biking with vikings

Sledding in Birkerød

lots of snow in Denmark the past week (and lots of stranded people at Kastrup yesterday), so all that practice driving in snow in Minnesota was put to good use as we drove over to a nice local hill in Birkerød for sledding…

plenty of squealing, happy kids out sledding today.  Malcolm a bit tentative and cautious at first, but he had a great time!

Minnesota

just back from a short work trip to Minnesota – tiring, but fun. 

I lived in Minnesota for nearly 15 years, first going out there from the east coast for university, and then staying a number of years after that (we left for Seattle and Microsoft in 1999).  Lots of good memories there: Susan (natch), school, friends, a band/the music scene, our first big/succesful project and more.

One thing that really struck me after living in Denmark is the size of the cars and roads – good lord, they seem (unecessarily) huge after being in Europe for a while!  The work/conference thingy was way out in the western suburbs (Chaska)… I’d forgotten how big, flat and empty it seems out there, just highways and new strip malls, big mega-stores and the like.  They seem so temporary.

On the other hand, many things felt just the same as when I left.  I met up with some friends in at Sweeney’s Pub in St. Paul and cruised the old neighborhood.  Our house and the neighborhood look exactly the same as when we left 6–7 years ago.  The Whole Foods store is bigger and better than before – I stocked up on the myriad things (bold roasted, organic coffee, cashew/almond butter, various Indian/ethnic sauces/pastes) that are hard to find in Copenhagen.

South Minneapolis seems to have gentrified a bit: The area around 46th/Nicollet-Chicago seems a bit more upscale now, I’ve noticed that Dunn Brother’s Coffee has moved in to S. Mpls in a big way (they were just a single location in St. Paul way back when).  Also I picked up a toy for Malcolm at a great little kid’s store in Linden Hills – man what a terrific little neighborhood. 

But the highlight of the trip was definitely dragging all 34 of the conference partipants to my friend Steven Brown’s restaurant – Levain.  Besides a fabulous meal, I had great fun watching the kitchen staff choreography as they prepared the meal in the open kitchen facing the dining room – like going to the theatre – and also watching the reaction of my group, some of whom are just not used to adventurous cuisine (‘sweetbreads?  that’s not a bread!’ or ‘pepper ice cream?  can they do that?’). 

By the end of the meal he’d won most of them over, and they left satisfied.  The best art always challenges and maybe broadens horizons just a little, and maybe this meal achieved that.  I got to hang out with only Steven briefly afterwards, we were both knackered.  So I will use this occasion to better stay in touch – he is an old friend going back many (christ, nearly 20) years.

There are a few other very dear friends I would have loved to visted this time, but really, I had only two evenings, so will have to wait for another trip to catch everyone.

So – it was nice to be back for a visit.  I could feel the tug of the place, a bit.  Not sure I’d move back for various reasons, but I can see why people like it, and stay.

 

Tenerife

got back Wednesday Jan 4th from 8 days in Tenerife – Happy New Year!

While you probably expected to see beach snaps, you may not expect to see this:

Mt. Teide – Highest Volcano in Europe (3700m)

or this:

Corona Forestal – ‘forest in the clouds’ at 2000m

Tenerife is a lot like Hawaii (big island): Various climatic zones,  big resorts and natural beauty, volcanic geography, and a windward/wetter side (the north) with a drier, sunnier side (the south) like the Kona Coast.  The southern part is awash with large resorts and hordes of English, Germans and Scandinavians escaping the northern winter, but where we stayed in Puerto de la Cruz and to the north, there was a nice balance of locals and tourists and it was easy (via our rented little beater of a Fiat Punto) to reach less-travelled and beautiful areas.  Thanks to the ever-reliable Rough Guides, we had a great balance of beach days, good meals, outdoor activities like hikes, and we included lots of Malcolm-friendly activities like trips to Loro Parque (a zoo/parrot conservatory) and a whale watching cruise.

So inevitably we ended up comparing everything with our few times in Hawaii.  In some ways we prefer Hawaii, in others, the Canaries:

• Natural Beauty – Mt. Teide and the Caldera were amazing – like a surprise hike into the American Southwest – but Hawaii has more climactic variety in a small area (something like 7 climactic zones) including rainforest. Advantage: Hawaii.
• Food – It was our first time in Spain (although some spaniards like to say that The Canaries/Canarians ‘isn’t really Spain’) but man, the food is terrific there and inexpensive.  Fabulous fresh fish and mediterranean style cooking, local wines, fresh citrus and herbs/spices.  Much better than Hawaii.
• Tourism – Mega-resorts in the south are to be avoided, just like Oahu (for instance) but in both places you can easily get away from the crowds. This (politically) being Europe, there’s good bus service across the island, though the roads in the interior are very dodgy and ill-maintained.  Come to think of it, the same was true in Hawaii. Also places like Puerto de la Cruz have been settled for hundreds of years (and tourism destinations for over 100 years) so it feels more like traditional Mediterranean towns rather than the new-or-nothing feel of Hawaii.  I’d call this a tie.
• Activities – We’ve hiked the calderas both in Hawaii and here – both are excellent though they feel different.  We didn’t try snorkelling here but I don’t think anything can beat the Kealakekua Bay snorkeling/ diving experience! Advantage: Hawaii.

Such is the way people amuse themselves on holiday.  The shorter version is: Who cares?  Both area great and worth a visit, if you know what to see and what to avoid.

As our first trip to Spanish territory, I’d say I can understand why some people fall in love with the culture and the lifestyle and decide to stay.  The Spanish are accomplished hedonists and my impression is that they are much less self-concious about whiling away the day on a beach, in a tapas bar or on siesta than the average northerner. 

In fact – while we where there, one of the big news stories was the movement in Spain towards a 9–5 working day without any siesta breaks .

They just seem so damned relaxed.  My hat is off to them.

It was a really nice trip, by far the best trip with Malcolm we’ve had so far.  He’s becoming a seasoned, intrepid little traveller, and it is much easier to go on a long trip with him now.  He was patient on the flights and not too fidgety, well-behaved on restaurant outings, friendly and cheerful with other kids and tourists and <drum roll> a tough and uncomplaining hiker on a gruelling (for a 3.5 year old) 4 km or so hike down into the caldera at Mt. Teide with very rough lava/rocks and a great deal of elevation change.  If I sound a bit proud, I am!  It is just one of those moments you wait for as a parent: Your child begins to mature and activities with them start to become a lot more fun compared to (say) at age 18 months. OK he did wet his pants on the flight home, but I’m not complaining .

And so we returned home to 20–30cm of snow and freezing temperatures, but we’re rested and happy and our cat Charlie was well-behaved while we were gone and glad to see us!

Snaps from the trip are here.