Dinner with a Danish Family

Last Saturday, after putting together yet more IKEA dressers (4 in all), we were invited to dinner at the home of Micheal - lawyer for Lacrosse Footwear - who has been working very closely with Craig et al with the company transition. Matt Schneider joined us and the girls and we drove to Michael's house in Taastrup (minutes outside of the city) where he lives with his ladyfriend, Vibeka. We arrived at 3 pm for coffee and dessert, which is very typical on a weekend. We sat, ate and talked. Then, Michael brought out the wine and while the girls watched Olympic coverage with Danish commentary, we drank, Michael smoked his pipe, Vibeka cooked and we watched the barbecue. Michael is an entertaining individual and the time passed quickly. We asked many questions about their culture and life there and they were very gracious. We ate dinner around 7 and finished with more dessert, talk and wine, leaving for the evening about 9:30 pm. (21:30 in Danish time. They use the military system of time) It is true what we read about meals in Danish homes: they can last a long time.

The next day we explored Dyrehaven Park or "Deer Park" which is just a 5 minute drive from our house. It is a huge forest with interconnecting trails, restaurants, and Europe's oldest amusement park, Bakken. We strolled along and viewed Danes enjoying picnics amongs the woods, horse and carriage rides, a jazz band performing an open-air concert, mountain bikers, walkers and horseback riders. This is a quintessential park, similar to Central Park and Golden Gate, that the Danes take pride in and visit often. The ocean is on one perimeter and we paused for a while to view the ships, dip our feet in the water and look out over Sweden's coast. We are beginning to realize what wonderful family adventures lie ahead of us and so close to our home.

We are also being warned about the dark winters...

We got registered for residency today, after taking the children out of school and going to the immigration office andn city hall twice. Still, it will take another 1 - 2 weeks to get our residency cards and numbers.

The girls have playdates scheduled this week for after school. They also get to sign up for after school activities. Listen to some of the choices: music, choir, soccer, basketball, sports and fun, floor hockey, gymnastics, karate, yoga, ballet, dance, running, drama, photography, sailing and painting. Most of these will have a cost, of course. Maya's class has mandatory swimming lessons, once a week during school. All Danish children learn to swim through school.

Pictures coming...
Hej,Hej