WotD #1 - Hygge

Today's word "Hygge" is hard to pronounce and hard to translate. Google translate says it means "fun", but it's so much more than that.

The Danes have a word that's hard to translate, and no foreigner can hope to pronounce, but it's as Danish as pork roast and cold beer. It's hygge, and it goes far in illuminating the Danish soul.  

The closest we can come phonetically is "hooga," if we try forming our mouths for "ee" while saying "oo." It doesn’t translate directly into any other language but we can illustrate it in action.

 

Emily introduced me to this word before we came here. It's a sort of warmth / candle lighting / cozy-ness that Danes use to fight the darkness / wetness / coldness of the winter months. Or maybe it's just cakes. And television. Maybe fun is the best definition.

Thanks to visit-denmark.dk for the first quote as well as much of the info for this post. Additionally, thanks to Peter Andreas for the above interview video. His blog looks fascinating, although it looks finished / not current. None the less, it just leaped or leapt to the top of my "stuff to read" list.

Day 19 - Yes, I love technology

but not as much as the Illini, you see

but still, I love technology

always and forever

always and forever

Go Illini!

Edit : Three teams have beaten tOSU this year. Kansas. Duke. Illinois.

How I Commute to Work

A bit on the public transportation system here…as viewed from my commute to work. More about the confusing system of ticketing will come later.

Overall the system is very good and well-run, not surprisingly. My commute as of now consists of a 15 min walk to the large metro station where I catch the M1 or M2. From what I can tell, those are the only two trains and go to the same place…west at least. I think they diverge in the east direction. The metro (or their subway system) is all electric with no conductors. I believe you can sit in the very front and watch the train traverse the tunnels. I have not done so. But this electric set up also means everything is automatic and this particular train, at least, comes every 2 min. I think I was told they run 24 hours which is nice for airport runs.

So getting the metro is easy. I take that about 5 stops to the end of the line. At this point I transfer to the H or C line train….different from the metro…this goes farther out of the city. In my two days of commuting this has been easy. I haven’t waited longer than maybe 3 minutes for the next train. I am told this is where things can get back up and delayed. Especially in bad weather if there is any ice or snow on the tracks. My commute has also been quite empty but I think that is a function of most people still being on holiday. Next week should be a different story.

The train ride is about 5-9 stops depending on whether I get an express or local train. The trains are clean and modern and quite comfortable. Everything is clearly marked (in Danish of course). After the train I have a few options. What I have been doing, and will probably continue doing, is hop on a bus that takes me to work. Again, the bus has always been sitting there waiting for me so it has been easy. I am told that is not always the case. Another option is to walk – I believe it’s a little over a mile (a little less than 2 km). A third is to buy a cheap bike and keep it at the station and bike back and forth. I think I will stick with the bus for now.

That’s my commute. About an hour door to door including all the walking. I will probably look into a bike for at least that first 15 min walk. Alternatively I can take a bus outside my flat that takes me directly to the station where I get the H or C train. As I was commuting with a colleague the first few days I didn’t try that…but I may.

The trip home is the same in reverse. I am proud to say I did it alone both times; although, the first day was a little harrowing as I had no smart phone, no train timetables or no map. I missed two busses just leaving my office by waiting in the wrong spot, delaying me by 45 min!! but after that it went quite smoothly. Friday’s commute was easy.

Oh, I also noticed the following sign on my bus ride. No popsicles? No hot dogs? No drinks? 

\

And my fellow Bostonites (and yes I include Cambridge and Somerville in there) might be happy to know they have this on all the trains. I picked one up and pretended I could read it so people might think I knew what I was doing

More minutiae about our flat

For my first official post I thought I would fill in a few other comments about our flat that Collin may have missed. He has mentioned a few of the funkier aspects of our flat which we have to get used to. I will record a few of the things Danes do well.

• Our first night coming back into the flat was a bit of an experience as the foyer and hallway were pitch black, and we couldn't figure out how to turn lights on, or why no lights were on in the first place. After a harrowing trip up three flights of stairs in the dark, many fumblings with the key at our door, and eventually using the cell phone as a flashlight we finally made our way back into our flat. The next day, in what passes as daylight here, we examined the hallway more closely and noticed every floor had what looks like a doorbell on it, but that actually turns on a light which then shuts off eventually on its own. Very energy efficient. And very effective. Our subsequent trips back at night were much smoother…and how smart to not just have a hallway light that is always on.

• Before coming here I was resigned to the fact that our shower would have no water pressure and intermittent hot water. I was completely wrong. Other than the small darkness of the shower – due to a heavy, dark shower curtain that is fashioned well within the bathtub – the water is HOT with fantastic pressure. And not only that, but with the way you turn the water on and off, you only need to set the temperature once. Now every time we use the shower it is the exact same temperature. My only complaint is the ultra-hard water is wreaking havoc on my hair. I finally purchased a hair dryer which I thought would help me smooth out this dry tough mess, but sadly it does not. I will have to search around for better shampoos and conditioners, I suppose.

• Another positive note related to the bathroom…I don’t know if it is actually heated or if it is due to geniusly placed pipes carrying hot water, but our tiled bathroom floor is consistently warmer than the rest of the floors in the flat. There is no gauge for adjusting the heat, but it is quite a nice treat each morning to walk in there and feel the warm floor. I could get used to that!

• This one can be good or bad depending on your style…but it is a new experience for us. Danish bed linens (at least in this flat) looks something like this. 

There is no fitted sheet. The bottom sheet is flat and, instead of being tucked into the mattress, it is just tucked into the thin (1 inch) mattress that sits on top of the actual mattress. This means if you move around in your sleep a lot, it often comes undone. Then on top of that there is no top sheet. Instead there are two thin duvets with duvet covers. This is the part that has me and Collin in disagreement. Each duvet is roughly twin-sized, and they lay side by side. I love it because it means we each have our own, so he can wrap his up and tug it as much as he wants and it doesn't affect mine. He does not love it because he wraps his up and tugs it a lot and because it doesn't get tucked in like a sheet it does not stay in one place. On top of the two duvets is a comforter which goes over the whole bed just like one in the US. Overall, other than the bottom sheet not being fitted, I like the setup. Luckily by the time summer and warmer temperatures roll around we will be in an apartment with our own bed and linens, and can use all the fitted and top sheets we want. I do miss my pillow!

Pizza?

It was an approximation of pizza. Good intentions.

After I got home, I realized that I have no baking sheets in the apartment. I had to cook it in a casserole dish.  It probably didn't really matter as the crust was pretty weird. Much more flaky than you'd expect for a pizza dough. This could be a Danish problem or it could be a Collin problem

I'd probably describe it as a deep dish, um, something. Not really a pizza. It was tasty, just not a pizza.

Exotic Flushing

At this risk of taking this blog in a blue direction, what is the difference between these two buttons?

From, er, experimentation, they don't seem to do anything differently. I have my guess - based on the half / full pictograms - on what they *might* be for. Any ideas?

Day 18 - "Flat" panoramas of my "Flat"

That felt a bit palindromic, no?

So, for $0.99 (5.60 DKK) I purchased a 360 degree panoramic pic app for the iPhone. It's not too bad. My shaky caffeinated hands were not the best for it, but it gives you a decent idea of our apartment / flat. Click each pic to expand.

Living Room

Extra Bedroom / Office

Kitchen

Bathroom

Bedroom

These are super wide, so it might be a decent idea to save them to your computer and then view them full size.

I hope to have some of the hall and exterior shortly. Perhaps a movie tour!

It's another gray day here, which will be another theme. Not rainy, more spitty / misty. I can feel the rickets setting in already. Or is that scurvy? I can never remember. Grog stops one, sunlight the other.

I went out and shot a couple pictures around the neighborhood. There are these weird trees that line the streets and walkways all over Frederiksberg. I think that they're really cool.

It's almost as if they cut them back until a burl develops and then let shoots grow a bit from the burl. It will be interesting to see what they look like with leaves. In combination with the constant gray sky, they make everything look like I'm in some sort of creepy fairy tale. It's similar to a Tim Burton set, sans Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp.

Cycling is huge here - Emily and I need to buy bikes immediately.

Very few of these bikes are locked. Bike theft is supposedly a problem here. With so many cheap, unlocked bikes, I can't imagine there's much money in it. Mr. Wigtil would be happy that I used supply and demand in this blog. I should draw the curves.

Good news for when Charlie arrives.

Our local dyrehandel carries "Science Plan". We'll see if they have his particular type.



I'm going to attempt to make pizza tonight from a mix that I bought at the store. Last night I tried to make rice but got the proportions all wrong. Dry ingredient amounts seem to be written in weight mass, not volume, so I had to guess. My rice to water ratio was too high on the water side. This *should* be easier. Good thing I'm a scientist!