Memories of Fanø

Things have been a little slower here in the past couple of weeks after our crazy travel frenzy through January. We have not been resting on our laurels but looking for a house to buy here in Aarhus. We have found a place that we like and have made a bid. So things are getting exciting there.The days are getting longer but the winter is really dragging on. More snow and sub-zero temperatures are forecast through next week.

Walking in the forest outside Copenhagen with Allan (pictured) and Ulla, the weekend before last.








In the meantime, I am sitting here looking out as the snowflakes drift down to blanket the gray landscape in white and remembering the trip that we made back in August to the island of Fanø with my sister and brother in-law, Anne Mette and Michael, and nephew, Carl Emil.

I thought that the water was bloody cold. The water never comes over about 18-19 deg so you don't really have a choice.

Mind you, Rikke and I swam yesterday down in Aarhus Bay and it was 1 deg. in the water! It was 3 installments of 5 secs then straight to the sauna.

Here we check out a traditional village.

It is difficult to imagine that the tall, blonde Danes were a century ago much shorter. I wonder if our picture of the marauding vikings really should be replaced with an image of bearded and horned dwarfs.

If we get the house the spare bed in the guest bedroom will be made and all welcome. If anything take these photos as an advertisment for the Danish summer. For the love of God don't come in the winter...

With a bit of luck the next blog will be a tour around our new home... see you soon.

Don't believe what you see on the news...

All is peaceful in DK

After my previous post regarding the Mohammed Cartoons had pictures of burning buildings and trodden-upon flags one might be forgiven for imagining that Armageddon had indeed come. But not here in DK.

There are television debates but as much as they are heartfelt, they are lucid and articulate from both sides. There have been threats to the offices of Jyllands Posten, the newspaper that printed the cartoons originally, but mostly they are in the form of calls and email, not packs of angry people with weapons and burning flags.


There have been some protests in the street but most of them have actually been Danish folks – immigrants and Danes together – against the violence and vandalism. "We should work together to find a solution," they said.

Bendt Bendtsen, the leader of one of the two conservative parties who are in the government coalition spoke out against the printing of the images, suggested that the Mohammed drawings were to Muslims like it might be for many Christians to see “an image of Jesus with an erect penis”. No photo was attached…

The Danish National Front – who describe themselves as “National Socialists” in the previously popular style of the little German guy with one testicle – held a demonstration last weekend and not even they could get their act together for a good, old-fashioned book burning: Bible, Talmud or Koran. "Nobody burned the Koran, police assert"

As you can see Danes love their candles. Actually looks pretty cosy… The weather is way too cold for skin heads anyway!

It appears to me that here in Denmark, even the Muslims that were insulted by the drawings cannot relate to the violence and rhetoric that seem to be streaming out of the Islamic World. This is the clearest sign to me that this violent reaction has little to do with Islam and more to do with the politics of nations run by dictators and theocratic kings that need to whip up hatred of the foreign “Kafir” in a bid to justify their arbitrary and self-interested leadership. Think about this when you are watching the news images and you might look at them in a different light.

Braden's 30th Birthday!

Finally have some new pics from our trip to London last weekend for Braden’s 30th Birthday Party. It is a little outrageous to fly to London for the night but, hey, we live in the neighbourhood now…

Braden has started his own basketball team over here and as usual with his parties I felt something like an academic garden gnome amongst those big buggers. Here it is the use of a strategic camera angle that makes me look so tall and masculine…

Had a good chat to Tony – Braden’s mate from his time working in the bar. You can tell he is a bar tender by his face… a “stirred but never shaken” mix of interest in both Rikke’s cocktail and cleavage.

Braden works on his Hugh Heffner party hosting skills by donning a bathrobe… Who’s next in the hot-tub?

A night in London is not complete without a trip to a niteclub. I was very impressed with the establishments attention to detail... With the music so loud and all there must be many that get headaches because occasionally a considerate young men would ask me if I needed any pills…

Thanks for a great weekend.

Happy 30th, B!