Israel, Day 1, 22 Dec.

For the first time in ten years there are non-stop flights between Denmark and Israel.  We booked our flight almost four weeks before our departure and started planning other parts of our trip.  It turns out other people plan further ahead because many of the places we checked were booked.  After talking with friends who have spent time in Israel we decided to sign up for out first tour.  It was a big step, but it made sense since the kids hate when we get lost (not really lost, just not the most direct route) and we had a long list of things to see.  Then the next hitch - we had accidentally signed up for the Christian tour.  It is hard to figure out how to say this without sounding anti-Christian, but we had imagined a different experience for the trip.  The company was able to find a trip that was geared toward families with b'nai mitzvah-aged kids that almost fit our schedule, which seemed like a good match.

There had been incredible storms that shut many European airports, but there was no snow the day of our departure.  It was -15C as we waited for the bus to the train station, but we knew it would be +15C when we landed, which warmed us a bit.  All was on schedule until we were just outside of the main Copenhagen station, when the train came to a stop.  "Just a ten-minute delay," the engineer said.  And then another ten.  After one hour we were on our way, but that had significantly cut into the three-hour window we were told we needed at the airport.  Everyone stayed calm (not just our family, everyone on the train was calm - no shouting, no swearing, no complaining) and we eventually reached the main station.  We found the right train, only to be told to get on a different train.  A little panic set in arriving at the airport with only ninety minutes before our flight, but we were smart enough to ask what the sign in Danish said (check in electronically before standing in this line), there was no wait at security, and when Arlo's bag was randomly selected for inspection it took only a couple of minutes.  Three hours after leaving the house we were at our gate.

Security in Israel was as expected.  There were guards watching as we walked off the jetway and there were long lines at customs.  Along with the standard questions we were asked David's dad's first name (he uses it only as an initial).  We were in!

We found the taxi (our driver spoke English, Hebrew, Arabic, and his native Russian) and headed to Jerusalem.  We had forgotten about traffic jams, honking, and other aspects of big city life, but we safe and sound and ready for adventure.

Our first adventure was the grocery store, at which we had to open our bags for inspection for the security guard.  We were lucky that food is easy to understand because we were illiterate again.  The cashier did not seem to understand English but the people behind us did (a couple from Irvine, CA - if we had spent more time I am confident we would have found mutual friends) and we were set.  We were expected to do our own bagging, but the bags were provided.

Hotel rooms are small (two twin beds pushed together, but adjoining rooms are available) and each room had a mezuzah.  There was a Shabbat elevator that went from the lobby to the top floor and then stopped at every floor so you could get on and off without pressing a button.  There was also a synagogue in each hotel so people could perform their daily prayers.  In order to serve the Orthodox (not ultra-Orthodox) community they observed mechitzah, the separation of men and women.

The day ended with flipping through the television stations (almost as many English stations as Hebrew) and enjoying fresh pita and hummus.  Tomorrow we would explore on our own before the others arrived from the U.S.

Cashiers

Because people bag their own groceries the cashiers can sit on comfortable chairs.  The area by the scanner lifts up to reveal the cash drawer.  People who are using a credit card can use the machine right by the cashier, but there is also one at the end of the belt where people stand to bag groceries.

See the metal bar by the cashier's elbow?  It moves in case one person has bought many items or is a slow bagger.  The cashier moves the bar to the other side of the belt and slides things down the other side.  I have not seen any major back ups, but I don't usually shop at peak hours.

a different view (lukket means closed)

Godt nytår! from David

Having spent over a week in Israel where we were happy not to hear any explosions or gunshots, we returned on New Year's Eve to Denmark.  We had been warned that Danes take New Year's very seriously, first listening to the Queen's annual address, and then enjoying a mix of drinking and personal fireworks shows (hmm... is that a good combination???)  Our other clue had been the circular we received listing all the fireworks we could buy.  You can see the website to get a sense, but the packages run from around $20 to $200 containing hundreds of fireworks, from small personal items to rockets that would look typical of a small-town fireworks display on the Fourth of July in the US.  

Anyway, our plane from Israel landed around 9:30 pm local time, and I was pleased not to see any fireworks from the plane window.  We went through customs and baggage claim to catch our train home.  We had to take one train to Copenhagen's central station and then another from there to Roskilde.  Our first real sign of the events was around 10:30 pm in the central train station.  We saw loud groups of revelers in the station.  We had to wait about 30 minutes for the next train, and went out into the streets where we could see fireworks in the city near the station.  The sight lines were not so great, and the weather was cold for us having just returned from terrific (read: warm and mostly sunny) weather in Israel, so we went back into the station to wait.  On our train ride we could see some fireworks out the window here and there, which seemed typical of the view you might have expected in a remote site in the US on a train where there might be a few different city displays around the 4th of July.  We caught the bus back to our home around 15 minutes before the New Year, and could hear fireworks close to our house, but just a bit here and there.  Normally we celebrate New Year's with a party theme "It's midnight somewhere" and mark the occasion at a local time that is anywhere from 4 to 8 pm, but here we were up at the right local time for the main event.  We opened up the curtains (but not the windows) and found that we could see some fireworks in almost any direction we looked being launched right here in our neighborhood.  As we approached midnight, the intensity was as impressive as any fireworks I have seen, both in variety, color, and complexity, and particularly in quantity.  We are all familiar with keeping up with the Jones' as a phenomenon, for subtle things like new cars, fancy house ornamentation, or landscaping, but this is much more direct, akin to winter holiday lighting displays in some neighborhoods.  The fireworks came in many forms from many directions.  I was happy to be inside and to know that the house and the ground all around was covered in a snow and ice.  In this respect, lighting fireworks in winter makes much more sense than in midst of hot dry summer...  The displays were tapering off, but still going when we turned in close to 1 am.  In the morning Judy had a chance capture the typical remains mounted in the snow banks between our sidewalks and bicycle lanes.  

our neighbor's driveway, which looks like many others in the neighborhood

As I finish our description of this event, I wanted to see what the Queen's message was to the people of Denmark as we were en route when she spoke.  I found this nice article giving a less personal but effective account of the New Year's Eve celebration.  It conveys the scene well, although I will note that we did not witness any topless revelers... remember we were cold outside in our coats.  According to the article, the queen  

warned of "a crisis of values" with the advancement of technology and accelerated pace of modern life, and urged listeners to show more solidarity and mutual trust in the new year.

I'm not sure how much the queen's message influences politics or policy, but I hope that plastic solar cell technology is not viewed as contributing to a "crisis of values" here in Denmark!  Another English news source, the Copenhagen Post has this coverage of the Queen's speech, with substantive quotations translated into English.

Solstice

from the weather page

Hurray - the days will start getting longer now, but the sun isn't melting the snow and the city is running out of ice for the bike paths.  It has been challenging, but our bike handling skills are improving.

The bike path is in the center with the plow tracks, to the right is the sidewalk, which some cyclists have started using because they are in better shape than the paths.

Although today was the darkest day, the sun was shining on the white snow and people seemed cheery as they did their shopping.

Do you see the clothing in the lower left corner of the photo?  The stores have their clothing out all the time and when it rains or snows they put little plastic covers over it.  I understand that, but people stand around smoking and looking at clothing, which strikes me as bad for business.

Candy

Thanks to the generosity of a dinner guest (who didn't even make it to dinner - have I mentioned we have had a lot of snowstorms?), we were all set to make candy.

before

At this time of year there are logs of marzipan of different colors and many kinds of nougat for sale, along with chocolate and decorations.  We used recipes from Odense, the marzipan company, but they were more of assembly instructions.

during

We did not have decorations, but the results still looked good and tasted fantastic.  R. knows what she wants to do for her next party.

after

Field trip

All schools must be close to bus stops or train stations because I see the kids use them and have yet to see a school bus.  The most amazing group of kids (and teachers) I saw were sitting outside in the sub-freezing weather having their picnic lunch.

Today R. and A.'s entire school walked to the cathedral for a Christmas event (not a service, I was told many times) and filled almost all the seats.  Despite that, it was fairly chilly inside because they didn't build it with heating vents, R. pointed out.  A. said they had humongous bells that rang for a long time and were so loud that you could barely hear anybody singing.  They sang in Danish, of course (although the non-religious songs all seem to be in English).  Afterward they went out the gate that had been unveiled by the queen.

I am interested in learning more about the priest's collar.

Fun and games

A. has been a fan of tiddly winks and soccer/football and recently found an entertaining combination called Flick Ball (instead of football).  According to this link it first came out about 45 years ago by Alga, a Swedish toy company.

The little white disk is the soccer ball to be used like a tiddly wink with the feet of the players (held in the hand of the child)