biking with vikings

bad dreams

woke up distressed as I dreamed that Bush had one the election, then relieved when I realized that it was only a dream :)

Frederiksberg Have

It is a beautiful day today - cold and clear but warm in the sun - so I went for a spin on the bicycle and had a good look at Frederiksberg Have and Frederiksberg Slot (castle). What a beautiful park - It's reminiscent of St. James'/Serpentine in London (although I was admittedly pretty drunk the last time I was there) and Volunteer Park in Seattle ('cept better) and the view from the castle is terrific.

Lots of people out there today basking in the sun (get it while you can kids! winter is coming!) and lots of kids playing and feeding the resident ducks.

I took some more snaps which you can see here.

Ingenious appliances and newbie errors

It took me a few minutes to figure out some of the rather ingenious appliances in my flat. As space is at a premium here, the washer is actually both a washer and a dryer, which is not common in the states (but a great idea). I had to read the directions carefully before I could operate it correctly :).

Likewise the oven is both a convection oven and a microwave - I have no idea how they pulled that one off, esp as it has metal grilles inside the oven compartment. I thought any metal was a no-no in microwaves but this one seems to work fine! Also quite ingenious. You can use it as either kind of oven.

And in the "comic misunderstanding" department, here's a few laughable mistakes I made in the first week due to the fact that I don't yet understand Danish:

- Bought buttermilk instead of milk and whipping cream instead of 1/2 & 1/2 (note to self: look at the *pictures* on the carton :)).

- Struggling with their coins: I still have to sit there and slowly count out the coins to pay for things. If there's a queue behind me I'll just pay with a bill, which means I amassed a great pile of coins by the end of the week! Thankfully a patient guy behind the counter in a local hardware store helped me sort them out yesterday so my "street weight" is now down a few kilos :).

Also the relocation company got my address slightly wrong (I'm in Apt. 4. TH. which means "to the right", they have Apt. 2. TH on 2nd floor) which means my poor neighbor on 2nd floor is now getting my post! Hopefully that will be corrected quickly and they won't start throwing things out :).

Police Auctions and a new bike

Well I can hardly call this blog "Biking with Vikings" without a bicycle so I went out in search of a bicycle today.

I'd been told that police auctions (where they auction off unclaimed stolen/recovered bicycles) is a good way to get a cheap used bicycle here so my friend Arthur and I went to an auction this morning in Vanlose (near Frederiksberg). Lots of really trashed bikes there which would be good w/tools, a place to fix it and some time, but I have none of those things right now so I didn't bid on any bikes there. Besides, there's something a bit sad about bidding on a bike that has been stolen from someone, even if it was just abandoned... it bugs me :).

Anyway we then headed to a nearby bike shop that sells used bikes, some good bikes there but for another $400-600 DKK I could have a new bike that includes service, some "insurance" in case it is stolen and service over the next year. So for around $450 USD I bought a "Jaguar", a real Danish-style land cruiser bike! She's a beauty :)

First impressions

Disqualifier: I'm still in the honeymoon phase here so of course everything is wonderful :).

Some first impressions:

- The cycles and bike lanes everywhere are like a dream come true, just about every street has separated bicycle lanes, bicycle traffic lights etc!

I often see parents riding their children around in modified cargo bicycles such as this one - it is like the SUV of bicycles!

- Danes are quite decent and nice when engaged, and all speak near-perfect English so no need to stumble around in Danish (although that would be good).

- I got my CPR number (Danish social security number) in about ten minutes at the Frederiksberg city hall, that would never happen in the States (granted I had some help from the relocation person, but still)

- the food on the whole is bland (but there are good things such as curries to be found, I just haven't found my sources yet :))

- Theyr'e overly fond of pilsner beers here, but that's what Irish Pubs are for :)

Sightseeing Sunday

Seriously jet-lagged today. I'm trying to clear the cobwebs out of my head, and as it is a beautiful day today I walked downtown and through the Stroget and did some shopping as well.

Here is Radhuspladsen

and here is a very cool fountain on the plaza

I also ran across a showing of large-scale prints from Yann Arthus-Bertrand's new photo study Horses (Heste)

I loved his Earth from Above book - It was my Christmas present to my dad last year.

On the way home I stopped by the lakes which ring the old city and the Tycho Brahe Planetarium which is just a few blocks from my place - will have to stop back for a proper visit and report.

Arriving in Copenhagen: Frederiksberg flat

Well I arrived in once piece here on Saturday Oct. 2nd. It's a really nice little flat in Frederiksburg (Gammel Konigsvej and Bianco Lunos Alle) - I'm here courtesy of MS for three months until I find a home for the family/ Here are some snaps of the flat:

It's a cool neighborhood; it reminds me of one of the Paris arrondisiments outside of the touristy areas: Lots of 4 and 5 story buildings from late 19th and early 20th centuries. One big difference though is the bike lanes that are everywhere!