No snags. What a brave pup. For all of his hard work he got to take his first shower in Denmark!
Thanks for all of the well wishes.
31.3.13
29.3.13
Day 102 -- Frederikssund and Viking Settlements
Yesterday I went out to Frederikssund to help a colleague get her sail boat ready for the summer. Frederikssund is normally about an hour commute from here.
They live down the block from the Roskilde Fjord.
A fjord in Denmark has a different meaning than what we think of in America when we think of "fjords". In Denmark it just refers to any inlet of water. It is typically made from glaciers just as the more thought-of Norwegian fjords are but the movement of the glaciers are different (from sea onto land, not mountains into sea as in Norway) and lack the dramatic cliffs on each side. It was still really pretty and great being by the sea. I saw lots of swans in the water.
I arrived around noon and we had a delicious Danish lunch, lots of bread, pickled and smoked fishes, cheeses, hard boiled eggs and cherry tomatoes. After a coffee in their greenhouse (and some rosemary/lemon shortbread cookies I brought) we headed down to the boat. Our task was to remove the wooded scaffolding on top of the boat which the boat cover rests on. It is very large and requires one person to hold the beams of wood while the other person unscrews every piece. We managed to do it without me falling over the side of the boat, without Marianne falling off the ladder, and without me dropping a single beam on either her or the boat. I'd say it was a success! The boat is still on it's foundation scaffolding on dry land so it is very good I am not really scared of heights because it was pretty high up there. Next step is to polish the boat and apply some anti-fungal paint but someone else will be helping with that. I did offer Collin and my services for any future work, and in return they promised to take us out on the boat this summer. I'm looking forward to it.
After returning from the boat we shared some beers in their greenhouse again...5 degrees (Celsius) outside but 17 degrees in the greenhouse. And then went for a long walk along the fjord. Frederikssund also has a Viking reconstruction site. These houses are all based on houses that were excavated nearby in Denmark in the 90s. All the small ones (5 in total, I think) are sunken houses about 50 cm to 1 m below sea level and used as temporary houses or workshops.
There is also a long house which would have been used as lodging, both for people and animals. The door was really pretty. We couldn't go inside the long house though.
And there was also a communal eating/lounging area for dining al fresco
Behind the settlement there is a stage (which I did not take pictures of) where in the summer they put on Viking shows including the blowing of Viking horns.
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| Photo courtesy of the wiki page linked above. |
I arrived around noon and we had a delicious Danish lunch, lots of bread, pickled and smoked fishes, cheeses, hard boiled eggs and cherry tomatoes. After a coffee in their greenhouse (and some rosemary/lemon shortbread cookies I brought) we headed down to the boat. Our task was to remove the wooded scaffolding on top of the boat which the boat cover rests on. It is very large and requires one person to hold the beams of wood while the other person unscrews every piece. We managed to do it without me falling over the side of the boat, without Marianne falling off the ladder, and without me dropping a single beam on either her or the boat. I'd say it was a success! The boat is still on it's foundation scaffolding on dry land so it is very good I am not really scared of heights because it was pretty high up there. Next step is to polish the boat and apply some anti-fungal paint but someone else will be helping with that. I did offer Collin and my services for any future work, and in return they promised to take us out on the boat this summer. I'm looking forward to it.
After returning from the boat we shared some beers in their greenhouse again...5 degrees (Celsius) outside but 17 degrees in the greenhouse. And then went for a long walk along the fjord. Frederikssund also has a Viking reconstruction site. These houses are all based on houses that were excavated nearby in Denmark in the 90s. All the small ones (5 in total, I think) are sunken houses about 50 cm to 1 m below sea level and used as temporary houses or workshops.
There is also a long house which would have been used as lodging, both for people and animals. The door was really pretty. We couldn't go inside the long house though.
And there was also a communal eating/lounging area for dining al fresco
Behind the settlement there is a stage (which I did not take pictures of) where in the summer they put on Viking shows including the blowing of Viking horns.
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| Photo courtesy of Mary Brett from the vikingespil.dk website |
After our walk and tour of the settlement we headed back to their house for a delicious dinner of roasted chicken thighs in lemon and thyme with rice, cabbage, salad, and scorzonera (a root vegetable I had never had before). It was all very tasty.
(photos courtesy of google, and not my actual dinner last night)
The trip back home was easy enough. It was really nice to get out of the house for the day, do some manual labor, and have some excellent meals with good company.
25.3.13
Day 98 -- Our "permanent" apartment
I have received numerous requests to see our new place. This past weekend with Collin away, I worked hard to get the place in order. So here you go! We'll start with the outside. We live above an Italian restaurant and a pizza shop. Our windows are the 5 on the left directly above the restaurant (1st floor for those of us in Denmark, 2nd floor according to you Americans)
Starting at our front door:
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| Entry way (Yes, mom, I have a bike helmet!) |
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| View of the bathroom from the door looking right...Shower and toilet |
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| View of the bathroom from the door looking left...sink and washer/dryer |
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| Notice the new wardrobe courtesy of IKEA |
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| Hopefully the movers will return this week to take away these empty boxes. |
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| View from the door off the entry way. |
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| View from the door to the living room (door to the entry would be on the right) |
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| Our oven, which is opposite the sink and not visible in the other pictures |
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| Newly purchased from IKEA |
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| View from Kitchen window, overlooking outdoor seating for the restaurant |
Now for the living room...if we would have continued straight from the entry instead of turning off into the kitchen
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| View from entry way |
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| View from doors to dining room..more boxes that need to be thrown away |
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| Happy Easter! |
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| View from living room window...two hot air balloons! |
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| Gifts from a friend who is moving away |
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| Doors to dining room |
Now on to our dining room. I apologize for the mess. It has become my office while I work from home this week.
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| View from kitchen door |
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| View from living room door |
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| View from dining room door |
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| View from master bedroom door |
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| This desk ALMOST made me swear to never buy anything from IKEA again. But it is standing now. and yes, the leg on the right is crooked but I have since fixed that. |
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| View from the 2nd bedroom window...more of the Italian restaurant eating area |
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| Home for Collin's clothes. Pretty, huh? (he picked it) |
And finally on to our bedroom.
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| View from 2nd bedroom door |
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| View from window...that' the second bedroom you see through the door |
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| My wardrobe...considerably nicer than Collin's...but still IKEA |
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| View from our bedroom window...that's a little grocer across the street. Haven't tried it yet |
And that concludes our tour. Hope you enjoyed it. We are open to visitors any time!
WotD # 20 -- Gækkebrev
I'm not as knowledgeable as Collin when it comes to computers so sadly my word-of-the-day is not accompanied by a soundbyte of how to pronounce it. But the word is
Gækkebrev
and it is pronounced something like
GA-AY-ga-bro (sort of like that anyway)
It literally translates to "Valentine" on google translate, and looks a lot like a Valentine, but it is actually an Easter custom here in Denmark. It's a 100s-of-years old tradition where the sender cuts up paper in a creative way (think homemade paper snowflake) and writes a poem around it. It's important that the poem rhymes. Instead of signing it, the sender writes as many dots as letters in his/her name and then slyly gives it to the recipient. If the recipient can guess who made it, the sender has to give the recipient something. In the past it was a kiss, now it is a chocolate egg. If the recipient can not guess who made it, then THEY have to give the sender the kiss/chocolate egg...once the sender reveals himself of course.
Thanks to the Expat in Denmark facebook page for telling me about this custom and for sharing the following video from the Official Website of Denmark (the video is in English!)
And thank you to Rikke Storm's blog for the picture!
Gækkebrev
and it is pronounced something like
GA-AY-ga-bro (sort of like that anyway)
It literally translates to "Valentine" on google translate, and looks a lot like a Valentine, but it is actually an Easter custom here in Denmark. It's a 100s-of-years old tradition where the sender cuts up paper in a creative way (think homemade paper snowflake) and writes a poem around it. It's important that the poem rhymes. Instead of signing it, the sender writes as many dots as letters in his/her name and then slyly gives it to the recipient. If the recipient can guess who made it, the sender has to give the recipient something. In the past it was a kiss, now it is a chocolate egg. If the recipient can not guess who made it, then THEY have to give the sender the kiss/chocolate egg...once the sender reveals himself of course.
Thanks to the Expat in Denmark facebook page for telling me about this custom and for sharing the following video from the Official Website of Denmark (the video is in English!)
And thank you to Rikke Storm's blog for the picture!
22.3.13
Day 95 -- More observations from Denmark
Today is just a quick blog before I meet some friends for dinner...and in keeping with the stereotype of Danish friends being hard to come by, these are not Danes, but instead fellow expats.
Anyway. a few notes about Denmark.
Next Sunday is Easter as some of you may know. I would say Easter is not a very big holiday in the US. As a kid, of course, it is...easter baskets, eggs, candy, bunnies, etc. And as a Catholic (and other Christian denominations) it is as well. But in general, for non children, non religious folks I would say it is not so. Maybe a special dinner with family/friends, maybe not. maybe you disagree but that is my opinion. But in Denmark this is clearly not the case. Despite being told over and over that Denmark is a VERY secular country, Easter is a B-I-G deal. The whole country pretty much shuts down for Skærtorsday (Holy Thursday), Langfredag (Good Friday), Påskedag (Easter Sunday), and 2. Påskedag (Easter Monday). Everyone is off work and all stores, including grocery stores, are closed. Most people take the whole week off work. I do not have that many vacation days yet so I am still working. But my lab is also in the middle of moving next week which means I will not have an office to go to for Monday or Tuesday at least, so this means I will be working from home.
Other fun observations. Today my grocery store was full of free samples...I saw a few cheese stations and some chips. but my favorite was the shots of Southern Comfort. I did not partake.
Also, walking home I noticed the following cake in the window of the bakery. I guess there are some big X-Factor fans here.
Anyway. a few notes about Denmark.
Next Sunday is Easter as some of you may know. I would say Easter is not a very big holiday in the US. As a kid, of course, it is...easter baskets, eggs, candy, bunnies, etc. And as a Catholic (and other Christian denominations) it is as well. But in general, for non children, non religious folks I would say it is not so. Maybe a special dinner with family/friends, maybe not. maybe you disagree but that is my opinion. But in Denmark this is clearly not the case. Despite being told over and over that Denmark is a VERY secular country, Easter is a B-I-G deal. The whole country pretty much shuts down for Skærtorsday (Holy Thursday), Langfredag (Good Friday), Påskedag (Easter Sunday), and 2. Påskedag (Easter Monday). Everyone is off work and all stores, including grocery stores, are closed. Most people take the whole week off work. I do not have that many vacation days yet so I am still working. But my lab is also in the middle of moving next week which means I will not have an office to go to for Monday or Tuesday at least, so this means I will be working from home.
Other fun observations. Today my grocery store was full of free samples...I saw a few cheese stations and some chips. but my favorite was the shots of Southern Comfort. I did not partake.
Also, walking home I noticed the following cake in the window of the bakery. I guess there are some big X-Factor fans here.
That is all for now. I am off to return the keys to our temporary apartment. I promise pictures of our new place shortly. I am still in the process of getting things put away.
21.3.13
Day 93 - Exit Strategy; Part Two
I write this from my 37G seat on this SAS transatlantic flight. In approximately five and one half hours - fem og halv timer - I will land in the city of big shoulders, the town I call home yet have never lived in, Chicago.
A nice aspect of this kind of travel is a full meal - two of them in total. The first - which I have now finished - was complete with chicken, mash, gravy, Brie, cracker, salad, roll, some sort of creme brûlée knockoff, red wine, and unlimited tea. It's like traveling back in time. Good work Europe, it makes me wish I was the sort of mover and shaker who could sit up with the real winners in business class. Maybe someday.
I predict that this trip rolls bittersweet. It will be great to be home, great to get Charlie, and great to see everyone. It's just too soon. There hasn't been enough time to feel nostalgic without feeling that I should just stay. That's hyperbole, surely, but the feeling is somewhere along those lines.
Now it's just time to kick back and wait for Skyfall to start again.
...and I missed the start. Oh well. I'll catch up. Greenland looks pretty amazing from 35,000 ft. I would show you a picture but I am not in my preferred window seat. it's just a vast expanse of white peaks.
I lied, here's some images. The crummy iPhone camera's focus is better than I give it credit.
Meal number two was less impressive. Posh wraps! Apple juice!? Who over the age of 7 drinks apple juice? Europe is weird.
Movie reviews;
Skyfall - solid. Much better than quantum of solace, not quite as good as casino royale. Bardem was creepy-excellent as always.
Wreck-it Ralph - fun. This really reminded me of both the Emporium and the Computer Spiele Museum. The Painstation did not make an appearance. Yay to seeing QBert! If I could have removed Sarah Silverman, things would have been almost perfect.
I'm about an hour from touchdown.
A nice aspect of this kind of travel is a full meal - two of them in total. The first - which I have now finished - was complete with chicken, mash, gravy, Brie, cracker, salad, roll, some sort of creme brûlée knockoff, red wine, and unlimited tea. It's like traveling back in time. Good work Europe, it makes me wish I was the sort of mover and shaker who could sit up with the real winners in business class. Maybe someday.
I predict that this trip rolls bittersweet. It will be great to be home, great to get Charlie, and great to see everyone. It's just too soon. There hasn't been enough time to feel nostalgic without feeling that I should just stay. That's hyperbole, surely, but the feeling is somewhere along those lines.
Now it's just time to kick back and wait for Skyfall to start again.
...and I missed the start. Oh well. I'll catch up. Greenland looks pretty amazing from 35,000 ft. I would show you a picture but I am not in my preferred window seat. it's just a vast expanse of white peaks.
I lied, here's some images. The crummy iPhone camera's focus is better than I give it credit.
Skyfall - solid. Much better than quantum of solace, not quite as good as casino royale. Bardem was creepy-excellent as always.
Wreck-it Ralph - fun. This really reminded me of both the Emporium and the Computer Spiele Museum. The Painstation did not make an appearance. Yay to seeing QBert! If I could have removed Sarah Silverman, things would have been almost perfect.
I'm about an hour from touchdown.
19.3.13
Day 92 - Snow Blind
Cue Ozzy.
This is a blizzard in København, and it hasn't even started. Half of the metro is closed. My express train to Måløv isn't running. All of this means that I will likely miss my bus to NN. Who knows what tomorrow will be like at the lufthavn.
In other news, my department had a temporary massage chair. I tried it yesterday. The whole experience was what I imagine it feels like to be swallowed by a snake or possibly crushed to death by an octopus. The user is enveloped by the chair as it kneads and squeezes. It does this to the massagee's arms and legs and feet. The chair is located in our small print room. This experience is not for closterphobes. I think someone should have given me a Valium prior to the assault by chair. Did I mention that I enjoyed this experience? I have problems.
This is a blizzard in København, and it hasn't even started. Half of the metro is closed. My express train to Måløv isn't running. All of this means that I will likely miss my bus to NN. Who knows what tomorrow will be like at the lufthavn.
See you tomorrow USA.
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