Camera Issues

Um, well there's a small problem... I can't find my camera and it has the pics from my last crazy week in DK. I am certain it made it back to California with me, but now it has disappeared. When I find it I'll finish off this blog properly.


In other news, I have found an apartment here. Nice and close to the sand huh?

Sankt Hans

A Cederhorn Farewell

LH Summerfest 2007

Møns Klint

Jættestuen

Grillede Mad

Islands Brygge Park

A short walk down the street from my apartment is Islands Brygge park. A heat wave combined with the end of school to make this waterside park a very happening place for several nights in a row. Technically it's illegal to swim in the harbor and old-timers will tell you stories about the nasty things they have seen floating in that water, but I guess youngsters (and Americans) are reckless enough to jump in anyway. And yes, the water was cold.

Rød Grød med Fløde - A Shibboleth

Rød Grød med Fløde is a simple dessert dish consisting of red berries stewed with some sort of starch and sugar, topped with cream. Danes are extremely proud of both their tongue twisting language and their red and white flag, and those two points of pride add up to make this the most patriotic of all desserts. Legend has it that before Germany occupied Denmark during WWII Danish border guards would screen incoming Danes by making them say this dessert name. Apparently even the best German infiltrators couldn't master this vicious combination of d's, r's, and ø's. Luckily it tastes much better than it sounds.

City Fitness

I can't even begin to describe how important the weightroom is in my life. A week without gym time means a grumpy Chris and a month of deprivation is an absolute disaster. When I returned from my three month study abroad trip in Italy (no 'real' gym in sight) I was a wreck both physically and mentally. Friends and family who saw me at the time will probably recall the ghost of my former self that stepped off the plane. For the next several months I had to deal with PTSD-like symptoms while I recovered. My good friend Ben Allen bore the brunt (and consequences) of my "flippant" post-modern tirades and I can't thank him enough for his support.

So anyway, you can imagine that finding a good gym was one of my highest priorities this time around. I was prepared to commute an extra hour or more every day if necessary. But no, this time luck was on my side--bigtime. Just a few hundred meters down the road is City Fitness, one the few hard-core bodybuilding gyms in all of Denmark. This gym has contributed immensely to my quality of life here in DK and I honestly don't know what I would have done without it.

A good gym has all the necessary equipment and adequate space, and a great gym has all that and is populated with respectful and friendly lifters. Suffice it to say that City Fitness has been a great gym. A couple of tidbits: the big white guy with the glasses has won several amateur European championships and the black guy was an Angeleno for many years. I think every last one of them has made the pilgrimmage to Venice Beach.

Copenhagen's Public Infrastructure

'Rush hour' at the Flintholm S-Tog station:
My friend John pointed out something that I and probably most Copenhagen residents take for granted: Copenhagen's public infrastructure is absolutely massive and it has to be operating at a small fraction of its capacity. The S-Tog and Metro trains are very wide and their seats are actually comfortable; the station platforms are also very spacious and nicely paved; cantilevered glass roofs provide cover at many of the stations; and the list goes on and on.

The 1.2 million* citizens of greater København enjoy a luxurious public transportation system built for at least 5 million**. Rumor has it that that København is destined to become the powerhouse metropolis of Scandinavia, and I'd say the city is well prepared for its destiny, at least in the arena of public transportation.


* - statistikbanken.dk
** - a purely emotional, unsubstantiated claim

Paradis!

Ice cream (Dansk = "is") is a cornerstone of summer fun in Danmark. And Paradis is the undisputed champion of all Copenhagen ice cream shops. This franchise, which, by the way, is operated exclusively by cute smiling Danish girls, must have a secret recipe that has the competition permanently dumbfounded. I'll describe it as gelato-esque but somehow better. Nothing else can make a happy Dane happier.

Egeskov

Egeskov Slot is a very interesting attraction in southern Fyn. It is much more than a well-preserved castle in a picturesque moat. Hedge mazes, tree bridges, playgrounds, flower gardens, pet deer, picnic and camping areas, the list goes on and on. Probably the main attraction is the motorcycle and car museums. Ole is the castle's mechanic and I had the distinct pleasure of receiving a personal in-depth tour. He had some great stories about their accidental discoveries and crazy treasure hunts. Obviously the number one goal after acquiring an old vehicle is getting it running--and Ole's a magician when put to the test.

Løgismose Ost

Cheese has to be one of the most interesting--and oldest--foods in the world. It all starts as milk from a cow, goat or sheep, but thanks to the complexity of the process there are thousands if not millions of varieties available. We visited a Løgismose cheese factory that makes white cheeses. Separate factories make the blue cheeses because the blue cheese culture would basically ruin the white cheese if they used the same equipment. Judging from the taste, it's easy to see why blue cheese culture is more aggressive than the white.

In this particular factory one batch of one type of white cheese is made each day--from cow to container in 48 hours. They were making Feta cheese the day we visited.

I'll try my best to sum up the process:
1. Milk is pumped from the 'cow truck' to storage tanks where it sits for a couple days at the longest. Different regions produce milk with different flavors and certain cheeses are made best with certain milk.
2. The milk is pasteurized and thoroughly filtered. 'Clean' milk is very important because a little bad milk can ruin a lot of cheese.
3. Once it's clean the milk is placed in vats that look a lot like giant homemade ice cream machines.
4. Cheese culture is added to the milk. This is clearly the secret ingredient. Within a couple of hours the milk has hardened and essentially spoiled. It is now cheese.
5. Revolving blades in the vats chop up the fresh cheese so that it can be stuffed into the small tubes you see above on the left. These tubes are then placed in a hot, humid curing chamber overnight.
6. The next morning the cheese is removed from the tubes, cut into little cubes, and packaged in salt water with the contraption you see above.
7. Time to eat! Actually, these cheese experts recommended letting their Feta cheese sit in the fridge for 6 months before opening it. Those little critters in the cheese die and multiply, giving your cheese more and more flavor.

By the way, Løgismose is famous for its smoked cheese. Try it if you can find it. You won't be disappointed.

Touring Syd Fyn

I had Henrik's BMW R100S for one more day, Ole had his ancient single-cylinder Royal Enfield, and the weather was a cloudless 32 degrees. Going for a ride is pretty much the only option in such a situation. We saw the better half of southern Fyn riding the narrow country roads through allés and forests, past castles, lakes, and flowering fields, up to the highest lookout points where we could see all the way to Jylland.

A Fyn Family

This weekend was spent with a family that lives on the island of Fyn. They are friends with Henrik, Vibeke's husband. I sincerely thank him for first thinking of the idea (of allowing me to ride his motorcycle across Denmark!) and then putting in the effort to arrange everything with May-Britt. And of course I have to thank May-Britt and the gang for allowing me to be a part of the family for the weekend.

Left to right: Ole, me, Cecile, and May-Britt. Ole is a mechanic at Egeskov Castle and May-Britt is an accountant at a cheese powder factory. When the visit was arranged I didn't know what to expect, but I was hoping to simply catch a glimpse into their daily lives and maybe see a little of the countryside. They must have read my mind because that's exactly what we did. Oh, and then I learned a thing or two about smørrebrød, motorcycles, very old cars, the lottery, brown gravy, Pink Panther, Danish politics (May-Britt's version), dish washing, Danish beer NOT made by Carlsberg, smoked cheese, salat (Feta) cheese, cheese powder, tree bridges, Mexican food (with a Danish twist), table manners, hedge mazes, BAMse, Syd Fyn geography, hot air balloons, fire trucks, and why I should never lick my knife.

Københavns Zoo

I never pass up the opportunity to visit a zoo. I feel like I have a deep, empathetic connection with the animals.

(Sir) Norman Foster has designed a new elephant house for the zoo. The foundations are in place and the walls are on their way up. I hope the elephants will properly appreciate that high-tech asymmetrical domed glass roof protecting them from the inhospitable Danish winter.

But this is what really set Copenhagen's zoo apart. You get to EAT the animals! Yup, here in Danmark we don't beat around the bush: your yummy pølser is made from animal carcasses just like this one. Logically, a bowl of burning charcoal was available for the parents to roast a few while their kids played with the piglets.

IKEA

Ah, IKEA, the Scandinavian mega-institution. A pilgrimmage to the store was absolutely necessary because Ken Maschke, the next exchange worker, will be bringing his wife and TT's apartment simply does not have enough furniture for two people. The twin size bed in particular would have been a little too cozy, more hygge than they bargained for.

Some (actually much) assembly was required after we lugged the 100kg parcels up the stairs. Some grimacing, a lot of grunting, and several beers later I decided that the stylish aesthetic of IKEA furniture does not necessarily mean all of the bolts need to fit into all of the pre-drilled holes. In spite of the spare parts my calculations tend to suggest that the chairs are still functional, barring all Acts of God and any load combo not listed in ASCE 7.

Louisiana

No, not the US state, the museum. Besides having an outstanding modern art collection Louisiana has probably one of the most hyggelig museum courtyards in the world. But we expect that. This is Denmark after all.

The art, however, is not so hyggelig. That should also be expected because much of the collection is quite new, and contemporary art is not happy art.

The temporary exhibit was a thought-provoking collection by artists in China. Much of the art has been censored within China, and now that the art is traveling around the world you can bet these artists are not exactly best friends with their local authorities.

A sculpture by Anselm Kiefer from the semi-permanent collection. The cockpit was filled with human teeth. I know many of you reading this don't particularly enjoy this type of art, but give it a chance sometime. These artists obviously have a story to tell, so why not listen?

Grille Tid

June 5th is Denmark's 'Constitution Day.' It's a low-key multipurpose holiday that doubles as Father's Day. And for me it was a perfect opportunity to, you guessed it, grill...again. I am grateful that I just happened to land in a culture that enjoys cooking outdoors. Or at least they humor me and pretend to enjoy it. The novelty on this day was hotdogs "cradled" with bacon.

With low-maintenance food on the grill we had plenty of time for a few rounds of vikingspil. Like most other games of this sort, I've discovered that the rules are different every time you play. And, more often than not, the winner was the one explaining the rules (not that I'm bitter or anything).

A View From the Rundetårn

The Rundetårn is a peculiar tower in central København that, among other things, provides a great view of the city's spires. The tower was built with a continuous circular ramp that allowed Christian IV's carriage to go all the way to the top. The ramp is pretty steep and without breaks, and I just have to wonder if there was ever a mishap when the carriage started going back down out of control.

It seems like dawn and dusk are one and the same during the month of June. This photo was taken on a clear night at 11pm. Off in the far distance is Øresund Bridge, the link between Malmö, Sweden and København. The spiral tower is Vor Frelsers on Christianshavn. The glass roof is Magasin, a nice department store smack in the center of town. And I am ashamed to say that I don't know the tower in the foreground. Anyone out there care to help me identify it?

A Beautiful Day in Jylland

The day after the powerlifting meet I found myself more or less stranded at the beach resort where the team was staying. I could have taken a taxi back to Thisted, but the weather was absolutely perfect so I decided to hike it.

I really did not want the hike to end. If there was ever a time in my travels when I felt like I was 'stopping to smell the roses,' this was it. A profoundly beautiful day and beautiful memories of this remote place out west.

Hitler's Atlantic Wall

I was totally unprepared for the beachscape that is Denmark's western coastline. The entire length of the beach was littered with the impossibly massive remnants of German bunkers from WWII. Walls a full meter thick, cracking apart, rusting, sinking in the sand.

These bunkers, like most other reminders of the war, are a thorny subject for Danes. They were built by tens of thousands of unemployed Danish workers who didn't have much of a say in the matter. Denmark ultimately footed the bill and they certainly were not cheap. The Atlantic Wall costed more than 300 billion kroner, making it by far the largest construction project in Denmark's history.

World Bench Press Championships

The IPF World Bench Press Championships were held in Thisted, a small town on the west coast of Jylland. I had a friend lifting and another coaching, and this coincidence of time and space meant that I was obligated to go watch. I had a fantastic time catching up with my old friends and meeting new ones during the "banquet" held after the competition. ("Banquet" hardly describes the scene when you have a room full of drooling powerlifters, many coming off of painfully strict pre-meet diets)

I arrived at the tail end of the event, just in time to see the big guys push 300+ kg off their chests. Impressive.

Iberisk Skovsnegl

Snails and slugs are a bit of a problem here. After a rain the sidewalk is littered with these not-so-little pests. If you don't keep an eye on the ground you're pretty much guaranteed to step on one. I'm not sure how long ago they arrived, but apparently these slugs have oozed all the way from the Iberian peninsula. There are lots of strategies for keeping slugs out of your garden, but no one has thought of a way to keep slugs out of Denmark.

Roskilde Viking Museum

These thousand year old scraps of wood once sailed to Ireland and North America to rape and pillage and do other sorts of Viking things. To really 'get it' you have to see the reconstructed ships in person and then try to imagine these tiny things sailing all the way across the Atlantic. I got sea-sick just standing there thinking about it.

The museum has been building new ships using techniques similar to those used a thousand years ago. Later this year they will sail to Ireland using only authentic equipment. No motor, only sails, oars, and luck.

Sometimes I scare myself.

A Beautiful Idea

The Dutch are smarter than they look. These clever pee stations should be deployed in every bar district across the globe! Just try to imagine a world without smelly alleys and wet toilet seats. Leave the cramped WC for the ladies, I want to pee under the stars!

Lambic Beer

As I hope you know, Belgium is world famous for its unique and absolutely delicious beer. Our best discovery was Lambic, a very distinctive type of beer made only in the Brussels area. Virtually all beers are brewed with clinically cultivated brewer's yeast in totally sealed containers. Lambic, in contrast, is left exposed and local airborne wild yeast causes 'spontaneous fermentation.' Also separating it from conventional ales and lagers, Lambic is brewed for three or more years in wooden barrels. I don't mean to insult the beer, but it kinda tastes like a sour wine cooler.

The Gueuze shown in this pic is a mixture of one and three year old Lambic. The combined young and old beer undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle, giving it some nice carbonation. It has a very long shelf life and is supposedly available in the US... I'll see about that soon enough...

Tourist Food of BeNeLux

There's something special in all corners of Europe, and the corner containing Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg is no exception. For starters, there are several foods from this region that apparently all tourists are required to taste.

My experience with waffles doesn't extend far beyond Eggo and IHOP, but still, I know when I'm eating something good, and Belgian waffles are awesome! They're sold as street food by vendors in the center of Brussels, but we went into a bona fide waffle house to sit down and enjoy the full meal deal.

Frites are available and popular throughout all of BeNeLux. For some unknown reason they're always sold in that cone shaped package. I have to say I just didn't see or taste what all the fuss was about. They did have a nice variety of sauces, but other than that they were just fat french fries. I guess I can see why Europeans would think they're cool though. During my five months in Denmark I have never seen 'real' fries outside of McDonalds.

The Netherlands is famous for its mild cheese, which I have realized is delicious for most Americans and rather boring for most Europeans. Apparently Amsterdam's cheese shops import from the rest of Europe because when we we stepped inside, WHAM! the stench almost knocked us over. I was planning on grilling the guys behind the counter and buying something uniquely Dutch but instead we quickly pointed at a couple of blocks and headed for the door. Of course we chose one of the most offensive (French) cheeses available.

My worries about this fish sandwich were unwarranted. If you appreciate sushi then a sandwich with raw herring will be right up your alley. The 'natives' were eating the little fish straight, no sauce or bread necessary.

Amsterdam Refueling Stations

No matter where you are in Amsterdam there is never a shortage of places to grab a beer. As you approach the city’s center, the concentration of bars increases until it seems that every other building facilitates the sale of frosty beverages. If DQ is the “Texas Stop Sign,” Heineken (or Amstel), is the “Dutch Stop Sign” – or at least it was for CK and me. On every street, scores of the familiar round signs beckoned us to step inside for a couple drinks. Most of the bars were smaller with a subdued, but very friendly atmosphere. Bar hopping in Amsterdam is a great way to see the city and meet some interesting people, provided that you pace yourself well enough that you can still find your way home!

Amsterdam

Known most famously among my generation for its relaxed policies on drugs and prostitution, Amsterdam was an obvious choice for a weekend visit. (Just kidding, Mr. and Mrs. K!) …But it’s true that “coffee shops” legally serving (although never advertising) cannabis and magic mushrooms are ever-present, and the red light district is home to some of the most beautiful entertainers that I have ever seen. I wish I could share some pictures of the latter, but there is an unwritten rule forbidding photography in the red light district that is sometimes violently enforced by Russian pimps who lack anything remotely resembling a sense of humor. Still, the atmosphere in the district is fun and largely unthreatening. It reminded me of a cross between Austin’s 6^th street and a zoo with exotic women prowling behind the glass instead of exotic animals. Is it demeaning? Definitely. Did that stop us from looking? Nope.

So, here is rundown of what Amsterdam has to offer besides drugs and prostitution:

Bars – Plentiful and pleasant. See Saturday’s post for details.

Cheese – It stinks! See CK’s post detailing the food of BeNeLux.

The Van Gogh Museum – This was an important visit for me because it helped me to realize that I don’t appreciate visual art for anything other than the technical skill required to paint a realistic-looking scene. No matter how hard I looked at the paintings, the intense sea of emotions that Van Gogh poured into his work seemed to flow right over my head. I could tell that CK was a little frustrated with my lack of appreciation, but he can’t say that I didn’t try! At least I learned how to properly pronounce Gogh, which rhymes with cough, not so.

Canals – Canals are everywhere in this low-lying city, but most notable are 5 concentric canals, known as the Grachtengordel, surrounding the historical center of Amsterdam. The decreasing radii of the canals make it a breeze to find your way to the center of old Amsterdam. Finding your way back, on the other hand, can be a little more troublesome – particularly, for the sobriety impaired…

Bicycles – I thought Copenhagen had a lot of these things, but Amsterdam definitely had Copenhagen beat in this department. The bike parking garage pictured below was 4 levels high, and did not seem to have a single vacant space. One thing that I noticed was that most of the bikes looked pretty crappy compared to the high dollar machines I’m accustomed to seeing in the states. The reason: 80,000 bikes are stolen in Amsterdam each year, and 25,000 end up in the canals. Riding a “beater” discourages theft, and minimizes the potential for economic loss by taking a wrong turn into a canal.