Summer Road Trip 2010 - Day 1

Our much anticipated summer vacation is officially underway!
My plan is to do a daily update so we have something to look back on and remember it all! This is, of course, dependent upon working internet connections but I do believe I have booked all of our hotels with that in mind so it shouldn't be an issue.

We headed out at about 1pm this afternoon with a car full of suitcases, dog beds, 2 dogs and lots of water. Typically we would leave the dogs at a kennel, but because we planned this trip too late, and everyone in Denmark is on vacation at the same time, finding a kennel with space was impossible! We ended up finding a dog sitter online where the dogs live at her house for the week, with her own dog, and her family. So the first stop on our journey was the dog sitter and, once we got there, I became quite confident that our dogs are about to enjoy the vacation of their lives! The house is in the middle of nowhere at the end of a dead-end country road. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the dog sitter, her husband, her 5 yr. old son, a cat, about 6 eight-week old kittens (they were hiding everywhere so counting them was tough!) and a flock of chickens. The dogs went nuts, exploring every inch, sniffing everything there was to be sniffed. Zoe wasn't quite sure what to make of the kittens but she thought they definitely should play with her! I am convinced that, by week's end, she will have bathed every one of those kittens from head to toe whether they need it or not. Lexi also thought the kittens were quite interesting, but backed away quickly when the momma cat told her off. You had to be there!

The rest of the day was spent on the road headed south. We were doing quite well until just before Hamburg when traffic came to a stop…



Thank goodness for A/C in the car as the thermometer said 95 deg F!! There were several reasons for delay including some fender benders and some construction. It was a bit frustrating to be crawling along but at least we were moving. The north-bound side of the road was not. Due to an accident of some kind, that I think was already cleared up by the time we passed through, all traffic on the north-bound side was being diverted to one exit. This meant that for about 5 miles, no one was moving. Trucks were stopped in the lane with the drivers out of the truck, etc. But the thing I thought was so awesome was that there were ambulances driving up the emergency lane literally handing water bottles into each car that was stuck in the jam. How cool is that? BIG points for Germany on that one. Never saw anything like it and I'm quite sure you will never see that happen in the states!

Driving through Hamburg and past the ports almost had me thinking I was back in New Jersey…





I do believe there are a few container ships that pass through this port each day!!

We finally made it to our hotel in Lehrte, Germany at about 9pm and were able to sit down and have a nice dinner on the restaurant's patio. The amount of food on my plate at this hour and in this head was way, way more than I could eat, but it was quite tasty. I could've chosen the "Ox Cheek" but that frightened me, so I went for the Mixed Grill instead!

Our hotel is nice - a bit on the warm side - but it's not often that it's this hot around here.

I took one picture just for Kelli…

Little Cat, Big Bed

My name is Coal.  Long ago I lived on the street.  It was really, really cold one night.  I sat in front of a door and howled.  Patti felt sorry for me and took me inside.  Where I stayed.

I'm old.  I was neutered in 1994; you do the math.

I have extra toes.  It seems to fascinate people.  My paw can double as a spoon, which is handy.  It also allows me to lift the ball out of the track on my favorite toy. 

I have been on an airplane 2 times in my life.   I didn't much like it.

My first trip was from New Jersey to Washington.  I had 2 brothers and a sister with me, but the airline wouldn't take all 4 of us on the same flight, so I had to fly out on the first plane and sit in Washington waiting for the rest to arrive.  It was a long day in a small box.

The new apartment had carpeting.  I liked that.

My second trip was from Washington to Denmark.  I shared a crate with Oscar.  He pee'd on me.  It wasn't a pleasant trip.

The new house is big but it doesn't have carpeting.  Slippery!!  I had to learn how to walk again. 

I'm basically an indoor kind of guy.  I wander outside now and then, but I get confused.  One day I jumped out the bathroom window.  Things outside made me nervous.  I ran up a tree.  Patti eventually convinced me to go back inside.  When I go outside now, I only go to the terrace or the driveway.  I like to roll over and scratch my back on the cement.  If you catch me out there, I will immediately run back inside.  Can't take any chances (see cold night above).

Sometimes I think I'm a dog.  This is why I sleep on the doggy bed.  This is also why I ignore my own water bowl and drink from the big bowl.

Today I was in the kitchen when the tall guy served food for the two big black slobbery ones.  I stuck my head in Lexi's bowl and started to eat her food.  She was confused.

Mission accomplished.  I will go back to sleep now.

Good Morning Denmark!

While the Danish government believes that I can read, write and speak Danish (after all, I did pass the test), I find my skills lacking and it frustrates me. By far, the hardest aspect of the language, for me, is understanding what people are saying. That and actually listening, rather than tuning them out, but that's a separate issue!

I've talked to others attempting to learn the language and to those who are more fluent than myself and the number one suggestion that I get is to turn on the TV. I can't actually watch the TV while I'm working, but everyone suggests that just having it on in the background will somehow penetrate my skull; subliminal learning apparently.

So today was day one of the experiment. I turned on the TV this morning and found Denmark's version of the Today show, "Go' morgen Danmark".

This is what I know, or more accurately, what I think I heard...

1. It's a nice morning in Denmark.
2. Something about a motorway. I don't know if something happened on a motorway or if something is going to happen on a motorway but I know that a motorway is somehow involved in something. Useful, yes?
3. Pia Kjærsgaard had something to say about something. She's the leader of the most conservative party in DK and most of what she says holds no interest for me other than outrage, so I didn't pay much attention to this part.
   
4. I think someone wrote a book about women's backsides through history. When it was popular to have a small butt and when it was popular for baby to 'have back'. And they talked about Pamela Anderson. And church bells were ringing in the background. The same segment was played again later - the church bells gave it away.
5. Tour d'France is coming. I think someone from the Saxo Bank team was interviewed.
6. It is a dark day for England after yesterday's loss in the World Cup. In a related matter, some woman wrote in asking for someone to explain 'off-sides'. I'm not sure if it was explained or not. Then again, I'm not sure I would understand it if someone explained it in English.
7. Someone cooked something involving couscous.
8. Protesters are at the G20 meeting in Canada.
   
9. It's going to be warm later this week.
   

Perhaps Day 2 will go better.

Can you read my mind?

You're probably thinking, "who is this woman in my reader list?" And that would be perfectly understandable as I seem to be as rare as an overstock in a Danish grocery store.

But...
I have been blogging.
I blog all the time.
Daily.
In the shower.
In my head.

The mere absence of actual words on a screen should not discount all the great posts I have written.

In my head.

Perhaps one or two will be coming to a screen near you!

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day so a perfect day to share the story of our birds.

No, we don't have birds as pets, but we do have a rather large bird population that frequents our yard and the yards of those around us. Each year, the birds build nests in the area and one of their favorite nesting spots is inside our car port.



Next to our house we have a large storage shed and the back wall of the shed (the wood storage area) isn't a full wall. It has vertical boards with spaces between the boards.

One day a few months ago, I had mentioned to Ole that we needed to move some items that were stored in that area because they were getting very dirty from the birds and from things blowing through the open walls. A few days later he discovered the reason for so much bird dirt - we had a nest in our shed...


That white metal part is the place where our garden hose hangs. At the time the nest was built, the hose was still there! Apparently, for this particular momma bird, the car port wasn't good enough for her babies so she chose a more secluded spot inside our shed! Quite an elaborate structure - the condo living of bird life, so to speak.

I told Ole that we couldn't move the nest after she spent so much time building it! But then, about 3 weeks ago, I needed the hose so that was a bit of an issue. I decided then that I would take down the nest. But, when I lifted it off the hose, I discovered 3 little eggs inside and suddenly I had huge guilt! I set the whole nest carefully on a shelf, removed the hose, and then put the nest back up and hoped for the best. As it turns out (thank you google) birds have little or no sense of smell, so despite popular belief, they really could care less that you've touched their nest. And, if you do ever find a baby bird, with or without feathers, out of their nest, the best thing to do is to simply pick them up and put them back in the nest.

(I'm fascinated by the construction that goes into these nests. When you get a chance to look at one up close, it's pretty amazing.)

About a week later, as I opened the door to the shed, 3 little beaks popped up! And each time I opened the door after that, I could hear momma bird quickly fly away, always to return when I left the area. I grabbed my camera one day and managed to get a little photo of the babies...


It's quite difficult to figure out what's going on there as it's just a pile of feathers and beaks, but I think there are 3 little fledglings in there. This past week, I wanted to get another photo figuring they'd be a bit bigger now but when I went to take a picture... I found an empty nest.

Our little birdies flew the coop. They're all grown up and off on their own in this big, bad world. Perhaps this time next year, they'll return to raise their own little babies.

To all the mothers out there - whether your babies are still in the nest, or have grown up and are off on their own...

Happy Mother's Day

Stockholm Baby!

I live in Europe - just a hop, skip and a jump from the rest of Europe in all its fabulous Europeaness. You would think that I would manage to leave my little sheltered town and venture out now and then but somehow it just doesn't seem to happen often. I've been here 3-1/2 years and have rarely ventured beyond the German border (it's 2 hours away!). We did manage to get in a car with some fabulous friends last November and spend our Thanksgiving weekend in a spa in Poland, and of course that was worth every moment, but for the most part, getting beyond the local doggy forest seems to be somewhat of a chore.

But, my family managed to wake me from my slumber and send me on a mission. The original mission was to somehow get the rest of the fabric for the drapery project to my mother, in the US, without having it cost more than a flight to the US.

You know how someone is from a place and you know someone else from that place, and the chances of those 2 people knowing each other or being from the same spot within that place is usually an impossibility but yet you can't help but say... "You're from Texas? Do you know Jim?". Well, my brother sent an email last month and though he knew the chance was slim asked... "You're in Denmark - have any friends in Stockholm?". Yeah, because those two places are small, and right next to each other. I know 3 people in Sweden. Total. And to say I know them is a bit of stretch, really, since I just know them from reading their blogs. 2 of them I'm sure have no idea that I exist, but they're blogs are funny, so I keep reading. The 3rd, however, also happens to be a Facebook friend and so I posed the question... "Any chance you're anywhere near Stockholm?" And get this... she is! And, being one of those generous souls that also happens to be a perfect person to serve as a pseudo-ambassador for her current country, she agreed to let my brother and sister-in-law pepper her with questions about Stockholm. Why the interest?

Because my brother may take an assignment in Sweden and hop on over to this side of the pond. Now, how cool is that!?

What does all this have to do with getting fabric to the US? Well, suddenly one evening on the phone with my mother, I found out that my brother, and his entire family, would be arriving in Stockholm for 4 days beginning on Palm Sunday. Which, at the time, was oh... a week away? Suddenly a flurry of activity took place on the computer next to mine and the next thing I knew, we were heading for Stockholm on Saturday, duffel bag full of fabric in hand, so that we could give said bag to my brother, visit with the family and even meet my Stockholm connection! Granted by the time we booked our flight, paid for the dogs to stay at the kennel, and paid for a hotel, it would've been cheaper just to ship the fabric to the US, but hey, a girl has to get out now and then!

We arrived in Stockholm Saturday afternoon and were greeted at Arlanda by Sir Pe, who took us straight to the home of Lady Fi, Oscar the dog and the infamous anklebiters! Upon arrival she promptly asked us if we had remembered to bring ear plugs - and I don't think she was kidding! The ankle biters are loud, but very sweet, and they proceeded to entertain us with their attempts at the Danish language. If I'm being honest - their danish was probably better than mine!

I gave Oscar a gift of a purple ball and he instantly became my friend for life. This is one very sweet dog!


We enjoyed lots of great conversation and pizza and I am delighted to have had the chance to meet our new Stockholm friends!

After a great evening, Sir Pe offered to drive us to our hotel. Once the men decided, with the help of the iPhone, the best way to get from point A to point B, we said our goodbyes and piled into the car for the ride to the hotel. We were a bit delayed getting out of the driveway as Sir Pe had forgotten to unplug whatever it was he had plugged into the car to keep it warm when we had arrived. Yes, it's that cold in Sweden.

As we drove, we chatted about various things, and then Ole and I learned that if you ask your driver about certain topics, such as their home country and why they don't live their anymore, said driver can get a bit distracted and forget exactly where it is he is supposed to be taking you. You have to be careful, as you may end up back at the airport, which doesn't happen to be anywhere near your hotel. I'm not saying that this is what happened (because I think I said I wouldn't say), I'm just saying... as a general word of caution for future visitors. 'Nuff said. Moving on!

On Sunday, we got together with my brother and family! It had been over a year since I'd seen them, so this was a great treat for all of us. Unfortunately for them, their luggage had been delayed in Amsterdam so they were stuck in what they had worn on the plane. Not to mention that they'd just arrived on an overseas flight, with 3 kids, so everyone was a bit exhausted. Nevertheless, we all went out to a local pub and had some lunch and then had a chance to wander around Stockholm a bit. We visited the royal palace and did a bit of sight-seeing.





Ole and I finally headed back to our hotel. Did I mention that Ole booked a hotel that sat on top of a shopping mall? Could it get any more perfect?! We wandered through the Swedish grocery store and I found some prized possessions - cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup and ziploc bags. I decided to let Sweden keep the caviar in a toothpaste tube. That's just too weird for me.

Final word of caution for those who may be thinking of visiting Stockholm. There is a train. It runs from Arlanda airport to central Stockholm. It takes 20 minutes. It costs approximately $40 USD, per person. And, at the time we were on it, the bathroom on board was out of order. Grumble. Highway robbery!

Oh, and the fabric? It has arrived back in the US! :)

Telling Time

I learned how to tell time long, long ago. I have no memory of the process, it's just one of those things you learn early and never forget. But, I learned to tell time in a part of the world that uses AM and PM to differentiate between the time before lunch, and the time after. Then I moved to Denmark, and ... my ability to tell time has been blown to bits.

Why? Well, you see, over here they use a 24 hr clock. Where I come from, we call that 'military time' but here, they just call it time. Whether there are armies of soldiers involved or not, it confuses the hell outta me. Oh sure, on paper, it's all rather simple - there are 24 hours in a day and if you just use all 24 when telling time, rather than only 12, it simplifies things and gets rid of that pesky little 'am' and 'pm'. I fully understand the concept and I do agree that it does make a bit of sense, but my brain cannot compute the times on short notice. It's not that I don't know that 17 means 5pm, it's just that when the world is moving quickly, and I'm not paying attention, 17 is meaningless. And this... this gets me into trouble now and then.

Exhibit A: A couple of weeks ago, we had the dogs at the swimming hall on a Saturday. There's an appointment book there where you choose your next swimming time and write in your name to reserve the time. We were on our way out and decided to book a time for Wednesday evening. I ran to the book, scrolled quickly through the available times, and jotted our names down for 6:30 pm. As we were loading the dogs into the car, something in my brain was triggering me that some bit of something, somewhere, wasn't quite right. So, because of that little nagging voice, I ran back inside to double-check the time I'd chosen. Yep, okay, 6:30 it is. All set. Or so I thought.

When we arrived Wednesday evening, right on time, the owner started to tell Ole that we had missed our time, but that we were lucky, as no one was scheduled so we would still be able to swim. I'm thinking.. huh? How did we miss our time? Let's go to the videotape (or in this case, the appointment book). What time had I chosen? 16:30... um, oops. Yep, I had chosen 4:30 pm, not 6:30 pm, and despite my brain's best attempt to warn me of my error, another part of my brain just couldn't see that pesky little "1" standing in front of the 6:30.

Exhibit B: And just the other day, while on the phone, we were discussing an upcoming event and whether or not we'd be attending. I had received an email with the details of the event and I had read said email earlier in the day. When Ole mentioned that it may start too early for us, I quickly replied that I thought we'd be fine as it didn't start until 7 or 7:30.

I went back later to sign us up only to discover that we will be late in arriving. I'm guessing by now, you can probably figure out why.

STUPID CLOCK!