Week 15

Well, this week brings the first full week in September but summer is still in the air. After last week's weather of 60s and rain, we were starting to wonder if fall had come early. Luckily, this week it warmed up again and the sun came back out. Along with the nicer weather, came the jellies! 

They're everywhere!!! 

This week, the 15th into our move, was perfectly normal. We are settled in and are finally falling into a routine. Nick worked all week during the day, of course, and during our free time we went to the gym, attended language class, and spent time with friends. 

On Thursday evening, we met up with a couple from Australia for an Indian cooking event held by a local group of expats. The event took place in the home-ec/cooking room of a school. There were several stations with stoves, sinks, ovens, etc. The food and recipes were provided and the attendees made the dishes. It was a great way to make and to try 6 or 7 different foods in a three-hour period. Our group was responsible for the chicken curry. It was a bit soupy because we didn't have long enough to cook it down, but the flavors were quite good. In our biased opinion, our dish was the best. The biryani was a close second though. 

On Friday, our joint birthday present arrived. Alright, so the present is quite early, a month early for Nick's and 2 months for Heather's (but who is counting), and really who in their right mind would want to wait for a brand new espresso machine when they could have it now?! Since we moved here, we have been considering getting an all-in-one machine to make cappuccinos and lattes. We considered Nespresso machines, but ultimately decided we wanted to be able to choose our own beans. So after some research and prioritization of features (Nick loves features), we landed on this: 

Happy early birthday to us! 

Our new machine makes espresso, coffee, and long coffee (similar to an americano). It also grinds the beans, makes hot water for tea, and steams and froths milk. FANCY! Friday afternoon, after setting up the machine, we headed out to buy a bag of whole coffee beans and a carton of milk to ready ourselves for Saturday morning cappuccinos! They were worth the wait and did not disappoint! We are, however, excited to find some better beans than the ones we bought. Lavazza anyone?!

After coffee on the balcony, we headed off for the train station with Bella in tow to hop a train into Odense for a beer tasting event in town to celebration of Danish Beer Day. Bella rode the train like a champ, lying quietly at Heather's feet. The beer festival consisted of 14 breweries with beer tasting stands set up in locations throughout the city.  We met up with several of Nick's coworkers and tried several different types of beers. 

Tasting glass full of chili beer. Heather liked it. Nick, not so much.

When the beer tasting ended at 4, we took to a local bar. 

Bella "hiding" under the table because
she wasn't really supposed to be inside the bar

Heather and Lars like Hoegaarden

When we finally departed, we were ready for some nourishment and some sleep. Sunday was low key, and thanks to the NFL Network, full of football! Even though the Bears lost, it was great to see some real, American football. 

After our weekend of fun and relaxation, Nick headed back to work Monday while Heather slept in and enjoyed "the good life."