Celebrating the 4th Abroad

This past weekend was a great weekend to be in the good ole U.S. of A. People were grilling, going to the beach or pool, setting off fireworks, & general shenanigans in celebration of the birthday of freedom in the U.S. Needless to say, there isn't a whole lot of that in Denmark.

However, I did not let this holiday pass me by...Oh no. I did not. I was able to celebrate this great American holiday in the home of the American Embassador to Denmark. That's right. I got to be Ms Fancy Pants for the night. The Embassador hosted a private party for 1500 friends, family, dignitaries, diplomats, and me on Friday July 1st.

After passing through the receiving line where I got the Embassador herself, I entered her back yard to await the starting ceremony. The Marines presented their colors & admittedly, I was a little misty eyed as they marched along past me to the stage. The Danish & American anthems were played & a speach was given about the importance of freedom from sea to shining sea.

I did not know what to expect but I imagined this elegant catered event full of American goodies that were not readily available in the city of Copenhagen. But this was an AMERICAN party & what's an American party without showing our true love of capitalism. The party was sponsored by other businesses. Each business was able to put up a tent w/ their company logo & provided food & drinks accordingly. There were servers walking around w/ silver trays but take a guess what business they represented. If you happened to guess McDonald's, you would be right.

The McDonald's tent had coffee, soda, & chocolate muffins. The Domino's Pizza tent had..well..pizza. Ben & Jerry's and  Budweiser also had tents & the Crowne Plaza donated the wine. 

All in all, it was a very pleasant night & an experience that I will get to brag about for a long time to come. 

And in case you are wondering what I did on the ACTUAL 4th of July??? Well...I met up w/ an American friend, spent an hour trying to find an American restaurant for dinner only to walk almost 2 miles to get there & find out the place is closed (the sign w/ the explanation was in Danish so no idea why). We ended up at a Thai restaurant around the corner enjoying a yummy yummy Thai dinner. 

Ah, God Bless America. 

The Embassador

The Marines plus 1 Danish Soldier

Who knows who could've been in that crowd?