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.