kirkegård

Not far from us there is a beautiful cemetery , which we explored a bit this weekend.  Each gravesite is separated from the next with a low hedge.  The ones pictured here are on the large size, but even the smaller sites have the same well-manicured hedge.

a cemetery like Roskilde's

Scattered throughout the cemetery are lovely fountains with watering cans.

The hearses here, like some other countries, have windows to allow everyone to see the coffin.

Many headstones have the phrase, "Tak for alt," which literally means, "Thanks for everything," but is generally held to a greater meaning to express deep gratitude.  I am unclear whether it is gratitude from or toward the deceased.

Danish haircut

In California a lot of boys in Arlo's class had hair on the long side, but life is different here!

before

after

Fire

No one was in any danger, but a fire in the school's fuse box meant no classes for two days.  A kid's dream?

The first day off we had a slow morning and then rode out to Risø to have lunch with David.  The kids were excited to eat out for the first time, even if it was just the canteen.  The highlight was having free hot chocolate from the coffee machine, one of many all over campus.  Less exciting was our Danish class afterward.

The ride to and from work is along a big road, but of course there is a fantastic bike lane and there are great views of the fjord and the experiments being conducted by the wind sector.

The second day we went into Copenhagen to check out the Experimentarium.  What a super place!  Everything had English information, everything was hands-on, and there was never a line for anything.  By the time the field trips had left it felt like we were sharing the museum with just a handful of other people.  It was a little pricey, even with Robin's new international student id card, but we had a great visit.

Using a viewer that reverses left and right

Trying to pedal without breaking a bone

I was pleased that we didn't get lost, but it is pretty easy to get around.  At the bus station there are not only schedules and a list of stops, but there is also a real-time listing of which bus is approaching next and when it will be there.  Inside the bus a display lists the bus route, the destination, and the next stop.  I don't know where we'll go, but now I have the confidence to try another adventure.

Vowels

Want a good laugh?  There are nine vowels in the Danish alphabet, but to my ear there are about five sounds.  Or maybe I can hear all of them, but I certainly can't say them.  If you want to try for yourself, you can go to this website, change it from Heather speaking American English to Mette speaking Danish, and type in the vowels.  I find if I put them in with a period after each one she speaks more slowly.  Let me know how you do.
a.
e.
i.
o.
u.
y.
å.
æ.
ø.

Trends

It is popular to wear Converse All-Stars and socks with marks on the side (not sure what they are called) and your pants tucked in.  Boys and girls do this, although it seems to be more popular with boys at the moment.

It seems that everyone wears scarves, from tweens to adults.  It is mostly women, but sometimes I see men wearing them, too.

This is just one type of scarf worn in one style.  There is tremendous variety.

Forest by Robin

On Sunday we visited this really cool forest. At first it was not very
fun because we just walked around, and even accidentally went off on a
path to nowhere. Then, we found this great trail of logs, rock and
rope. The point was obviously to stay off the dirt. We weren't able
to, but it was fun to try. We also saw this cool dragonfly on our way
to the shore of the fjord, which also was beautiful. I love the way
that light reflects off the ripples. It makes them look like they've
been touched up on the computer. 

I can now create original sentences in Danish, like "Jan og Lise lejer. Jan spiller fodbold. Lise lejer med dukkehuset."  This means "Jan and Lise play. Jan plays soccer. Lise plays with a dollhouse."

Rundetaarn

With a little extra time in Copenhagen we took the good advice of a local who said the 1642 Round Tower was a child-friendly place.  Spot on!  It turns out history can be interesting if you get to choose what to read and ignore the other bits.  Unusual displays included a bomb from the 1807 British attack and a book it damaged, the privy next to the library (maybe used by H.C. Andersen?), and a wonderful view from the top next to the observatory influenced by Tycho Brahe.

You may be able to see the bridge to Sweden in the background.