Cykling

As I cycle from here to there I sigh with delight.  If it were dark and rainy I might think otherwise, but now it is so pleasant.  Here are some scenes while cycling to and from Danish class at what was formerly known as Risø and is now known as DTU National Laboratory of Sustainable Energy.

wind energy

more wind

toward the lookout tower (bird tower)

the path to the tower

a row of flowers among the grasses

the main entrance

the main road, which has a bird sanctuary at the end

they still give fruit to each office

my view at lunch time

my trusty bicycle - not very Danish (no fenders, no baskets)

Grocery Shopping

The grocery store can be a fun place.

Irma logo

Women dressed up as Irma handing out candy

to celebrate the chain's birthday.  

If balloons represent birthdays in the US, flags are the key to celebrating birthdays here - on the candles, on the cake, on the napkins, lining the driveway, in the flowerpots, along the fence, and the large flag on the flagpole instead of the wimple (long, skinny kind).

Free samples of wine (maybe four or five different kinds?) were being offered at the store, along with a little cup of peanuts.

not Irma, but yet another store offering free wine samples

I think there must have been many birthday specials because I have never seen grocery store lines so long, especially at Irma, which is known for having a good variety, but high prices.  At least I got to see the sights while I waited.

juice from red currants, cranberries, elderberries, and black currants 

(didn't see the cherry juice I remember from Hungary,

or grape juice)

alcoholic ginger beer, not like my favorite boarding school books

and organic beer, which may be in the US but I have never noticed it 

because it is not right by the cash register.

Food in the Neighborhood, International Edition

On the way to my morning swim I saw someone picking these so I assumed they were edible.

 Mmm, little plums - definitely edible.

And on the other side of the path were apples, 

not the best ever, but the view is hard to beat.

Also on the way home were rose hips.  I don't know if they still do, but when we lived in Hungary they were used for baby food.  Here I have seen women collect them to make marmalade.

At my hosts' home they have berries

and apples.

Figs and peaches in Claremont are a treat, but so is sitting and eating an apple while watching the boats on the water.  What a life!

Ro's Torv

Or Roskilde's Square, but it is really a mall.  Even though much of it is familiar, here are a couple different shots.

What was I thinking when I went into the home and kitchen store?  Did I think I wouldn't want one of everything?

Le Creuset drool section

Rosti drool section

iittala drool section

 And that is just a selection of items that caught my eye.

 It is hard to imagine lit candles on tables in American malls.

Of course I stopped in Tiger, which I think of as Walmart but other people consider more like IKEA.  I resisted temptation here, too.

I had been trying to find a t-shirt with Danish words but everything is in English or has graphics similar to clothing at home.  No luck at thrift stores, either.  I'll happily give up and move on to other activities.

Harbor

I check this webcam often and follow the weather and activity in the Roskilde harbor.

If you look carefully you can see the weather on the left (13ºC) and the time on the right (21:08). 

The webcam is based here, but don't tell since it isn't very Danish.  It considered an invasion of privacy if you can recognize someone (unlike other places with closed-circuit cameras all over).

Last year I was surprised to see construction in this area and figured they must be strengthening the walls.  What a surprise I had when I saw that people were walking on the project.  Thanks to facebook I was able to ask all my Danish friends if they knew what was happening.  Turns out the project was an accessible dock with information about animals in the harbor.

I think you can make this large enough to read the history of the project.

Here's another view (with one of the new sculptures).

The floating dock has two tanks with animals to examine and informational signs.  A nearby bin has pieces to make a crab catcher, although it is strictly catch and release.

Do the strings keep the gulls out?

(Permission asked to take picture of child.)

He almost caught one!

another sculpture

Seal with Calf by Aase Frimodt Jensen

When I get back it will be nice to check the webcam and know what I am looking at.

What I Dream About

These pictures show why it is easy to train for a marathon in Denmark.  I wasn't able to get any pictures in the forest, so just imagine trees, green, and a narrow path.

past the Viking Museum

along the harbor

through the grasses past the cows

along the fjord

to the woods

and home again.

School Schedule (eller skole tidsplan)

A.'s class will follow this schedule until it changes (midyear?  not sure).  Monday should be fine since one class is English and they get out at 11:25.  He also has history and handiwork, like sewing and knitting (woodwork starts when they are a little older).

• Da = dansk = Danish
• mat = mathematics
• n/t = natur/teknik = nature/technology, which could include the body, electricity, inventions, and kite flying
• idraet = sporting activities = physical education
• Krist = Christian education 
• KL.t = klass tid = class time - issues, questions
• mus = music
• bill. = art

How do families deal with the different dismissal times?  They don't.  The children ride their bicycles, rain or shine, to klubben (the club), an afterschool program about 1.6 km away.  There is always some class getting out early each day so it opens at 11:30 and children arrive as they finish.  They can leave when they please and most kids this age seem to have some sort of phone to let a parent know s/he is on the way home.

Details to follow!