Plastic Fantastic

August 30, 2009 12:52 am // 2 Comments

The vast majority of the riding I’ve done for the last three years has been on my Black Avenue (there’s a picture here.) It’s a great bike, but it’s a single speed, and although single-speeds are increasingly popular and surprisingly practical in a flat city like Copenhagen, they’re not ideal for serious riding. Plus they’re hard on the knees.

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And so I’ve added a new bike to my small collection. It’s the fastest bike I’ve ever owned by far, and my first two rides confirm that I was indeed limited by my old bike. My average speed is up noticably and my knees hurt less. This bike just flies. Read More →

Posted in: Bikes, Pictures

Ellen at six months

August 16, 2009 9:17 pm // 1 Comment

It’s hard to believe that we’ve had Ellen for six months. It seems like a lot longer.

Yet another picture she'll hate when she's older DSC_9070.JPG Waiting for breakfast

She still keeps us busy, but less so now that she can sit up and play with toys for long stretches at a time.

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On the other hand she’s eating more and more solid food (probably more than half of her intake is solid at this point) and that requires more preparation and more cleanup.

Sometimes it's just easier to sleep with a mirror over your face DSC_9349.jpg Ellen with Karin (

But overall things are smooth. Except for bathtime, which she hates for some reason.

Posted in: Personal, Pictures

There’s a fly in my paradise

August 5, 2009 11:14 pm // 1 Comment

I’ve been riding in Copenhagen for over three years now, and it’s fantastic. I doubt there’s a better city for a bike enthusiast. It’s not perfect though. Here’s a list of things you’ll find on bike paths, ranked from best to worst.

  1. Cyclists that are predicable, considerate, and alert. This is by far the largest group.
  2. Cyclists that probably mean well but suffer from an iPod or cell phone dependency that prevents them from being either predicable or alert.
  3. Three-wheeled bikes. This includes parents on Christiania bikes, hauling their kids around, and some disabled people who have strange sort of scooter-tricycles, some of which are electric. This is a well-behaved group, but these bikes take up a lot of room. Luckily there aren’t that many, and they’re pretty concentrated in the inner-city.
  4. Racers riding $5,000 bikes and wearing full-body condom-like suits who act like they’re perpetually in the final stages of the Tour de France. I don’t like to be slowed down either, but it’s a reality on a public bike path. You mostly find these folks out in the suburbs.
  5. Tourists that are distracted by the sights and therefore periodically veer into the path of other cyclists. Or just stop in the middle of the lane without warning. This is only a problem in the city, in the summer.
  6. Pigeons, dogs off leash, stray cats, broken glass, etc.
  7. Cars parked partially or fully on the bike lane because the driver is more important than anyone else in the world.
  8. Steaming piles of fresh dog shit (this actually almost never happens, but I mention it to underscore the repugnant nature of the remaining two items.)
  9. Scooters on the bike lane legally. This means a scooter that is limited to 40 kilometers an hour, or about 23 miles per hour. Still, I think they have no business on a bike lane at any speed. Bike lanes are for bikes.
  10. Scooters on the bike lane illegally. This is the single most irritating and dangerous thing about riding in Denmark. These scooters are modified for speed, and driven by assholes that pass you without warning at three times your speed, and then leave you breathing toxic fumes. If you’re just too fat and lazy to ride a bike and really have to have a scooter, drive on the street with the rest of the motorized traffic.
Posted in: Bikes, Denmark

My genetics, defeated

July 16, 2009 11:36 pm // 2 Comments

Five months old Ellen is five months old. For the first four months, there was no question who she took after. Virtually everyone remarked how she had my coloring, my eyes, and so on. But recently that has all changed. Her original dark hair is rapidly being replaced with blond hair, and her eyes seem more and more like Lisbeth’s.

The change has been pretty dramatic. I’d grown accustomed to having her look something like I did when I was her age, but suddenly people that see her say things like, “Oh, she look so much like her mother.” I had a good four months, but it seems that my reign of genetic dominance is over.

Posted in: Ellen, Personal, Pictures

Lazy man’s crane

July 7, 2009 10:38 pm // 2 Comments

I’m not a good nature photographer. I lack the patience. If an animal happens to bound across my path I’m happy to try and capture a good image, but I’m not going to hide in a bush all day or painstakingly sneak up to a heard of grazing whatevers.

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In this case I got lucky. I just happened to be riding by as two kayaks approached this crane and I knew it wouldn’t let them get much closer. I stopped, waited five seconds, and got these shots.

Posted in: Denmark, Pictures

17.5 hours of daylight

July 2, 2009 12:09 am // Leave a Comment

June 21st was the longest day of year, which in Copenhagen means sunrise was at 4:25 AM and sunset was at 9:58 PM. It’s a great time of year (but a bit confusing when you wake up in the middle of the night and have no idea what time it is.)

At Saint Hans: 9:11 pm DSC_7746.JPG The Saint Has bonfire (9:15 pm)

On the 23rd, Danes celebrate Sankt Hans (Saint John), an ancient summer tradition. The idea is essentially to drive away evil spirits. Apparently in the 1920s the evil was personified as a witch that is banished to the mountains of Germany by the fire.  (It’s not uncommon for the bonfires to have simple witch effigies on top.)

Noah Pia

This year we were invited to a Sankt Hans in Hellerup by our friends Pia and Søren (I got a picture of Noah, their 8 month old, but not Søren). It was really nice, especially in contrast to our first Sankt Hans together, when the wood for the bonfire was so wet that it wouldn’t burn. We were at a huge park in town with hundreds of people, and after an hour or so, they tried silly things like thowing in plastic bottles.

The sea near Dragør (10:03 pm) Trees near Søvang (10:26 pm) A farm near Søvang (10:34 pm)

But Sankt Hans is just one evening. It is one of the longest, but there are plenty of long, long days this time of year. Days when I can head out for a bike ride at 9:00 PM and it doesn’t get dark before I get back.

The view from our bedroom (12:49 am)Days when we can sit on a couch out on our terrace and watch the light slowly fade. Days when I have plenty of opportunities to grab my camera and catch that very late afternoon light that I like so much.

Posted in: Denmark, Personal, Pictures

Baby teeth and moving boxes

June 21, 2009 11:22 pm // 1 Comment

I don’t know when I’ll learn. Every time, when I consider moving, I think Oh sure, no problem — I’ll just load this and that — and the couch of course — and that’ll pretty much be the worst of it. And every time I’m shocked by how much work it is.

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So we’re not done yet but we’re exhausted. The new apartment is full of unpacked boxes, and we don’t quite know where anything is. But that’s not stopping us from enjoying the new apartment. That’s the best part of moving — setting up shop in a new environment.

But the move, along with the fact that work is as busy as ever, keeps me from posting entries here has often as I’d like. And so this is just a quick update, and some pictures that I’ve taken recently when I take the scenic way home after work.

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And of course there’s Ellen, who keeps us busy too. She turned four months old on the 16th, and she’s as energetic and curious about the world as ever. She has two teeth coming in, but hasn’t shown any sign that they bother her.

We're reckless pram drivers, so Ellen has to hold on tight Four months old and, if you look closely, you can see two teeth coming in

Posted in: Personal, Pictures

DÃ¥ben

June 17, 2009 11:55 pm // 2 Comments

On Saturday, May 30th, we had Ellen baptized at Christians Kirke, just down the street from our old apartment. She behaved really well, even smiling at the priest during her prayer (so much so that I think the priest almost forgot what she was saying.)

Ellen didn't make a noise -- they must warm the water The priest returns Ellen's smile

It was interesting because both Lisbeth and I got pretty nervous before the service, but not because Ellen was getting baptized. This was more like post-traumatic stress. (This is, after all, the second time that I’ve gone into a church and said “ja” (yes) to a priest who asked me multiple questions in a language I really struggle to understand.) I think we were both nervous because it sort of felt like we were getting married all over again. Read More →

Posted in: Ellen, Personal, Pictures

Stockholm

June 10, 2009 1:33 am // 6 Comments

Mom and dad were here for two weeks and we filled that time pretty well with moving, but we also went to Stockholm, which was neat because none of us had ever been there before. (And considering how much traveling Lisbeth has done, that’s pretty surprising.)

The fast train Making our way down a shopping street in the old part of town 

We opted to take the train instead of fly even though flying was cheaper. The train is just more relaxing, and gave us a chance to see the Swedish countryside, which is very pretty, with a lot of hills and rocky outcroppings (which you certainly don’t see very often in Denmark.) Plus it’s a fast train. It goes about 200 kph, or  124 mph, which means it only takes about five hours to get to Stockhom.

Setting out from the hotel Ellen ponders the architectural aspects of Swedish cathetrals I walked around all day before I noticed that there was something stuck to my shirt

Read More →

Posted in: Pictures, Travel

Reagan Did It

June 2, 2009 2:22 am // 3 Comments

Paul Krugman wrote this piece in The New York Times yesterday. I couldn’t agree more. In fact I wrote a very similar entry back in October called Regan’s Revenge. Amazing, considering that the GOP is allegedly the party of fiscal responsibility.

Posted in: Politics, The US