by the Wintercoat brewery!!!  (They had “Oatmeal Stout”, “India Gold IPA”, and “More Please” on tap the night we played a concert in their lovely show room.  ”More Please” was my favorite of the bunch hands down) Niels Jørn Thomsen is a horticulturist turned brewer, who runs the Wintercoat brewery with the help of his wife Disa.  They are a small batch brewery with distribution in Denmark and the U.S., and they occasionally host beer tastings and house concerts in their gorgeous tap room.  Sadly, their yard was under serious construction when we were there on this trip, so I wasn’t able to add their garden to the list in the last blog.  However, I’m looking forward to seeing it all finished next time we’re in Denmark.

http://www.wintercoat.dk/

And now the gallery- enjoy! (It turns out bar lighting is not always the best photography lighting, so bear with us)

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Må jeg bede om en lokal øl, tak.

Bethany and I have safely arrived in Denmark, and I have learned a new Danish phrase (above). OK, maybe I just modified an old phrase from the last time we were here, but TODAY I’m really going to hit my Danish language learning stride. My goal is to learn to say “we will now play a murder ballad”.

The first day in Copenhagen we struck out in the locavore category, but it was all really yummy so we couldn’t complain. We were treated to an amazing home made Italian dinner by Eugene Graham and his extended family, complete with German beer, chocolate covered strawberries and Scottish whiskey for dessert. 

Last night we stayed in the idealic countryside just outside of Svendborg, with our amazing hosts, Fin and Sanne. I just went for a late morning (ok- early afternoon) run, complete with pastures, cottage gardens, lilacs just on the brink of blooming, frog ponds, ACTUAL moss-covered thatched rooves, and the smell of manure wafting on the breeze. I didn’t even mind the smell, with the sun beaming down on me and tulips blooming all over the place. It was a sharp contrast to Hanstedt, the smoky bar where we played last night. It was there that we tasted our first local beer of the tour, Ægte Fynsk (don’t ask me how to pronounce it!) and Havgassens Kabys. The Havgassens was definitely my favorite of the two, it had a much bigger, more interesting flavor. It occurrs to me that I don’t know what words people usually use to critique beer. Is there a protocol already in place? Bethany said she was going to do some recon and read some other beer blogs to see how it’s done, so I think by the time she posts this blog is going to look REALLY professional.

Today we’re playing at the Wintercoat Brewery in Sabro, run by husband and wife team Disa and Niels. We got a taste of their beer on our last trip, and we’re really exciting to be going back. On the way, I’m planning to teach Bethany to drive stick shift in our rental car. Wish me luck!
-Lissa

Yup, this is it, the very first post. I’m a little overwhelmed from wading through all the blog hosting options that are out there, so hosting at good ole www.lissafiddle.com seems easiest for the time being. More posts to come!
Posted by Lissa at 9:22 PM