Week 5

Week 5 was full of excitement and anticipation: our sea shipment finally arrived and we can now get settled! After 2 weeks in a hotel in Illinois and just under 5 weeks in a hotel in Denmark, we are finally home! Hip hip hooray! We officially moved out of our temporary hotel house into our apartment on Saturday, June 28, exactly 1 month and 1 day from our arrival in Denmark.

Before the big move though, (while Nick was off at work bringing home the bacon,) Heather took the opportunity to relax! She spent Tuesday on a tour of downtown Odense with a friend who pointed out all the important things one should know about the town...where the best coffee shops are; what bakeries are worth trying out; which shops have the best selection of cheeses, chocolates, wine, etc.; and what restaurants are good/great or not worth trying. She also showed her several cute little areas that are a bit off the beaten track and good places to bring out of town visitors (hint hint people). After lunch and peeking in a few more shops, they parted ways so Heather could get home to make dinner for her hard working hubby. All day Tuesday, the anticipation of the following day's delivery of the sea shipment grew. By bed time, Nick and Heather felt like kids on Christmas Eve. We hardly slept, but after a long night of tossing and turning, and repeatedly checking the clock, Wednesday finally came!    

At 8am Wednesday, the movers were knocking at the door. Heather spent the morning directing the placement of boxes and furniture and unwrapping everything! Nick surprised Heather by swinging by the around noon to check on the progress and deliver much needed nourishment! After enjoying lunch together, Nick headed back to work while Heather unpacked EVERYTHING so the movers could take away all the boxes and packing materials. By about 3pm, after unloading everything for the apartment and reloading all the empty boxes, the movers left to deliver the last of our shipment. Nick shipped his home office furniture to use in his new office. While Nick situated his office, Heather was busy putting things away and assembling furniture at home.

Wednesday ended up being a day where you truly understand the importance of communication and even appreciate having a cell phone. While Heather was working away at the apartment assuming Nick would be coming back to check things out, Nick was sitting in the car at the hotel waiting for Heather to return with the hotel key. After about an hour of this, Nick went to check on Heather at the apartment, and Heather finally figured out Nick wasn't coming and headed to the hotel. Oops! By about 9, we were both back at the hotel, exhausted and ready for bed.

The following day (after thoroughly communicating the day's plans), Nick returned to the office and Heather returned to the apartment to unpack. Heather had grand aspirations for the day. She was going to get the bed set up in master bedroom before going back to Odense to pick up the dining room furniture that was purchased a few weekends before, unloading it back at the apartment and heading back to the hotel with enough time to get cleaned up for dinner out with Nick, and a few of his American coworkers here on a trip, Chris and Vince.Well, best laid plans often go awry, and Heather's certainly did on Thursday. While washing the new sheets, the washing machine kept shutting off. After a bit of detective work, Heather informed the property manager that the washing machine was flipping the fuse each time it went into the spin cycle. He (somewhat uncharacteristically) responded immediately and had a new washer installed that same day. This however meant that instead of picking up furniture, Heather was suck at the apartment waiting for the maintenance man. Once the new washing machine was installed and the sheets were successfully being washed, Heather left for the hotel very ready for a meal cooked by someone else! The four of us went to a cute little cafe with stained glass windows offering a few Danish dishes and a good selection of beer. This delicious meal was of course followed by ice cream and a wander through town.

On Friday, Heather packed up a car load of things from the hotel (such as Bella's kennel, most of the clothes and shoes, and a majority of the food) and delivered it to the apartment. She spend the better part of the morning unpacking before heading to IKEA to purchase a couple of down comforters (one for each of them) and duvet covers. This was followed by a trip to the hardware store for a few tupperware containers to store Bella's food and winter clothes in. From there, she went to pick up furniture and finally got back to the apartment. After several trips up and down the stairs to unload the car, she was able to start the unpacking efforts again. Friday evening brought about our first visitors, Vince and Chris. They popped by to see the place before heading to Copenhagen for their return flight. It also brought Nick back the the apartment for the first time since the movers were there on Wednesday. He was quite pleased, and a bit surprised, by Heather's progress (Little did he know that most things were just randomly shoved in wardrobes and cabinets)! The vital things were set up though. Most importantly, the balcony was unpacked and staged so we always had a relaxing place to go away from the mess of boxes, piles, and things. The other important area was the master bedroom. That room was box free; the clothes were mostly unpacked; and the bed was put together and ready for sleeping in. After the guests left, Nick and Heather sat on the balcony for a bit relaxing then headed back to Odense for dinner and the last night at the hotel.  

Saturday morning, Nick and Heather woke up early, packed the remaining items at the hotel, and checked out. From there we went home, unpacked the car, dropped off Bella, and then headed to the hardware store to get some supplies for hanging the lights and our pictures. Before returning to home to work, we made an important stop at the local pastry shop to pick up a sweetie and some coffee.

Mmm, pastry

Cheers to our first day in our new home! 

After our nourishment (if you can call sugar and caffeine nourishment), we went to work hanging blinds and curtains on several of the windows and unpacking and organizing more. Nick borrowed a hammerdrill from work and his friend loaned us a drill as well. All the walls, interior and exterior are concrete, so hanging things up is slow going. We are trying to remain patient and only hang a few things hung per day so we can really enjoy our weekends exploring and relaxing. With this in mind, Nick, Heather and Bella set off for an afternoon walk to explore the area a bit. We are constantly amazed by the number of jellyfish in the water, and the number of people in the water who pay the jellyfish no mind (apparently only the bright red ones sting).   

I spy with my little eye, something squishy...
How many jellies can you count? 

Art. Notice the seagull at the top of the crane.

For dinner, we tried out an Asian restaurant just downtown near the pedestrian only zone and were quite pleased with their offerings. We had a "Thai Menu" 5 course meal. It started with a chicken soup that was excellent. This was followed by sweat and sour chicken and a cucumber salad. Next came a duck and noodle dish (Heather's first time trying duck - thumbs up!). Then came the main course, a beef and vegetable curry. Just when we thought we couldn't eat another bite, out come the 3 scoop banana split. We aren't clear on how exactly these are a traditional Thai dessert, but no complaints! The strawberry ice cream was amazing.     

Sunday was much like Saturday, unpacking, hanging some things, mounting our headboard. The key rack Nick brought back from India and the cuckoo clock from our trip to Germany got hung, however the pendulum and tree topper are missing from the clock. We also mounted our headboard and hung a mirror in the entry way. Additionally, the rest of the clothes got unpacked, the winter clothes got repacked and put into storage, and his and her coat/shoe closets got arranged. We grilled chicken for dinner on the balcony with our little smokey joe and enjoyed a beautiful evening.

Sunset view from the balcony. Home sweet home. 

Even though we got a lot accomplished and had a few very peaceful moments of relaxation, the weekend flew by much quicker than it should have. Monday brought more shopping for Heather and, of course, more work for Nick. In her opinion, Heather's best purchase of the day was a heater for the patio. Nick however may think his new grill tools were the best purchase. Heather also bought a few things we discovered we needed after living in the apartment for a few days, such as a shower curtain, bath mat, and some caddies to hang on the shower wall. Nick and Heather ended week 5 by enjoying some time on the patio, basking in the warmth of the heater.    

Week 4

Wow, week 4. We've been here nearly a month and are definitely ready to get to our own place! We are all set to receive our shipment next week on Wednesday, June 25th and Heather has officially finished cleaning the apartment in preparation for the move. We also purchased furniture and picked up the car this week. It's finally starting to sink in that we are not just on vacation and that holy cow, we've actually moved to Denmark!    

Week 4 started out with Nick's first work trips since we moved: an overnighter and a day trip. Both Nick and Heather could get used to this type of travel! Tuesday and Wednesday, Nick was out at a test site with several of the members of his Danish team along with one of his good friends and colleagues from the US. Heather spent those two days in forced relaxation, holed up in the hotel still under-the-weather. By Thursday though, she was back to good and ready to see Nick off for his day trip to Sweden. While he was in Sweden conducting an exit interview, Heather was working with the property management company to prepare the Illinois house for renting and getting things finalized at the bank in preparation to pick up the new car the following day.  

Friday was wonderful! We got our car which we LOVE; hung out with friends; and took a nice drive in the new one!!! Bella seems to fit quite comfortably and enjoys looking out the big window in the back almost as much as resting her head on the back seat while checking out the scenery through the windshield.  

Nick picking up the new car!!! 

Drinks with coworkers Friday night in the courtyard at the hotel

Saturday was a FULL day of shopping. After several different stores (some of them twice) and a great deal of deliberation, we picked out a dining room table and chairs! We selected a table with a top crafted from reclaimed barn wood supported by metal legs with a distressed finish. A matching bench that would accommodate 3 easily and 4 if we squished, a matching stool for the kitchen island and three dining chairs. These should all be ready for us to pick up by the first or second week of July. Saturday night, Nick and Heather, along with Vince who was still in town from the US, grilled some food and relaxed on the patio. 

Sunday was much more relaxing than Saturday. We put together an Ikea shelving unit for our entry way to hold our shoes (well, some of our shoes at least), found the dump and drop off a load of boxes from the air shipment, and "blissed out" in our balcony chairs for a bit before returning to Odense. Sunday night, we went into downtown for dinner with Vince and another of Nick's coworkers, Chris, who arrived from the US earlier that afternoon. We had dinner at a little steakhouse in the center of town then got some tasty gelato and walked around an older section of Odense, built between the late 1700 and early 1800 with cobble stone streets and half-timber houses.

Older section of Odense near Hans Christian Andersen's childhood home.

Monday took Nick back to work, while Heather spent the day exploring the nearby walking paths and having yet more ice cream, this time with the wife of one of Nick's colleagues, Michaela. She showed Heather her favorite places to jog and walk, as well as some good ice cream joints! 

Because Monday was Midsummer Eve or "Sankt Hans aftern" (the Danes always celebrate this on the 23rd while other Scandinavian ), the town was getting ready for the festivities. Odense has a festival with music, food, and of course beer (no Danish anything is complete without beer), where they light a huge bonfire that burns for about 2 days. The Midsummer holiday stems from an old pagan celebration honoring the sun god's defeat of darkness. Now however, it is a day where Danes get together to enjoy good food and drink and light a bonfire at dark. One of the traditions of Sankt Hans aftern is to send off a witch to Bloksbjerg, a mountain in Germany where Wicans were rumored to gather on this day. To send the witch off, a wooden figure (which may, but doesn't always, have fireworks in it) is placed onto the bonfire and a song which translates in English to "We Love Our Little Land" is sung. 

Nick, Heather and Chris were lucky enough to be invited to a midsummer eve party. The party, held at the home of one of the boys' coworkers, was located on a penninsula/island (depending on your source) located at the southwest edge of Fyn. His home is located on the coast only 150 meters from the Helnæs lighthouse which was built in 1901. 

Here is a photo of the lighthouse with Anders' house being just left of the lighthouse.
It was quite cool, windy and a bit rainy that so this is a photo courtesy of Wikipedia since we didn't take any.

For dinner we had several types of appetizers, salads, grilled sausages, etc. Smartly, everyone grills their own food on the hosts grill, so it can be done just the way you like AND the host doesn't have to work the entire time!  For dessert, we had homemade ice cream, rhubarb cake, strawberry tart, and fresh strawberries. Delicious.  Because of the rain, the bonfire and the witch send off was postponed until next year. On the 2 hour drive back to the hotel, we could see smoke dotting the horizon from other midsummer eve bonfires. And that was the end of week 4. 

Week 3

First off, happy belated Father's Day to our wonderful dads. You both reared amazingly wonderful, smart, attractive children (who clearly do not think too highly of themselves)! Kidding! Really though, thank you both for being such hard workers, loving fathers, and good friends. There are several characteristics we emulate in our lives because of you, and we appreciate all you have done for us, and will continue to do for us, through the years. 

Week 3 started out with a bang. Nick bought our new car! We are the proud new owners of a very-slightly-used 2013 diesel Volvo V40 with less than 6,000 miles!!!! With the help of Nick's coworker / translator / car-expert-extraordinaire, Nick was able to negotiate a great price (well, as great as you can get when paying 180% tax on the vehicle,) with all the features we wanted. There's a backup camera for Heather, navigation system for Nick, booty warmers for them both, and a back end with a big window perfect for Bella! The dealer is detailing the vehicle, installing the GPS, and acquiring the snow tires and a new windshield this week for us to pick up Friday, June 20th!  

The rest of the week was pretty low key. Nick went to work and came home to work some more while Heather experimenting in the kitchen, trying new recipes and creating her own concoctions. The highlights of her creations this week included chicken stuffed with asparagus and gouda and a dessert of wild strawberries with chocolate yogurt topping. Nick was very pleased to come home to hot dinners awaiting him and is quite enjoying this arrangement we have! 

A happy hubby with a hot dinner in front of him

Friday took Heather back to the house to clean more. Aside from the floors, she is finally done cleaning and feels ready to get unpacked and settled in, once the furniture comes that is! Both Nick and Heather were happy for Friday night to come around. Heather desperately needed to sit down and kick her feet up and Nick needed to stop thinking about work!! We enjoyed some VERY tasty Vietnamese food and turned in early in preparation for our Saturday excursion.

Bright and early Saturday morning, Nick and Heather met several of Nick's coworkers for Leica's summer party. The party was hosted at the Tivoli in Aarhus, an amusement park on Jutland, about 1.5 hours away from Odense. In true Danish fashion, about 45 minutes into the drive, our two charter buses pulled into a rest area and we all got out to stretch our legs, chat, and enjoy some food and drink. Once at the amusement park, Heather and two of the significant others of Nick's colleagues made a beeline for the biggest roller coaster in the park. The men patiently waited with the children and the all the stuff while the women had their fun. After some nourishment, we found a few other rides for all, including the children. 

Saturday also brought about the biggest shock of our move yet (and perhaps the biggest shock of Heather's life): Nick and Heather found ice cream they did not like. Take a minute for that to sink in...ice cream we didn't like, ice cream we threw away! Softis, as it is known in Denmark, is soft serve ice cream that tastes like it is made of 100% heavy whip cream. It is so rich and it coats your mouth with a film of fat. The nausea sets in just thinking about it. Aside from the ice cream, we had a really great time. Heather and Nick both enjoyed meeting more of the Leica employees that work in the Danish office and their families. After the day's excitement and the early morning wake-up, we both enjoyed a nice nap on the ride home. 

Nick & Heather at the Aarhus Tivoli

Heather waiting to go on her first roller coaster in years

Natasha and Heather after the roller coaster -
Heather forgot how fun roller coasters are!   

    

Sunday brought another busy day. We started the day with a nice morning walk with Bella through a park in downtown Odense along the river. Then we did some power shopping to buy shelves for shoes and clothes, blinds for the windows, more lights, and some supplies for Nick's work office. This was followed by a quick trip to the apartment to drop off our purchases, after which we headed back to the hotel to meet up with one of Nick's American coworkers that had just arrived in Denmark for a 2 week trip. Sunday evening evolved into a little shindig on the patio. Because we hadn't really planned it, we had very little food and drink to keep our guests nourished. So as dinner time approached and tummies started grumbling, Nick and Heather ran to the grocery store across the street and grabbed burger fixings, chips, potato salad and, of course, beer and wine. Nick grilled up some delicious food and with Vince, Lars and Morten to keep us company, we had a quite a fun evening. 

Before we knew it, the weekend was over. Isn't that always the case? Nick went back to work Monday while Heather got either a touch of the flu or food poisoning. That didn't stop her from accompanying Nick to the apartment for a conversation with the landlord to discuss the condition of the apartment. All went well, and we reached a mutual agreement leaving everyone walking away happy. Thus ended a successful Week 3. 

Week 2

Week 2 in Denmark was great, although Nick and I are having a bit of culture shock. 

Realization 1. Danes don't work much 
Ok, so we knew when we moved here that companies give 6 weeks of vacation and, on top of that, there are something like 18 paid holidays. We also knew that the workweek is officially 37 hours, but that includes paid lunch, so really more like 32 hours (not counting coffee breaks, morning snack or mid-afternoon snack). This is a large part of the reason we wanted to move here, not necessarily to work less, but to get a different perspective on life than the US's live-to-work mentality. And well, if we are honest, to work less (much less for "retired" Heather)! 

So far, in the 14 days we have been in Denmark, 10 have been weekdays and 4 of those weekdays have been holiday. First there was Ascension Day (Thursday, May 29) followed by another day off (just because Ascension Day is on a Thursday), then another Thursday off the following week, June 5, for "Grundiovsdag" the day the Danish constitution was signed back in 1849. This was followed by the Whit Monday, because of course, Pentecost should be celebrated for two days! Now, you all are probably saying "wow, rough life" and "how horrible for you" etc. To this I reply, this is why we moved!! On the other hand, we are still waiting for our apartment to be finished and we are trying to furnish it a bit, but when no one works and no stores are open, these become more difficult. 

Realization 2. EVERYTHING moves at a slower pace (see realization 1 for an explanation of why) 
It doesn't seem like time is ever of the essence. For example, our apartment was supposed to be ready for us to take over May 1, after being vacant for something like 4-5 months. During those several months though, somehow they have still not found the time to get everything fixed up and ready to go. About 3/4 of the painting is done, same with the required repairs. The contractor maybe finished yesterday. We were around until 4 and he still wasn't there when we left, but he did tell Nick he was planning on getting to it later in the day. And sometime in the next week or so the painter will be there to paint the trim and woodwork. Our landlord really has no concern that things are still incomplete and just says, "the Danes rarely work, what can I do?! I'm handling it, don't worry. We'll make it all right in the end." as if this explanation should be all we need to understand and patiently wait to move into our new home. 

Realization 3. Everyone plays a role in social responsibility
Nick recently (well beginning of last week and we still have not heard anything back) contacted the bank about getting an auto loan for that V40 we like so much. The bank requires you to provide them with your work contract and a detailed budget before they will talk about issuing any type of loan. Can you imagine US banks taking that type of role in our lives? Wonder what our housing market would look like if they did? 

Even our car plays a role in social responsibility! It warns you when you are speeding, and it reminds you to take a break (with a cute little coffee cup symbol) if it senses the car drifting more than normal or you have exceeded about an hour of driving without a stop. 

So now that the culture shock issues have been addressed, here's what we have been up to:
Nick worked and Heather played! Ok, Heather worked too; she just didn't get paid for it. Our air shipment was delivered Friday, so Heather went to the apartment and cleaned. Although "professional" cleaners were paid to come in, it doesn't seem they did anything besides possibly mop. Now, most of you probably know that both Nick and Heather are a bit anal about cleaning, perhaps even a touch OCD, but seriously, this place was not clean! Cabinets weren't wiped out and window sills were not dusted. Heather was up to the task though and got the kitchen and the entry way area knock out in a little over 5 hours. This included scrubbing the wardrobes inside and out, as well as all the kitchen cabinets and the baseboards. Feeling accomplished, Heather left to go pick up a very-stressed-out Nick from work. Seems that although Nick's working hours have changed, his workload has not. On top of that, those weeks of him not being able to work full-time because we were busy with moving are catching up too. 

To destress and stop Nick's brain from thinking about work, Nick and Heather decided to go shopping for some relaxing chairs to put on the balcony. We wanted something similar to the zero gravity chairs we used to have that did not make the trip overseas. Unfortunately, the store we wanted to go to was only open until 2pm on Friday (that's normal quitting time for Friday, but not normal closing time for stores). We tried a few other places but didn't find what we wanted on the chair-front. It was not a total bust though. We were successful at finding 3 of the 7 overhead lights we need for our apartment! (In Denmark apartments are typically only outfitted with bathroom lights and the tenant installs whatever other lighting they want.) Friday night ended with Nick's favorite, Chinese, and a promise to try again the following day. 

Examples of some of the lighting popular here

Saturday came along and was a beautiful day: warm and sunny with bright blue skies. We decided take Bella for a walk right after breakfast and set out from our hotel to explore the adjoining neighborhoods and nearby forested area. We walked past some beautiful homes before finding ourselves on a path that follows the river which runs through Odense. The trail took us through beautiful treed areas and a few parks, and along the Zoo where we saw zebras, ostriches (or emus, not sure which), lions, giraffes, etc. We enjoyed a 5-6 mile walk and Bella was quite tired upon arriving home. Unlike Bella, Nick and Heather were still energized and were determined to find some deck/balcony chairs. So, off we went again to search. We tried the store from Friday, and again it was closed. After that we tried a few other places and found similar chairs to what we wanted, but they were a bit too cheap and cheesy for us. We were successful at finding more overhead lights, bringing our total up to 5 out of 7. This time for the bedrooms! Saturday afternoon, we went to the apartment to unload our purchases and unpack some of the boxes from the air shipment before heading back to the hotel for a quiet evening. We grilled steak and sat out on the patio then turned in early for a good night sleep in preparation for the following day's adventure. 

mmm, steak...and salad
 with properly cupped tomatoes per Shelley's tutelage 

Sunday morning, Nick and Heather ventured off the island of Fyn to Jutland, the section of Denmark that is attached to Germany, to hike around Mols Bjerge National Park. It is 1 of 3 national parks in Denmark and was opened about 5 years ago. This day was interesting to say the least. After a bit over a 2 hour drive and one coffee break (the car said we should take a rest, and who can ignore an order to stop for a coffee), we followed the gps into the park. It directed us off onto a one-lane gravel road which we followed until we got to an intersection surrounded by fields with paths jutting off in all directions where we parked. We chose to take the uphill path following the road which lead to a beautiful overlook with a 360-degree view. 

Views from overlook

From there, we meandered along "wandering trails" through fields with grazing sheep and cows. 

The gates are angled to ensure they get closed

Wild violas along the path

After about an hour of wandering through field after field, watching the grasses dance in the wind, checking out some cool mounding moss, and identifying a wide variety of deciduous and evergreen trees, we decided to head back to the car. This decision made us come to the realization that we really had no idea where we were OR where we parked the car. Perhaps not the smartest thing we have done, but both Nick and Heather have a pretty good sense of direction so no worries, right?! Well, after about 2 more hours of walking around around trying to get back to the car, we started to worry. Then the cell phone battery died, and we were absolutely lost and definitely worried. This was followed by us cursing ourselves for being such idiots. In 3 hours, we had covered somewhere between 8 or 9 miles, much of if probably in a circle. A nice Dane offered us his map of the area. We were not convinced it would help given that we had no idea where we started or where we were on the map, but we gratefully took it and went in search of a high point. Once we established our location on the map and made our best guess at where we parked based on the trails we could remember, we headed out in that direction. About a 1/2 hour later we were certain we would not be finding the car without some divine intervention when we met a very nice couple on bicycles who were parked nearby and offered to drive us around in search of the car. We recalled to them everything we could remember and literally 10 minutes later, there was our beautiful gray Audi parked just where we had left it. After many thanks, we parted ways with the kind souls who had taken mercy on us and got in the car to go home. On the way home, we picked up some Vietnamese takeout. Not sure if it was because we walked like 10 miles and were starving or if it was legitimately good, but that was one of the best meals we have had since we arrived here. Sleep came easily that night and we woke up happily Monday to enjoy yet another day off. 

The carpenter was expected to be working at the apartment on Monday (gasp, working on a holiday?! This is virtually unheard of. The landlord had to double and triple check because he couldn't believe it). We wanted to make sure he fixed everything that needed fixing, so we headed over mid-morning. On the way, we found another amazement, the store we unsuccessfully tried to shop for our chairs at was open as well. After a short detour, we were the proud new owners of THE MOST RELAXING, COMFORTABLE CHAIRS EVER! While Nick put together the chairs, Heather took to cleaning a filthy bathroom. There was maybe a 1/2 inch of grossness underneath the tub that included razors, socks, dog bones, etc. To keep Heather from having to clean too much ickiness, Nick bought a new toilet seat (that's love!). After all that cleaning and installing a new toilet seat, Nick and Heather went out to find a coffee to bring back to the apartment to sit and relax on the balcony. What they found, in addition to coffee, was an ice cream shop right on our harbor which could either be very, very bad for us or very wonderful depending on how you look at it!

New chairs were well worth the effort to find.
Heather dubs them their best purchase yet! 

We wrapped up the long weekend, which happened to coincide with the end of Week 2, with dinner back at the house with one of Nick's colleagues. Dinner consisted of grilled pork topped with shallots sauteed in butter and rosemary, wine, and a couple of sides. Dessert, strawberries and creme-fresh-type topping concocted by Heather, completed the meal.

Week 1

Week 1 of our adventure has come to a close and Nick only had to work 1 day...Welcome to Denmark! The weather was lovely, sunny with an amazingly blue sky and very few clouds. Most of the week we relished in the 70+ degree days, although we had two cooler, cold days. The temporary housing we are in is perfect and if we did not have another place already picked out (and it was cheaper), we perhaps would have considered staying here for the duration of our time. The brick is stuccoed and painted white and the timbers a happy blue. We have a fully-stocked kitchen, small bathroom, dining room and living room on the main floor. Upstairs is another sitting room and a bedroom with skylight windows that open. In each regular window in the house there are beautiful plants grown into a circle shape (this seems to be quite common). Outside the front door we have a table and two chairs on a brick patio perfect for grilling on. There is an outbuilding adjoining our patio with a washer and dryer that we have access to. Behind that, there is a rather large area with raised bed planters full of herbs used by the kitchen that we also have access to. Just outside our fenced in patio, there is a large lawn, which we have found ideal for Bella.

Our temporary home 

Large yard for Bella to sniff and roll around in

Bella basking in the glory of the day on the patio

Circular plants grow in each window - check out that flower! 

Monday and Tuesday were travel days and Thursday and Friday were holidays, so Wednesday, Nick went into the office to get settled. Because the company just moved into a very nice, very large building from a very small warehouse, Nick had several boxes to unpack into his very own, spacious new office. Whilst Nick was getting settled in to his new work digs, Heather spent a relaxing day unpacking at the house, taking a resentful Bella for a very short run (Bella was quite unimpressed with the idea after her long walk at Busse and demanded more time to recuperate), and getting situated in her new home. In the afternoon, Nick picked Heather up and took her to his new office. It was around 4:10 pm and was a ghost town (again Welcome to Denmark - you gotta love their 32 hour work week). Wednesday night was uneventful as Nick and Heather-both a bit jet lagged-enjoyed some kebaps and a movie and celebrated their new life and the coming of the first weekend in Denmark (a 4 day weekend at that)! 

The weekend was relaxing. Nick and Heather we able to sleep in; enjoy their new (temporary) home; visit their new (permanent) home; explore Odense and the island a bit; indulge in danish pastries; venture into the grocery store; grill up some tasty food; test drive several cars; and do a bit of shopping for the new apartment. One highlight of the weekend was enjoying our first dinner (Indian take out) at our new apartment in Nyborg. This consisted of standing over the kitchen counter eating out of aluminum containers with plastic utensils (surely you can see the romance in that)! With the help of one of Nick's co-workers, Morten, we also test drove a few cars and are keen on one of the Volvo V40s we drove. Another highlight of the weekend was our drive up to the northern tip of the island to an area called Fynshoved. The route travels through quaint towns and scenic fields before ending at the sea. The three of us enjoyed a nice walk flanked by meadows with sheep and cows grazing on one side and the Kattegat sea on the other. The trip ended with a stop in the touristy town of Kerteminde for a danish pastry and coffee.  

After all the weekend fun, it was time to return back to work on Monday (well work for one of us, Heather is enjoying her bon-bon-eating-lifestyle right now!). Monday night, Nick, Heather and Nick's co-worker again checked out a few more cars, none as much as they liked the V40 though. After the test drives, we took Morten out for dinner at a small cafe with Mexican food (passable, especially if we're craving it) to thank him for helping us with this car buying process. Thus ends the first week...more next week.

This is the Volvo V40 we really like