Oops ...

I can be really thick sometimes ...

Why bother looking at the schedule? I start at nine everyday except later on in the week when I start at ten-thirty. Imagine everyone's surprise when me, a traditional and proud late-bird, showed up at nine to find that I was an hour and a half early. Monday. That's how they getcha. All I could do was take the world's longest coffee break, walking home and back seemed an exercise in futility.

Good news though; Melanie has returned from London so Sarah will be getting a card soon - I owe Melanie 10p. I may babysit her cat ... more on that later (if it pans out).

I can be really thick sometimes (part deux) ...

I bought it. I love it. It is shiny and practical (I will never use it). But this is not where my thickness lies. When I purchased this treat to myself (and note, beer before shopping in the pricey end of town should be avoided) the lovely young lady handed it to me in this tiny chi-chi bag. Walking out the door, I realised I looked rather foolish with this dainty, albeit elegant, shopping bag. No time to waste! I went into Illums Bolighus searching for ... what ... a bowl? Candle sticks? Glasses! The only glasses in the flat are too small; I need manly glasses for my manly Vanilla Vodka and Diet Coke. iittala-kartio seemed the trick (look iittala up, you've seen it before) and the bag they would give me would surely be large enough to carry the weeny baby bag.

The set of 2 glasses only cost just under 160dkk. Thick.

Tyk.

First Month in Denmark!

That was fast ...

March, to borrow an old expression, is going out like a lion. It is a windy, damp, chilly day. Copenhagen is essentially on an island and the wind here never lets you forget this fact. I invested in a new umbrella, only 25dkk and I got what I paid for as it has to be one of the worst umbrellas I've ever owned. The wind collapsed it on my way to work this morning. I shall spend my money far more wisely in the future.

The bird in the image above is a common Magpie; they are everywhere here. People don't really seem to like them but I think they're quite pretty. One animal I have yet to see is a squirrel. In my mind, Magpies, Pigeons and Seagulls have replaced Squirrel as the common city animal. I'm completely ok with that, squirrels are rats with fat tails is all - vermin.

I've been meaning to mention that it really is Spring over here. Early flowers are in bloom and I can see buds on trees. My friend Melanie was in London this week and she says it was truly lovely so my guess is that we will be in full Spring mode by next week. Mind you, the weather here is nothing if not unpredictable.

Two milestones in one day.

Today I can also claim to be completely meat-free for an entire year. I don't miss chicken or beef at all but I do kind of miss pork. Pork is a staple food here as is fish. I've been mulling over becoming pescatarian and the variety of fish available is abundant. I doubt if I could still bring myself to go to a fish market, but I may eat some if served to me. We'll see ...

Vi ses!

The Handyman.

Avert your sensitive eyes!

The plumbing in Denmark is a little different than what I'm used to in Canada. Sometimes the hot/cold taps are reversed (light switches are upside down, flip down to turn on ...) and there is a higher than normal concentration of kalk in the water making it softer but also tends to leave a bit of white residue on taps, showers and dishware. I always hand dry the dishes now.

One thing, also very different, is the drain in the shower. I'm used to a system where the water goes away down that little hole at the end of the tub and every so often I would pull some stray hairs out to be flushed away after the shower. That doesn't happen here. Here, you must unscrew the drain cover and remove the 'filter' to clean and when done regularly, wouldn't be a big deal. I was dreading this when after taking the first shower in my new place, the water didn't go down the drain. "Suck it up and get 'er cleaned" I said to myself. I went out to get a screwdriver (and other things, but this isn't about shopping today), came home, scooped out as much old shower water as I could, undid the screws and spent the better part of ten minutes trying to remove the cover.

Success! Then, retching. It seems that the previous tenants never bothered to do this so good for me, I have a years worth of someone else's showers stuck in the drain. Soap residue and what looked like Phil Spector's best hair day (don't forget the smell!) and who only knows what else was in there.

This was the grossest thing I have ever done and I've poked sticks at dead animals! Not recently, when I was a kid, stop thinking that about me. Once the drain was cleaned, I sprayed the entire shower stall with BANG (another awesome name for something)! Kate, remember when I cleaned your bathroom sink drain? That was a tropical vacation compared to this, complete with rum drinks and a steel band, babe.

Now for something pretty ...

This city to date has never failed to amaze me. The mosaic pictured above was in a driveway alley kind of thing in a rather bland section of town. The piece opposite was of Adam an Eve in the Garden of Eden but of course some idiot tagged it (in yellow! C'mon! Yellow???) and was even larger.

The art and architechture, both old and new, are a feast for the eyes.

Vi vil tale senere!

Slow and steady ...

Movin' on up!

I got the keys to my permanent place on Tuesday morning and of course, being someone who rushes into things, I lugged my 80 kg suitcase to the bus stop. The new place is on a pretty major road in a region known as Brønshøj. I asked the bus driver if she goes as far as Frederikssundsvej and she had no idea where I was talking about. I repeated it. Nope, not a clue. I knew this bus went up the hill and decided to roll the dice. A very nice, extremely tall man asked me what street I was looking for and I told him. He didn't know it either. I explained it was a pretty major street and mentionned some landmarks there. Hand to God "Oh! FrederikSUNDsvej" ... Ya.

As it turns out, the bus I took stopped 3 doors from where I was going (which was obviously Imaginationland for the bus driver).

I re-worked some of the furniture layout and unpacked most of the case. Alain came by and was quite impressed. It's small but very clean, well lit and a great price.

I get more cable channels so sat down to watch and write a list of things I needed to get for the place.

Am I bovvered?

I GET THE BBC COMEDY CHANNEL! Made my night, especially with 2 Catherine Tate episodes on. If you haven't heard of her, go to YouTube and watch anything; "The Translator" is the best way to start.
Go now. I'll write more tomorrow - you deserve a good laugh.

Mere pakning skal gøre!

How to be careless when packing ...

Ooops ...

So my friend Alain came over on Saturday and mentioned that he was going to Blockbuster to see what's out. I offered him a copy of one of the dvds I brought with me. He has a 50' flat-screen hi-def blah-blah-blah. We opened the box and of course, no dvd inside. Francois, I think it's in your dvd player. That or Warkworth along with the key codes to nearly all the computer games I brought ... sigh

Another cookie crumbles. No matter, I can pick everything up in 2012 when I fly home for a visit.

Actually, the only thing that was damaged on the flight over was a Cheers shotglass from Boston. Everything else (that got into the suitcase, save for the dollar store umbrella) arrived unharmed.

Danger! Danger! Red Alert and the like ...

When visiting Copenhagen, I insist you try a shot of Fisk; much like being skreeched in when visiting Newfoundland without kissing a cod or anything. It's vodka 'mellowed' with Fisherman's friend and I have experienced two types: black and brown. Brown tastes like Halls and doesn't seem so bad until you try to walk anywhere. You then discover that your legs have drifted off into the sunset (2 points to whoever gets that reference). The black is the bile of Satan. Cab fare required if having more than one. I'm bringing a bottle back for you all to try because I want to share the pain.

I want to ride my bicycle! I want to ride my bike!

Got to get a Queen reference in once and a while. I went shopping for a used bike today and no luck. I wanted used because new bikes start at about 2000dkk and go up. Way up. Fast math gives us $400 and up. There are a few sales on now so I might just suck it up and get a new one. The used bikes I did see weren't anything special and were mostly 'for girls'.

The day wasn't a complete loss though; I did manage to pick up a present for one adorable little boy who will be celebrating his first birthday this year. No, I did not buy him his first Fisk.

Skål!

Slainte!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The rain has turned to ice pellets so I'm still of two minds about going out for a pint. Canadian brain says "stay in fool!" and Irish brain says "get out there fool!".  Either way I think I'm going to feel foolish.

I tried to Google for events, bars etc. but didn't come to much. I did find a pub called 'The Irish Rover' so if Irish brain wins out, I'll probably head down there.

No one in the office wore green aside from myself and a colleague from Saskatchewan who is of Norwegian descent. Maybe I do deserve a reward/punishment.

Christine, je t'aime.

I'll stop gripeing now. My friend Christine has been reading this blog and has brought me an ashtray. Tusind tak my dear!

Ønsker mig held og lykke!

The day to day stuff

Trains and bicycles and your own damn feet.

"What is 'The best way to get around Copenhagen' Alex?"

Correct! A word about the Metro system. See that picture? Where's the driver? There isn't one as all Metros are electronically controlled and driverless. There is enough room for four people to sit at the front and enjoy the ride, five if someone is standing. From the various ages, genders and religions I've observed (sometimes jealously) in these seats I can conclude that everyone likes to do this.

You can only use the Metro with a pass or a 10-ride ticket (klippekort) and no one sits in a booth collecting any money or selling tokens (are you listening TTC?). The only salaried people working on the trains during operating hours that I have seen are ticket inspectors verifying that your card was punched within the past hour (much like the system on the GO Train).

This is great for short trips because one punch of a card may just get you to where you're going and back again. The city and surrounding areas are divided by Zones but just one klip will get you pretty much anywhere in the city.

When the Metro goes underground (above ground it's like being on a monorail, but with two rails. I think that's just called a train ...) I noticed that the platforms and the tracks are separated by a glass partition with sliding glass doors opening when the Metro stops in the station. Suicide barriers.

These Danes think of everything.

I need to buy a bike.

Soon.

Still can't find an ashtray ...

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