The Blog Has Not Been Abandoned

But I'm very much in the phase of "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all". It's been a tough few weeks with alot of personal struggle. It's almost all work related & I hope there is a positive outcome soon.

In the meantime, here are some pics & I promise that there are plenty of Danish observations to be shared, laughed at, & enjoyed together...Keep checking back & don't forget little ole me over here. ;-)

I love how this street looks. It's just off one of the main streets in the city.

This is part of an art exhibition for elephant conservation. Uniquely designed elephant statues are all over the city. This one was in Christianshavn.

While the weather is nice, the Danes will spend as much time outdoors as possible. A couple of my friends & I are trying to adopt that as well.

Just a random shot.

2 Month Update

Yep, It's been 2 months. Time is flying past & I can't decide how happy or sad I am about that. I'm becoming more comfortable with my surroundings. The past few months have taught me alot about myself & yet, I know that there is still so much to learn.


Just as before, I'll recap what I miss & enjoy the most. :)


What I miss:


1. Dopey, Family, & Friends: I don't think that will ever change. And Dopey's recent health issues make it that much harder to be away.  


2. Mani/Pedi's! I didn't go ALL the time but Lord knows that when the feet were starting to look a little too rough, It was time for a quick trip to the nail salon. To do that here would be approx $250 (yes, that's 250 US DOLLARS) for a basic mani/pedi. This is no bueno!

3. DVR - Oh sweet sweet DVR. What a great contraption! Records all my shows and let's me watch them when I am good & ready. My shows aren't played here & I can't stream them b/c of my location. This may be ok now that it's summer & the new seasons won't start until fall but the minute y'all start posting on FB "Ooohh...Parenthood was SOOO good this week" and "SNL was hilarious this week!" ...Yea, I may have a meltdown right around then.  


4. Being all up in your business - It's a little hard to be up to date w/ my friends & be able to be 'in the know' when you are so far away. Love all your emails & attempts to skype but I need more. I just neeeeeeddddd more.


5. Driving. Who cares if it's raining or cold or hot...You can get in a car and turn on the a/c, heater, lower windows, turn on windshield wipers, & get to your destination mostly unaffected by the weather outside.


What I Enjoy:


1. More travel. More. More. MORE! 


2. Accents! It's great to be in a room & hear accents from all different parts of the world. Makes conversations more interesting. I'm also quite fascinated to hear other people's views on the US. People are just amuse me.

3. Looking around & feeling more comfortable. I'm starting to know where things are & enjoy making plans & knowing how to get to these places (sometimes without a map).


4. Realizing that there's more work to be done. Stay tuned there...


5. The friends I am starting to make.

The Dice Game

Every culture has at least 1 game that they like to play as a way to pass the time while drinking. Danes are no exception. Apparently, one of these games involves dice & a leather cup. I'm still not quite sure I understand the concept of this game but I am really good at it b/c I kept winning.

The game is like part poker & part bullshit. Each player shakes their cup & turns it down. You look to see what you have rolled & you have to guess what others have rolled. The first player says, "I think that there will be two 2's". The next player then has to up that ("I think that there will be three 5's") or call the hand. If the hand is called on your turn & your guess is wrong, you continue playing w/ 4 dice while all the other players get to lose one die. This goes on until someone has no dice left & that person is the winner. At least, that's how I think the game goes. I wasn't paying much attention & kept asking after each hand "Does that mean I won?" "Yes, you won again" "Great!!! Now...how did I do that?"

This is a funny little culture. With funny little games. I think next time, it should be my turn to show them one of our games. Which one should it be? Hmmmm......

Did You Drink Enough?

I was out & about last night & ended up in a small bar w/ a few buddies. As I walked in, I noticed something that seemed incredibly out of place in a country where drinking should be listed as the National Hobby: A breath analyzer machine.

This machine will check your alcohol levels & tell you if it is safe for you to drive. Drive what? No one flippin' drives in this place!! Are they concerned about drinking & biking?? How many accidents are caused each year by 2 drunk cyclists running into each other on their bicycle? I want actual stats on this.

Now...I think that this machine is a great idea....for the US. All the bars in the US should have this contraption & folks should know whether they can drive at the end of the night or not. But, in Copenhagen, it just seems...out of place. In fact, one of the guys (a Dane) we were with said, "Oh yes...We use that machine from time to time. If it shows that our alcohol level is a 1.5, well, then it just means we haven't had enough & have to work on getting ourselves to a 2.5!" Ah yes, I am sure that this is exactly what the intention is.

The Sleeping Channel

Tons of expats go without television around here. They manage to find ways to stream shows or just read the news online, etc. I, however, could not go cold turkey without television so I signed up for the "full" cable package. This package has very limited english programming but hey, it's better than nothing.

But who needs english when you're just watching people sleep??? That's right. You heard me correctly. There is a children's programming channel that does not have any regular programming after 8pm b/c that's when kids go to sleep. So instead of shutting off or doing some kind of interim programming, they show people sleeping. Just sleeping...

Can you imagine the casting call for that? Wanted: actors w/ the talent of sleeping. Must know how to snore, drool, & lay motionless.

Think I am kidding? Watch...It starts up about 17 seconds into the clip. Enjoy!

New List: Places I Want to Visit While Here

I just came back from a super fantastic weekend in which I went to Switzerland, Germany, & France in 1 day. Yes...3 countries in 1 day. It was a busy weekend but I saw some amazing sites & it was well worth it. However, now I have been bitten by the bug. The travel bug. So many places I want to see... Think I am going to make a list & see how close I come to meeting these goals in the time that I am here.

1. Reykjavik, Iceland - To see the Aurora Borealis.
2. Oslo, Norway
3. Stockholm, Sweden
4. Berlin, Germany
5. Zurich, Switzerland
6. Vaduz, Liechtenstein - Just to say that I went to Liechtenstein!
7. Vienna, Austria - and I want to go to a classical music concert there
8. London, England - and Stonehenge
9. Dublin, Ireland
10. Glasgow, Scotland
11. Andorra La Vella, Andorra
12. Luxembourg
13. Prague, Czech Republic
14. All over Denmark
15. Rome, Italy
16. Athens & Santorini Greece
17. Malta
18. Barcelona, Spain
19. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
20. Budapest, Hungary

Think I can do it???

The Winds of Change Are A Blowin'

I've spent a few weeks now pondering if I could really be here for a year. Was this really the right decision? Will I get the hang of all this bike riding, walking, listening to strange languages that make no sense, etc? Every time I turned around, I was hitting another wall (still waiting for my things, the phone not working properly, again the bike riding, etc).

But is it possible that I am just being too hard on myself? I've only been here 6 weeks...and let's recap all the things that HAVE happened:
I moved to a different country, found an apartment that I really like, been to Sweden, bought a bike (again w/ the dang bike), been to the zoo, National Museum, Fredricksburg & King's Garden, Tivoli, IKEA (oh that was a glorious day indeed) & more. I've started to make friends, been to dinners/movies w/ persons of the opposite sex (I've heard those are sometimes called dates but that's just crazy talk), started a new job, & heading off to Switzerland tomorrow for the weekend.

More than 1 person has recently pointed out to me that I have 'hit the ground running' & it can be hard to keep up. Ha! That's funny to me.

Even today, I was chatting w/ someone & telling them how after my dinner last night, I went for a stroll through the Fredricksburg Gardens ... just because. She laughed & said that was a complete 180 from just a few weeks ago when I wondered why people are always walking. And where are they going? Seems like they walk w/ no purpose...AND WHO DOES THAT?? Guess what. Apparently, I did that. And I think I liked it. *Gasp*

I still have a lot of those questions in my head (will I like it here...can I be here an entire year....etc etc etc) but one things for sure....Whatever the answer is, I think I will come out of it w/ a totally different outlook on a lot of things. And guess what, for today at least, I don't think that's a bad thing.

Photographic evidence that I am attempting to learn how to ride "Dev" (or as some people call her, "The Green Goddess")

Enjoying my walk

Finding the beauty around me