Day 216 - Danes love Robbie Williams

Robbie Williams - formerly of the UK boy band Take That -  is in Denmark this week. I vaguely remember him in the States with the single Millenium.

It never really worked out for Robbie in the US. Maybe Americans just didn't have any room for an arrogant Brit pop star they had never heard of. Plus we already had plenty of American boy bands to love. He is, however, still a huge pop star in the UK / Europe. My coworker compared his popularity here to that of Justin Timberlake.

Anyway, he played Parken last night and will again this evening.  Parken is the stadium where the Danish national team plays football.

When set up for concerts, the stadium can accomodate 55,000 screaming 40-something-year-old Danish women. Robbie sold out both nights. 

To put this in perspective, there are 5.5 million people in all of Denmark.

WotD #23 - Syltetøj

Say it with me. Syltetøj.



It's sort of like jam. Or jelly. Or marmalade. To be honest I don't know the difference in English between the three so I can hardly be expected to know it in Danish. Let's just call it "fruit preserves" and be done with it. Here's some blackberry syltetøj.

The fun thing about sytletøj...the literal translation. Sylte means pickled and tøj means clothing. Mmmm. Pickled clothing. So if you happen to run into a Dane at the grocery store looking for the pickled clothing aisle, you can send him / her right to the jams / jellies / marmalades.

Day 215 - S-Tog delays and the joys of heavy unionization

A Wednesday morning weeks ago, I woke up at 5, took a shower, and made my way to the Metro just like I do everyday. The Metro took me to Vanløse - the end of the line - just like it does everyday. Here's where things got sketchy.

Normally, the train that takes me to Måløv arrives at 5:38. There's a sign on the platform at every station that looks like this.

It's a Brazil-ish piece of technology, ie, old looking stuff operating at blazing speeds. The little station cards and the how-long-until-this-train-arrives cards flip-flip-flip around as time advances. I love them.

On the day in question, the card had no train on it, just a sentence in Danish that I couldn't understand. Something about the train.

Next, there were announcements on the station loudspeaker. Also in Danish. Also that I could barely understand. Something about the train. Something about a meeting. Something about the central station.

Then it was time to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait some more. At nearly 7AM, my work friend Anders popped in. He had been waiting at the Flintholm station and decided to walk to Vanløse to find out if American Collin needed help. As a native Dane, he actually understood what was going on! 

It turns out that the S-tog union at DSB was having a union meeting. All of the trains in the system were traveling inbound to the central station to deliver the union members to this meeting. As it turns out, the meeting was on "safety issues". There was no announcement that this meeting would take place. It just happened and broke all of outer KBH. Anders called us a cab and we were on our way to Novo. I arrived an hour and half later than would be usual.

From 6 until 9:30 all S-tog trains were offline. The system didn't get fully going until 11:30.

Day 201 - The end of American canned goods

Tonight, I popped open a can of cannellini beans, without realizing the consequences.

Yes, these generic Stop-n-Shop cannellini beans are the last American canned goods in my apartment. I pour one out for American canned goods. Corn. Beans. Artichokes. Other canned things that people eat.

Day 199 -- Amsterdam

Summer appears to be in full-swing here.  Today was a beautiful, sunny 25 C (high 70s for our fahrenheit friends). A lot of people have left for their 3, 4, or even 6-week vacations which makes the work place pretty empty, and the city streets as well. I have a lemon tart chilling in the fridge, and I finally purchased some rum today so Collin and I enjoyed mojitos and dutch gouda (fresh from Amsterdam) as a small appetizer. While he prepares the grill for some chicken for dinner I thought I would try a brief update on my trip to Amsterdam.

For those of you who do not work in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis (and let's be honest, that is probably 99% of you), this past week was the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH) conference held every other year, and this year in Amsterdam.  ISTH is the first large conference I ever attended way back in 2003 in Birmingham, England.  Since then I have had a mixed track record of attending:  2005 was in Sydney, sadly (or happily?) that was just before my wedding so attendance was not possible, 2007 was in Geneva but I was too new in my post-doc and not allowed to attend.  2009 was in Boston.  That I did attend and had a great time. 2011 was Kyoto...that's sad that I did not get to attend that and a long story, but one that involves Baxter and their travel rules...which brings us to 2013 and Amsterdam.  I actually thought I would not be able to attend since abstract submission is in January and I had just started at Novo but fortunately they let me go anyway!!  yay novo.  I enjoy this conference both for its vast scientific information but also as a chance to see old friends and former colleagues.  I'm only sad that more of my former colleagues are no longer working in the wonderful world of blood.

I left Friday night for the conference which started at 8 am on saturday morning.  Yay for living in Europe and being able to attend European conferences without being jet-lagged.  THAT was a very nice experience.  Our flight on Friday was delayed -- I later found out that Friday was the busiest  travel day at the Copenhagen airport due to schools ending and summer holidays starting.  I suppose that had something to do with our delayed flight, and it turns out, at least 4 of my danish colleagues got their bags lost somehow during the 1 hour flight to amsterdam...but I digress.   We arrived at our hotel in a pouring, wet Amsterdam at 10 pm.  Because I had left the house around 5 pm I had not had dinner yet, nor had my two traveling companions.  so after checking in to our hotel we took off to find some dinner...surprisingly hard for a Friday night, I guess it was after 10 then.  We eventually found a bar/cafe still serving food and had a heineken and a goat cheese salad.  It was not very good but I was hungry and tired so I didn't care too much.

Saturday was a long day of meetings, and lunch at an italian restaurant next to the convention center that had some of the worse service I have ever seen.  Saturday night a large group of us went to the city centre for dinner at In De Waag, a castle-like building in the middle of the Nieuwmarkt area of Amsterdam.   It was enjoyable and good company.

photo courtesy of In De Waag website

After dinner one of my colleagues led the way to the tram back to our hotel.  This involved walking through some alleys in the middle of the red-light district.  That was certainly an interesting experience.  I do not have any pictures to share.

Sunday was a slower morning at the conference so I actually skipped out and checked out the Anne Frank house.  Fortunately for me, I am aware of what QuestLove of the Roots experienced when he visited Amsterdam....extremely long lines at the Anne Frank house.  So I planned on getting there a little before it opened at 9 and wait in line for a while.   When I got there, there was already a fairly long line, and they opened late.  I ended up being in line until 10 am and spent as much time in line as I did in the museum.  I probably went through the museum faster than I should have -- mainly because I was meeting someone for lunch and needed to get out.  Luckily I had just re-read the book the week before I left so that helped me a lot.  The museum was very interesting and I definitely recommend it.  Be aware of long lines though, and maybe book tickets ahead of time online if you get a chance.

church outside that Anne mentions hearing when she is in hiding

line outside anne frank house

more of the line

After a wonderful lunch with former colleagues/friends from Illinios, I actually decided to visit the Van Gogh museum since our restaurant was right next door.  Once again, I only had an hour to spend there but this was one of my most favorite museums.  Of course it helps that I am a big fan of his work, but I also enjoyed all the more "science-y" (for lack of a better word) aspects there..how they have learned what they learned about his work, etc.  I also really dug his copies of famous Hiroshige works.

Hiroshige on left, Van Gogh on right

Hiroshige on left, Van Gogh on right

It's still unclear to me if what I saw was a special exhibit or the permanent exhibit, but I wish I would have had more time and highly recommend it to anyone else in Amsterdam.

That was the end of my sight-seeing.   The rest of the week was busy with seminars and meetings.  

Sunday night was the official opening reception.  This usually showcases local talent and included an act of strength and dexterity where a man and woman moved around each other by holding each other and balancing.  It was pretty impressive.  At one point he laid flat on his back and put his hand up.  She laid on his hand so she was parallel to the ground.  Then he stood completely up, keeping her parallel to the ground the whole time with just his hand/arm.  Another time she balanced upside down on the back of his neck with her neck...neither of them holding each other.  Other acts included ballet, classical music and a rousing drum duet with a jazz drummer  (Han Bennink) and a rock and roll drummer (from Golden Earring; Cesar Zuiderwijk).  They both were fun to watch, and Han Bennink was especially entertaining, playing while sitting on the floor, and putting his foot up on the drum, and other various oddities.  

Wednesday night was the all-congress party...always a good time.   This is a giant party celebrating all things Dutch.  There were break-dancers and flowers-on-stilts, jazz music, cabaret music and the headlining act: Golden Earring.  I did not know who Golden Earring was when I heard they would be there, but Collin quickly informed me they were the group behind the 70s rock hit "Radar Love".  Below are a few pictures from the party including a short video of radar love.  You can't see much in the video since I am short and was in the back, but you can hear the melodious sounds of Golden Earring.  

Han Bennink

Dutch break dancers?

Golden Earring

The conference ended on Thursday, and I made it home in time to celebrate the 4th of July with Collin with cheeseburgers on the grill and American beers.

And I will end with a shot of my lemon tart....

Did you know? Graceland, Randers.

A bus plastered with Randers Graceland advertisements just passed the apartment. I was intrigued.

Did you know about the replica Graceland in a place called Randers? Neither did I!



I know, I've only been here for seven months now, but this puts me at a loss for words. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a Danish replica-Graceland Elvis museum.

I think I know where I'm going for my birthday next year.

Day 197 - Happy 4th of July

One of the local supermarket chains, Super Brugsen, is helping to make it feel more like home with some bargains on American beers.

Yes, that's right, only 7,95 DKK for a PBR! I may have to break down and buy some Lagunitas to go with the hamburgers I'll be grilling tonight.

As a side note, we've hit the 10,000 visitors mark. More than 10% of these visitors have been here to look at my Jaime Lannister post. As always, thanks for stopping by. I wish I had some way of tracking IPs. I would have gladly awarded some sort of prize to the 10,000th visitor.

If my lab had a theme song...

Enter a room in my lab? You're going to hear music. Sometimes from two different sources in the same room. Cacophony!

It is generally pop music. The other day I definitely heard "When I was your man" at least four times.

There is one rock station. My Rock. It is hit and miss. They dig the Foo Fighters. And System of a Down. And Metallica. They also loooooooove Volbeat.

I am almost certain that I have heard this song every single day that I have worked at Novo.

Day 196 - Holiday

No not this Holiday.



Or this one.



And sadly not this one.



It would be soooo nice. Fun fact, that's an Arquette on the keyboards!

No, today we're talking about vacation, or as the Danes, Brits, and probably every other non-American people on the planet call it, holiday.

In Denmark, full time employees are all guaranteed five weeks holiday. Novo then supplements this with one more week. Technicians at Novo - due to a longer than standard work week - also get an additional three days. So that's, for those scoring at home, 33 vacation days plus the litany of holidays running from December through May.

You might think to yourself, Collin that's awesome. You are so lucky. Collin thought it was awesome when he moved here. Sad fact, earning holiday in Denmark is very complex.

In Denmark you work in one year to earn holiday for the next year. As I have never worked in Denmark, I have not earned any holiday. So this year, I have the five days from Novo. I'll get a portion of the three extra days as the year moves on. Any vacation I want to take beyond that will cost me money.

Additionally, employees earn vacation from January 1 to December 31. Employees are not allowed to use that earned vacation until May 1. Here's an example. Collin works at Novo Nordisk from March 11 to December 31 of 2013. He has earned approximately 18 days to use in 2014.

I cannot use any of those earned days until May 1. So, from March 11, 2013 to April 30, 1014, I will have a grand total of 7-8 days paid holiday. I'm not totally sure how that bonus three days works.

I will not get my full complement of 33 days holiday until May 2015. Awesome.

Because everyone has so much time off, most people take something like three to four consecutive weeks starting right around now. Next week, by my count, I will be one of only three or four left in my department. The technician I work most closely with is in the midst of a six week vacation to the States. My boss will be gone for four weeks starting Friday.

Ghost. Town. More time in the massage chair for me!

Day 194 - I see drunk people. In white hats.

Yes, it is gymnasium graduation season in København. What does this mean?

Each day I take the Metro / S-tog into work in the wee hours of the morning. I leave the flat at around twenty after five.

Two weeks ago, I began to see all sorts of young people - in white sailor-y hats - staggering home from a loooooong night out. Hats like this.

The band / insignia on the hat represents the school and the area of study.

My commute has recently been made more perilous by sticky / slippery floors. The Metro has resembled - for these past two weeks - Kam's. Think sticky, beer soaked floor, and then throw in some McDonald's dehydrated onions and ketchup to slippery things up. Fun times.

If I haven't mentioned it earlier, Danes like to party. And when it's time to party Danes will always party hard. It is day 194, and I can't begin to describe how happy I am to finally throw in an Andrew W. K. reference. It almost makes up for the previous Kam's reference. Almost.

Danish graduates pop on their white hats, jump onto trucks / other big vehicles, and travel from parent's house to parent's house, drinking at each along the way. Blasting dance music. Thanks to Emily, here's what the vehicles look like.

I think that this past weekend was the peak of the "party truck" season. There was an endless queue of truck after truck of rowdy teenage Danes celebrating graduation. Sadly, I don't think that I heard any Aqua. Much to the chagrin of my colleague Anders, Aqua is easily the most famous Danish band. Ever.

Come on Barbie! Let's go party!