Back to Odense, and packing...

Brief note here - we are back in Odense, and are packing up to return home. Our trip to France was spectacular and wonderful. So much to tell and show, but no time for now. We spent time in Paris, the Loire, The Dordogne, the Languedoc-Rousillon, and Barcelona (1 night). We had a great time, and saw some incredible things. The range of sites was from the modern (Gaudi buildings in Barcelona) to the ancient (cave etchings and paintings in the Dordogne). We saw Hill top fortesses (Cathar castles) and luxurious country castles (the Loire). We had great guides - thanks Ama and Badje - and had a great time. Oh, and Paris is really great.

See you all soon!

Loose Ends File: The week of wrap-ups

This week has been one of wrap - ups. True, we do not get home until December, but we are off to France tomorrow until December, so there we have been busy. I finished Route 6 (this time I went East), and the most interesting thing I saw was cabbage in the field. Note - wash your cabbage.

Today it was cold this morning. It actually froze. I suspected this when I saw salt down on the bike path, and then had proof of it by the Odense River:

From loose ends

It made it feel a bit more like home to actually have a bite to the air. I also rode for a bit near this guy:

From loose ends

Wowee... At first glance he looks normal enough. But the leather holster / fanny pack thing (left arrow) is odd, and the combat boots are odder still. Not sure what else to say, except that cyclists come in all types.

Hank and I went to another professional soccer game. OB won 2 - 0, with two pretty nice goals. One a header off a cross, and the other a long range shot that left the golaie flat footed. Fun to see a victory. Saturday we went ice skating, which was a trip. it was super crowded, with a mix of crazy teenagers playing tag and little kids sprawled out on the ground. We had fun though.

What else - I think that is about it. Here is an album of the wrap up photos. We will be in France, and hopefully blog a little from there. It will be internet dependent though.

loose ends

Floor cleaner, Licorice and Fish

The Danes have a near obsession with Licorice. The stuff is everywhere, and there are more varieties than one can shake a stick at. They often say that the saltier the licorice, the better. And sure enough, one can buy salty licorice. But the plain salty variety is actually considered mild. There is another version that is even saltier. But it is nt quite salty either. Bev's first comment was that it tasted like Comet.

I thought "no way", so we asked the lab tech at Bev's work (where they do a lot of Chemistry), and sure enough, it is Ammonia Chloride they put on that, which is floor cleaner. In Danish it is called Salmiak. Oh, and did I mention it is awful?

Fast forward to Norway, and Bev's trip to Tromso. One of the things she ate there was lutefiske. Apparently they prepare it by first salting cod, and then soaking it in Floor Cleaner! After that they rinse rinse rinse. The result is somewhat like fish jelly, apparently. And to prepare it at home, you buy floor cleaner and follow the lutefiske directions on the bottle (instead of the floor cleaning directions).

All this begs the question, what is it with Scandinavians and floor cleaner?

Loose Ends File: The Horse Butcher

Near us on Skibhusvej (our street) there is a butcher. Upon our arrival, we were warned by our housemate nt to shop there because of high bacteria count problems with it. Ok, no problem, as there is another shop just up the street. And I thought nothing more of it.

Until recently, we had dinner with an American couple who is also visiting. They are on their second tour in Denmark, and during their first lived in this area of Odense. The woman asked if we went to the scary horse butcher. Huh? She meant the butcher just down the street. So I made a closer inspection, and something came into focus:

From loose ends

This is the side of a building I have walked by every day for the last 4 months. In red across the top it reads "Horse Meat." Beneath this is a graffiti artist's interpretation of horse meat. Here is a case where graffiti IS commentary and perhaps does pass as art...

Loose Ends File: Beer

Time to begin tying up loos ends. In the first of the loose end series, I will cover the subject of beer. Now I do not drink a lot of beer, but I am picky about that which I do drink. And as it is part of the culinary fabric of a country I think a brief discussion of Danish beer culture was necessary.

Denmark has long been known as the land of Carlsberg beer. And if you like fairly light, mild tasting lagers, then you will enjoy Denmark's beer. And more than Carlsberg is available, as there is also Tuborg and Albani beer if you are into big brewery beer. And this is what they drink here, 95% of the time. They even have a beer spigot on the soda fountain in the zoo cafeteria. Adults drink the stuff like we drink soda. I do not know how they do it - beer at 9 am is a bit much.

beer

Fortunately for me, there is a growing small brewery culture here too. The largest contribution is actually not Danish, but belgian beer. Most stores, including the discount supermarkets have several types of Belgian beer. And this is a good thing, because Belgian beer is good. In addition beers from select countries around Europe are available. Some English beers (New Castle and Guiness), US beers (Sam Adams), and France's superb 1664 (brewed by Krononberg). Additionally, the local microbrews are quite good. Several on the Island of Fyn have won awards, and I have passed through the host towns on some of my bike rides. And that is just supermarket fare.

There are beer and wine stores around, that have an eve broader selection than the supermarket. A broad array of Danish, Belgian, and English beers are available. Some Maine beer even shows up (the Allagash craft beers - weighing in at $30 per bottle). With an eye toward beer exploration, I have tried many, and some of the favorites are shown in the photo album above.

So there verdict: The Danish beer scene has something for everyone. Supermarkets have an impressive variety, so it is easy to find. Unfrotunately, I would say the Danes take their beer drinking a little too far. My far from reality based Danish data source says that Danes drink more than any other culture in Europe. Really? More than Germany, Finland or Russia? Who knows, not me.

Finishing route 6.

I have managed to ride just about every bike route on Fyn. One of the main holes to be filled was last week, when I completed my ill-fated trip from Middlefart to Odense. That original trip ended prematurely with a flat tire in the rain. Well, last week I had better luck, and managed to complete the journey.

Route 6 west

It was another beautiful fall day here, though a bit cold. I rode through hills and farm country, seeing the usual sights of pastoral Fyn. Farms, small woods, estates, and windmills. Lovely, and provided a sense of closure for my riding here on Fyn. In a week we head to France for an extended trip, and then we pack up here and head home. Seems that our trip is almost over. In the time left, we'll wrap up loose ends, and say goodbye. Oh, and we'll go see France.

An historic event...

I have to say something about how we passed this last Tuesday. It is a very strange thing indeed to be in a foreign country during a US election. The weirdest thing is the time difference. In the morning, we wanted news of the election. But at 1 am EST the polls are all closed. At lunch, the polls were just opening. At dinner, it was only noontime in the east, and by bedtime, the polls were still open everywhere. So even though it was Tuesday, Nov 4, it was not really election day.

But that was really ok because Nov 4 is also Hank's birthday.

Overnight we got up twice - at 1 am (no news at all) and then at 6am we were up for good, and just in time for The acceptance speech. Wow. Although the first half we could not hear due to the German translator, we finally found a channel broadcasting it undubbed. Thus began a weird day. We briefly, via ichat, joined my parents in California. I chatted with my sister. We had champagne and cake at 11 am with the research group Bev is a part of. We learned that 85% of the Danish population would have voted Obama. People were relieved, and happy.

Mamma's

In celebration of Hank's birthday, we decided to go out to dinner. Our previous dining experiences in Odense have been at Jensen's Boefhus, which is approximately equal to applebees. In other words, it is not good. We had also failed in other places at Italian restaurants. Our hope was to eat at one of the local "Odense cuisine" restaurants, with the top choice being a place called Restaurant Carlsund. This place is famous for its omelette that is all you can eat and heaped with bacon. Unfortunately, they were full.

So we tried a few other places, with no luck, as they were a bit more formal and required reservations. Apparently getting a table in Odense is hard. Our last effort was to try the only Italian run Italian restaurant in Odense, called Mamma's. Success. We entered into the typical Italian garden environment complete with Faux trellises and red checked table cloths. Hmm, what to expect? Olive garden or something better?

Well, we got something better. Bev and I split a salad, and then moved on to a pasta dish (Bev) and a risotta (me). The kids both had pizza. The pizza was ok - no sauce to judge because the kids do not like it, and the cheese more interesting than usual. Perhaps a four cheese blend. Bev's tomato based dish was quite good, despite looking as if it would be bland tomato sauce. It had a little spice and some nice flavors. My risotto was great, although it was quite rich. Yum all around.

And then came dessert. Ever since we lived in DC, Bev and I have loved tiramisu. That city had an Italian dessert place called Dolce Finale, which had an incredible tiramiu. It was hard to get a table, but well worth it. We saw tiramisu on the menu and had to try it. We were not dissapointed. It was excellent, and the best I have had since Dolce Finale. Lots of slightly sweet Marscapone, with espresso soaked cookies. Wow.

So the final verdict? Despite the cheesy "Olive Garden" decor, Mamma's is good. So if you are in the area...

Mammas Pizzaria
Klaregade 4
DK-5000 Odense C
Tel. +45 66145540

Halloween...

...wasn't. They do not really have it here. Katie went to a birthday party in the evening, and they went on a walk to the "scary" graveyard. But that is it. few, if any pumpkins, and trick or treating is not on. That last one is good, b/c I did not eat 5 pounds of candy this year. The worst part? It made the kids homesick to a greater degree than I had anticipated. I guess we al like our traditions, and Halloween is one.

Fall on Fyn

Fall is here in a big way on fyn, and since our return from Sweden, we have led a normal day to life. It is a time of shortening days, changing calendars, and changing leaves. School schedules even changed on a small scale - the times for the different lessons have changed, as has Katie's gym day. But aside from these minor changes, and the exhilaration of riding our bikes at night, not much is different.

I am still riding my bike, though perhaps not as much due to less light and seemingly more to do. I have had a few bigger days out recently, and have been treated to some lovely fall sights. The leaves really are changing to all colors from yellow to brown. The light casts long shadows, even at noon, which leaves in the feeling of perpetual evening. Is it twilight? Nope, it is just lunch time.

falling on Fyn

My travels took me to Assens, a largish town on the SW coast of Fyn. It was a lovely ride, and took me past several castles, as well as the largest estate on Fyn (Wedellsborg). Other than its side, Wedellsborg is one of the 5 farms, a cooperative of large farming estates that markets its products nationally in Denmark. Other sights of interest were the castles of Brahneborg and Kenderup (the latter has a car museum in it), and the highest hills on Fyn (131 m) at Froebjerg.

I also headed southeast toward Gudme. That town itself is of no interest, but the country around there is beautiful. The pastoral beauty of Fyn is everpresent, but there are minor changes. The corn is now mostly in, and the harvest of the sugar beets has begun. The latter I noticed quite by accident. What I though was a pile of rocks next to a field turned out to be sugar beets (a thoroughly ugly tuber). The wealthy are also beginning to congregate at the large estates to go pheasant hunting, and I passed several such parties on my tour. Of particular note was the tour group at an estate for the sole purpose of shooting birds.

What else? hmm, the manure collection ponds are being covered, which is a real improvement in terms of smell. I have nearly crashed several times while riding by farms. Pig farms seem to be the worst offenders. So life goes on. Halloween today has come and will go, without celebration. They seem to skip that, and go right to Christmas. In fact, the Christmas shwag has already hit the shelves. I should have suspected this would happen when the Yule beer showed up a few weeks ago, but it still takes me by surprise. Even by the craven super consumer standards mid October is early for Christmas ornaments!

Gotland and Visby

The highlight of our Sweden trip was a trip out to the Island of Gotland. Situated out in the middle of the Baltic Sea, Gotland has been inhabited since the stone age. Geologically it is a large limestone block and the limestone is largely reponsible for the landscape. The island's capitol city is Visby, a small city whose old town is a world heritage site. The old town is encircled by a 1000 year old wall that still has its towers in tact. It is a marvelous and beautiful place.

To reach Gotland there is a 3 hour ferry ride, that arrives at midnight. we had fortunately booked a hotel in advance, so there was no mad search for one at so late a time. The next day we set out on foot to explore Visby. Aside from being a very important Hanseatic port, Visby has been an important port on the Island since the time of the vikings (middle ages). We followed two walking tours to see the sites, and ate well to have a very nice day.

visby

In the evening we ate at an "English" pub which was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It is run by an Englishman and an Australian, who are both married to Swedish women from Gotland. Additionally, all of the workers are ex-pat english speakers (another Aussie and an Irishman) who have Gottish girlfriends. Apparently the anglo-swedish connection is strong! But the place had good food, and also good beer, so there was much to enjoy.

The following day, we awoke to rain. Well, when your plan is to drive around the island of Gotland and do wlks through nature preserves and historic sites, rain is a downer. So we took a slow morning and then went to the Gotland museum. This is a remarkable museum detailing the many stages of human occupation of the island. It starts with stone age (and later) markers left across the island. Some of these are quite intricate and big (up to 2 m). It then shows some of the viking "loot' that has been found on the island. Coins from as far away as the eastern Caspian sea have been found in viking stashes. it is quite impressive.

Finally in the afternoon the weather cleared, and we headed north, so an island called Faro just off the tip of Gotland. What a beautiful, nowhere spot. We wandered on back roads until we came to an old fishing camp dating from the 17th century. Then we returned along the coast stopping to play around on sea stacks and also to look for fossils. It was an altogether different taste of Gotland from Visby, but no less interesting.

gotland

Our final day on Gotland was a slightly different repeat of the day before. We headed north, again found ourselves nowhere and near an old fishing camp. It was quite lovely, and remote. Later on we went to a small preserve north of Visby (only by a little) and walked down to the shore. This place had a little of everything, from oceanside fens to Limestone cliffs. There were also 4 old shorelines from the glacial period which included caves that were formed right at the shore. It was a great stop, and a great way to finish Gotland. We headed back to town to catch the ferry back to the mainland. A great time, Gotland, and a place I would recommend to anyone. There is one caveat though - go in the offseason. During the summer the place has got to be overun with tourist, and unless you like crowds, quite unpleasant.

Kalmar

We stopped over in the beautiful city of Kalmar on the southeast swedish coast. The old town (actually the "new" old town is beautiful, and overshadowed by a moated castle. It was an important sea port during the 17th century and played a key role in that centuries' Sweden-Denmark wars. It also has the island of Oland, a world heritage site, just offshore. We did not get a chance to visit that place (no time!).

kalmar

Our day was spent seeing the sights, so this diary will mostly show pictures. We had a nice day, but also a bit slow, as we were in a bit of a holding pattern waiting for the ferry to Gotland. The highlights were an evening stroll through the castle grounds, a morning run, a trip to the museum, and a bit of impromptu natural "art."

Mons Klint

On Saturday October 11 we headed towards the island of Mons in southeastern Denmark. On the very eastern end of the island (and the eastern side of Denmark excluding Bornholm) is a huge, 150+m high lump of chalk which is cut abruptly on one side by the ocean to form a huge white cliff.

MonsKlint

The chalk was initially formed in a large challow sea during the cretaceous period (the time of the dinosaurs). It is possible to find many different types of fossils in it, from shells to the teeth of large predatory marine species (like this). We found a few belamnites and a bunch of shells while we were there.

But there is much more to the area than the cliff and its chalk. Our first stop was Liselund, an old manor estate whose grounds are now a park. We had hoped to spend the night in the castle (sadly it was not to be) so we decided to stop by. What we found was a very nice park. A park so nice we thought we were in a fairy tale. Poking around the grounds we eventually found a path through the forest to the beach, which we hit at the start of twilight. Wow, beautiful.

After Liselund, we still had to find a place to stay, and did so finally finding a pension bed and breakfast that had two rooms for us. We thought it would be nice and empty, but it was the opposite. Without going into detail, the place was dominated by a large multifamily group celebrating a birthday and pretty much taking over the place. Yuck.

Did that spoil our fun? Not a bit. For dinner we visited a dead seasonal town called Klintholms Havn and ate at a sadly bad Italian restaurant. Ugh. It only got better the next day, when we had time to really explore the cliffs and the newly opened GeoCenter. Wow what a place. There are ~750 steps down to the beach. The beach is cobbled, and the smaller cobbles are all silaceous rock chunks (chert) or fossils. The steps down traverse a lovely forest with waterfalls, etc., and to top it off we hit the place early and had it to ourselves. Great day!

Potato week: the overview.

Last week was a national school holiday in Denmark called Potato Week. I think it stems from the traditional timing of the potato harvest, but it seems that no one is picking patatos around here.. Instead, it is the fall break for Danes, and they head abroad to any number of foreign lands. we followed suit, rented a car (Peugeot 308 - nice car), and headed north to Sweden.

sweden (click for more)

But before getting to Sweden, we stopped on the Danish Island of Mon, which is famous for its white chalk cliffs. We ended spending a day and a half there as it is very nice. we explored old castles grounds, the cliffs themselves, and gathered some fossils. In the early afternoon we left for Sweden, and by 3 pm we were headed across the Baltic sea and into a new country.

Our first afternoon was uneventful, and we ended up in the sleepy town of Solvesborg for the night. The hotel (Hotell Edgar) was not super modern, but was nice enough. The owners were a Swedish woman and her Canadian husband. We were about the only guests, and they gave us a lot of tips on places to go and things to see.

Denmark is as small as Sweden is big. And this size was a bit of a shock after traveling around Germany and especially Denmark. Once we realized this, we had to reframe our expectations, and see fewer things. Oh well, we cannot have it all, eh? First we went through the Swedish glass blowing area (miles of mixed coniferous and deciduous forest), stopping by Orrefors. This was fun because I always like to see glass blowing and the countryside was beautiful with the fall colors. It is not so new though (the country) as it reminds me a lot of Maine.

We ended the day in the old city of Kalmar. The next day we toured Kalmar and included a visit to the museum. After the museum we enjoyed the sunny afternoon playing "Andy Goldsworthy" in the city park. That evening we headed north to Oskarshamn to catch the 9:10 ferry to the Island of Gotland. Oskarshamn is dead, but has a restaurant or two, and so we ate dinner while we waited. It also has some swarming birds:



We watched them until they landed. It was wild. Then we boarded the ferry (that's a big ferry) and headed on, arriving at the hotel on Gotland just after midnight. The following 2 and a half days we spent on the beautiful island of Gotland. We toured the ancient city Visby and then spent some time going around the island. At points I had the feeling, "wow, we are nowhere." And then that was that. Back onto the ferry, a night in Oskarshamn, and back to our little place in Denmark. We saw a lot, laughed a lot, and had a great trip.

Enabaerodde, again...

So, there will be little if any posting this week as we are off and away from the house for the "Potato Week" holidays.  I believe they have this in Northern Maine still, but perhaps not anywhere else.  Anyhow, when in Denmark...

This will be a brief post, but I did want to pass along some pictures of Enabaerodde.  You may remember our family trip there in August.  Well, with favorable winds I decided to make it all the way around to the mouth of the Odense Fjord.  A very nice trip, with beautiful scenery.

enabaerodde2

Enjoy.  

Back from Svendborg

Well my time went so quickly I went lickety-splitly
Out to my ol' fifty-five
As I pulled away slowly feelin' so holy
God knows I was feelin' alive.
-- Tom Waits

The other day I decided to take the train to Svenborg and ride my bike home. Svendborg is about 50 km south of Odense, and to get there you have to travel through the Fyn "Alps" and head down to the coast. It is not possible for me to get this far from Odense without training or busing, so I was excited.

As I knew I had a long ride ahead of me, I got an early start, and pulled into Svenborg at 10:20. Heading west out of town I followed route 55 back towards Odense. The start is along the sound between Fyn and the Island of Taasinge, but unfortunately little can be seen from the thoroughfare. Soon enough, the route turned north, and I headed into the hills of southern Fyn.

ol55

What a beautiful area. As I climbed up through fields, forest, and manor houses, the sky slowly cleared. I passed the Manor house Hvidkilde that sits on a lake. A beautiful spot, but unfortunately their front yard now consists of a major 2-lane highway. Another spot of interest was an old farm with a bit of the cobblestone road still in tact. Finally I hit the crest of the "alps, and saw the Egebjerg Mill.

I have now definitively come to the conclusion that the advertised "restored" mills are vastly inferior to those that are not attractions. Last week I found two such "surprise" mills that were perfectly restored, but mentioned no where. The Egebjerg Mill is listed as a great attraction, but is defunct and in need of repair. Same goes for a water wheel that is supposed to have the largest single drop of any mill in Denmark.

Along the crest of the hills is a foot trail that runs all along south Fyn and onto some of the islands. I think in total it is 400 km of trail, but that might be too big a number. Anyhow, for the next several hours I wandered west through the alps, crisscrossing this trail. I chose to abandoned 'ol 55 and take route 79 to Korinth, and then 51 north toward Ringe, before cutting off to Odense. This new route was longer, and allowed me to stay in the hills. It also took me by Skjoldemose Manor House and its beautiful granite barns.

In Korinth is a huge castle, with a very large church attached called Brahetrolleborg Slot. The site was originally a monastery built in the 12th century, and the current building is from the 13th century. It is one of the oldest estates on Fyn, and the church now serves as a parish church. It is also a nice lunch spot.

About 45 minutes later it all went wrong. I had already departed the text (leaving route 51 behind), and had passed the manor of Norskov as planned. But then my trusty map, which had not yet been wrong, suddenly was. There is a new road, and it is not on the map! Uh-oh. On the bonk (out of energy) and thinking poorly, I got turned around in every direction. By happenstance I headed east and ran back into...ol 55. I limped back through Odense and home. A great, but tiring day behind me.

Running with the wind...

My main exploration strategy while we have been here is to choose my ride by looking at the wind.  When we first arrived, it came primarily from the west and south, so I went west and south first (I like to go out into the wind and have a tailwind home).  It switched to the north and east a few weeks ago, so I ventured that direction.  Now the wind has shifted again, so I have revisited some of my previous haunts, but always getting a new take on them.  Three such places are Route to Longeso, Route 65 (toward Faaborg) and Route 35 toward Bogense.

Longeso (click image for more)

Longeso is a beautiful place, and a trip back out there is a nice trip.  I ventured a little further this time, swinging around the lake and finding a woodland chapel in among the trails.  I also found the Odense velodrome.  Details of interest - the forest is full of exotic American conifers.  No wonder it feels like home.  I found a bunch of very cool looking mushrooms.

brobyvaerk (click image for more)

Route 65 took be to the town of Brobyvaerk in the SW of Fyn.  What a beautiful little spot this is.  The church is nice, but even more so is the crossing of the Odense River.  Because there is some drop in the river here, there are water wheel mills.  The town got its name from the local Manor (Brobygaard) and the 17th century weapons factory that was built here.  A side note - I was eating lunch in town when a professional cyclist from Team CSC rode by.  A random occurence, but wild still.  Denmarks "own" team, and I saw one of the half-dozen Danes on it.

otterup (click image for more)

The route to Bogense (35) is mostly done through farmland.  Still, there are some things to see, including a surprise windmill that once ground grain.  No more, this is an outlet for biodiesel.  Later in the day I saw another beautifully restored mill outside the town of Lumby, between Odense and Otterup.  Speaking of which, there is not much in Otterup.  It is a bedroom community for Odense.  

OB Fotbold Kamp

On Sunday the 5th we packed up and joined the crazy hoards at a professional soccer game.  The local team (Odense Boldklub) was playing a team from the Copenhagen suburbs.  Kickoff was 5:30 and we all woke up excited to go.  But outside...torrential downpour.  Well, it was early, so we went about our day hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.  About 3:00 pm we lucked out and the rain stopped and the skies cleared.  Wahoo!

OdenseBoldklub

On the way over, we had to weave our way around people heading to the game.  Farther way there was the odd group on their way, and as we got closer, we had to walk our bikes.  We arrived with 45 minutes to spare.  It is actually a small stadium, so this was plenty of time.  The kids were so excited.  

Pre game, I had to duck out to the concession stand, and when I came back, the kids had soccer balls.  They kick balls - real, good quality soccer balls - into the stands by the dozens.  Katie and Hank both wound up with one, but in the interest of sharing we gave one to the kids of the people we went to the game with.  Smiles all around.  Later on I made a dash to get hotdogs, and then had to slither back through the crowd with 8 hotdogs in tow.  It was a feat, and only 4 or 5 people asked me for a hotdog on the trip back.

Unfortunately, the game did not go well.  They were down 1 - 0 at the half, and then about 5 minutes into the second half an OB player was sent off for misbehavior.  That sparked the team (they played better after that) but it did not help them win, as they got tired in the end.  Still, the quality of soccer was plenty high.  There are players on OB from Poland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.  There are also some from Africa (Cameroon and Nigeria) and Central America (Costa Rica).  It is an international league, and there are some quality players.

Another quirk was the trip home.  We got caught behind the police escort of the opposing fans back to the train station.  Since they won they were happy enough, but slow moving.  And kinda eery following a paddy wagon down a bike path at night.  And there we have it.  We have attended a Euro football match, which is an experience that we will remember for a long time.

The Zoo.

Last weekend we hit the zoo.  Not too much of interest, but there are pictures.  The most entertaining thing was watching the chimps interact.  There was a little one full of P & V giving the older males trouble.

Odense Zoo

A fun afternoon, but in the end, a zoo is a zoo.

The Doldrums...

In taking this trip, we knew we would have good times and bad times living in another society. The last few weeks have been one of those periods of down, a sort of doldrums. The shine of the new place has worn off a bit, and the reality of missing home is a little stronger. We are all missing home a bit, though we are all happy for this experience. So to mark the doldrums, I want to mark some cultural challenges:

• The language is a real challenge.  For Bev and me it is not so much of a problem.  We can exist with a little Danish pretty easily.  And Bev's group works in English, as it has a cast of researchers from many countries of the world.  The kids have it less easy, and are feeling the isolation a bit.  School is toughest for Hank, as he has few English speakers in his grade.  Soccer is toughest for Katie as the other girls on her team do not really know how to bridge the gap.  Katie is intimidated by the language aspect of the team, so it is hard.
• This place is expensive.  Ice cream is $5 per cone.  Going out to dinner is right out - the cheap places are $20 per plate, and the drinks take you to $100 before you know what happened.  Groceries are expensive too.  Danish food prices are 42% above the European average (and the highest in the EU)!  It is in large part due to the taxes they have here.  For your Danish citizen it is acceptable, because the services provided by the state are considerable (free college, a per child allowance (~$4k per kid per year), free medical care, good infrastructure, etc.), but for a visitor, it just hurts.
• Smoking, not football, is the Danish national sport.
• There is a distressing lack of daylight, and it gets less every day.  7 am = dark.  We all have SAD I think.
• The Danes are clearly descended from Vikings.  1) They are intensely competitive, to the point that it has driven Hank's football coach crazy that the team has yet to win a game (duh - they are playing their first year with kids a year older).  He wants to WIN.  It is the same with Katie's coach, who has resorted to recruiting ringers so they can win the league championship.  Football for the fun of it is right out.  2) The playground behavior, especially among boys, is hardly an example of peace in our times.  Give them all swords and sheilds and you'd have a battle royal.  3) There is, I sense, a feeling that the kingdom of Denmark will rise again.  This is behind the refusal of the Euro (see Britain, Great) and the constant reminders that Denmark used to be a vast strong kingdom.  Heck, they even have colonies still (Faroe Islands and Greenland) that want independence but are not granted it.

So there are some challenges.  They in no way reduce the good experiences we are having, but it feels good to put them on paper.  And like any trip where the wind dies, it eventually blows again, and these doldrums will end.

Life and Culture Update

We have been here for a couple months now, and have had some more time to form impressions of the Danish Culture.  What follows are some observations about life and the culture here:

• The latitude is 55 degrees here, and we lose a noticeable amount of light every day. It is darkish at 7 am. Darkish at 7 pm. And you can see it changing daily. Not good for us light lovers.
• A food update: We finally broke down and got "danish" from the local bakery. Yum, that was good. Actually it is the best thing this side of ice cream that we have had here. Shopping quirks continue - the yeast is the wet type, and that has taken some getting used to. We also have the odd failure, that can only be attributable to different ingredients. On the up side, I actually managed good pizza the other day.
  
• There are tanning salons everywhere.
• There is a Danish word that roughly translates as "cozy," that they use to describe many things, including a house's atmosphere.  One aspect of this is soft lighting inside.  So after dark, it is very hard to see anything in this place. Makes cooking a bit of a challenge.

As for reflecting on Culture, it was asked how much American "stuff" we see here in Denmark.  Strictly speaking, the answer is not much, although if we take a broader view of "stuff" there are some more things to say.  The television is full of shows that are from the US and in English.  There is almost no dubbing into Danish.  Instead, it is subtitles.  There are analogs to US institutions.  No, Starbucks is not here, but there is something called Barresso.  Ditto Subway (Sunset Boulevard).  And fast food is a global phenomenon. 

If I take an even broader view, I can say more.  Most view American culture as very consumeristic.  We are very fixated on acquiring more "stuff."  I expected to find Denmark a bit different with respect to this attitude, because it is not "America."  I have been fairly surprised to find that people here are actually quite focused on possessions, and things as status symbols.

A few examples:  The number, variety, and exotic destinations of vacations is a status item for teens in Denmark.  When we asked some 8th graders what to do in Copenhagen, they answered "the shopping is good."  So is this attitude "American stuff?"  I cannot answer that.  But it makes me wonder.  

Almost Nowhere...

Today I left the house early for a train out ride home trip from Middlefart, on the very western tip of Fyn.  I arrived early enough at Middlefart, and even got to look around the waterfront a bit.  it looks a nice town.  

From middlefart

Midlefart lies right on the Little Belt (Lille Baelt), the channel that separates the island of Fyn from the European mainland.  There is a big bridge across, and an estate (as yet unvisited by me).  It has also preserved a fair bit of its oldtown, with nice old houses and inns.

Shortly I headed east back towards Odense.  The first part of this journey is basically, getting out of Middlefart.  Once 10 or so km from town, it turns north and wanders through what I assume is nice country.  I missed it because...

Yep, a flat tire.  Confusion, a lack of tools, and imminent rain took me and I elected to walk back to the nearest train station (just a few kms).  I don't have to tell you that in another 10 minutes time I would have been nowhere with a flat tire, and that would have made for a long day.  As it was, I made the train back to town without incident.  And the bike shop guys told me "just pull the tube out and patch it while the wheel is on the bike [the wheel is bolt on].  That is what we do because the brakes and internal hub gearing make it too hard to take the wheel off each time there is a flat [duh!, why didn't I think of that?]."  Oh well, a bad day averted at least.

Odense

I realize I have not written about the city of Odense itself, or at least not directly. I think it is because we live here, and it seems not so new to me. Or perhaps it is not truely distinctive. Or special. But that is giving Odense a bad shake, as it does have some interesting things to offer.

From Odense

The tourist guides go straight to Hans Christian Anderson and his legacy. Indeed this is where he was born. He did not live here long, however. Nonetheless, there is a big push to use his birthplace as a tourist attraction, and many people do come to the HCA museum. Heck the even named the marathon about him:

From HCA Marathon

But what else is there? Well, Odense is a European city so it has a downtown shopping area, a city hall and a church. It also is a city, so it has a mall and industry. Being near the coast it has a harbor. Sounds like it is kinda plain?

Yes and no. Odense has a lot of open space. A river runs through it forming a natural parkland, and sprinkled throughout the rest of the city are large tracks of open space. Some of it is developed, but other parts are merely forest or open field. Odense is also the center of Fyn, which has turned out to be a really great place. For pastoral vistas it cannot be beat.

Finally, for us it is a nice place to live. It is not a super cosmopolitan place with a vibrant culture. So coming from Maine, we are not in double culture shock.

Running to the dump...

...or at the dump. One of the really interesting things about living somewhere is is to see how they deal with space. This is true within a country, and also country to country. Tivoli Gardens, for example, layers its concessions and its rides. I wrote recently about the gravel pits they are reclaiming for recreation areas. Continuing with the recreation theme, we have the dump. As chronicled previously, the current dump is on the Odense Canal. Well, the old one is too.

From Stige

But it now serves as a recreation area/open space. It is about 3 miles north of us, so I headed out there last week for a run. What I found was an area of grassy hills, a view of the Fjord, and the occasional vent/access point to the waste pile beneath my feet. There was no smell, and it is beautiful there, but there is a nagging thing in the back of one's mind...

But does it work, to reclaim land this way? I say yes. There were people out using the area, much in the way they use regular open space. In a land that has been host to civilization for 1500 years there is little open space left, so reclaiming any available land makes sense from that perspective.

Training to Nyborg

Last week I ventured a little further afield for the bike ride by heading to Nyborg (to the east of us in Odense) on the train and then riding home. This allowed me to get farther away from Odense on the bike, see some new country, and ride with a tailwind the whole way! I plotted a route that went a little south so I could catch some of the "hilly" country down there, and also catch some castles.

From Nyborg

I did both, and had a great time. It was an overcast day, but it stayed dry, which was the important part. Just outside of Nyborg I went by a Castle called Hocklenhavn Slot which was actually a surprise. It is quite nice, however. For the next hour or so I wandered south and west through the country until I came to Glorup Slot, a castle I had seen before.

Glorup is one of the prettiest castles around in my opinion, and riding through on a bike did nothing to dispell that notion. It is gorgeous. And it is no wonder that Hans Christian Anderson favored it as a place to write. Still heading inland, I passed through the town of Orbaek, where there is a (deservedly) award winning microbrewery. Their beer is really lovely. I could not stop due to time constraints, so I will have to make a pilgrimage. Next up came Lykkesholm Slot, a big yellow estate situated on a nice lake. It is in a little valley too, with "hills" around making the country nice for cycling.

Alas, all this castle watching ate up the time, so homeward bound I became. I slipped past Ravnholt Slot on the way, and then back on the same roads I had used when I made my original trip there. A very nice outing, and probably worth repeating once the leaves really begin to change.

Tivoli Gardens

Upon hearing the news that we were moving to Denmark for 6 months, most people asked:

"Are you going to Legoland?"

and / or

"Are you going to Tivoli Gardens?"

The answer to both questions was "yes", and after last Wednesday's trip to Copenhagen, we have now been to both places. The experiences could not have been more different, and Tivoli came out on top. Legoland is a typical amusement park, cast towards smaller children, and without truly exciting rides. Tivoli Gardens was a different sort of amusement park. It stands apart from other places I have been because of its ambiance, its size, and its ice cream. And compared to Legoland, Tivoli has really fun rides.

The most visible ride in the park I have now named the giant tower swing of death. I actually did not go on it, although Katie and Bev did. Bev thinks I have named it properly. Katie thought it was fun. Hank and I looked at the thing and said

"hey let's do the roller coaster that goes upside down three times. That sounds like fun."

Shudder... The other rides were more sane, but stil fun. By all Danish accounts, Tivoli has the most exciting rides among all of the Danish amusement parks. Though we have only sampled two of these, I have to agree. Other exciting rides included a freefall ride (ie the Dragon's Descent at Funtown), a non-inverted roller coaster, and some turn in a circle until you are sick rides.

But before all those rides, we noticed first about Tivoli the ambiance of the park. The place is small, and layered. Rides are under other rides. Shops and food kiosks are under the rides. And all of this is to the outside f the park. The central area is devoted to real restaurants and nice gardens. And at night it all lights up to form a dazzling sight. The ambiance turns an otherwise boring boat driving ride (max speed 1/4 knot) into a fantastic night time light display.

And finally, who ca forget the ice cream? We had been warned. Dbean said "the best soft ice cream in the world is in Tivoli Gardens." Umm, ok. Was she right? Yep, it is pretty darn good, although there are many varieties! At first puzzling, this turned out to be quite good as we could sample the different types in order to make a definitive statement. So:

The ice cream is quite good. It is the best soft ice cream I have tasted. When combined with warm crepes and jam (the Danish way), it is really really good. So you have all now been warned. If you go to Tivoli, get the soft ice cream.

If ever in Copenhagen, and you have any interest in amusement parks (or you have kids in tow), go to Tivoli Gardens. It is fun, and also a window in time. It is an old park, built in the 1840's, and has distinct feeling to it that is not dissimilar to the feeling of old-time beach boardwalk amusement parks (like Santa Cruise). Different, yes, but distinct, and worth experiencing.

Copenhagen

This last Wednesday, we packed ourselves up, and instead of going to school, went to Copenhagen. We caught the express train, and in a little over an hour were in Copenhagen. And what a different world that is. Odense is positively provincial in comparison.

We had no plan on what we wanted to see going in. But we had a map, and on that was a walking tour that started at the City Hall plaza and wound through the city to the Little Mermaid. It wound its way back to City Hall and then to Tivoli Gardens, our final destination. The Weather was beautiful - cool, crisp, and clear.

From Copenhagen (Click for more pictures)

The city hall is marked by the tall clock tower holding an old, but very accurate clock. We missed the trip to the top (it only happens at noon), so we moved along through the streets of the city toward Christiansborg. Aside form being the medieval shoreline of the city, the Christiansborg is the old royal palace as well as the house of the modern-day parliament.

Wandering further, we came to the square called Kongens Nytorv. This is a very upscale area, and in addition to the large mansions, houses the most exclusive hotel in Copenhagen. Right nearby is Nyhavn, a very cute harbor area with brightly painted buildings, old ships, and a lot of cafes. Very nice, and also tourist heaven. We followed Nyhavn out to the main harbor and walked along this for a bit, admiring the old and new architecture mixed together. We also ran across the fire rescue units practicing their rescue diving which was interesting to see.

The next stop was the Ameliaborg, the current Copenhagen residence of the Queen. At noon there is a ceremonial changing of the guard which we saw. Think beefeaters dressed in black instead of red and you are there. We took some photos, saw someone chastised for getting to close to a guard (by the guard), and moved on. Wandering north we arrived at an old stronghold of the city, called the Kastellet. Here there are barracks and a big fortified wall surrounded by a moat. The wall is in the classic star shape of medieval fortresses. The army still controls the area, but except for the barracks the public is allowed to use it as a park.

And north of the Kastellet, we reached our destination: The Little Mermaid. And lunch. I think that lunch was more important. The little mermaid statue in itself is not really a sight. It is a small statue in the harbor. But the walk to it, and back, are the real reasons to go. Heading south we looped past the only Anglican church in Denmark. There is a crazy statue outside of a woman in a chariot being pulled by bulls. More wandering brought us by snack time (supermarkets are very helpful here, and into the Kings garden. A very pleasant park, it houses the Roseonborg Castle as well as the crown jewels.

South of the gardens is the round tower. What a crazy tower it is. It is attached to a church, but unlike other watchtowers it has no stairs. One ascends by walking up a ramp that circles the tower. it is said that Peter the Great rode his horse to the top as he was not fond of walking. Upon our descent we continued through the University district and returned to City Hall square. Wow, what a great city, and what a great day. Ah, but we were only halfway done, because our next destination was Tivoli Gardens. But that is another post.

Viby

The weather for much of August was horrible, but come September, it has turned nicer, if not a little bit colder. Recently, I took advantage of one such cool, clear day to ride north or Odense. I had previously gone to Kerteminde, but on this day I wanted to head north of that town, out into the area know as Hindsholm.

From viby (click for more pictures)

What beautiful country this is. We had been straight to the top of Hindsholm (to Fyns Hoved) and that is still our favorite place on the Island. But the area I went on this ride was very beautiful as well. Splendid views, a nice Castle, a windmill, and a funky, old church with a half-timbered bell tower. And to top it off, there was a nice tailwind to bring me home. A splendid outing to a nice place.

Football, part II

So we are now a few weeks into the football season, and some more information has come available.

1. Hank is on a U10 team that is broken into three groups. One that plays U11 B level, on that plays U11 C level (Hank's team), and one that plays U10 level. The top level team (U11 B) is incredibly good. They have more field knowledge and soccer knowledge (with skills to match) than some high school teams I have seen.
2. Hank's coach in intense and trying to drive home a point. After railing on for 5 minutes About what needs to be done in Danish, he turns to Hank and says "Hank you have to listen to me!" Hank turned to Bev, laughed, and shrugged.
3. Katie is right there. She is playing a strong defense, and is having a good time playing. Too bad the other girls do not quite know how to deal with her...

We are spending a lot of time at the football club, but it is an evening activity for us, which really helps. It is scheduled, good for the kids, and helps us all feel more a part of the community.

Navigating Bureaucracy

We can Stay! we now have our work and residence permits in order and we can stay past Early October. That is great news for us as we will be here until mid-December. But getting our visas and CPR numbers (essentially a Danish SSN) has been a trial and also a learning experience. I thought it would be helpful to outline three important techniques I have learned for navigating the Danish Governmental Bureaucracy. Who knows, it might also transfer to other countries.

1)Patience is a virtue. Sure, pushing that paper should be fast, But remember these people do this all day, every day. Why should they rush? That Bank account you need so you can pay rent? Two weeks is fast enough. You want a CPR number so you can open a bank account? Six weeks from now, no problem.

2)Always call back. The person answering the phones may or may not know the correct answer to your question. If you do not like the answer to your question, call back. For example, the letter for our work and residence permit stating that it had been approved was sent to the Danish Consulate in New York. Unfortunately, we are now in Denmark. At immigration, the first person I spoke with said:

"you had better call New York and have them send you the letter. I cannot help you, this is the only thing you can do."

Now this sounded a little suspicious to me. Don't they have a printer? Can't they send another letter? Can they email or fax it? The answer all the time was "No!" So I called the next day:

"Oh, you need your letter sent to you in Denmark. What is your address?"

The letter came the next day in the mail.

3) No copies; it must be an original and the corollary It is vital to see your Marriage Certificate. We were held up in our residence and work permit by the fact that they did not have the original of Bev's contract with Bates College at immigration. It took 3 weeks for them to tell us that what they had received was not an original and they really needed an original (and no, faxes do not count). It took 2 weeks (1 day plus 13 days of vacation for the case officer) for the original to be considered by the immigration office. It took an additional week for the immigration office to find the letter, and 30 seconds to look at it and approve our permit.

The marriage certificate (do you have yours?) nearly stumped us again. A copy of our tax return (accepted by Danish Immigration; not accepted by the local authorities) was inadequate proof of marriage. Apparently, and I do not know why, it is vital that a couple be able to prove that they are married. In the end they made a special exception for us (signed off on by the supervisor) because we were citizens of the USA.

So those are the three most helpful rules I have for bureaucratic navigation, Danish Style. May they help save pain for the next sould attempting such a journey.

Bicycles as Transportation

In Denmark they view bicycles in a very different way than we do in the United States. Because owning a car is so expensive (taxes are 200 percent of the cost of the vehicle, and petrol runs about $9 per gallon), many people in cities go without a car, and many households have only one car. So people use their bikes. They commute to work on them, they go to the grocery store on them, etc. It is quite an experience. This video will give you a taste of what it is like:



People on bikes, going somewhere. You will notice the three postal workers going out to deliver the mail, along with people of every walk of life going about their business on a bike. And no one is in a hurry on their bike, either. People are simply on their way somewhere, so off they go. Here are some pictures (click on the picture to see the entire album):

From Cycling for Transportation

It works because of: 1) the bike paths. Throughout cities and towns the road infrastructure has concessions to cyclists. Mostly this is bike paths, but often automobiles will be restricted to 1 lane on a road (say a narrow bridge), and the rest of the road given to bicycles. 2) Bicycle type. People have town bikes, that have racks and baskets. They are internally geared, and have chain guards, etc, so they are clean and hassle free. You simply put your groceries in your basket and ride along home. They also have trikes specifically designed to carry large loads. They carry anything from children to that chair you bought at Ikea. 3) Number of cyclists. They sheer volume of cyclists ensures caution from motorists. Car drivers always look for cyclists in the bike path. The courtesy shown to cyclists is incredible.

It is a real experience to live without a car, and in a society where this is normal. It is not hard, although there are some definite behavioral changes needed. The store is visited daily, because you cannot carry large loads of groceries. It takes a little more time to get places, although parking is much easier. You get fit, but if you are tired, well, tough.

Map of our travels

Below is a map of places we have been on Fyn. The orange lines are bike routes we have taken, and the icons are points of interest. Clicking on an icon will bring more information. I will continue to update the map as I we go to new places. A link to it will be in the margin to the right.

Ravnholt

I decided Tuesday was castle day, so I saddled up and headed south towards a place called Ravnholt.

From Ravnholt

To get there I had to re-ride the dreaded Svendborg route (55) thru suburban hell, but as it was a sunny day, this was acceptable. I even noticed some things along the way that I had not noticed before. So the ride down to Ringe (a big town west of the castle) was pleasant enough. When I turned toward Ravnholt, I soon knew I was headed toward someplace with history and money on its side.

All around the estate, the roads leading to it are lined with old trees on both side creating a sort of tunnel to the estate. On either side one can see forests and fields without houses, which is a unique sight in Denmark. The estate is still a functioning farm, really. They have huge support buildings where they process the grain from the fields.

After lunching at the gates of the castle, I headed north toward home, through an area known for its man-made lakes. This strange landscape consists of lakes created during gravel and sand mining operations. The Danish twist is that they reclaim the area after mining and turn them into wildlife habitat and recreation area. Stranger still these areas are heavily advertised in the tourist literature.

Lubeck

On the evening of Monday September first, we arrived in Lubeck, and found our hotel (Hotel Excelsior; located just outside the Main gate to old-town Lubeck). Lubeck is an old Hanseatic town, and has been referred to as the Queen City of the Hanseatic League. It is now a World Heritage site (the downtown area) and is a really lovely place to visit.

From Lubeck

On our trip to the Netherlands in May we learned a fair amount about the Hansa as many of our port calls were Hansa cities. We also received a lecture from a Dutch professor about the Hansa. We immediately recognized the imprint this league had on this town when we saw the Holstentor (the main gate). Gates such as this one dating back to the 13th century can be found in numerous cities in the Nethderlands, and also, I would guess, in other Hansa ports around northern Europe.

Also immediately apparent was the Hansa-esque architecture seen all over the city. These buildings, especially along the water are old warehouses that have been long since converted into housing and retail space.

Other great things about Lubeck: The churches, which include a couple of cathedrals. One such cathedral, St. Mariens, has preserved the old bells damaged during WWII as a peace memorial. Another, the Dom Kirke, had a huge Gothic addition made to the Romanesque maine hall during the 16th century at the behest of a bishop. It is an amazing contrast between the two styles. Light and airy (gothic) vs heavy and strong (romanesque).

There is an old hospital dating to 1260 that was run by nuns. There are numerous old alleys where additional housing was made inside the courtyards of other houses during housing shortages. There are many museums, and walking streets too. Lubeck is known for its Marzipan (blech, but to each her\his own). There is an old city hall and market square, but it is less impressive than some of the other parts of town. And finally there is the old wharf area sitting on the river Trave, which is lovely.

The kids walked around this place for an entire day. They never get tired of the big cathedrals (well, not yet), and they always lead us to interesting bits we would otherwise overlook. An example is the playground we found at the end of one of the Lubeck alleys.

Frankfurt/Schellbach/Celle

So, exactly one week ago we met Bev as se came off her plane in Frankfurt after a week at a conference in Hawaii. That went well, and she even got to see Ann and Bill on the way through San Francisco. We did survive the Autobahn, but I will always remember the 100 km south of Hamburg that forever changed my view of highway driving. Shudder...

I more or less at random chose a hotel (I recommend hotel.de for German Hotels) north of Frankfurt near the city of Kassel in an area called Knullwald. We exited the autobahn at the knullwald exit, and then asked in stilted German for the location of this hotel. Soon enough we figured out it was in another village up the hillside from our current location. Nice. The village of Schellbach is an old, small village with a very pleasant hotel. Not the super luxury type, but a nice place with a good restaurant boasting a very German menu. After the hectic weekend of travel, it was the quiet, nice, and peaceful location and evening that we all needed.

From Knullwald / Celle

The next day we still had a fair distance to travel, so we chose to visit a city called Celle southeast of Hamburg. Its past historical significance (it was the regional capitol for a while) and the exceptional preservation of its downtown made it intriguing. And so it was. In a twisted way it was almost too well preserved, as it was vaguely reminiscent of Leavenworth, WA. The major differences are that the locals are German, it is bigger and older, and the currency is the Euro. It was a great lunclunch stop (Real Bratwurst!) and proved to us that Germany is almost cheap. And compared to Denmark (42% more expensive than the European average), food is nearly free.

From Knullwald / Celle

Noteworthy site were some old houses, a palace (sorry no pictures) and a plaza where they used to hold jousting tournaments. Also of interest was the fragment of the medieval wall that remains in the city. Another fun time, and a good mid-day stop before reaching the World Heritage site of Lubeck in the evening.

Maps of interest - Europe

Below is a map of places we have been In Europe. The orange lines are the roads we have taken, and the icons are points of interest. Clicking on an icon will bring more information. I will continue to update the map as I we go to new places. A link to it will be in the margin to the right.

Autobahn...

Last Saturday I packed the kids in the car on headed south to Germany to get Bev at the Frankfurt Airport. It was a fun trip, and we combined it with some good vacation time. We'll blog that later this week. But a driving trip into Germany must include information about the famed Autobahn. How to describe that experience? This is a good introduction...



I would be in the right lane here. Our little rental car cruised nicely at 130 kph (80 mph), and we even hit 150 kph at one point. Fast enough for me, but nothing compared to the autobahn yahoos. The results:

From autobahn

It was absolutely crazy. At one point the car shook when a Mercedes blasted by on the left. Time and again, some supercar came whipping by at 200+ kph (and likely much faster). Confirmed car types: Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Bentley, Porchse, and others (including some low-slung thing that I have no idea what it was. Perhaps a Bugatti Veyron?

In summation, one should drive the autobahn if given the chance. It certainly leaves a lasting impression...

Skibhus Festival

The local school and the local activities clubs. have, for about a decade now put on a festival in our neighborhood. It is your basic school festival, with a few Danish twists.



The first difference is that the festival is an official school day. The teachers take attendance. As a result, everyone is there, and an easy way for the entire school community to interact. The second major difference is that only three of the nine grades are allowed to make money on their activities, but each class must either peform or provide some activity for the festival attendees. So all of the students are there providing for their community, and those that need to are generating funds for their school trips. Pretty cool.

Our kids had a great time running around, playing the games, and enjoying the beautiful day.

3 trips on a bike

In the past few days I have taken three trips in my quest to see Fyn's roads. Monday I went out route 55 toward Faaborg, Wednesday I went on route 65 toward Svendborg, and today I took route 35 toward Bogense.

Faaborg (route 65)

The Faaborg route heads SSW out of Odense toward the sea town of Faaborg (hence the name). After leaving the city center, it gets quickly into nice suburnban bikes paths more or less along the Odense River.

Faaborg Route

The riding is nice, and the suburbs are pretty upscale. So in all there is good scenery, with upscale burbs on one side and pastures/river on the other. As with all paths, though, they end, and one gets dumped into country lanes winding through wheat fields. It is prety nice, though the roads are narrow. At one point I met a bus coming the other way that took up the entire road!

Svendborg Route (55).

The way to Svenborg (Fyn's second city) begins along the same way as the route to Faaborg. At the edge of the city center, however, it veers off to the south, proceeding more or less directly south to Svendborg. Unfortunately, the way is along busy roads through burb after burb. Not only was it not scenic, it was 2 to 3 times the distance to get out of the suburbs as for any other route. My patience wore thin.

mollehoj

So I departed the text and made my own way (more fun anyhow). Just east of the route was a site called Mollehoj, which is the largest burial mound on Fyn. It dates from the bronze age or Viking age (ca 10th century) and is about 40 feet high. It is now covered with trees. After seeing this I meandered through small villages and farms, enjoying the countryside.

I eventually found a place where I could walk right up to one of those giant windmills. Very cool. They make a great wooshing sound that is approximated by the sound make on the wash cycle of an upright washing machine. It is audible for sure, but quieter than the cars on the road.

Bogense (route 35).

Friday I took off back to the west because the wind was from there. And it is much better to go into the wind first than it is to fight it while returning home. I did the first part of this trip a few weeks ago, but today I had time to go further.

Glavendrup

The first place I came was the Dallum Slot (castle) which is an old estate dating rom the 17th century. It has a lot of land associated with it, and its gardens remain a public park. After a brief stop, I continued on to the Glavendrup Stone. This was something completely different, and also completely new. Runes? Wow, that is different.

Football (soccer, that is)

To say that football is a national obsession here in Denmark is to ignore handball (at which the Danes are very good), but also not far from the truth. The kids play it nearly exclusively on the playground in spite of the lack of grass. As our kids like soccer, we have gotten them involved with the local football club.

Football

To say they have facilities is also an understatement. Most of the football clubs are associated with municipal sports complexes (I think), and the local club, Marienlyst, is no exception. Still, at its core is football. The facility has a number of locker rooms (10 or so) for teams to use, an indoor snack shack open daily, and a huge equipment room. They even have an area where one can wash the mud off of one's cleats after games and practice.

Outside is even more impressive, as they have at least 10 fields for practice and games. And the facility is never empty. Every time we go there are at least 5 practices in progress over the age range of 6 to 30. Occasionally the old guys are practicing too. It is quite the level of involvement, and definitely a community hub.

The kids. Katie is playing on a U13 team which is actually a year too old for her. She fits in well, though, and seems to be getting along fine. Her first game was a bit of an eye opener, but she has settled in to playing defense and is enjoying that. The level of soccer is higher than her U10 team last year, but not too much. Once they learn to play together on the field they will be even more formidable.

Hank has started as well, and is playing on a U10 team that plays against U11 teams. This is equivalent to his playing 5th graders at home. And some of those kids he is playing are 5th graders. He, like Katie, has had a baptism by fire, but is hanging in there. His age group actually has three teams, and he is on the middle team. The top level players would do some real damage in the US. Their skills and field presence are eye opening.

So that is football. The kids are enjoying it, and it is an eye opener for us parents for sure.

School Garden

The school garden is a place where,p-fag takes place. P-fag is a creative learning time. So every day we walk down(it takes about 10 minutes) and it's a lot of fun. It's rundown and stuff but it's huge and pretty and very fun. When we go out there we do different things like carve wood, make instruments, weave baskets, and paint. This is all included in the school day and counts as school. We go there rain or shine, and that is OK with me. Last week it started pouring and that day was the one day i decided not to bring my jacket so i got soaked! Fun times!!

West to Longso

One of my pastimes while here is to pick a new direction for each time I head out on the bike, and explore. As a starting point, I use the regional bike routes on the way out or on the way back in. These are nice, because they are signed and take routes that have little traffic. They also go by interesting places. On Thursday and friday I headed to the west of Odense toward Longso and Hesbjerg.

Longso

This area has the closest hills to Odense, and in this hilly area, there are also forests. The Longso forest is especially big. It is also criss crossed with hiking paths, and the lake itself (So - actually not an "O" but a special letter that looks like a zero - means lake; Even more special, just the zero character means island) is the most beautiful I have seen in Denmark. It is forested thanks in large part to the Castle on its shore.

Anyhow, the ride out was a tale of two trips. The first half was on straight, flat bike path. This type of riding through suburbia abruptly ended with a right turn onto a dirt road. Boom, into forest, hils, and fields for the next 10 km or so. Night and day. It was really beautiful though, and worthy of a family trip. So we will go, and report on that when back.

That was Thursday. Friday was a southern extension of the same route. Also beautiful, but less forest and more grain fields. I did manage to capture some Windmills along the way - this is one of the ways the Danes lower their dependence on Fossil fuels. More on this in a later post, but for now, are these so ugly?

Grocery shopping; Danish cultur part 1 of ??

[sorry this post is picture free, but y'all know what a store looks like, right?]

Everybody has to eat, right? And since eating out is expensive (and more so in Denmark), that means going to the grocery store. I have a thing about grocery stores, and especially when I travel, I like to find them and buy, you know, food and eat that way. It does save money.

But the store and goods are all in Danish. What does one buy? Well as a species we are fortunate to have eyes, and experience. If we did not have these, then shopping by item name would be an adventure. And for those things in opaque packaging, it still is. Fortunately, with the exception of raw ingredients for Mexican food, we have not gone without anything.

What was hard - flour. White flour is easy but whole wheat? Forget it. What they call whole wheat is cracked wheat berries. Anybody have a mill?Now, if you are lactose intolerant, you are in luck. Alternate grains like Spelt are everywhere, and it is here I go next. Also hard - cheese called Cheddar. I am ok with that but the kids have had to adjust. On the whole this is a good thing.

What is avoided: crazy spreadable food substances that live in the cold case next to the cheese. Snack food.

The rest is normal. The other bonus is the year-round farmer's market on Weds and Saturdays. These are

I think I have visited every major grocery store / supermarket chain in this country. The stores pretty much divide into two categories: Discount stores and Supermarkets. There are a couple of pure grocery stores but they are not omnipresent like the others. And of course there is the market in the middle of town on Weds and Sat.

Grocery Stores: Primary offender is Spar, with Lidl being almost a pure grocery store. Spar is a bit of a "gourmet" option although it is nothing like Whole Foods. There is not one near here. next...

Lidl is a German chain, and again, there is not one close. It has a very "other" feel from the standard Danish store. There is some product overlap.

Supermarkets: These are basically like Walmart supercenters (though not nearly as big). They carry everything, and are not cheap like Walmart. They do have a better product selection than other places though, and even have Peanut Butter. They are also a good source for beer (ie they have something other than Tuborg and Carlsberg) and a lot of different types of flour. The names are Kvickly, Super Brugsen, Bilka, and Fotex.

Kvickly seems to be everywhere and is like a nightmare to us. For the first week we were here we eanded up at a Kvickly every single day. Groundhog day in the worst way.

Bilka is as close to Walmart as yer gonna get. It is huge, and unlike Kvickly not very common.

Super Brugsen is mostly groceries, though it has a fair amount of other. Fairly common, and yes there is one within striking distance.

Fotex is the upper crust version of one of these things which means the stuff you want to buy is the same stuff but it costs more. They do have important things like Chile Powder.

Discount stores: These are where the real work gets done. Main chains are Fakta, Rema 1000, and Netto. Our street has one of each, and they are virtually identical but different. The product lines they carry vary considerably depending on what they can get cheaply. These places are where the Danes shop. I shop indiscriminately at all of them.

Finally we have the Bazaar and the markets. For fresh fruit and veg every day but Monday, the Bazaar is a good bet. It also has specialty stores like a mid-eastern grocery, an asian grocery, and an Italian deli. Helpful. The market is only twice a week and if possible I go there for produce. Farm fresh is the way. There is also a good cheese booth there.

A party in which there was no cake......

Wednesday i was invited to a birthday party. It sounded like fun so i didn't see a reason why i shouldn't go. So i went and it was really weird. Instead of pizza for dinner they gave us noodles, chicken, salad, corn and meatballs! No cake, no chips, and no soda! Nobody made a big fuss over the birthday party and it went on until 10:00 in the evening. Very different. There weren't planed activities here were games that we decided to play. We played soccer, little sally walker, air hocky, and fooseball. It was one of the best birthdays i have ever been to. Also, instead of every body buying presents just one person gave one present worth $80.00 all year round so in the long run it's cheaper, and nobody feels bad about somebody's present that is better than their's.

Flooding the bathroom

The second night in our new home. Things were looking great! The house and area were great and so was our new house mate. All up until i took a shower......
When I stepped out of that shower, I stepped into an inch and a half of water!! We mopped it up and decided to just take baths. That didn't work either. No sooner had hank pulled the plug water came flooding in along with dirt and nasties. Mom was cursing at the tub as dad mopped up. About three days later the plumber fixed t and all was well.