First class trip to Hamburg and Wismar! (June 1-3)

This past week was marked by the visit of my fabulous sister, Theresa. Unfortunately, Theresa arrived in Aarhus after the summer weather passed (see the last post about kayaking in 80 degree weather). However, a little chill in the air wouldn’t stop the two of us from having an excellent time together. Theresa and I started out her visit by making pizza, drinking wine, and just catching up about the last few wild months in both of our lives. It was exactly what I needed… a little sister time. 

Theresa spent her few days in Aarhus walking around town, checking out museums, and enjoying the city’s cafes and cobblestone streets. One evening, we tried out a cute tapas restaurant on my favorite street in the city (Jægergårdsgade) and were entirely smitten with the place. The décor was darling, the service – spectacular, and our food was delicious. I will hopefully be visiting Forlaens & Baglaens (Forwards and Backwards) with other visitors over the coming months.  On Thursday morning, Theresa and I bought some bread to work to share with my co-workers. She was able to check out my office and work digs and meet some of the fantastic people at KEA (the Dept of Clinical Epidemiology). 

 

On Friday morning, Theresa and I made a bee-line for Germany (in the first class train car), her spiritual home, as I like to call it. We spent an afternoon strolling along the water in Hamburg and dining on Mexican food (which is noticeably absent in Aarhus – and I was in dire need) and then hopped on the train again to make it to Wismar by the early evening.

Words cannot describe how beautiful and charming the town of Wismar is. We walked around the cobblestone streets, ate pastries and sipped coffee, watched some traditional dancers and singers perform by the harbor, and retraced her steps when she lived and worked here at the local gymnasium more than 10 years ago.

We dined on some of the most spectacular food I think I have ever experienced. The hotel breakfast was second to none and the wild boar goulash I had at Brouhaus was flavorful and just melted in my mouth.

All in all, our Germany vacation was awesome. It was sad to see Theresa go, but I am just so happy that we were able to share a fun week long adventure together! Thanks for visiting!! 

Oh, and here are a few pictures of the pig bridge. I mean honestly, how cute are these little guys?! 

Conquering the Red Eskimo (May 27-28)

I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend to learn how to kayak. Believe it or not, it was 80 degrees and sunny in Aarhus and I had a two day course planned (each day from 9:00am-5:00pm). Perfect! On the first day, Anil, a co-worker of mine from the Department of Clinical Epidemiology, and I met the 8 other students in our class. Claus, the chairmen of the Aarhus Kano and Kajak Club, and his assistant, Robert (pictured below), were in charge of preparing our group of 10 individuals ranging from their mid-20’s to mid-50’s in kayak technique and safety and in the values of the club. 

We started inside with some basic information about kayak gear and technique, but before we knew it, we were out on the water and paddling away. One of the first things we learned was to how to rescue ourselves, if we fell into the water alone. This maneuver basically consisted of tipping yourself upside down, pulling a strap which releases you from the kayak, and swimming out from underneath the boat. Because it was so warm outside, it was actually nice to get into the water with a wetsuit. Normally, I think people dread this portion of the course. 

The second safety rescue we learned was coined the “Red Eskimo”. Something tells me that this name is not entirely p.c., but I’m not exactly sure where it comes from. In any case, this rescue is a partner rescue where you tip yourself over in your kayak, but remained strapped in. While you are holding your breath under the water, you slap the side of your boat at the surface of water three times. At this point, your partner situates their kayak perpendicular to where your hands are located, so that you can feel the nose of their kayak on your hands, grab on, and flip yourself back upright, while remaining strapped into your kayak. Needless to say, I was terrified of the Red Eskimo, but after multiple warm-ups and half-dips under the water, I successfully completed the move. I wish I had a video! 

As usual, the best parts of most of my Danish excursions include meal times. During lunch, Claus, Robert, and my classmates and I all sat down at one lunch table in the club house, sunburned and sore, and shared stories and food. One of my favorite quotes from the week was from Claus during lunch time. We were all sitting eating our own pre-prepared lunches and he entered into the room and simply stated, “This is not an egoist club.” He had wished we would have taken out some food, plates, glasses, and drinks for everyone to share. Again, this sense of community and sharing with others is one of the most unique and wonderful aspects of Danish culture that I have come across so far.   

 

After close to 10 hours on the water over a span of two days, my classmates and I paddled over 20km and learned a lot about kayak technique, safety and each other. It was an incredible weekend and I can’t wait to get back out on the water next week. Now, if only we could get a few more of those 80 degree days!

Kys fra Danmark!

A trip to Ørre and "Sky Mountain"

My co-workers are the best. I know I've said this before, but it's true. Last weekend, we celebrated the birthdays of two of my co-workers, Rune and Anil. Rune is from a small town in the middle of Jylland (the peninsula where I am living) called Ørre. His mother invited Anil (from India), Jonathan (from Italy), Purnima (Rune's girlfriend), and me to her home for a birthday lunch and celebration... Danish style. 


One quick cultural aside. In Denmark, everyone has a flag in the yard (well, not everyone, but if you live outside of the city, almost everyone does). When it is someone's birthday, you raise the flag in a way of recognition and celebration of the special day. The flag in Denmark is frequently used as a symbol of celebration and not just national pride. Interesting, no? See below ;)

 
While in Aarhus, I have not had the opportunity to experience a "traditional" Danish meal because the Danes rarely eat traditional cuisine and it's really expensive to eat out in Aarhus. Nonetheless, this was quite an adventure. As this was a birthday party, we started out with a sip of some Danish liquor called Gammel Danske. 

A quick sniff and this stuff instantly reminded me of cough syrup - though I have to say, in the end it tasted like a spicy, herbal jaegermeister. Rune explained the meal and how it would work. We started out with a first course of rugbrod and sweet Danish herring. I know what you're thinking... yuck... but it was surprisingly tasty. Next we moved on to frickadeller (or Danish meatballs) with more bread, sliced meats, cheeses, and creamy potato and vegetable salads. 

More beer and some continued sips of Danish schnapps or aquavit were enjoyed during the meal. Needless to say after this meal, we were all in need of a long walk to digest before opening gifts and enjoying birthday cake, coffee, and tea. The area surrounding Ørre is home to many dairy farms. On our walk around the town, the rolling hills and farmland reminded me a lot of the outskirts of Carrboro, NC.  

After our fill of desserts, we headed back towards Aarhus. But not without a stop at a main tourist attraction... Himmelbjeret or "Sky Mountain."

Yes, it is one of the "disputed" highest points in Jylland (a peninsula notorious for being as flat as a pancake). Apparently, another place in Jylland has added some sand to the highest point and may now be actually higher than Sky Mountain (haha). In any case, what the mountain lacked in altitude, it made up for in picturesque views of the lake and surrounding forest. We took a walk up to the top of the "mountain" and then took a hike down to the lake. 

 

After the nice walk, we piled back into the car and headed back to Aarhus. It was a fantastic Sunday... and really made me appreciate the kindness of my co-workers and the beauty of this lovely country!

Just another day on the bofællesskab

My most recent Danish adventure took me this past weekend to a co-worker's home. Lene lives in Overdrevet, a bofællesskab or commune (in English), in Hinnerup, Denmark, just about 45 minutes bus ride from the city center of Aarhus. 

For those of you who don't know a lot about the co-housing movement (because I didn't), modern communal living theory was developed in Denmark around the 1960's in reaction to the dissatisfaction of a number of families with their traditional community and living spaces. 

Overdrevet was initiated in 1981 and was originally a more politically radical offshoot of another local commune, as the founders wanted a more rural and socially/politically engaged lifestyle. The majority of individuals living at Overdrevet are associated with the university (or were at some point). 

 

The center of activity on the commune is the Common House where the >70 members eat dinner together 6 nights/week. I was lucky to join in on the Saturday evening dinner feast complete with stuffed chicken breast, roasted vegetables, rice, red wine, and white chocolate and strawberry mousse for dessert. It was awesome.

But, the meal was a reward for my hard work during the day! Ryan, another co-worker of mine from South Africa, and I offered to help at Lene's monthly "work weekend" at Overdrevet. 

During the day, we planted white and red onions, helped clear trees and chop wood for a fence, and played soccer and jumped on the trampoline with a bunch of little Danish kids. We took a tour of the grounds and met new and old members of the community. One of the most incredible aspects of the day was realizing that most of the members that were working with us were well over the age of 70! It's amazing to see how physically fit everyone here is.

 

All in all, it was an incredible experience. The people (similar to almost all of the Danes I have met) were incredibly warm and welcoming. My visit to Overdrevet was the perfect way to enjoy one of the first sunny days of spring in Aarhus! 

Until the next sunny day adventure!

xo (Kramme og kysse),

Jenny

Working in Denmark

Top 10 reasons why working in Denmark is AWESOME:

10. Arrive early and leave early. The work day is flexible based upon an employees needs. For example, most individuals with families arrive between 7 and 8am and leave between 3 and 4pm. When I tend to leave work around 4:30pm... it's usually a ghost town. 

9. Light and bright offices. Compared to the cramped cubicles and shared office spaces that I've worked at in US, my office (yes, that's right - I have my own office... baller) has high vaulted ceilings, plenty of light and natural wood desks, chairs, and bookshelves. Now, I just need to do a bit more decorating (see picture below).

8. Chocolate for snacks. There is a small basket of assorted mini Ritter Sport chocolates available for 2 kroner each. I guess this is an upgrade to my habit of buying post-lunch Hershey's mini's from the Atrium Cafe at UNC. 

7. Fredagbrød. This is the weekly tradition on Friday from 10:00-10:45am where the entire Department of Clinical Epidemiology gets together to enjoy a coffee and some breakfast bread, butter, jam, and chocolate. Yes... it is as amazing as it sounds.

6. Eating lunch together. For those of you who have ever worked or attended school with me know how much I hate to eat in my office/cube. As it so happens, the Danes also share the same sentiment. Everyday, the entire department emerges from their offices just past 12:00pm and everyone sits at a series of 4 long tables and enjoys lunch together. However, I still miss our Bioinformatics lunches outside, Pam and Emily!! 

5. Biking to work is definitely the norm. Everyone comes into work looking a little windblown... and likely a bit sweaty, depending on the distance of their commute.

4. Showers at work. Thank goodness for them - as some of my co-workers have a longer commute to work than I do ;)

3. Weekly fruit basket (see picture below). As some of you may know, the Danish government has a program that supplies workplaces with one piece of fruit per employee per day. There are a variety of fruits including apples, oranges, kiwis, plumbs, bananas, and pears. I guess that means I have no excuse to partake in #8 above.

2. Eating lunch with real plates and cutlery. This is surprisingly one of the nicest features of the office lunch in Denmark. Everyone basically brings their lunch, but uses proper plates, glasses, and cutlery from the two kitchens to eat with. No need to microwave your tupperware... or eat out of a plastic sandwich bag. I would like to bring this custom back to the US (but I guess we'd need to have dishwashers in the office, as well).

1. The stand-up desk. This is by far one of the best parts of working in Denmark. Almost everyone has a convertible desk where you can sit or stand (see the picture below).

Is it weird that 50% of these have to do with food and eating?

That's about it for now - but I promise not to take such a long hiatus next time!

Hej hej! (Bye!)

Jenny

First things first...

What you've heard about Denmark is true... if what you've heard is that it is a small country (≈5.5 million people) filled with extremely happy, beautiful, blonde-haired people riding bicycles everywhere. Add to this the fact that Aarhus, the town I am living in (aka, one of the four happiest cities in the world), is also a university town, you can understand why the first item on my "Week 1 To-Do" list was to buy a bicycle. Maybe next week I will dye my hair blonde. 

My current residence is perfectly situated for bike riding, as I am located in between my work just north of Aarhus and the Aarhus center, amounting to a 15-minute commute to work and only a 4-minute cruise down the hill to the town's shops and restaurants. This past Friday on my first day of work, I asked some of the PhD students and statisticians where they suggest I look to buy a used bike. Anders, one of the statisticians, recommended that I do some research on the Police Department Bicycle Auctions. The gist of this scheme is that every month, the police amass a large amount of bicycles by various means (e.g., recovered from thieves, left at the train station, parked illegally on others' private property). According to Danish efficiencies, these bikes cannot be stored for long periods of time by the Police Department, so a public auction is held at least once (sometimes twice) per month in a big warehouse out in Egå (pronounced EE-YO. Yea, I know... this language is crazy). 

After doing my research on how to take the bus out to Egå, I emailed my colleagues to ask them for any advice. Immediately, my co-worker and Danish cultural attache, Rune, insisted that he accompany me, simply noting that "Jenny, you don't know any numbers in Danish." Oh yea, details, details. In any case, Rune picked me up early Saturday morning and we drove out to Egå to the auction. Fortunately, Rune had never attended an auction, so it was a bit of a cultural experience for him, as well. 

We arrived around 9:30am in order to take 30 minutes to look over the >130 bikes up for auction. Armed with coffee in hand, Rune and I perused through some rusted, busted, and generally abused bikes... noting the diamonds in the ruff. In the end, I had about 7 bikes on my list that I was ready to bid on. We registered with the auction organizers and received lucky number 143. 

 

  
I've never participated in an auction - so I needed a strategy. We decided to watch the first 10 or so bikes to get a sense of the general price range and to see how fast the bidding went. In the end, I settled on spending between 500-1000 Danish kroner (approx. $100-$200). Rune would translate the numbers for me, but I would hold the card to show the bid. After listening to 130 bikes auctioned off, I am proud to say that I know how to count in increments of 100. 

A few of my favorite bikes came and went because I was bit too nervous about getting into a bidding war with a seasoned Danish bike repair person. The place was filled with them! 

 
Finally, bike #107 was called and I felt a wave of determination rise inside of me. The bidding started high at 400 kroner... up and up it went until I was the last one standing at 1,000 kroner (conveniently my maximum price). See my reward below:

The best feature on this bike (besides the totally rad front basket), is the plastic matrix-looking guard on the back. What is that thing for, you ask? It's used to prevent your flowy dresses from getting caught in the spokes on your back wheel, of course?! Ahhh, Danish cycle-chic... I love it :)

Kys fra Danmark (Kisses from Denmark)!

Jenny