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.