Julebord - concertinas, gløgg, and lutefisk

Friday night, Dave and I went to the NTNU Math Department's Julebord (Christmas buffet) at the Ringve Museum of Music and Musical Instruments.  It was a wonderfully Norwegian celebration.

While people gathered, we were entertained by this band - five concertinas, a tuba, and a fiddle.  Behind them, you can see the harnesses and names (Stella, Jak, Sverre, Thor, Kvik) of the horses that used to be housed in the old stable where we were having the dinner. 

Enjoying a glass of gløgg - spiced, warmed red wine with nuts and raisins 

Chatting with the well-dressed master of ceremonies

Some of the folks at our table.  We had a starter course of smoked salmon, eggs, sliced meat, and three kinds of herring.  I could have stopped there and been quite happy.  But there was more great stuff to come.

The dining room

Dave's plate - the red color from the cabbage is making the lutefisk turn green.  But both tasted great. 

My plate - boy were my eyes bigger than my stomach.  Those last bites were tough, but I soldiered on. It was my first lutefisk ever, and it was good.  It must have been prepared well - it didn't resemble the notorious lutefisk of Garrison Keillor's monologues. 

Dessert was rice pudding with berry sauce, caramel pudding, and cloud berries in cream.  Ahhh.

We rode back to the city center in a taxi shuttle.  I flaked out and left my gloves and hat in the taxi.  Unfortunately, we have a rule at the house that if the kids lose their hats or mittens, then they lose their computer and tv privileges until hat or mittens are found.  Shhh, don't tell the kids that I'm blogging now.  I'll call the taxi company tomorrow to try to track down the missing gear.