Pictures | dot dk

Berlin

March 26, 2008 10:13 am // Leave a Comment

In Denmark we get five days off for easter (if you count the weekend), so Lisbeth and I decided it was a good time to go see Berlin. I’d never been there, and she’d only been there briefly as a teenager.

Day 1

We walked about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) on the first day, starting at the Sunflower Hostel where we stayed and ending in a completely different part of town. We started by waking toward the center of town, down Karl Marx Alle, which is a really wide boulveard that the communists used for parades and such.

It’s an impressive street. It’s entirely symmetric. Each building has an exact mirror copy on the other side — something that’s hard to capture with a camera. It’s also hard to say how much of it seems strange just because you know you’re in an area that was under tight state control until relatively recently. Read More →

Posted in: Pictures, Travel

Kicked out of paradise… or Christiania anyway

March 19, 2008 9:09 am // 3 Comments

On Sunday we decided to go for a walk around one of the lakes that separates Christianshavn from Amager. I suggested that we walk through Christiania, since it was on the way, and because it’s strange to me that we live so close to it but almost never go there.

We got there, and we could hear some singing on pusher street. This naturally made us curious, so we decided to walk by on our way to the lake. I was taking pictures of some of the sights, and, just as I’d finished saying, “We really should come through here more often” we were kind of sidled by a young guy that said, “Hey, how’s it going — where you from?” It wasn’t really asked like a question, and we both took is as a prelude to a sales pitch. Christiania is notorious for drugs, and so we both ignored him and kept walking. Read More →

Posted in: Denmark, Pictures

Norway

February 20, 2008 2:44 pm // 5 Comments

We spent last week skiing in Hovden, Norway with Lisbeth’s family. For me it was fun for several reasons. For one thing, I’d never been to Norway before. I’d also decided years ago that I hated skiing, and that I’d never do it again, so enjoying myself was a pleasant surprise.

We met in Vejle, at Lisbeth’s parents house on Saturday, where we spent the day leisurely shopping for supplies, packing, and, eating, visiting. We went for a walk after dinner, before we got serious about loading the cars. It was a very pretty evening.

We took two cars, one with Lisbeth’s brother Mogens’ family — his wife Anne and their three girls, and one with me, Lisbeth, Lisbeth’s sister Hanne, and her boyfriend Kaspar. Both cars were heavily loaded — there wasn’t much room to move around, but most of it was blankets, pillows, and coats, so it wasn’t uncomfortable. We drove for about three hours, up to Hirtshals, quite close to the very Northern-most tip of Denmark, where we took a ferry from there to Kristiansand, Norway. Read More →

Posted in: Pictures, Travel

This winter’s limp handshake

January 29, 2008 2:26 pm // Leave a Comment

I’m not complaining exactly, but I do think it’s scary that it’s hardly dropped below freezing this winter. It snowed once — about two inches (7 cm). It was just enough to annoy the skaters at Kongens Nytorv (where, by the way, they keep the rink frozen with freezing apparatus.)

Two years ago in March, having just arrived, there was a week where it got down to -14 Celsius (that’s about 7 in Fahrenheit.) With the humidity and the wind, that was amazingly cold. This winter hasn’t felt that way at all. Not even close.

There are advantages to this mild weather. I’ve certainly done more biking this winter than last. And I’ve probably taken more pictures too. But on the other hand, when it’s not cold enough to snow, it rains, and that gets really old.

One thing that is like last winter, though, is the lack of light. For at least a month every winter (if not two) you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. And so, on the weekend, it’s nice to get out and see… well, not the sun necessarily, but some color.

In two weeks we’ll be going to Norway to ski for a week. That, I hope, will be cold.

Posted in: Denmark, Pictures

Christmas in New Mexico

January 18, 2008 7:33 pm // Leave a Comment

(After conducting a few pop-quizzes this Christmas, I learned that certain members of the family don’t actually read what Iwrite here. You know how you are. So if youjust want the pictures — including many that aren’t in this post — go here.)

After spending a few days with Lisbeth and her family, I went home to New Mexico just before Christmas. It was COLD! It was colder than Denmark has been all year. That actually isn’t unusual (Denmark has been record-breakingly warm recently, thanks in part to global warming), which makes it frustrating when Danes say, “Oh, you’re going to New Mexico — it’ll be SO warm!”

It was the first time I’ve used my sunglasses since September. Even on a clear summer day, the sun in Denmark is muted compared to the sun in New Mexico. Read More →

Posted in: New Mexico, Personal, Pictures, The US

Danish Christmas

January 13, 2008 11:23 am // Leave a Comment

This year, before heading to New Mexico for Christmas, I spent a few days with Lisbeth and her family in Vejle. It was really nice. The whole family is sweet and they make me feel very welcome. And it doesn’t hurt that Lisbeth’s mother Karen is a great cook!

Most of the time we were inside eating, playing games (I’d never played “RISK” before), and talking. The weather was cloudy and chilly, but that didn’t stop Lisbeth, Hanne, and me from talking a long walk. Read More →

Posted in: Denmark, Pictures

Ã…rhus and Christmas lunch

December 16, 2007 10:56 am // Leave a Comment

December has already been a busy month. We were in London the first weekend, and in Ã…rhus the weekend after that. Lisbeth’s sister Hanne and her boyfriend Kaspar invited us to a Julefrokost, or Christmas lunch.

Hanne and Kaspar live in a cooperative. In this case it’s eight people sharing a house. Each person has a room, and they share the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the common living spaces.

It’s a great house — originally part of a military barracks — and it even has an area for a little workshop. It’s been a cooperative for decades now, and they have a well-defined system for everything from selecting new residents (they do interviews) to shopping (it’s done once a month, and that’s one of the things Hanne loves about living there) to making dinner (each person is responsible for making dinner for everyone once a week.)

We got there on Friday at around 9:00 and sat in the living room with Hanne in front of a fireplace and talked. (Kaspar was at work, but joined us around midnight.) The next day we went for a walk around town.

Living at 55 degrees North gives people a keen appreciation of the sun. When we set out the next day, Kaspar pointed out that, despite the fact that it was noon, the sun was hanging low in the sky. Just look at the shadows.

This also means that the average Dane is very likely to bask in whatever sunlight is available. This often happens without warning. They just stop in a sunny spot, close their eyes, and start smiling. At first I thought they were crazy. Then I tried it. I still think they’re crazy. Read More →

Posted in: Denmark, Pictures, Travel

London

December 12, 2007 8:17 pm // Leave a Comment

Codehouse, my new employer, threw their Christmas party in London this year, despite the fact that Copenhagen is the headquarters. They flew us over on Friday afternoon and we had a nice dinner. Most people went back on Saturday, but Lisbeth and I opted to stay for the weekend.

On Saturday morning, a few of us that weren’t incredibly hung-over went to the Borough Market – a market that has apparently been around for 20 centuries, but “only” 250 years at its current location. It’s an amazing market, and there were enough samples thatwe didn’t need breakfast.

But not everything was appetizing. I had some cheese that tasted exactly how Iimagine a sheep’s brainwouldtaste, for example. And, although I love seafood and even sushi, the seafood at the market seemed… too fresh. Notice all the blood oozing from the shark. Read More →

Posted in: Pictures, Travel

The new office

November 19, 2007 7:44 pm // Leave a Comment

It won’t last long, but for now Codehouse is located in a beautiful old building in the heart of Copenhagen, a brisk seven minute ride from my apartment. (Our offices are on the top floor — the ones with the lights on.)

It won’t last long because they’re looking for new office space. Something less centrally located. Something with parking spaces. It’ll still be in Copenhagen — it won’t be 15 miles out of town like Microsoft is, but still, it’s a pretty cool location right now.

In the summer there are tables in the courtyard, where customers of the brewery that occupies the ground level sip beer and chat. In the winter it’s just another courtyard in Copenhagen, but this one with a tree clinging on to the last leaves of the season, and a bike that is ready for Christmas…

Posted in: Denmark, Pictures

Lisbeth’s birthday

November 14, 2007 1:46 pm // Leave a Comment

This weekend we went to Vejle, where Lisbeth grew up, and where her parents still live. It was my second visit. (The first time I brilliantly forgot the memory card for my camera, so there were no pictures.) The occasion this time was Lisbeth’s 31st birthday.

Vejle (pronounced vie-la) is in Jutland — the largest portion of Denmark, and the only portion physically attached to the rest of Europe. It is quite different than Zealand, the island where Copenhagen is located, in that it has a lot of farm country and rolling hills. In contrast, Zealand is pretty much completely flat.