Week 8

Almost two months into our move and here are the major milestones we have hit: 

• Moved into the apartment
• Bought a car
• Got insurance: renters, automobile, & medical travel insurance
• Booked our first trip: Dubrovnik, get ready for the Guads in August
• Found tenants for the Illinois house (well we didn't technically find them the rental agency did, but we have them and that's what counts!)
• Welcomed our first guest

Wow, week 8 was a whirlwind! Nick of course worked during the week, but was able to come home on-time (according to the set Danish work hours) almost every day! Tuesday took Heather back to Odense to buy some indoor plants and the last light for the apartment. Well, maybe it's the last light. When winter comes and the sun only peeks it's head out for a few hours per day, we will determine if we need a few more overhead lights and lamps. 

On Wednesday morning, Nick stuck around the house until about 9:30 while the internet got installed (FINALLY, after about 3 weeks). Heather planted the indoor plants she purchased the day before and started cleaning to get ready for the impending arrival of the first visitor. On Wednesday night to celebrate finally having internet, we took a break from the gym and got pizza for dinner to enjoy while streaming Netflix. This will certainly not be a normal event, but both Heather and Nick relished in the laziness of the evening! It certainly didn't hurt that the pizza was extremely tasty either. 

Thursday, again with Nephew Andy's pending arrival the next day, Heather found the excuse and/or motivation to wash all the inside windows, the outside windows on the balcony, and the glass along the balcony railing. Boy were they dirty! The day was not all work though, Heather took a few breaks to enjoy a Skye call with her family in Idaho as well as a FaceTime call with a dear friend (all possible now that we finally have internet)!

Friday was another busy day for both of us. Nick was of course off to work, while Heather spent the morning working on our insurance claim for the few items that were damaged in the move and the afternoon shopping for and preparing dinner. 

Working on insurance claims isn't so bad if the view is this good.
Note the very clean glass on the balcony. So clean it's reflective! :)

Andy arrived late Friday evening and after a quick tour of the place, we all sat down to black bean cakes, guacamole, salsa, and cucumber corn salad. After dinner, we enjoyed the remainder of the wine while catching up on life. The only thing that would have made the night better was for Stacy to have been there too!

Dinner prep for Nephew's first night 

On Saturday after enjoying some coffee at home, we walked Andy through the town we now call home. 

Yay!!! Nephew!!!!!

Of course, we had to get him a Danish pastry and coffee, so that was our first stop! We took him to a little shop located in the pedestrian shopping area and enjoyed a relaxing morning of people watching and pastry eating at one of their outdoor tables. From there we pursued a few shops before taking a walk around the castle grounds. 

Pictures from our walk through town

Once we were good and hungry, Nick, Heather, and Andy, with a very happy Bella in tow, went to a restaurant for a traditional Danish meal of egg cake. This is something similar to a very fluffy egg and cheese omelet cooked in a cast iron skillet covered with cucumbers, tomatoes, chives, bacon, and pork rinds and served with a side of rye bread and mustard. The one delivered to us was HUGE! 

Are we supposed to finish all that?!

After we all ate too much, we decided it would be best to go back to the apartment of a bit and digest. Apartment time didn't last long though, and soon we were off to the Nyborg beach to enjoy the perfect weather we were having that day. Nick and Andy eagerly and bravely went directly into the water. Heather however watched from shore until she could muster up the courage to wade into the rather chilly water. After lying on the beach for a while and a bit of a walk around, we headed back to the apartment to shower and get ready for a light dinner. With Nephew to guide our way, we shared a large plate of sushi for dinner. Heather even tried (and liked) the salmon. After dinner, we stopped at the nearby ice cream shop to get a few scoops of the ice cream Nick and Heather had been raving about all day. 

It was wonderful visit, but unfortunately it had to end and early Sunday morning, we all loaded into the car to take Andy to the airport. After saying goodbye, Nick and Heather headed home to get ready for the day's adventure: kite-surfing. By about 11 am, we were practicing flying large kites on land to get used to controlling them with very small movements similar to how one would steer a bicycle. 

Nick flying the practice kite on land

After a bit of practice, we were ready to take to the water with the real kites. This required getting into the necessary gear, which to Heather's relief and Nick's displeasure included putting on wetsuits. After a lot of leg-hair pulling and not a few curse words, Nick was squeezed into his wetsuit and we were ready to go. An hour or more in the water learning the basics, our class got cut short because the wind had gotten too strong. Even with Nick hanging on to her and the kite in a low-power position, Heather was getting lifted up and dragged through the water. The kite-surfing will definitely be continued another day though. It seems like quite a fun, but challenging, hobby and from what our instructor said, Nyborg is one of the best places to kite-surf on the island.

Nick setting up his kite-surfing kite

Several kite-surfers were out enjoying the beautiful day

We took advantage of our unexpectedly free afternoon to take a long nap when we got home! Sunday naps may become a permanent fixture in our lives. 

Early Monday morning,  a jealous Heather dropped Nick off at the train station for a three-day trip to Sweden. She's not just jealous he is going to Stockholm; she's jealous that he is going to see Doug, who just moved out there from Colorado. Next time perhaps she'll go with, but this week she'll be busy getting ready for another guest!