What better way to see Paris...

...then with a Parisian?!
I was originally supposed to get back to Copenhagen on a Tuesday after my vacation to DC and Wisconsin, but I ended up staying in the States a few extra days to go to a meeting for work which meant that I flew back overnight on a Thursday...arrived in Copenhagen at 1pm on Friday....stored my bags at the airport...and met up with Jamie and Virginie to head off to Paris for the weekend!

Jamie (American), Virginie (French), and I all work on the same team at Maersk and who could pass up an opportunity to let Virginie show us around her favorite city?! We arrived early Friday evening and headed to a cute little apartment in the city that Virginie's mom owns (it is near the Nation metro stop if you are familiar with Paris). From there we met Virginie's mom for a lovely dinner followed by a drive around Paris at night.

Saturday we toured ALL of Paris. Okay, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but not much - we hit all the attractions except Le Sacre Couer. Paris had just installed a new city biking system, which, in my humble opinion, every major city should do. There are stations all over the city and the main point it to keep the bikes in circulation so after you 'reserve" your day ticket via the kiosks, it is free for the first 30min, 1 Euro for the next 30min, 2 Euro for the next 30min, etc. But if you ride 20min to your destination, store the bike at the station, and then pick up a new bike later, the clock starts over again...so it is essentially a free system. Well done Paris! And we were off!!!























After dinner we went to a bar in the district near where Virginie used to live...she remembered it as being "super" (said in a thick French accent!) and she was correct. We met two French guys (Nicola and Pierre...pictured below along with the bar owner) and had a great time talking with them before we all hit the caves for a night of dancing!



Sunday was a little more low key, but we still took full advantage of the bikes and Virginie's knowledge of the city as we biked through the maze of streets. She took us to brunch at Le Pain Quotidien which is a MUST DO when you are in Paris...one of the best brunches I have ever had in my life and the atmosphere (large wooden tables that you share with other diners, a decor that gives a modern twist to an old French farmhouse).

An absolutely fabulous trip...the only problem is that it was too short. Merci Virginie!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

After a great stay in DC, I headed to Chicago and Wisconsin for the "main event" of my vacation - my parent's 40th wedding anniversary!

I flew into Chicago and my mom and I headed to The Berghoff which is one of Chicago's oldest restaurants (107 years) and is where my sister Kelly works in event planning. After that we were off to shopping on Michigan Avenue - gotta take advantage of being paid in kroner when the dollar is so low! Later that night we met back up with Kelly for dinner in Lakeview a great neighborhood in Chicago where my sister lives. From there it was up to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin...where my parents now live.

In between party preparation I was able to spend plenty of time enjoying one of my favorite places - the lake! Up early to ski every morning, days spent out of the boat, jet skiing, para sailing, swimming, and hanging out on the pier.

The big event...

and Tim started things out right by bring bringing the Sol!

My parents has spent months planning this party...which was on a steamship boat called the Louise. They had people over to the house beforehand for appetizers and it was fantastic to see so many of their friends!


Despite the rain, and thankfully Bobby and Susan had a spare tent to set up, it was a lot of fun! Granny even came up with her own way to stay dry!

Kelly and I put together a surprise slide show for mom and dad. Everyone came back to the house afterwards to watch and enjoy a delicious cake made by Chon...the cake maker where Kelly works - both were a big hit!

I guess all that is left to say is....

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! HERE'S TO MANY MORE!!!

Home Leave!

Being an expat you are given one "home leave" a year...which means that the company will pay for one trip home a year...a nice perk and a great vacation! I did a terrible job taking pictures during my first part of the trip...which was a five days in DC.

Aaron picked me up and brought over a fabulous picnic that we enjoyed in the typical DC summer heat...which was a great change of pace from the cooler, rainy Danish summer!

We headed to McLean for the last summer Gathering...the college ministry I used to volunteer with . They had a post service BBQ where Jeff and Aaron showed off their skills.

I spent a few nights at Stephanie and Matt's house....and we all headed over to a fantastic dinner at Amie and Alex's where I got to see Sophie for the 2nd time this year (I first met her when she was only 5 days old!)

And that ends the photo part of the tour...but other great parts of the trip were...

• Jeff and I headed to Goddard to see the Wake Forest University alumni softball team (that I used to play for) play in the opening round of the CAN softball tournament...they won...GO DEACS!!!
• Frontline at McLean Bible Church...where I got to see James, Rachael, Micah, Jess, and Michelle...among others.
• Quality hang out time with Stacey...can't wait to see her again in Europe in November!
• I went back to Maersk Line, Limited to see my former colleagues...and Susan and I did some power shopping in Reston afterwards!
• Dinner with Erin Norris and Sheila Dillon...and I even got to meet Erin's dog Rufus!
• And what trip to DC would be complete with out heading to Rio with Kara for some excellent Mexican food...which I miss very very much in Copenhagen, they haven't quite mastered yet.

And then...it was off to the Midwest....

Summertime in Copenhagen

Copenhagen definitely has a split personality....it is a completely different city in the summer as opposed to the winter due to the long summer days (in July the sun doesn't set until 10:30/11:00) contrasting with the dark, rainy winter days (with only about 8 hours sunlight...though one almost never sees the sun through the clouds). Therefore, there is a completely different vibe in the summer with people out happily enjoying the fantastic, humidity-free days with temperatures in the 70s. We get a couple good weeks in the 80s as well!

Some of my favorite summertime activities have been:

THE BEACH
At least once a week...usually more, I head to one of the cities many beaches either to run or meet friends for volleyball, frisbee, and swimming. My favorite beaches are Bellevue in Klampenborg -a great 30 min bike ride north, along the water, from my apartment- and Amagerstrand Beach - about a 25 min ride through the city.

Julia, Cecelia, Jan and I are usually brave enough to venture into the Øresund Straight which connect the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Many afternoons and evenings are spent playing beach volleyball at Bellevue.

Amager beach has a great path to run on along the beach, so I head there after work whenever I can motivate myself. It also has a great view of the offshore windmills.

One day there was a circus in town and they had the elephants out in the park next to the beach. Sure, the rope they had places around the elephants was electrified, but honestly I don't think that rope could have kept any elephant from charging if he/she had really wanted to!

THE LAKES

Copenhagen has 5 artificial, rectangular lakes that cut through the middle of the city. Apparently they used to be used as a water reserve, but now they are an excellent place for a run, a walk, to relax on a bench and read near, and to sit at one of the many cafes along the edges and enjoy the view.

SUMMER FILMS

Zulu Sommerbio takes place during August and there are free movies shown at night all over the city. Some are Danish, but many are Hollywood blockbusters like Casino Royal, The Departed, The Devil Wears Prada, etc. It's been great to meet up with friends for dinner and then head over to a park for an evening movie.

JAZZ FESTIVAL

Copenhagen Jazz Festival is held for 2 weeks in early July and jazz musicians can be found all over the city's many squares as well as in the concert venues.

Congratulations Steve and Anna!!!

On July 21, 2007 Anna and Steve were married in a beautiful ceremony at Christiansborg Slotskirke, a gorgeous Danish church right downtown next to Parliament.

I know Anna and Steve from church and was fortunate enough to be invited to share in their celebration. Anna, being a member of the Danish church, was able to have her wedding at one of the affiliate churches around the city which was absolutely beautiful.

Anna's dad walked her down to aisle to meet Steve and his brothers who were the groomsmen. I didn't understand most of the service, which was all in Danish since Anna and Steve are both Danish, though Steve grew up in Australia. Nevertheless, it was a touching ceremony with a choir in the uppermost balcony which made it sound like angels singing from above.

Following the ceremony Anna and Steve greeted guests outside ....many cars slowed down to see what was going on as we waved Danish and Australian flags..the princess of Denmark is Australian, thus they likely thought it was some kind of christening for the newly born crown princess!

Natasha, Austin, and I took some pictures outside the church.
Afterwards we went to a reception, which was originally scheduled for outside in the Royal Gardens, but unfortunately the morning was a little rainy and they moved it to the basement of one of the churches. At the reception Anna and Steve cut a huge, and delicious, cake for all the guests to enjoy along with tables filled with fresh cut fruit. Later that evening, as per Danish tradition, a smaller group gathered for the wedding dinner and a night of toasts!

Here are Steve, Austin, and the Nielsen boys (Matthew, Stephen, Thomas, Timothy, and Johnathan) who are the sons of Pastor Erik and his wife Kim.

Sankt Hans

On Sankt Hans day (history below), Bethany and Jared hosted a BBQ at their house as a goodbye party for our friend Brett who was moving back to the States....he's a Duke grad student and despite that, a great guy! After I rode through a passing monsoon to get there (had to stop under a bridge to keep from getting completely soaked) it turned out to be a fantastic evening!

We played a very entertaining game of Apples to Apples in Bethany and Jared's amazing backyard - complete with frog pond, raspberry bushes, and enormous snails! Have I mentioned how much I love playing games with the international crowd - games like Catch Phrase, Apples to Apples, Boggle, etc., where you have to come up with words/descriptions quickly are hilarious with non-native English speakers...despite the fact that their English is almost perfect, they miss out on all the slang and cultural-isms.

Then we all headed to the beach, but not before Austin and I got to spend some quality time with the Bajna sisters - Julia and Cecilia).

Austin and I rode our bikes and then he demonstrated how to use the tricky, yet ingenious bike rack. Since biking is so popular here, many people don't have cars because they are outrageously expensive and you don't necessarily need one, there are tons of creative bike racks all over the city. Here, you flip the holder over your handles bars...as opposed to the more common way of holding the wheel in place.

There were HUGE bonfires all up and down the beach but sadly my camera battery died - but I will borrow some pictures from friends and get them posted.

Sankt Hans In Denmark, it was an official holiday until 1770, and in accordance with the Danish tradition of celebrating a holiday on the evening before the actual day, it takes place on the evening of 23 June. It is the day where the medieval wise men and women (the doctors of that time) would gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people.

It has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings, by visiting healing water wells and making a large bonfire to ward away evil spirits. Today the water well tradition is gone. Bonfires on the beach, speeches, picnics and songs are traditional, although bonfires are built in many other places where beaches may not be close by (i.e. on the shores of lakes and other waterways, parks, etc.). (Wikepedia)