What you hear about Vinterbalen is true. It is a party unlike no other parties. Before reaching your seat you walked on the red carpet, got portraits taken to immortalize the evening, and were handed a glass of sparkling wine. Once you entered the big room of AF-Borgen for the dinner, it had gone through a total makeover. The big room had lights, decorations and what not hanging across the room and the tables were set to perfection.
Once seated, the usual intro-speeches were held. Shortly afterwards, the food was served. Tegnér’s food often fails to impress me, it tastes good and looks good but it is nothing extra ordinary. Though, this time I was impressed. At first the starter looked like a single, small, piece of meat but once they poured mushroom soup into the bowl it looked great and tasted even better. The next two courses kept the same, great, standard.
Not only was the food great, but throughout the dinner, there was a choir singing, a magician doing what magicians do best (magic obiously), and interesting speeches. After the dinner the ”mellanfest” started, which often the results in guests getting scattered between different corridors or apartments and later uniting at the after party. At Vinterbalen, however, had a mellanfest already organized. You got beer and hot dogs all while listening to live music from the LE-band. The mellanfest was a much needed leg stretcher and perfect for getting into the party mode.
As the hours rolled by, the after party guests started arriving and the big room started filling up. The after party made the big room feel small and the music loud, and everyone enjoyed the tunes from Badpojken and his Lunda-smash-hit “Johnny G”. In the early morning hours I walked home exhausted and tired, but happy. The Vinterbal was, as Churchill used to say “a party not to miss!”
