Getting Master T into nursery however, was not without its traumas....
On the face of it, the process for applying to nurseries here in Denmark, seemed very straightforward. Once of course we'd had a bit of local language help to navigate the København Kommune website oh and of course getting our CPR numbers, the key to life in Denmark. Not a difficult thing, just a bit of a long lead time with only one argument of what constituted a birth certificate for each of the children.
Quite simply, you look up the nurseries in your area and then select 2 based on your preferences of location, recommendation, waiting list and the other nebulous factors us parents use. This choice is submitted online and a confirmation email sent - sounds all a bit like internet shopping. Received wisdom also suggested that the average wait was around 6 maybe 8 weeks for a place. So, 4 weeks after the application, with my thoughts slowly turning towards the prospect of paid employment sometime this year, and not having heard anything I thought I'd contact the Kommune to get an update. Imagine then my shock when the return email stated that with our chosen nurseries, we should expect to get a place in Spring 2013! All of a sudden, the rumblings of a nursery place shortage coupled with living in Copenhagen's equivalent of nappy valley started to make a lot of sense.
What to do? Clearly one option was to just sit it out. I mean, it's not like I'm not enjoying the time with Master T and Miss R. However, for the sake of my sanity and probably Master T's future development I thought it prudent to try and do something about this. There is of course the option of the alternative Danish nursery system where all they seem to do is take the kids to a forest and then let them hunt bears. But, somehow I couldn't see Master T being up for this. He will however be taking his daytime naps in a pram outside the nursery building which is a very Danish thing to do. But, I'm feeling reassured that they'll bring them in if it gets too cold, which I believe means single degree Celsius rather than waiting till minus numbers appear...
Calling the Kommune was an interesting experience. Apparently the problem was Master T's birthday being in January not to mention us seemingly choosing one of the most popular / apparently coolest places (it just happens to be 200 yards from our front door). However, the helpful ladies at the Kommune sent some suggested alternatives with an indication that the wait lists were more reasonable. So CoI (Captain of Industry for new readers) and I went to see them and made a revised short list. Following up on this revised list, we were effectively told the same thing, albeit maybe autumn / winter of this year. So cue another call to the Kommune - we couldn't be the only people in this situation.
This time, I mentioned we were not first language Danish speakers. In reality, no Danish language ability speakers at all (if they hadn't twigged already) and all of a sudden light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Apparently some nurseries have 'language places' which are reserved for people like us i.e. numpties when it comes to speaking Danish. This can reduce the waiting time significantly, although "no guarantees" were given, and would mean Master T start a nursery sooner rather than later.
So once again, a revised selection sent with clear indication for the preference of a language place based on the suggestions from the Kommune. This was acknowledged at approximately 14.00 on the relevant afternoon with a comment stating it would be likely we would have a "good chance" for a nursery place. By 17.00 we had an offer sent through...hurrah!
Looking back, I realise that the lady at the Kommune was trying to intimate without actually saying so that we should apply to nursery X because they had a language place available. But clearly, moving to the end of the process without actually going through all the preceding steps wasn't possible. I am appreciating Danish efficiency but there is still a certain amount of 'that's just the way it is' when trying to get things done. Or maybe that's civil departments the world over.
But no complaining, Master T is sorted and I'm now looking forward to some quality beach time once Miss R is also back at school. (Did someone say "get a job!")
No gastronomy updates this time, but no fear, will rectify this soon enough.
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