So, per the usual, it has been a long long while (might be up to months now) since I wrote my last post. But that of course hasn’t stopped me from dreaming up topics and *thinking* about posting. And taking plenty of pictures.

But now that we are on Day 6 since schools and universities were shut down, Day 4 since Denmark closed its borders and Day 1 of the Danish government taking even more drastic action to slow the spread of CoronaVirus.

As of last night (March 17th) in Denmark,

  • All shops except groceries and pharmacies will be shut down through March 30th,
  • Groups of more than 10 are forbidden,
  • the Queen addressed the nation for the first time since 1945.

I’m going to see if I can do a quick blog post (start to finish in less than 4 hours – they usually take me between 8 and 10 hours) just as a quick update to friends and family about how we’re doing, what we’ve been up to, and life in Copenhagen.

Most of you know I have the gift of gab and could turn any one of the below pictures into a post all by itself .

But I’m going to give brevity a go.

I will also be ok with failure.

First, misc pictures of the fam.

The oldest during our trip to Rome late January. Photo submitted to her school yearbook because she didn’t like the professional school photo.
MBH all smiles. Coffee/tea/cheese cake on an afternoon we spent exploring Copenhagen one weekend afternoon in February.
The eldest during dessert on her birthday. February 2020.
The big 1-4.
Do you love *the look?* I love the look. So special.
We got sushi takeout (her favorite dinner food).
You can’t quite make it out but there’s a small chocolate cake in front of her with Danish Flags in it.
Danes are all about their flag on birthdays, but not candles, apparently. Because I looked in 5 different stores for birthday candles, to no avail.
Notice the small glass cup with the spoon in it? That’s the very large portion of apple crisp she helped herself to before she realized I’d actually gotten her a cake.
She ate both, but did regret it.
Late January 2020. How about that side-eye?
Photo credit to eldest.
This is overlooking the Forum in Rome.
The girls had great fun with the family camera when the [absolutely fascinating] college – level lectures about the mechanical engineering of ancient roman structures got to be a bit much for them.
All dressed up to go out for the birthday celebration of two friends in late February. It was a grand time!
After more than a few weeks of searching for the perfect new winter hat, I found it downtown. I’m very happy with it and will probably be wearing it through June or July.

OMG OMG OMG The sun!

Between early October and late February, there was approximately 1 sunny day in all of Denmark. Now we’re getting about 1 sunny day every 10 or 12 days. And when the sunshines, I go outside.
This is the Little Mermaid Statue in the Copenhagen Harbor – A must-see for tourists.
It’s a little over 2 miles from our apartment and even on a cold winter Tuesday afternoon, there were dozens of people gathered around.
A glorious sunny day on top of Luders Parking garage/running stairs – one of my favorite places to go workout. The views from the top of beautiful. Even on cloudy days.
Who can guess what this structure is? Do share in the comments.
I took this picture because I have NO idea.
It’s wooden so God forbid it’s a slide.
Maybe people run down it and jump in? I can think of safer, more fun ways to create a water jump.
A kayak launch? Seems a bit excessive to me. But there are a couple of wooden tracks at the top (hard to tell in this photo)
Anyhow,
whatever this ramp is, it’s in a very popular public recreation area of the Copenhagen Harbor.
There are roped off swimming areas (my favorite swimming spot is here – with a 75m lap pool and it’s roped off underneath so jellyfish can’t get in!!, docks, ramps, walking areas, cafes (closed in winter)kayaks for rent, and maps all over the place detailing a 15km running route.
When I asked MBH what he thought, he said “dunno, but let’s come back in the summer to find out”
Early February. I went out to explore a National Forest/park I hadn’t yet been to.
One of the things I love love love about living here is being able to hop on a bus, a train, the metro to explore areas near me. This one is in the town (neighborhood?) a few miles north of us – Charlottenlund.
The park itself wasn’t very big and I came upon this house and thought it worth a quick photo.
I am making really good use of all my cold weather exercise gear – all of which, I have realized, that my dad has given to me over the years. Thank you Dad!!
“50 Meter pool is closed the below days and times”
2 days before Denmark closed schools and universities, I bought a 10-day pass to this community swimming pool (and no, I cannot pronounce it) about 25 minutes by bus from our apartment, or a 15 min bike ride.
I took a picture of this sign so that I could type it into google translate when I got home.
This was posted and planned 2 days before Denmark closed everything because of CV.
Now the pool is closed until March 30th.
ANYHOW, the week before I had met my friend Jennifer at this pool – to check it out before committing to the pass. I fell in love with the 50meter pool right away. Definitely prefer it to a 25m pool.
The facility and culture is quite different in a number of ways from my experiences in US gyms/pools. For example, you have to shower with soap, before putting your swimsuit on. So, naked. And all the showering is communal. Zero curtains or closed off shower stalls.
Also, in the women’s bathrooms/locker room, there is a small “cold pool” (6 or 7 feet deep, maybe 8’X8′ square, 50 degrees F). And it’s right next to the very very very hot sauna.
Basically it’s a “winter bath” set up, but inside. Winter bathing is something I’ve heard about, been mildly curious about, but not curious enough to go down to the Copenhagen harbor to partake in it myself. Many Danes swear it’s good for your health! Maybe before I finish my 10-day pass I’ll have the courage to take a dip in the 50F pool before taking a turn in the sauna.

The Murals of Nordvest

My friend Jessica learned about this really cool area of Copenhagen with huge murals on the side of apartment buildings and invited me along to check it out the week before CV ramped up in Denmark (30 cases to more than 500 in 3 days, now we’re up to close to 1000 positive cases 9 days after it was only 30 cases) Two streets worth of murals.

Below are a few (not all!) of these bright and colorful murals.

Spaceman.
Jessica had planned out the whole afternoon and had picked out Cafe Sirius for us to have lunch.
It was delicious.
Why did I take this photo? Absolutely no idea. I asked her, assuming she would remember (she has a pretty sharp memory). Alas, she has no idea either.
Why did I take this photo? Well, it’s my new residence permit photo – The ones we got last August expired in February 2020. So we had to go through the whole process all over again.

Not going to lie. The new permit photo is far better than my old one.

And in case you forgot, here you go

My vampire picture…

Life during corona virus

Anyone tired of pictures of stores and shelves yet? No? Great! Here you go!
I took this photo on the Thursday (March 12th) after the Danish government announced closure of schools the night before (Wednesday March 11th) There was definitely a run on TP and some empty shelves.
But this is one of the 2 places I do most of my grocery shopping (a 3 min walk from our apartment) and they were well stocked.
Day 2 (Friday March 13th) after government announced store closures. Photos from folks who went to the stores on Thursday March 12th showed very very long lines. By Friday, things were pretty normal.
Night 1 after schools were closed. Although truth be told this has mostly been our evenings since early November…
Lots of candles. All candle holders bought 2nd hand at my favorite thrift shop. I’ll be bringing most of these home with me. Hygge is definitely an aspect of Danish culture I have come to really appreciate and enjoy.
That was the night MBH and I watched the Two Popes. I highly recommend it.
The next night we watched “Stepsons” and it was HORRIBLE. 98 minutes of my life I will never get back.
DO NOT WATCH IT
Saturday, March 14th. Day 3 after school closure announcement.
So much for social distancing.
The playground on top of the Luders Parking garage.
A gloriously sunny day, packed with children and families. And metal surfaces upon which the corona virus can live for several hours…
MBH and I went out for a bike ride, just because it was a beautiful day and biked down to the Fisketorvet mall (about 25 minutes from where we live) Saw this and had to take a photo.
Quite a bike. Fat tire, recumbent, electric, trike…
MBH and the eldest planning out her science experiment to test which milk will make the fluffiest pancakes (soy, almond, buttermilk, whole milk). Her assignment was to plan it out. Not sure when she will have to run the experiment.
March 17th Card games with cell phone of course. This was Spades. We played 2 rounds then switched to Egyptian Rat Screw. I def. prefer spades but think the young’uns need a few more years to appreciate it…
Canes. The youngest is not so happy.
Canes.
She and her dad lost.
So sad.

Ok. that’s all for today’s post! You decide if I achieved my goal of brevity. It only take me about 4 hours…

Hope all are staying safe and healthy.

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2 Comments

  1. Loved the picture of Doug that also had his reflection in the picture next to him. I am wondering if the wooden ramp is for loading boats amybe? Miss you bunches, stay well my friend.

    1. I had not even noticed his reflection in the picture!!!! We will find out what that wooden structure is used for (assuming there is some return to normalcy by this summer) . cannot WAIT to come see you when we return this summer!

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