Eating out

Many people write food blogs that make your mouth water and take beautiful pictures, but this entry won't be like that.  Sorry.

We have been here for over three months and today was the first time we ate in a restaurant.  When people learn we are vegetarians they recommend Riz Raz, which is also recommended by several guide books.  Maybe this is why the wait staff greeted everybody in English.  It may be a tourist trap or a less than authentic Danish experience, but it had a fantastic buffet with fresh falafel and hummus, about ten salads, some hot pasta dishes, and a selection of pestos.  By most standards in Denmark it was inexpensive, which means less than $20 a person, but tap water costs 18 dkk (>$3) a liter, which was a surprise to me.  It was a treat and now I have something to write about for my Danish assignment, which is a presentation on, "What I did last weekend."

The restaurant was a bit off the beaten path near this very European street.

Eggs

Eggs do not appear to be sold in a standard quantity (sorry I am missing the ten-egg carton).  Egg sizes may be a bit random, which is why the label on the 15-egg carton shows that there are two sizes inside.  There is a chart inside the carton with the approximate size and weight of different eggs.

Very large (XL) - >73g
Large (L) - 63-73g
Medium (M) - 53-63g
Small (S) - <53g 

Most recipes list ingredients (e.g., flour, sugar) by weight and not volume so it wouldn't be a problem to weigh the eggs, too.

Field trip follow-up

A little belated, but here is a brief summary of Robin' field trip.

Despite reservations, Robin said the trip was pretty nice.  They did many games, mostly consisting of running around and tagging.  There was hanging around in the cabin chatting while the girls did make-up for each other and the boys barged in, causing the girls to shriek.  Robin would take out one of her books and read a passage that people found boring, which made everyone quiet (but annoyed).  It was a clear night, which was good for a hike under the stars.  The next day was more of the same.

No one got much sleep, but the food was tasty and the company was pleasant.

Legos

In the grocery store

More grocery store Legos

 I procrastinated over this post because I couldn't figure out how to spin it.  In the land where Lego was invented I went searching for something unusual or clever, but found only things that exist in the US.  It is true that Legos are sold along with the candy at the checkout line and even the grocery store has a decent selection.

In the toy store

I thought the toy store would have kits that were not sold in the US, but with writing entirely in English I knew this wasn't true.  I was excited to see a postman kit (not mailman), but it is already sold on websites back home.

We haven't visited Legoland yet (we'll wait for better weather), so I'll have to let you know if it is different from Legoland, California.  Will there be the international symbol of need, as seen in California and recently in New Zealand?

Christmas, part one

Christmas in Denmark may not be like the consumer frenzy in the US, but it is still a significant event based on the fact that the stores are filled with Christmas paraphernalia, but it is more endearing paraphernalia.

One difference is the variety of advent calendars.  There are the standard Christmas tree pictures, but there are also candy-filled calendars with pictures of Mickey Mouse, recent movie characters, and football/soccer logos.

I like the idea of having a candle that burns a little every day until Christmas.


I haven't quite figured out the stocking calendar.  Maybe a little something goes in each day until Christmas, when it is completely full and waiting to be emptied.  But does the kid have to wait and not peek for more than three weeks?  That seems unrealistic.

Tivoli, by Arlo

So at Tivoli it was Halloween.  There were more pumpkins than you thought there would be in all of Denmark.  There were these humongous loop-the-loop rides.  My favorite one was the dragon one, but I didn't go on any rides.  They are mostly for older kids.  There were more stores than rides.  There were more stores than anything, probably.  I went into most of them.  We saw this lollipop that was taller than my head and wider than two of my heads, also.  We also saw the biggest pumpkin in all of Denmark, but it wasn't that big but it weighed 260.9 kg.  There were lots of volunteers dressed up, mostly as witches.  Some of them were people from stories.  The food was basically all candy and lollipops.  We watched this weird vampire show.  It was basically these people dancing and the vampire was trying to get them, but it was mostly all dancing, but in a weird way.

This is what I got as a souvenir.  I chose it because everyone thought it was a really cool shirt and I thought so, too.  It lasts longer than a lollipop.

Efterårsferie, or fall break

The holiday got off to a great a start when David and Arlo went to Copenhagen for Culture Night.  Every train station had entertainment, museums were open and had special activities, and there was entertainment in the streets.

The next day Robin headed to Århus (to become Aarhus on 1/1/11) to visit Ruby, ARoS, and ride through the forest to Risskov.

This side is the bishop.

While she was away we enjoyed the King for a Day/Konge for en Dag activities, including minting a replica of a coin made in Roskilde in the 12th century.

This side is the king.

We also tried a new kind of tug-of-war, which uses a small rope and each player tries to pick up a bone (stick) just out of reach.

All week long there are activities sponsored by the city.  We spent a couple hours at the table tennis club, which is harder than it looks, especially using the automatic server.

Up next, another visit to Old Lejre (see birthday celebration) and Halloween at Tivoli, which closes this weekend!?!

Weather

When I return to the California I promise not to call people in Ohio or New York and ask about the weather.  If they want to share how much colder or darker it is than LA, that is up to them.  If I want to see if it is dark and cold/rainy/snowy I can look it up online.

If you want to check the weather in Denmark you can go to the wunderground weather site and type in the name of a city.  It will give you a small satellite shot of the area, the current conditions, five-day weather forecast, and, if you scroll down, sunrise and sunset information.  I am trying not to look at this last feature for the next four months.

October 18, 2010	Rise:	Set:
Actual Time	7:47 AM CEST	6:04 PM CEST
Civil Twilight	7:10 AM CEST	6:42 PM CEST
Nautical Twilight	6:27 AM CEST	7:24 PM CEST
Astronomical Twilight	5:44 AM CEST	8:07 PM CEST
Moon	4:19 PM CEST	2:36 AM CEST
Length Of Visible Light:	11h 31m
Length of Day	10h 17m Tomorrow will be 4m 27s shorter.

More food

While on a class trip we learned about cheese on a roll.  Instead of a pack of individually wrapped slices, you can buy a roll and as you lift the plastic the next slice is uncovered.

I had forgotten how popular black licorice is in places outside of the US.

Fun day at school

The day before a week-long vacation in California would probably not have involved a lot of academics, but may have involved a movie, pyjamas, and treats.  Life is different here.

A note was sent home saying the younger kids would walk to the park 0.5 km away, start running at 9am and stop running at 10am, rain or shine.  I asked some parents what it really meant, but all I got were funny looks.  They said not to worry, it was okay to walk, if necessary.  So off they went and ran for an hour, returning to the school afterward for water and apples.  The older kids stayed on campus and played games like tug-of-war, stickball, and three-legged races.  No medals, no sugar, no childhood obesity problems here.

Field trip

Our cell phone rang for the first time this morning, which is how I learned our ring tone is a clip from some rock song.  It turns out when the teacher said that we should meet at 10:00 a.m. she really meant, "Be ready to leave at precisely 10:00 a.m."  We hustled to the parking lot to meet the class, which was heading to an overnight team-building trip to a cottage.  I knew this would be a different trip even before the phone call because no permission slip was sent home, no list of forbidden items and consequences, and no list of scheduled activities.  Robin was told she could chew as much gum as she wanted because there were no rules, just fun.  The kids were told to bring rain gear because, "To completely avoid outdoor activities, we can not, even if it pours down," but the forecast is for cool, sunny days.  I hope there will be a follow-up post before too long.

Staying warm

Blankets are set at each table.

Near our house in California the restaurants put outdoor heaters by the tables to keep people warm.  Things are different here.

A basket of blankets by the ice cream shop.

Even the library provides blankets.

Around town

If you had your bicycle on the train how do you get it up the stairs?  Here is the answer.

This is at the Charlottenlund station,

which has a wooded setting for its covered parking.

After running one errand I had to get back home, but I was able to walk by the Charlottenlund Fort

and Charlottenlund Castle

on the way back to the train station.  Maybe I can find some more errands to run next week.

Silk Painting by Robin

This weekend I had a silk painting workshop, which was very
interesting and entertaining. You should have been there. I got to
make all these beautiful handkerchiefs and some scarves. One of them
is an image of some desert plants and the rest are colorful patterns
made with crumpling and salt. I even got to have a nice conversation
with some of the other girls at the workshop! I now have a lot of wall
decorations to make this room look more like mine, and some potential
gifts. We are considering for Arlo's next birthday I will do a
mini-workshop on silk painting.

Fodbold

We've never had a kid in AYSO or Little League, but we are now part of HVB, or Himmelev-Veddelev Boldklub.  Twice a week Arlo and David ride over to a large field for soccer practice where Arlo does drills and David chats or shags balls, depending on the week.  In two weeks they'll move inside and reduce the time to once a week, but for now they brave the wind and rain.  The coaches are supportive, the parents seem low-key, and it has been a positive experience.

Four games were scheduled for Saturday morning and Arlo volunteered to play, although there was some aprehension on Friday night.  We listened to Bill Harley and did a little singing, which might not have helped, but at least it made things a little lighter.  Arlo had a chance to play in goal for half a game and was striker for the others.  A great time was had by all!

Teamwork

Hooray - for the first time since August 9 I was able to swim in a pool.  I thought I was showing up for masters swimming, but the pool was filled with people of all ages and all speeds.  It turned out to be the Danish Long Swim, which is an event arranged by the swimming federation to encourage people to swim.  The point is not for the swimmers to compete or to raise money, but to swim to help the team, or town.  The town with the most participants and the town with the most meters swum collectively each win a prize.  There is a prize for individuals, too, but it certainly was not the emphasis.  The event was free, open to all, and they provided lap counters.

Earlier in the year our town had a health day that included a free 25km bike ride (t-shirt included) and free 5km run (another t-shirt).  These were also non-competitive events put on to encourage people to exercise together for fun.

It seems that a lot of events are done to bring people together.  There is a nationwide anti-bullying campaign that has an entire agenda of events.  The after school program had a parents' event in which we broke into groups and discussed solutions to hypothetical dilemmas.  Each school class goes to a cabin in the woods overnight to bond (younger classes have parents join them, older classes go during the week without parents).  Arlo's class has playgroups with a mix of kids that might not otherwise play together.  An international group has formed to help newcomers and locals mix.  We do feel that people are reaching out to us and making us feel welcome.

Neighborhood

Close to our house are almost a dozen large apartment buildings, which may be empty because I see only a few people and I don't hear any noise from the residents.  At the base of each building facing the street is some sort of business.  There is a vet's office, an electrical installation office, hairdresser, foot clinic, and a couple small ones I haven't investigated.