Hej (meaning and pronounciation the same as "hi")from Vejle, Denmark! Scott and I are officially settled into our little apartment on Lille Bjerggade street : ) Accomodations are better than expected, but our apartment is still decorated for a 90 year old lady. All the basic amenities including a washer and dryer which I have NO idea how to use because instructions are all in Danish. Already had several trips to the grocery store which have been a complicated guessing game of trying to decide what is what. Perhaps it's a good idea to invest in a pocket Danish-English dictionary! Living above us in the apartment building are 3 young Dutch guys who are pilots, working at the nearby Billund airport.
We have done a little exploring of the town of Vejle- a cute little coastal town (well, actually, pretty much everything in Denmark is considered coastal). There are approx. 54,000 people living in this little town at the end of the Vejle Fjord, on the Jutland Peninsula. Lots of cute little shops and restaurants. Our place is just a 3 minute walk to downtown, which is mostly centered around a pedestrian outdoor walking mall. Went out to eat on the first night here because we were both tired from long plane rides. I quickly learned why people don't go out to eat here very often- was ~$70 for 2 burgers and 3 beers. And Scott said that was a pretty good deal for Denmark!
I visited Scott's work last week. Very large and impressive campus- all dedicated to Siemens wind energy. Tons of buildings, loads of employees and a pretty sweet cafeteria with a steady supply of free fruit! Quite secure too- even I had to get a special visitor badge just to eat in the cafeteria! Some of Scott's coworkers invited us for a trip to the shooting range. Did not expect to be shooting guns in Denmark, but why not?!? There were 10 of us in total and we all went out for pizza and beer afterwards.
Then on the weekend, another Siemen's employee, Carston, invited us sailing. He is quite a character and has recently moved into a church which he is remodeling (all by himself) into a proper home. We went sailing in Middlefart (fart means speed in Danish..hehe). Was a beautiful day and lots of excitement because the International Sailing Finals were going on. Lots of different countries were participating from all over the world. I actually met some of the guys on the American team on my flight to Billund- very small world because they are originally from Redondo Beach and Long Beach. Anyways, drinking beer and sailing is very fun!
Oh, and yesterday I had a driving lesson from Scott and his coworker Drew on how to drive a manual car in a local grocery store parking lot. Went well! Next lesson will be out on the streets- watch out local Vejle drivers!
Things I have learned about Danish people so far:
-very blonde and very tall
-really like to paint their houses all white
-walk very fast
-love Carlsberg beer and ice cream, not together!
OK now for some pictures:
Arrival night in Vejle- cruising around downtown and came across this strange sculpture.
Lots of kayaking here.
Delicious (yet surprisingly expensive) burgers and beer at outdoor cafe.
View of Vejle Fjord from downtown.
Miles and miles of wheat fields around Vejle. That is why the bread is so good here!
Small harbor outside of Vejle. Danish flag!
Small beach outside of Vejle- can see summer cottages in the background.
Busy pedestrian walkway in downtown Vejle- lots of good shops, even an H&M!
View of Scott's office- 3rd floor.
One of the on-site wind turbines.
Scott picking me up in our Audi rental car!
Trap shooting with the Danes (actually there were some Dutchmen and one Greek guy)! I am really bad at this, but at least I managed to get a few clay pigeons!
Scott, however, is really good at this!
Pizza, beer and foosball with the coworkers after trap shooting.
Our cute little street!
Balcony above our house.
Me on the balcony, looking down at Scott at the front door.
Made pancakes from scratch. (thanks to Kayla for the yummy recipe!) Roger and Anita, not as good as Dakota Maid! Cannot find measuring cups in this country so baking is a big guessing game!
Middlefart Harbor
Drew, Scott's coworker from Boulder. He is visiting for 5 months also and lives down the street from us. We have been hanging out with him lots. He cooked us a delicious salmon dinner last night!
Carston, the quircky Dane who lives in an old Baptist church. Very fun guy!
Gents on the sail boat. L-->R Carston, Roland (German who works
for Siemens in Boulder), Drew and Scott.
View from the sail boat.
Sailing!
Beer + sailing= happy Scott : )
Dinner @ Carston's church!
