The End of Summer

Worryingly the gap between my posts seems to be getting longer.  I'm sure as the nights start drawing in and there is less incentive to go outside, I'll have more time again to keep my one follower (I am flattered) and other regular readers (thanks for taking the time) updated.

It is the last weekend in September and this blog has been slowly composing (or is that decomposing) in my head since the first one.  Summer is definitely long gone, and when I sat at my desk earlier this week, with the rain lashing against the window it was very clear autumn had arrived.  The last few days of summer was not without its highlights though.

Miss R started her new year at school which was very exciting, for her as well as for us as it meant that all of a sudden we had opportunities to make some new friends as well as catch up with a few we made previously.  The benefits of having been at the school even for a few weeks was very obvious over the summer as it meant a regularish schedule of play dates and the odd trip here and there.

Before Miss R returned to school though, she and I had some quality time together as Master T started vuggestue (for the 2nd time).  Despite an initial start, it was the middle of the school holidays and as such, his 'stue' was shut and none of his pedagogues were there to give him cuddles.  So we decided to postpone until normal service was resumed and after a few small hiccups and him looking at me very balefully when I went to pick him up in the evening, pleased to report he is very well settled with his pedagogue, a lovely if slightly intimidating Icelandic lady, reporting his 'trainee viking' progress daily.

Anyway back to Miss R.  Fortunately our Master T less time coincided with some lovely weather and so we took advantage of our annual zoo passes, the proximity of Bakken - allegedly the oldest fairground (and rollercoaster, so rickety it can't be safe) in the world and of course not forgetting the beach.  

This father and daughter quality time soon ended though, although not without us remarking to each other daily just how quiet it was in the flat without Master T rampaging around it, and school started again.  The first few days were part time to ease them back in gently and then all of a sudden, I had whole days to myself stretching ahead of me.  Our CoI in the office, Miss R and Master T in school and nursery respectively.  Bliss.

Fortunately, I met another father at the school in the same predicament as me.  We took advantage of the situation to see how 'the other halves' spent their days.  Clearly this had to involve some coffee mornings and we explored "Books and Company" in Hellerup, who not only have a great selection of books they brew excellent coffee.  We also enjoyed impinging on what is clearly 'mom' territory (yes, deliberately written US style).  In the nicest possible way.

The one stroke of luck that we had was that the last week in August was Copenhagen Food Week.  As we were both on the run in to re-starting employment, we celebrated our last day of freedom and carefree days, at least between the hours of 08.45 and 14.50 with a slap up lunch.  I'm painfully aware that the gastronomy updates have been sadly lacking recently but I am pleased to say that I have not been slacking in this respect.  Our lunch was at an excellent bistro in Østerbro called Aaman's.  It's located in an area that has something to do with potatoes - I haven't got to the bottom of what that means yet, but I can report it was an excellent experience.  It's a very smart looking restaurant, with just the right balance of 'cool' and 'traditional' and the food is very traditional Danish fare.  By that I mean, there was herring with different dressings, tartare, roes, cheeses accompanied by a very tasty microbrew.  An excellent way to end the summer and fortunately, or not as the case may be, the need to pick children up from school and vuggestue meant we had to leave before ordering too many more glasses of the beer.

We also had a our last visitor of the summer.  My delightful and slightly eccentric cousin from the US.  She was a hit with Miss R in particular and we had a great afternoon exploring Christianshavn which included lunch at the Cafe Oven Vande with the young and funky crowd.  Perfect for Miss R and Auntie M, perhaps I was a bit conspicuous.  Their 'most of the day' breakfast platter is well worth a mention and with the sun shining a great spot to sit by the canal and people watch.

The evening treat with Auntie M was dinner at the Nimb Brasserie.  A very picturesque terrace with a very traditional bisto menu which was well cooked and presented, albeit the service took a little time to warm up.  One of my highlights was actually the pre-dinner Hendrick's Cucumber Sour.  Most recommended.  We also managed to time our trip for Tivoli's 115th (I think, memory's a bit hazy..!) birthday so our meal was finished off by a superb firework display.  Perfect location for our visitor.

And that, was pretty much the summer.  We're now settling into a much more visitor less routine.  I have finally landed some gainful employment, more on that next time.  Summer is feeling a long way behind us, not to mention a long way off with the Copenhagen Autumn and Winter stretching out in front of us.  Whenever I go past the local beach now, it's pretty deserted, cold and blustery although there always seems to be a naked man on it on Sunday mornings which is a little disconcerting.

The empty racks at Svanemøllen Strand.

Vi ses!

Like a galleon darling...

So, massive strides in the last few days in becoming more of a Copenhagenite.


For those of you who read the trials of my last blog around getting a mobile phone, you'll be pleased to know that I am now a proud and relieved owner of a new mobile phone.  I chanced my arm one more time with 3 (other providers are available) at a different store and despite some early scepticism, which included examining my passport for some kind of Danish immigration stamp (I had to point out I was an EU citizen, full rights of entry / residence etc), we had success!


Another big development has been the purchase of our Christiania bike which I am starting to throughly enjoy and look forward to using a lot.  Must be said, that the initial omens were not looking good.  Taking the bike for a test spin on a windy and wet day, in what must be the only hilly region of Copenhagen, there were only 2 near crashes and 1 near rollover.  However, R sitting in the cargo box was very reassuring and supportive despite describing my initial biking attempts as "wobbly" and our CoI further encouraging me with comments like "you look like a galleon darling"...  This however was the least of my troubles.


Little did I realise that actually driving a 'Christiania' on the road with no weight i.e. children / cargo in the box actually makes the bike fiendishly difficult to manage, steer and generally keep on the straight and narrow.  So a 10KM cycle to get the bike home, in the blustery wind and rain along the coast made for an interesting experience.  Particularly the road by Charlottenlund Palace where the road undulates, zig zags and the camber on the cycleway does its best to drive you into the adjacent hedgerows.


However, a Sunday afternoon excursion the following day, complete with both children and no near misses suddenly makes the city feel a lot smaller and accessible, not to mention confidence in my abilities to drive one of these things at an acceptable level.  All we need now is an industrial sized bike lock.  Despite Denmark being a very low crime and pleasant country, apparently thefts of Christiania bikes are very common, with even gangs in vans driving round the city looking for them and then just lifting into the back.

The other big step forward this week was a night out for our CoI and me, all by ourselves with no small children.  We seem to have struck pot luck by discovering an extremely local option for babysitting.  Very child friendly and brilliantly flexible.  In fact when we left on Friday night, R was trailing around after her new best girl friend for the evening.  T was oblivious to it and probably best ignored what looked like a girlie evening starting to take shape.

Our evening out helped further our gastronomic adventures in the neighbourhood as we discovered Gustav's Bistro on Classensgade.  A small wine shop with a lovely bistro attached run with a sense of humour.  The food is influenced by French cuisine but with plenty of local Danish twists and ingredients.  And the cassoulet we shared as our main course deserves a special mention.  Another locale making it on to the 'must take friends to' list.

So fuelled by good food and an excellent bottle of Bourgeuil, we started making further plans for nights out exploring the abundance of eateries Copenhagen seems to have to take advantage of our newly discovered babysitting option.  Not to mention preparing for our flurry of visitors that will start within a few days.

Till next time.  Hopefully it'll have rained less in between blogs...

Reality bites and it rains a lot...

So, it feels like the honeymoon period is over.  

Our CoI is fully back into the routine of work with a vengeance.  I am fully understanding the meaning of being a stay at home dad with 2 small children.  One of whom has decided that teething involves all sorts of histrionics and drama.  The other one fortunately is somewhat less dramatic and it is possible to have a rationale conversation with her.  Or at least as rationale as it gets with a 4 and half (very important the half) year old child.

On the upside, it means we are doing lots of things that involve exploring the neighbourhood to keep ourselves busy and out of trouble.

The highlights of discovery since the last blog have been the Fælledparken and the Østerbro Svømmehal.  The former is a large expanse of park, with multiple sports pitches, walking and running tracks and most importantly a fabulous children's playground where the kids can occupy themselves for hours.  Now that the weather is also improving this is becoming a regular excursion.  The latter is an imposing structure modelled along the lines of ancient Roman baths complete with statues of faux gods.  It has a great kids' swimming pool, which is perfect for me and 5m and 10m diving platforms which is perfect for the kids.  This is starting to look like a banker for rainy days.  Of which there are many it seems.

Now that things are starting to become normal again, the time for gastronomic exploration has been limited.  Although, I did try the Maharaja Indian restaurant a few blocks away the other night for a 'treat for self', which whilst a little on the pricey side did a very passable lamb korai with good naan.  So for you members of the FNCC, a perfectly good venue to reconvene when you make it out here.  Kingfisher and a decent wine list also available.

Things we have learnt since the last blog:

1.  Denmark has a supremely well integrated set of government departments - with one number we now exist and every department can help us at the drop of a hat.
2.  The most 'modern' radio station I have discovered, seems stuck somewhere between the mid 80s and mid 90s, with the odd foray into the 2000s or beyond.
3.  Security guards in Copenhagen are as unhelpfully obtuse as in London.
4.  Opening a bank account with our CoI was a wonderful experience involving pleasant one on one meetings in plush offices.  As opposed to the spotty trainee in an open plan station on the high street.
5.  Danes are sticklers for the rules, right down to the feedback on how I should shower when I took the kids swimming (slightly unnerving).
6.  Surprisingly, recycling seems a lot less structured than back home, or at least we were used to in London.  Plastics, tetra paks, food waste all goes into the landfill bin.  And, I have yet to find out where to recycle tins.
7.  The beer is good - current favourite is the Tuborg Grøn pilsner.
8.  The daily weather forecast usually includes; cloudy with some rain, cloudy with a little rain, sunny spells with some rain etc. 

The Big Move - Phase 2 (Our new home at last)

So finally, after a week in our digs in Christianshavn, the day arrived to make the final leg of our move into our apartment.  It's a lovely place in Østerbrø - for you London residents you'll know what I mean when I say the main drag feels a bit like Northcote Road.  But with a few more useful shops and a bit less self consciousness.  Approximately the same number of babies, small children and sunglasses though.

We love our new apartment and R & T have been hooning around all the space like crazy, the one aspect that dawned on us very quickly, is that living on the 4th floor without a lift, requires good cardio vascular fitness, strong thighs (to carry T and a buggy) and supreme organisation to make sure nothing is forgotten either at the top or the bottom.  We have only had one instance of "daddy, can you get my special toy from the car..."

Fortunately to help us move in, we had the assistance of movers who have clearly done this before and weren't too phased.  Although as our CoI commented as she popped off to work, she passed a man on each landing in various stages of looking a broken sweaty mess.

But, we've been in 5 days now and the 250+ boxes transported from the UK have been reduced to about 20, but that doesn't include the ones we put in our cellar.  If we can't see them, they don't exist.  The flat is taking shape and we are looking forward to visitors soon.

Local eateries we have explored include Joe & the Juice where looking painfully cool is de rigeur and a local pizza takeout, most of which are apparently run by Bulgarians (interesting).  

Things I have learnt about Denmark this week:

1.  An unfurnished apartment includes no lights (hence early trip to Ikea for some)
2.  Ikea in Denmark is similarly hellish to the UK
3.  It takes a lot of research to find a decent supermarket but finally a Super Bruggsen round the corner is likely to do the business
4.  Pack for all weathers - we went out on bright sunshine for a canal tour only to have snow arrive as we were about to step on the boat
5.  Parking charges are fiendishly complicated with 3 different zones in the city and 3 different tariffs during a 24 hour period
6.  A UK TV will need re-tuning to pick up the Danish TV signals
7.  The Danes really love their design, we saw an Arne Jacoben designed petrol station yesterday!

Finally, our highlight of the week was a trip up the coast to the top of Zeeland (didn't take long!) and a stop for a splendid lunch with views at the Strandmøllekroen restaurant in Klampenborg.  Maybe this blog is starting to take a gastronomic slant...