Chuck's Commute

Chuck's commute consists of a 6km bike ride from our house to work on some pretty cool looking bike trails. Here's his view. Highway 8 isn't a highway by midwest standards; it's more of a two lane country road.

His commute and pictures from the area are in the Chuck's Commute slideshow.

Happy Labor Day

Well, we think it is, anyway. We are hearing that today is a holiday (Chuck was off all day) - 1/2 the day is because Jesus ascended into heaven today and 1/2 the day is for something equivalent to Labor Day. Then, in a week and a half, he's off again on Monday because that's the day that Jesus's spirit comes back to earth.

Pretty quiet day here. We're heading out this weekend, probably to Kiel and Flensburg. Next weekend is a long weekend, so we're heading to.......stay tuned.

Let's go waaay back

I've been cleaning up the pictures on my laptop and came across these pix.

This one is from February 1994 when I was studying in Guadalajara, Mexico. Anna (pictured) and Teresa, exchange students from Sweden and I went to Barra de Navidad for a long weekend getaway. This is the place where we went body surfing and I seriously thought I was going to drown. I got caught up in a tumbling wave and kept hitting my head on the sandy ocean floor. I think this pix was taken a few hours later...notice the Dos XX beer.


This picture is from August 1997 in Hell, Grand Cayman, BVI. This was our first big trip to the Caribbean. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency and took a catamaran out to Stingray City.

Tiptoe through the tulips at the Keukenhof

One of our side trips to Amsterdam was a visit to the Keukenhof, which is about a 70 acre botanical garden...featuring bulb flowers. The gardens were filled with tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and amaryllis. We spent about 3 hours strolling down the paths, taking pictures, and of course it wouldn't be a trip without a quick tumble for me. It was actually a quick catch myself down on one knee kind of thing. Oh well. I've never been graceful, but this nice lady from Spain asked me if I was ok (in Spanish, of course); so I did get to use my Spanish in the Netherlands.

Enjoy the pictures.

Homes in Amsterdam

On our canal tour, we learned something quite interesting about homes located in Amsterdam. If you look in the picture above, you'll see a hook at the very top of the house. When many of the homes were built, taxes were assessed based upon the street frontage. So, many homes are very narrow and quite tall, which leads to narrow stairwells. Getting furniture up into the house...imagine the top floor...lots of steps...would be a daunting and near impossible task. So, you hook up a rope to the hook and hoist your furniture up and in through a window. Cool.

According to Leza, our tour guide, the Dutch also use it to string up their drunk husbands...the real flying Dutchman! ba-dump-bump.

Amsterdam

The answer to the previous Where in the World are We is.....Amsterdam. Here are the highlights from our long weekend and don't forget to check out the slideshows.

Friday - We were up at the crack of dawn (4am) to make the 5.5 hour drive to Amsterdam. Our first stop was Alkmaar, which is known for its cheese. Cheese...mmmm cheese. We had a tosti, which is kind of like a grilled cheese, but not as greasy. Souveniers from Alkmaar included 3 rounds of gouda (garlic, plain, herb). We headed south through Haarlem, then on to Lissel and the Keukenhof. Tulips galore! I'll have a separate post about the Keukenhof. A quick check in at the hotel, a little exploring, and then off for a 2 hour canal tour. It's always interesting to take a local tour in a new city. The tour guide *usually* makes for a fun time!

Saturday - The forecast called for 50% chance of showers. However, we were lucky enough that we didn't need our umbrellas; although we packed them, just in case. We were up early (unbeknownst to us Amsterdam does not get up until about 10am!) and walked to the floating flower market and then to Anne Frankhuis. I stood in line for about an hour and Chuck headed to a nearby church belltower to climb the steps and get some nice aerial pictures of the city. Fortunately for all the people behind me in line, I got to let them pass me until Chuck returned! Other stops included a return trip to the flower market where I bought 50 tulips for 10 Euro ($15USD) and 20 tulip bulbs for 5 Euro ($7.50USD); a little window shopping through the Fashion District; viewing over 200 Van Gogh paintings at the Van Gogh museum; and then dinner at a quaint Chinese restaurant. The Dutch aren't known for their food and we did try to find something a little more 'local'; however Amsterdam is filled with Hard Rock Cafe's/McDonalds/Burger King/Gauchos Steakhouse, so finding a non-chain restaurant was no easy feat.

Sunday - We knew we had a long trip ahead of us, so we were on the road by 9am. Most of the trip was on Germany's autobahn. The open road of no speed limits...and some folks do travel quite fast! We bought a Garmin nuvi 270 with US and European maps, so finding our way around Europe is turning out to be easier than I thought it would be...although the Garmin lady's voice is a bit annoying after awhile. After a few stops for gas...trust me, gas is CHEAP in the US...we were back in DK. Our car is diesel, which is a tad cheaper than gasoline, but we're paying about $10 a gallon.

Enjoy the pictures.

Where in the world are we?

Here are some clues. The answer and pictures will be posted later.

• There are about 1 million people living here and over 170 different nationalities
• The city is home to about 700,000 bicycles, about 80,000 of which are reported stolen each year
• A scene in Ocean's 12 was filmed along the canals
• There are over 60 miles of canals here, with over 1500 bridges
• The canals are about 9 feet deep, with 1-2 feet of 'disposed' bicycles...luckily they dredge the canals every year!
• Nearby attractions include ancient Roman ruins, a town dedicated to cheese, a 70 acre botanical garden
• It is quickly becoming one of the most expensive cities to live in
• Prostitution is a career for some women (they pay taxes!)...and they have a specific 'District' that they work in
• You can 'tip-toe' through acres and acres of fields of my favorite flower

Any guesses?

Life in DK

I'm adjusting to my new life in Danmark. There are a few things I need to get used to...or just change the way I do things.

• Drinking luke warm water - I don't think anyone uses ice cubes. I wonder if I can buy an ice cube tray?
• Not drinking diet pepsi - way too expensive
• The cheese smells - it tastes good, just smelly
• Learn Danish...quickly!
• It's light out late in the evening and early in the morning - I'll need to buy some sleep shades
• Television shows are pretty old - Murder She Wrote, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Melrose Place, 90210, need I say more?
• Everything is expensive - maybe I just won't look at the price anymore!?!?

On the upside,

• Chuck can bike to work; it's only 6km
• It's 20 steps to the bakery, 40 steps to the grocery store, 50 steps to the post office
• 15 minute drive to Germany
• Lots of travel opportunties
• We have a sauna and a solarium (tanning bed)
• I got beautiful flowers (blomster) on Monday (mandag)

Four Things

This email is circulating, so I thought I would post my answers here, too. Feel free to post yours. Four things about me that you may or may not have known, in no particular order.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Fifth Hand on the Paper Machines at Fort Howard / Fort James / Georgia Pacific / Koch
2. Counter worker at Thompson Meats
3. Assistant to the Director at Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement
4. Neighborhood Services Director at the City of Janesville

(currently, a housepet as my mom says...so no job, just hanging out in DK)

Four Movies I Have Watched More than Once:
1. Goonies
2. The Holiday
3. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
4. On Golden Pond

Four Cars that I Have Driven:
1. Geo Storm
2. Volkswagon Jetta
3. Toyota Solara convertible
4. Toyota Highlander

Four Places I Have Lived (other than where I live now, which is Denmark!!):
1. Minneapolis, Minnesota
2. Rockford, Illinois
3. Janesville, Wisconsin
4. Roscoe, Illinois

Four Shows That I Watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. Reruns of That 70's show
4. Two and a half men

Four Places I Have Been:
1. Base of a glacier outside Anchorage, Alaska
2. Hell (a town in Grand Cayman, British Virgin Islands)
3. Ancient Aztec and Maya ruins in Mexico
4. Sailing on the Rumbaba in St. Thomas, USVI

Four of My Favorite Foods:
1. Chicken Enchiladas
2. Turkey Chili
3. Fuji Apples
4. Tomatoes off the vine

These are all foods that are not readily available in Denmark :(

Four places I'd rather be right now (not in any order)
1. Honestly, no place. Too many places to see in Europe. But, if I have to pick some...
2. The beach, under a cabana, with a cabana boy to wait on me.
3. Sleeping, I'm still not on a regular schedule!
4. Shopping

Four things I Am Looking Forward To This Year: (2008)
1. Traveling Europe
2. Visits from friends and family; hint, hint, hint
3. The arrival of a new niece or nephew
4. Warm weather

Book Review - Welcome to the Great Mysterious

My friend Stacey introduced me to books by author Lorna Landvik. I recently read Welcome to the Great Mysterious. Another great book; I think I read the whole thing in an evening! Here's a brief synopsis. Geneva Jordan is a broadway star and receives a call from her twin sister Ann, in Deep Lake, Minnesota. Geneva agrees to watch Rich, her 13 year old nephew and godson who has Down's Syndrome. Her sister Ann and husband Riley take a much needed and first ever vacation away from Rich, a month in Italy. Geneva leaves the bright lights of Manhattan for a different kind of role and realizes that life doesn't always follow the best of scripts. As the author writes "an unexpected tragedy forever changes the lives of those she has come to care about, forcing her to redefine herown role as well."