cyndirella107

When we were first moving in to our new home, we noticed a few issues that needed to be addressed in a crafty way.  I have been working on these items and have some images and descriptions to show.  The first project that I completed was for our kitchen.  The cabinets are in need of replacement.  They were made of Oriented Strand Board (a plywood-like material made of wood chips), and the drawers do not have hardware tracks.  Over the years, moisture and use have done a number on everything.  I tried disinfecting, but no amount of cleaning would make them totally acceptable.  After lining the shelves, I got to work on making drawer liners.  The design that I chose out of all my brainstorming has worked perfectly.  I made the sides of the box as two open tubes.  The two corners that are not open give the structural support needed while the two open corners allow easy installation and removal of corrugated cardboard strips (important for cleaning).

Drawer with One of the Liners


Detail of One of the Open Corners (See the Edge of the Cardboard?)
and a Closed Corner to the Right


The second project was also for the kitchen.  Matt helped some with this one.  We have always dreamed of having a peg board panel to hang pots and other kitchen accessories.  Our current kitchen has the perfect spot for such a feature.  We cut a piece of pegboard to the appropriate size then trimmed it with a piece of decorative moulding.  My dad helped by diagonally ripping a couple of strips of wood to mount the board to the wall like a headboard.  I painted the whole thing and got it loaded.  We have been enjoying it ever since.  We kind of want to make another one...

The Loaded Peg Board Panel


The next things are not actually crafts.  They are more like hacks.  Even though I love the idea, I don't like the racks that are sold for holding pans and boards upright since they are not efficient enough.  I searched around until I found the perfect thing at OfficeMax. 

Flat Wire Rack with Varying Width Slots (Located in the Box Window Beyond the Sink)


L-Shaped Plastic Organizer with Wider Slots for Pans (Original Liner?)


The next thing on my list is to make interesting hanging decorations for the plethora of ceiling hooks throughout the house.  I do plan on purchasing some hanging plants, but I also have a rough vision of a fun mobile, suncatcher, or hanging globe terrarium (preferably with tiny gnomes).  Any ideas for hardy partial-sun plants or what to make?

Lonely Ceiling Hook

"He winked at me!  John Glenn winked at me!"

Well actually he didn't.  Last night, John Glenn was probably safe somewhere either in bed or watching the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour.  The quote is from my favorite movie as a kid, Space Camp, and was said by the young Andie in the beginning of the movie.  The scene showed how becoming an astronaut was a childhood dream for her.  Due in part to the extremely cheesy movie, I have always also had an interest in the space program.  I never really considered a career with NASA, but I do try to watch the launches on tv and check in occasionally on the missions through NASA's website.  

Knowing that this weekend's launch was one of the last ever (and the last night launch - better visibility), I was super excited to take advantage of my new locale's proximity to Cape Canaveral.  On Saturday night, we set the alarm clock for a little after 4am.  Luckily, I had the wisdom to check CNN before leaving the house because the mission was scrubbed due to clouds.  Since the launch was rescheduled for the following early morning, we repeated our previous night's activities.  This time the mission was "go".  We bundled up and walked over the beach.  Along the way, a couple of neighbors joined us.  I was wondering if we would see anyone else.  They had not checked the news Sunday morning before standing by the sand staring at a dark sky.

After a few minutes of waiting, I noticed a red glow from the low haze of our southern horizon.  Shortly after that, the bright comet-like shuttle burst into view.  We cheered along with our neighbors as the shuttle rose diagonally across the sky.  We were able to see when the shuttle separated from the large external tank and the rocket boosters.  They fell away and burned out as the glowing white dot of the shuttle continued upward.  Amazing!  We watched the shuttle for a while until it seemed to slow and resemble a very bright star.  As we walked home, Matt  thanked me for making him feel like a kid again.  You can get more info on the mission at NASA's website.  Below, you can see my photos. 

Endeavour is just above the haze.  Notice the reflection on the ocean.


Higher in the sky.  The color of the blast has now changed to white.


And a little video.  Sleepy Matt comments that the shuttle has separated. 

Copenhagen has one of the world's best bike cultures.  Jacksonville does not.  To begin, bike lanes are almost nonexistent.  There is the occasional spot where it looks like an existing shoulder was transformed into a bike lane by the addition of a few bike shaped stamps on the  leftover space.  I would venture a guess that no road in the city was actually designed to accommodate both cars and bicycles.  There is no protective curb or other separation from cars that fly by on these often 40+ mph streets. 



There ARE an excess of signs in some areas though.  Matt commented the other day that the DOT probably had some amount of money in their budget for bike lanes and decided that signage would be the most effortless way of spending.  Jacksonville's beach neighborhoods are a bit more friendly to biking than most of the city.  I'm not saying that there are bike lanes (except for in Jax Beach) or unimpeded connectivity, but there are more residents who bike in the area.  Safety and awareness in numbers is the thing here.

A Mainland Street That Features Bike Lane Signs Every 50 Feet


Now that I've mentioned some of the city's infrastructure downfalls, I must attack the spandex clad fitness bikers.  They have given biking a bad name.  Every time someone is seen flying down the road sporting fake endorsements (who ARE they kidding anyway?!), the idea is further driven home that biking is a form of exercise or competition rather than a form of transportation.  This simple perception issue is definitely a factor in why DOT and city officials do not consider providing for bikes in the same way as automobiles.  If these same people just rode their bikes to work like my lovely husband, they wouldn't need to go back out to exercise.  They can still pretend to be Lance Armstrong by wearing LIVESTRONG bracelets and taking regular drug tests.  That won't make it unsafe for me to ride my bike to the grocery store.

On a more happy note, I want to introduce you to our "new" bikes.  Matt found his on Craig's List.  It's a 1970's era Raleigh that will soon be going into the shop to get a new gearing system and other upgrades.  I considered the vintage route, but I fell in love with a ready to go Euro-style bike at a local shop. 

Matt's Bike:  Sir Walter the Raleigh


Cyndi's Bike:  yet to receive a clever name


In talking through my decision, the bike shop guy mentioned that a bike that stands out from the rest will be less likely to get stolen.  His argument involved a local watering hole that is always busy.  When someone rides up to this bar with an interesting bike, the bouncers will take notice.  The thieves know this and will go for a common bike instead.  On one of my first trips to the grocery store, I discovered how correct he was.  Matt had met me there since he had my bike lock.  When we exited the store with our bags, the shopping center security guard was standing beside our bikes studying them closely.  We thought that he was going to reprimand us for locking them to the entry handrail (there was no bike rack present), but he was actually just interested in our bikes.  We ended up talking to him for around 20 minutes.  There are worse things than becoming friends with the security guard at your local grocery store.  Matt has made some other friends because of his bike.  A small group of older gentlemen ride together each morning to the Starbucks by his office.  After seeing Matt a few mornings and chatting him up a little, one of the guys stopped him to bestow a replacement reflector that he had noticed was missing from "Sir Walter".  I think we chose well.
 

Matt has been requesting a classic cardigan since I started knitting in Denmark.  He wanted it to be wool and was really interested in argyle.  Once I felt like I could possibly tackle such a complex project, I started looking on Ravelry.com.  I quickly discovered that it is a lot easier to find patterns for women than men.  Since the summer, I have been searching for a simple stockinette (looks like all Vs) cardigan that I could use as a base for adding an argyle design.  Finally, I came across the perfect design, a Rogers-esque Cardigan.  In reading through it, I found an area that did not seem correct, but the girls in Denmark were able to give great suggestions to fix the error.  And now that we are living by the beach in warm and sunny Florida, my lovely husband will soon have his wool sweater.  Maybe he can travel somewhere cold...

Almost every time I knit a new project, I teach myself something new.  Since I no longer have the in-person assistance of my Danish knitting support group (AKA the Strikkeklub), I have to rely on the wonders of the internet.  My favorite source is the video section of KnittingHelp.com.  This time, I used the Intarsia video under the Advanced heading.  Intarsia is a method of working with multiple colors in one piece.  It has turned out to be fun, but it is also a bit of a challenge.  I have to stop every so often and untangle my yarn (five tails).  Right now, i am making my way through the first iteration of my argyle pattern that will be featured on the front panels.  It's coming together so well, I just wanted to write about it and share a sneak peek.   At some point in the future, you'll get to see the finished product. 

It’s been a while since I have written anything, but there have definitely been things to write about. The main point is our big move. In November, Matt received a job offer. It caught us a little off guard because the company is not in any of the cities that we had on our wish list. Rather, the location is Jacksonville, Florida, Matt’s hometown. We quickly gathered what we could and drove down for Matt’s first day.  As Matt started his job, we worked hard to find a home. We were very lucky to have his parents’ house as a temporary residence, but the distance to the office was a bit ridiculous. So we settled on renting a cute mid-century house in Neptune Beach. It’s a great location, less than 3 blocks from the ocean and about 5 blocks to a whole slew of restaurants. A requirement in our search was a community where we could continue to ride bikes as our main form of transportation. Jacksonville’s beaches are pretty ideal for that (for a place without bike lanes).

What I saw for WAY too many hours (I should have shown the broken spedometer which read 130 mph!)


Our New Home


Once we knew where we were going to live, we went back to Atlanta and drove a U-Haul truck down with most of our belongings. I have to make a quick plug here. U-Haul’s website has a service where you can hire movers to help. We hired guys to load and unload the truck. It was VERY affordable, and the guys were amazing. With the holidays and trying to deal with my condo in Atlanta, it has been kind of slow in getting everything the way I want. Eventually, our bedroom will not feature suitcases, and the big tv will be off the floor in the living room.

A finished area featuring (among other treasuures) an antique shell lamp, desk/drawers
piece from Matt's grandfather, and the papercut I gave Matt for year one


Last week, I met my mom at the Atlanta condo to get it ready to sell. *Anyone know anyone looking for a great two bedroom in a nice part of Atlanta?* I was very happy to return to Florida with cleaning supplies (yay, a broom!). I had been getting by with Tilex and a dust pan with brush. At this point I must say that I grew up in the Georgia red clay mountains and may never get used to sand. I’m a compulsively clean person who can’t even stand the feeling of nail polish on her fingers. The fact that sand and awful sand spurs were getting tracked into the house to inevitably get stuck to my feet was driving me crazy. With a little help from my dad, I also returned with a very good welcome mat and bedside rugs from Dalton. My feet are much happier.

I definitely have a love for Mat(t)s!


Our house is also right across from the public library branch that serves the beaches. If you happened to read my previous post about libraries, you may remember how I get that new boyfriend giddiness every time I start going to a library. I know, such a nerd… Without home internet or any tv reception, it has been a lifesaver. The free wifi has allowed me to keep up with my email and other internet distractions. We have been enjoying documentaries and movies on DVD in the evenings, and I have been knitting along to audio books. Once I finish the paper books that I am working on right now, I have a few ideas of other items to borrow.

Now I just need to find a job and the settling will start to feel more complete. Through my research, I have found several firms that interest me. I really hope that the market is treating them well so that they can give me a chance. I am very lucky to have gained such great working experience from a talented firm. I hope that I can find an opportunity in Jacksonville that gives me similar challenge and satisfaction.

Bonus Image:  A sample of my first orange harvest as a Floridian

Now that I'm recovering from a frenzy of eating and being thankful, I figured that I should sit down and write an update about Matt and me. The past month or two has been a crazy whirlwind of driving from family to family to condo to weddings. All the time, Matt has been working on his job hunt. As some of you already know, Matt has recently decided to take a job with a wind energy consulting company out of his hometown, Jacksonville, Florida. Honestly, Jacksonville was never really on our list of possible cities. After living in such a great place like Copenhagen, we really wanted a place where we could continue our lifestyle of biking and walking around town, etc. After much consideration, we decided that it might not be that bad of a place after all. The office is pretty convenient to the beaches area, so our first choice is to live there (Neptune, Atlantic, or Jax Beach). Because the Intracoastal Waterway (the "Ditch") geographically bounds the beach communities to the west, development is forced to stay central, and the dreaded S word, sprawl, is not possible. There are also a couple of old neighborhoods near downtown that we like well enough. They are not as convenient for Matt to get to work, so they are lower on our list. Not to mention that convincing people to visit us at the ocean is pretty easy.



We will be driving down there with a carload of essentials on Sunday. We're blessed to be able to stay with Matt's parents until we find a place. Once we're there, I'll also start my job hunt. There are already a couple of architecture firms on my radar. Hopefully they are doing well and could use an experienced hand. It's been a stress-filled adventure, but there is a small twinkle of light at the end of the tunnel. We'll definitely keep you posted.

Braves Game with the Nippers


Icecream Making with Some of the Extended Family




Matt and Cyndi at Disneyworld


There's been a lot of stuff going on since Matt returned home at the end of September. We were on a whirlwind tour of seeing family and attending weddings. The first wedding was for Matt's cousin in Florida. It was October and in the nineties (Fahrenheit). Despite the heat, the outdoor ceremony turned out very lovely. We were all happy to go inside for the reception though.

The second wedding was for my brother in Austin, Texas. We road-tripped there with my mom and dad. Ben and Annelies had decided to only have her sister and me as attendants, so I unofficially called myself the "best sister". Fulfilling my duties, I did my best to plan a coed bachelor party. We met for Ethiopian food, and I started to reveal the "Choose Your Own Adventure" theme for the evening. We loved those books as children. Throughout dinner, Ben had to read a short paragraph and make a decision. Each decision had him do something silly. When we finished dinner well before the next part of the evening was to happen, Ben really did choose his own adventure. He suggested visiting an arcade nearby to kill some time. After he thoroughly schooled the rest of us at video games, we headed over to Annelies's sister's house to join the bride's group for karaoke and fun for the rest of the evening.

At the Arcade








The next day brought gluttonous delight. Ani's dad hosted a trip down to Lockhart, Texas for amazing barbeque. I loved the process of eating at this restaurant. At the head of the meat line, we ordered small amounts of several of the meats. They placed it all on brown craft paper which was then shaped into a boat to be carried easily. Then we went on to the sides line. Matt and I tried the sauerkraut, German potato salad, and baked beans. Yum. In the quick break that we had before I had to get to the rehearsal, Matt, another friend Mike, and I attended one of the many Oktoberfests going on that weekend. Our purpose was to see one of the founding members of the Asylum Street Spankers (awesome ~10 member band that plays everything from gospel to folk to blues to gansta rap). We had just enough time to watch Guy Forsyth and his tuba accompaniment put on a quality show before heading back for the rehearsal. The rehearsal dinner was at a Tex Mex place just beside our hotel. It was refreshing to get to actually walk somewhere (one of the things we miss about Denmark). Everyone seemed to have a nice time. Mom and Dad had a lot of fun playing host. They got to stand up and tell about how proud they are of Ben. If I recall correctly, Mom even sang a little!

Guy Forsyth at Oktoberfest


The next morning, we all gathered at the Barr Mansion for the actual wedding. The ceremony was out on the old house's lawn. Despite the Texas squawk birds and plane that flew overhead, the ceremony was beautiful. Our aunt (the honorable) Kathy performed part of the ceremony. She threw in some of the old family wit. After the ceremony, everyone was talking about the butterfly that had landed on Ani's floral hairpiece during the vows. It was just too perfect. The reception was held beside the ceremony site in a barn that had been moved to the grounds and renovated very nicely. Following the wedding's vegetable theme and the couples' vegetarian diet, we munched on a selection of meatless brunch items. When asked about the food, my dad's best friend Ken exclaimed, "I don't know what I'm eating, but it's good!". Matt particularly enjoyed the yogurt martini bar. He was very pleased that he skipped the hotel breakfast bar's yogurt cup earlier. We broke out the pétanque/bocce set and had a little fun with the flower boy. We let him throw out the cochonnet for several rounds. Before the cake cutting, we did our toasts. I had thought of mine long ago. It involved mom and me setting high expectations for a woman to meet. Mom even got to heckle in a request for grandchildren. The couple left after being pelted with fist-fulls of lavendar. The car should smell good for a while.

Check out some more of the pictures from the wedding at Mary Sledd's photography blog.
I love the veggie bouquets and decorations!


The last event of the wedding weekend was a trip to downtown's Sixth Street to see a Ghostbusters quote-along at the Alamo Drafthouse. We parked right by the intersection where a zombie parade was turning on to Sixth. Our friend Jessie was both extremely fascinated and terrified at the same time. She and Matt both got "attacked" by one of the zombies. They had red smears on the their cheeks for the rest of the evening, but at least they didn't have their brains eaten. The quote-along was a lot of fun. The Alamo often holds fun non-blockbuster movie events. Before the movie, they handed out green slime jello shots and glow necklaces that we were instructed to wave in the air each time the Ghostbusters used their proton packs. The theaters are designed for eating dinner during the show. Each row has a shelf of table running in front of it. There are menu holders and dim light for reading beneath each shelf. The waiters have an aisle behind each row for them to deliver food and pick up orders that guests write on little slips of paper. It's a much better system than any of the other film & food theaters I've visited. We laughed and ate and said goodbye to the friends we had made over the weekend. It was time to make the rainy drive back to Georgia.

Since we were leaving for a year in Denmark right after our wedding, many of our loved ones gave us the wonderful gift of monetary love. Some of the money was allocated to making our apartment in Copenhagen feel like home. Another portion was intended for our china. As I've explained on here before, I'm sure, when Matt and I were first dating, we took a trip to Glasgow to see the work of my favorite architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. One of my previous posts tells of our recent follow up trip to Edinburgh and the industrial Scottish town full of architectural gems. A main reason for the trip was to purchase the Mackintosh inspired dishes that we vaguely remembered from that earlier trip. The store where we found them was actually in Edinburgh. The set is technically a breakfast set that includes a salad sized plate, a bowl perfect for soup, a coffee mug, and an egg cup. We talked to the shopkeeper about ordering them later and headed on to Glasgow where we had no luck in finding anything nearly as nice. So after our trip, I contacted the store and asked them to ship to Georgia eight sets in blue. I hardly had time to blink before a giant box was sitting on my parents' front porch. They're beautiful. Now I just need to find eight simple dinner plates to coordinate. I'm thinking of a white dish with a simple silver edge. Thank you to everyone who contributed. You are welcome to come eat off of them anytime. Just be ready to eat a soft boiled egg!

In my last post, I talked a little about the dinner that some fabulous family members prepared for my first night back in the states.  One of the dishes that I had requested for that meal was crowder peas.  These are not just any crowder peas either.  They are my grandma's family's heirloom crowder peas.  For many many summers, they have been planted and enjoyed by our family.  The memory of sitting with my grandma shelling these peas lingers with me warmly and makes her speckled bowls that we used very precious to me.  Aside from my emotional attachment to the peas, they taste fantastic.  You just can't buy anything in the store that compares.  This year's crop has been lovingly tended by my dad's cousin.  He found out that I wanted some peas and said that he'd let me know when they were ready.  The call came when dad and I were having dinner out after running errands one evening.  Danny was calling from his field, basket in hand.  We skipped dessert and headed over to accept his wonderful gift. 

Shelling Peas With My New Speckled Bowl


The rest of the night was devoted to shelling peas.  I broke in the speckled bowls that grandma had bought before she died.  She intended for them to someday be a wedding present for me.  I learned about the set long before Matt entered my life, but I insisted that they be stored until they could be properly presented to me and my future husband, wrapped with a tag that read "From Grandma".  It took Mom, Dad, and me a couple of hours to get them shelled.  Dad and I were trash talking a little, so we had to weigh them to find out who'd shelled the most.  Dad came out ahead (barely), but I noticed that he'd thrown in anything and everything.  I had tried to weed out the bad peas as I went.  His win was tainted...

Our newest family member had to get in on the action too.  Liza Jane (our three month old pug/piranha) had fun emptying the trash bags all over the floor and playing with the empty shells.  She was looking for stray peas as well.  As I sorted Dad's peas later, she loitered around my feet waiting for me to drop her the bad ones. 

A Very Happy Pea-Hunting Dog

As many of you already know, I have returned home earlier than initially planned.  My aunt Kaye, who I loved dearly, passed away at the end of August.  She had been battling pancreatic cancer for a little over a year.  When I got the call from my parents to change my plans, we hoped that I would make it home to see her, but we were not so fortunate.  In the midst of this great sadness, my family and I have also found joy.  Kaye was a special lady who loved and was loved by many.  Because of our faith, we know that death is not the end, and we can be comforted by the thought of her up in heaven eating Grandma's biscuits. 

The past couple of weeks have been worthy of a post, so I will try to report on some of the highlights.  I'll start with my leaving Denmark.  Matt had to stay to defend his master's thesis (he did a great job, by the way) and compete with his school's team in a wind car race.  On the night before my trip home, my friend Nina helped to coordinate a dinner with friends from church.  We had many countries represented:  US, Denmark, Holland, Brazil, Slovakia, Ukraine, South Africa, England, and Iran.  We met at a sports bar that serves some traditional Danish dishes.  I finished my survey of Danish cuisine in the same way that I started it back when I visited Matt the first time.  I had stegt flæsk, a fried bacon dish with potatoes and parsley sauce.  They gave me enough food to feed a family.  It was really nice having a special send off from my fabulous friends.  I even got a present, handblown glass tea light holders from Nina's Danish island, Bornholm.  With the state of my luggage, I knew I would have to be creative in finding a place to squeeze them in.  For the first time ever, I pulled the trick where you sit on your luggage to get it to zip. 

Nina & Jeroen


Matt & Jan


Cyndi, Matt, Jan, Artur, Thys, Nina, & Jeroen (Cecilia, Gustavo, & Shima left before I took photos)


The next day, Matt brought me to the airport.  It was sad to say goodbye, but we have some experience being in different countries, and Skype is wonderful.  At check-in, I had to pay for extra bags, but at least nothing was overweight.  I'd love to say that once I was on my way, everything was a breeze, but of course, I cannot.  As we were speeding along the runway about to lift off, they put on the brakes and taxied back toward the buildings.  The problem was a simple faulty door sensor, but once the repair was made, they had a mountain of paperwork to fill out about the incident.  We were originally set to land in Atlanta an hour early, but we got there two hours late.  All was well when I popped out of the escalator in Atlanta to find my immediate family and a couple of my best Atlanta friends waiting for me.  After many hugs and exclamations about how much luggage I had, we headed toward my parents' home near Dalton, Georgia.  When we arrived at the house, we were greeted by some extended family who had brought over a feast of Southern favorites (mine, at least!).  We had dressing, fried okra, crowder peas, coconut cake, and much more.  It was a great way to be welcomed home.  Family (and food) is so important when a death occurs. 

Welcome Home Dinner - Dad, Abbey, Jeff, Ben, Mary, & April (Where'd Mom & Evan go?  Legos?)


A Plate Full of Southern Food....YUM!


The following two days were filled by funeral events.  "Visitation" is the name of the event that happens the night before the actual funeral.  It is a time when the community can stop in at the funeral home to say goodbye to the deceased and show their support for the family.  In my hometown, visitations often attract hundreds of people.  I feel like I saw and hugged half the population of our county that night.  The funeral had a smaller attendance and was held at Kaye's church.  We chose to have a time of fellowship immediately afterward.  This gave time for the grave to be filled and covered with flowers before the family went to the cemetery.  We had a small break before people descended upon our home.  The Varnell Community Club (formerly Ruritan) decided to bring dinner to our house in place of their regular meeting.  The house was full of friends and family, just the way I like it.

April & Cyndi Showing Off the Freshly Organized Closet (too bad there's not a before; just trust me...)


Since the funeral, we have been working on getting things settled.  I have been working hard on getting the house in order with my mom and cousin April.  It has been in our family since the 1800's.  We started by donating any of the food that we could.  The rest has been a mix of cleaning, organizing, and treasure hunting.  April and I came across a small box of old family photos on Friday.  We couldn't wait to find out who everyone was.  It didn't take too long either.  That night, we sat down with her mom (my great aunt Mary) and the photos.  I cannot end my ramblings without telling about earlier that evening though.  April's daughter, Abbey, is in seventh grade, but she was asked to join her future highschool's marching band.  It's a little confusing because the high school is brand new and only has ninth and tenth grades at the moment.  The band is performing at the junior varsity football games this year since there is no varsity team.  One such game happened on Friday night, and I was excited to attend.  We had a great time.  The band had fun and entertained the crowd nicely.  I had a little trouble at first cheering against the other team because their uniforms were white and gold, but I got it right after a couple of plays, and North Murray won their game.  Go Mountaineers!  Go Abbey!  Go Abbey's beautifully french braided hair!

April & Mary Looking Through the Latest Treasure (Old Family Photos)


North Murray Junior Varsity Game (No one came to watch the other team)


NMHS Band Playing a Bon Jovi Halftime Show


I Miss High School Marching Band...


Abbey, The Players Prayer Huddle, & The Final Scoreboard (34-6!)

This trip had been in the works for over a year.  Before our wedding, we encouraged people to give money rather than physical gifts.  We knew that we would not be able to take much to Denmark, and we would need to make some purchases once there.  One special purchase was a set of beautiful dishes inspired by the work of my favorite architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.  He worked in and near Glasgow, Scotland around the turn of the 20th century.  Beyond basic architectural design, he (with help from his wife Margaret) also designed much of the furniture, art, wallpaper, and other items in his buildings.  Several years ago, we saw the above mentioned dishes while on a trip to Glasgow, and they stuck in my memory.  Some of the money given by friends and family was set aside specially to get these wonderful items. 

Street in Edinburgh


Edinburgh Street with Castle Beyond


Both Matt and I have been to Scotland before.  We visited Glasgow together and Edinburgh separately.  So for this trip, we decided to see both cities as well as a bit of the countryside.  Our flight to Edinburgh was on Sunday, August 23 with a return on Friday, August 28.  The small airline we used only flies twice a week (Sun. & Fri.) between Copenhagen and Edinbugh, so I joked with Matt that if he acted up, I would take the next flight back to Denmark.  Once arriving in the center of Edinburgh, we walked the surprisingly long distance to our bed and breakfast to settle in and rest up for a busy week.  The month of August is festival time in Edinburgh, so hotels in the very center are rare and expensive.  We found a reasonable place that had a very friendly owner and nice breakfast. 

Piano Cycle in Edinburgh


Our first day was spent entirely in the city center.  After breakfast, we rushed over to the Fringe Festival Box Office.  The Fringe is one of seven or so festivals happening simultaneously around town during August.  Each festival is kind of interwoven with the others.  At any time of day, there are probably 50-100 different shows occurring (comedy, plays, musical acts, etc.).  We purchased tickets for that evening to see a comedy show featuring Kristen Schaal (the fan, Mel, from Flight of the Concords).  Our next activity was a two and a half hour walking tour of the Royal Mile (High Street, stretching from the medieval Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood House, where the Queen stays occasionally).  The volunteer tour guide was a retired local who loves his city and its history.  The tours are offered for free during August, so it seemed crazy not to go.  We grabbed a fried lunch after the tour and headed to one of the many "free" comedy shows.  I say "free" because the performers stand at the exit with a bucket and starving looks on their faces as the audience leaves.  We found the free shows to be entertaining, but they were definitely not at the level of quality achieved by the shows with an entrance fee.  The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering the Royal Mile.  The city was full of people, and the Royal Mile was partially closed to cars allowing for many outdoor performance areas.  After a decent mussel dinner, we claimed a place in line for Double Down Hearts (Kristen Schaal).  It was very funny.  Kristen has amazing energy. 

I just want to pay a compliment to the organizers of the Fringe.  The program is overwhelming due to the outrageous number of shows, but they have devised ways to make it easier on visitors.  Each day, they publish a newspaper with the listings arranged by time, and a very clear map showing the venue locations.  Each venue displays a large sign with their venue number.  It makes planning and finding shows easy. 

Our second full day started with a train ride to Stirling Castle.  The castle is one of Scotland's most important fortifications.  The existing buildings are from the 15th and 16th centuries.  After the royals left, the military moved in.  They were in residence until the 1960s.  Big efforts are still being made to restore the buildings to their original condition.  We ended our visit with a presentation by the weavers in the tapestry studio.  They, along with a studio at the West Sussex College, are working steadily to recreate the castle's famous Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries.  Matt was even fascinated by the techniques and beautiful end product.  During our return to Edinburgh, we made a stop in a small town, Falkirk.  My former coworker, who is Scottish and shares our love of nerdy things, introduced me a couple of years ago to the Falkirk Wheel.  When Scotland decided to reconstruct the canals that ran between Edinburgh and Glasgow, they came up with a great idea to avoid a series of traditional locks.  Boats approach the wheel from either side and park in a giant tub of water.  Once everything is closed, the wheel turns, bringing the ships up or down like a ferris wheel.  We were too late to ride the tour boat, but we did get to watch it make a full revolution.  Once back in town, we went to quite possibly the tiniest pub in Scotland to see a local Scottish-American folk singer, David Ferrard.  He has a beautiful voice and a kindness that just radiates from him.  We were a small international group in a small basement room, and we all got to sing along on several songs.  The night ended with Indian food and another free comedy show.

Cyndi & Matt at the Falkirk Wheel


Wednesday was our travel day.  We brought our bags into town and caught a few more shows before our train.  One was a play called Antione and the Paper Airplane.  It was a mix of pantomime, puppets, and interesting sound effects that told the story of the hallucinations of a downed pilot in the dessert.  Our other show was a comedy lineup where the performers were basically there promoting their individual shows.  The emcee was horribly annoying, but some of the actual acts were really funny.  There was a girl who sang funny songs that she had written about love.  The other memorable guy did a bit about the Welsh people, and he then asked where Matt and I were from (the dangers of sitting at the front).  He was able to play off my being from Georgia and went into this quite funny bit comparing the country of Georgia's relationship with Russia to a Matryoshka doll.  By the time that we arrived in Glasgow, we found our B&B there in time to hunt for dinner.  Someday, I'd like to figure out the mystery of dinner in Glasgow.  I can only assume that things are better in the suburbs, but the city center is closed and dead after 6 or 7pm.  We settled on a Mussel restaurant since it was the only non-fastfood/non-gourmet/non-hotel restaurant that we could find.

Cyndi & Matt by Music Room Piano (House for an Art Lover)


House for an Art Lover Music Room


Our last full day, Thursday, was the day devoted to Mackintosh.  We bought passes that gave us entrance to his buildings as well as coverage on the buses and metro.  The first stop was The House For An Art Lover.  Mackintosh submitted drawings for this house in a competition in the early 1900s.  His design was the clear favorite, but since he hadn't met the competition's requirements, he was awarded a different prize.  In the 1980s a man decided to build the house according to the limited drawings developed for the competition.  My favorite part is the music room that houses the piano whose ornamentation I used for all of my wedding graphics.  I asked a couple to take a photo of Matt and me in front of the piano.  I explained its significance, and we had a nice discussion about Mackintosh's buildings.  Our next stop was for lunch.  Mackintosh designed two locations of the Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow.  We had eaten at both during our previous visit, but we had arrived at the Sauchiehall Street location before they started seating in the famous Salon de Luxe.  We were instead seated in the more masculine mezzanine space.  This time, I wanted to have lunch in the room so special that when it was built, patrons would pay an extra penny for their tea to sit there.  When we saw the hostess, she looked around the mezzanine and said they were full at the moment.  We told her that we were really wanting the other dining room and found out that there was no wait for that room.  They apparently were not bothering to seat people in there unless they insisted.  It was a great experience and nice food.  We then hopped a bus for Queen's Cross Church.  It was not open on our previous visit, but this time, we got to go inside.  Before we left, we were approached by the Mackintosh Society's marketing guru.  We had a long discussion about why the Glasgow School of Art draws more visitors.  I blame the location of the church being away from the walkable center and very little information being available on how to find the correct bus.  The last Mackintosh site for the day was the elusive Daily Record Building.  We had searched for it before, without success.  This time, a lady noticed me wandering around confused in the rain and informed me that the map we had was incorrect.  After much more wandering around with her advice, we finally found the tiny alley that is two small to appear on most maps.  I could tell that it was a Mackintosh building, but it looks nothing like the beautiful rendering that he made showing the design.  Dinner was another round of Indian food.  The restaurant we visited is said to be the first to serve Chicken Tikka Masala.  It was very good, but I was quite sick for a day or two (possibly from eating too much), so I my enjoyment was a little impaired.

Cyndi in the Salon de Luxe (Willow Tea Room)


Matt in the Salon de Luxe (Willow Tea Room)


Daily Record Building (vs. rendering)


Friday morning, our main goal was to get back to Edinburgh for our flight.  By that time, we had made our decision about purchasing dishes.  After all, that WAS the purpose for the trip.  The only place where we had seen any for sale was at a shop in Edinburgh.  They could ship to the states and were willing to work with us through email.  As of yesterday, we have ordered eight gorgeous "breakfast" sets.  Each set includes a salad sized plate, a good size bowl, a mug, and an egg holder.  I figure I can find a simple white dinner plate to coordinate, and if you stay in my home in the future, I might make you eat a boiled egg at breakfast.  If you have any creative alternate uses for egg holders, I'd love to hear them!

As many of you have heard, I am going back to the states a little earlier than expected.  My aunt is sick, and my family needs me.  This means that I am now faced with the hard task of saying goodbye to the many wonderful friends that I have here.  The first round occurred last night.  It was my turn to host my strikkeklub (knitting club).  Not too long after arriving in Denmark, my friend Sara suggested that I accompany her to a meeting.  I had briefly learned to knit several years ago, but I had forgotten pretty much everything.  That first night, I got a tutorial on the basics and my love of knitting blossomed.  The girls in the club all have engineering/science backgrounds, and we joke that we're the geekiest of all knitting clubs.  It's always fun to see what conversations occur. 

The girls came over last night for what we just realized would be my last meeting.  We usually spend the time socializing and working on our current individual projects.  I had been interested in learning to felt, so for this meeting, I suggested that we all do a small project together that could be completed in a leisurely evening.  I found a nice and simple project on Ravelry, and shared it earlier in the week so everyone could find materials.  We each knitted a fan shaped swatch that we rolled up and sewed to resembled a rose.  The pattern did not have instructions for making a single leaf, so while a couple of the other girls were making a second rose, I came up with a simple leaf design. 

Almost All of the Usual Gang (Sorry Stine)


Busy Knitting


Of course, no strikkeklub meeting is complete without "cake", so before starting the felting process, I brought out my experimental blueberry no-bake cheesecake.  It quickly got the approval of the group.  We have also discussed the need to compile a strikkeklub cookbook to feature all the fun recipes that we try.  Once we had cleaned the plate, I set up a couple bowls of soapy water.  We piled into the kitchen and started aggressively rubbing our little roses.  One of the girls enjoyed the method of throwing the rose over and over against the sink basin.  I found some advantage in using an old toothbrush (can't throw anything away...).  Matt stood at the door to the kitchen eyeing the bowls of soapy water suggesting that we "felt" the dirty cheesecake plates.  In the end, we had a small bouquet of cute little felted roses and the unexplainable satisfaction of having completed a project. 

Sara Wants Some Cake


Showing Off Our Roses - Linda and Sara Thought the Roses also Looked like Nisse (Gnome) Hats


This Time, Everybody is Looking


The girls often will break into Danish in my presence, and I find it fun to listen for words I know and figure out what they are discussing.  At some point during the evening, they started discussing what I figured out to be "Icelandic yarn".  They're so sneaky.  After the short conversation, they presented me with a little going away present, a fancy circular knitting needle and several skeins of Icelandic yarn.  There are two of brown and two of cream.  It should be enough for a pair of mittens and a hat.  I had mentioned that I ought to make something in the Icelandic style to remember my time here in Denmark.  I know it's a little confusing, but Icelandic knitting has been popular in Scandinavia for a long time.  It was a perfect gift.  I'm going to miss them.  Maybe I can convince them to have a knitting retreat wherever we settle.

My Knitted Felted Rose, Up Close

I finally got word last night that after a month of being annoyed with the US Postal Service, my package finally arrived at Nikki's door.  She is very happy with the contents.  Here is the story that I wrote weeks ago:

For several months after moving to Denmark, my friend back home, Nikki, had made comments about sending me T-shirts to make her a quilt. The shirts were ones that she had collected over five years of participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  I never really took her seriously since it would require sending a heavy box full of shirts internationally.  A while back, she asked me how bored I was and said that she was serious about sending them.  I was in fact pretty bored and agreed to the job.  Since Nikki is practically family, she got the "white chocolate and hot sauce" discount.  While I was waiting for the box to arrive, I mentioned the situation to my Danish friend who informed me that she had a sewing machine I could borrow.  Score!  I was prepared to sew it all by hand, but a machine would make it a lot easier. 

The box arrived and a sea of mostly pink exploded into our living room.  Around half of the shirts were ones that Nikki had received from the main organization for completing the 2 day, 39 mile walk.  Others were shirts made specifically for her team, the BBBAD Girls (and Boys).  The team began as five girls whose bra sizes are B, B, B, A, and D.  Each girl wore her cup size proudly on the back of her team shirt.  They got a lot of attention that first year for having such a creative name.  In later years, the team has grown to occasionally include boys such as Nikki's husband and father.  They have participated in walks all over the United States and look forward to walking for many years to come.  In addition to the T-shirts, Nikki sent a banner that her husband's parents had made to cheer them on during the New York City walk last year.  It was very cute and incorporated the "dress shoes and Chuck Taylors" theme that they used in their wedding several months earlier.

The quilt went together pretty fast.  I made templates from cardboard and cut out the printed design on each shirt.  Now comes the really nerdy part (that my knitting club thinks is hilarious).  I drew up the different sizes of rectangles (minus seam allowance) in AutoCAD (the drawing program used by architects).  It allowed me to play with different arrangements and come up with a design that I liked.  Even though I received many T-shirts, and almost all of them were double sided, I would need to fill in blank space with scraps and AutoCAD made that easy to plan.  Once the front and back panels were sewn, I pinned them together with a thick layer of batting.  I decided to go ahead and start the quilting process where the layers are sewn together giving the blanket a texture of many pillows.  Since I had plenty of time on my hands, I decided to take an ambitious route.  It was time to go back to AutoCAD.  I used Google Image to find pictures of people holding banners.  After pasting them in AutoCAD under the design of the quilt, I traced a simplified version to use as a guide for the quilting.  After the man and woman were quilted into the blanket, I filled in blank space with flowers and grass at the bottom and clouds and birds at the top.  By then, I had finally found some fabric to use as binding.  Once it was on, the quilt was complete. 

Screenshot of My Quilt Layout in AutoCAD (a program used by architects and engineers)


Front of the Quilt


Front of the Quilt with the Quilting Highlighted


Back of the Quilt


At the same time I was working on the quilt, I was also keeping up with my knitting.  I had bought some yarn on sale and the quilt inspired my creativity.  After much internet research and soul searching, I decided to use my pink/peach and dark pink yarns to make a small set of boobs that resembles fuzzy dice.  On the back sides, I stitched the words "BBBAD Girls" and "Save Us".  The idea is that Nikki can take them to the walk and hang them on the strap of her waist pouch that holds a water bottle and essentials.  If nothing else, they're good for a laugh.  Since I spent a knitting club making the first one, it has continued to be a source of humor in the group.  One of the girls was pondering what to make as a baby gift a couple of weeks ago.  Someone mentioned a mobile of small knitted things.  This caused me to jerk my head up from my knitting and shout, "Boobs!  Babies love boobs!". 

The Knitted Boobs (Front and Back)


Even though the thought of knitted boobs is funny, breast cancer is serious.  I encourage you to support efforts such as the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  If you are interested in supporting the BBBAD Girls or Nikki next year, I can put you in contact.  They are always welcome to new members if you are interested in walking too.  And ladies, please remember to do your monthly self exams and see a doctor if you think anything is unusual.  Early detection saves lives.  Prayer helps too.  Right now, Mary Ruth and Charleen are in my prayers.  Please keep them in your hearts as well.

Matt bought me flours!  Hehe...


On Saturday morning, I sent Matt to the store.  He remembered that I had just run out of both my all purpose flour and bread flour.  As I unpacked the bags, I said, "Oh you bought me flours!", and then I realized the humor in my statement. 

It's been a week since Matt and I returned from a long anniversary weekend in Stockholm, and my dad is asking about seeing photos and reading my ramblings.  So here goes.  Our adventure started on Thursday afternoon at 5:30.  We were double checking everything and getting ready to pack for our night train.  We realized that in my frustration during the ticket buying process, I had actually booked us beds on Friday's night train.  In a panic, we both hopped on our bikes and rode like the wind to the closest station, Norreport.  They quickly told me that they (for some ridiculous and unknown reason) could not help us.  They said that only the main train station could make the change, and they would be closing in 15 minutes.  The two stations are pretty close together, but there is not a convenient way between them.  I parked my bike and ran into the ticket office.  I stood behind a guy at a window who looked to be almost finished.  As he thanked the teller, he jumped back to leave and knocked the wind out of me.  In the split second that it took him to apologize and for me to regain air in my lungs, another girl jumped up to the window from another line.  Grrr.  After her, I was able to change the tickets to the correct night, but we lost our beds (while getting 200 kroner back).  They were locking the doors while me made our transaction.  Phew...  That night was pretty uncomfortable.  We both managed to get a little sleep, but it was had in crazy contorted positions. 

Stockholm, the Hilly Part


Once in Stockholm on Friday morning, we slowly made our way to our really cool hotel.  It was well before check-in time, but we could at least drop off our bags.  For a city/country that claims to have a wonderful tradition in baking, it was quite difficult to find a bakery.  After pastries and juice, we hit up the tourist information center for brochures and maps then bought tickets for a boat tour of the city.  Stockholm is a city of islands, so there are lots of commuter boats and touring vessels.  Our tour sent us under many of the bridges and through a couple of locks that mitigate the flow between the sea and Lake Mälaren.  We spent the rest of the day wandering around Gamla Stan.  It is the island that holds the royal palace and the old town (very touristy).  The changing of the guard was really the only notable thing that we saw there.  It was more elaborate than any of the CofG that I'd seen before.  They had a military band who performed a mini tattoo (marching concert).  They even played a piece by John Williams. 

Changing of the Guard


All I Could Actually See Thanks to the Super Tall Scandinavians


Our second day started out pretty relaxed.  We had breakfast at the hotel and wandered out toward the modern center of town.  Just a few blocks into our walk, we saw a police car and people on a side street ahead of us.  When we got closer, we realized that it was the start of a Carnival parade.  These silly Scandinavians just celebrate Carnival whenever they feel like it.  We stopped on the sidewalk and watched the groups of dancers as they fell into place at the beginning of the route.  Unlike the parade in Copenhagen a couple of months ago, there were no super skimpy costumes and no pregnant women to wear them.  It was an unexpected and nice surprise.  We continued on our walk to a large food market near the shopping district.  We bounced around the different stalls looking for lunch ingredients.  We ended up with a fresh bread, spicy Italian salami, roasted vegetables and lots of fruit.  The fruit guy preferred to talk us into buying more items than give us change. 

Carnival Parade


That afternoon, we took transit out to the palace that currently houses the royal family.  We started our 24 hour Stockholm tourist cards with entry to the palace.  Overall, it was extremely unimpressive.  Only a couple of the rooms on display even had furniture.  We followed up the house with a long stroll around grounds.  On our way back to the bus stop, we met a group of joggers.  There was one girl surrounded by several guys, all wearing running clothes in Swedish colors.  My familiarity with the Swedish royal family only extended to what I had seen on postcards, but I'm pretty sure the girl looked like Victoria, the crown princess.  That night, we decided on Mongolian barbecue for dinner.  We had noticed an unusually high number of the restaurants around town and chose one that we'd seen near out hotel.  It was just what my tummy wanted.  Along with the Mongolian barbecue buffet, they offered a few dim sum and sushi items. 

Drottningholm Palace from the Garden Side


On Sunday, we crossed town after breakfast to visit the city hall.  This is the location of the annual Nobel Prize banquet.  Our tour guide showed us the halls that are used for private parties as well as the city council meeting room.  I enjoyed seeing the ceiling of the meeting room.  It resembles an overturned viking ship.  During the viking era, small meetings were held under the protection of the real things.  The jewels of the non-political half of the building were the Blue Hall that ended up not being blue like originally planned and the Golden Hall that is covered in mosaics depicting Swedish history.  The line was not moving to enter the tower museum after the main building tour, so we opted to change islands and visit the Vasa Museum.  The Vasa was a very elaborate ship completed in 1628.  With much fanfare, the ship set off for Poland that year.  About 25 minutes into its voyage, the boat sank.  Since the water in the Baltic Sea is not salty enough for worms to live that usually eat such wrecks, the ship rested pretty much untouched on the bottom of the harbour until the 1950's.  The museum showcases the recovered and preserved ship.  There are also many exhibits showing the history, the recovery process, and the items found along with the wreckage.  Matt and I hadn't known anything about it before our trip, but we are very glad that we chose the Vasa as a sight worth seeing. 

The Blue Hall, Site of the Nobel Banquet


The Ceiling of the City Council Chambers


The Golden Hall


Vasa


Vasa


Carved Map of Scandinavia


First Anniversary at the Vasa Museum


As our 24 hour free entry pass was drawing to a close, we entered Skansen per Rick Steves's advice.  Skansen is a large open air museum that features old buildings from around Sweden.  There is also a zoo-like area (bears, owls, buffalo, boars, sea lions, kittens?!) and living history events that happen throughout the site.  We stumbled upon a special demonstration of dances from the 19th century on our way to see traditional Swedish dancing.  The dancers in the second show are regular employees of the museum and had perfected their presentation to an entertaining mix of choreography and dramatic flirting.  We visited most of the open buildings and even held interesting conversations with workers about the buildings they were manning and the cultures and eras they were representing.  By the time the clouds rolled in, we were ready to rest our feet and get some dinner.  A restaurant serving mussels near the hotel caught our attention.  With happy tummies, we collected our bags and boarded a night train back toward Denmark.  This time we had beds! 

Skansen Dancers - 19th Century


Skansen Dancers - Traditional Swedish


Skansen Peacock


One last thing...  Before we left on Thursday, we exchanged anniversary presents.  The first year is traditionally paper.  Matt made an origami owl with a promise of the Harry Potter boxed set once we return home.  I made him a paper cut (very Danish) to remember our first year of marriage in Denmark. 

My First Anniversary Present to Matt

My Danish friend, Nina, has introduced me to a hearty salad that has quickly found its way into my heart.  She first made it for me when I hosted a girls only chick flick extravaganza while Matt was in the states for a wind conference.  I asked her about it later and added it to the list of dishes commonly being made in our kitchen.  The base of the salad is bulgur.  Bulgur is wheat that has been dried and debranned (skinned).  It is often sold parboiled.  In appearance, it resembles rice when dry, but it is full of fabulous fiber (an essential element that modern diets sorely neglect).  I start the dish by cooking the bulgur the same never-fail way that I do rice:

-1 part grain, 2 parts water
-Bring to a boil
-Simmer on low, covered for 10 minutes
-Turn off heat and let sit, covered for 10 minutes

While the bulgur is cooking, I start chopping.  First up are carrots and onions.  The carrots can benefit from a little softening, and the onions they sell here could make John Wayne cry.  I miss Vidalia onions (and Joni!).  To solve both problems, I cook them in a covered sauté pan with a generous splash of water for just a few minutes.  It's my lazy way of steaming the veggies.  At the end, I throw in some frozen corn and peas so they can thaw a little.  I love sneaking peas into Matt's food...  The next chopping items are a cucumber, a bell pepper (preferably non-green), fresh tomatoes, black olives, and some fresh cilantro.  These ingredients do not require any cooking, so I just add them to a very large container with the bulgur and contents of the sauté pan.  If we're feeling meaty, I chop up a sausage (like kielbasa, solid inside) and brown it with some oil in the sauté pan after the veggies. 

Bulgur Salad


Once all of the mentioned ingredients are in the big container, I add enough oil to give a very light coating (not necessary if I included the oil from the sausage pan) and a splash of vinegar.  I finish it off with some salt and pepper and then mix it all really well.  Matt likes it best freshly made, when it's about room temperature, but it is also great once refrigerated.  I like that we have something so colorful and healthy to eat when the weather is actually warm enough to make chili and shepherd's pie unappealing.  The best thing about the salad is that you can alter it in so many ways and still end up with a great dish.  To make things a little easier, I'll conclude with a list of the ingredients that I use along with some alternatives.  I'm sure there are other things that would be great in the salad that I haven't mentioned.  Feel free to make suggestions.  And don't feel like you have to use every item I have mentioned.  It would work with practically any combination.  If you try this dish, I can almost guarantee that you will soon find it to be the perfect way to clean out your kitchen.

Bulgur Salad
-bulgur (or rice*, couscous)
-carrots
-onions
-corn
-peas
-cucumber
-bell pepper (preferably non-green for sweetness and more color variation**)
-fresh tomatoes
-black olives
-cilantro (or parsley, dill)
-sausage
-oil
-vinegar (any variety will do)
-salt
-pepper

*Some time I may write about the great Italian dish, insalata di riso.  It uses rice and pickled vegetables, yum.

**I'm such a design nerd...

Summer is certainly a good time for music lovers to be in Denmark.  The Roskilde Festival is an internationally known Woodstock-esque event packed with activities, music, and much debauchery.  It is named for its location, Roskilde.  If you've been reading for a while, you might recognize that city as the place where we visited a viking ship museum and the cathedral where the royals are buried.  We had no desire to go back to attend this crazy festival, but mentioning it helps to explain how Copenhagen was deserted by the wild youngsters and left to a more mature set.  As a well planned coincidence, the city hosts the Copenhagen Jazz Festival during the same time.  The festival features shows all around town for two weeks, and we took advantage of a couple of the free (to us) events.

The first was a concert at Tivoli Gardens amusement park that is right in the center of town.  With our season passes, we had free admission.  Unlike the Friday Rock concerts that occur almost every non-Jazz Festival weekend of the summer, we actually chose to get in to the crowd by the stage.  As you can guess, the people were much more mellow.  Mellow, but really excited.  We were all there to see the 80s pop star Rick Astley.  His big hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" made my eight year old heart flutter.  He has had more recent fame through an internet phenomenon referred to as "Rickrolling".  It was basically a hacker joke that misdirected people to a link with his "Never Gonna Give You Up" video.  I guess some people might have gotten real life rickrolled if they showed up at Tivoli expecting a Friday Rocks concert instead.



Matt and I both really enjoyed the concert at Tivoli.  Rick performed with the park's Big Band.  He sang mostly jazz standards that I could name before he even started to sing such as "Strangers in the Night", "Luck Be A Lady Tonight", and "Moon River".  For a pop star, he can definitely pass as a classic crooner.  Of course, he ended the show with his big hit.  Everyone was singing along and dancing in place.  Even Matt almost learned the words to the chorus by the end.  After the song, he said goodnight and sincerely left the stage.  I say "sincerely" because most concerts end with the performers saying a fake goodbye while fully planning to come back out for an encore.  I see it as just a way to get more ego boosting (she says as she steps down off her soapbox).  Then, a very Danish thing happened:  unison clapping.  When a crowd really likes something, they'll clap in unison here.  It's one of the simple things that I like about Denmark.  Once the clapping fell into rhythm, they all came back out on the stage and admitted that they truly did not plan to do an encore, and they hadn't practiced any more songs together.  So what is there to do?  Play the last song again!  Matt looked at me, shrugged, and said, "Give the people what they want...".  It was a little strange, but the energy of the crowd and the awesomeness of the pop song being performed with a very talented big band made it fun.  Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the brassieres.  Many were thrown onto the stage.  Almost all of them were of a very generous size.  I guess that's what happens when pop stars age...  The second picture (yellow/purple) shows the microphone stand that was a resting place for the large undergarments (after a polite acknowledgement and twirl, of course).






Our other Jazz Festival concert was a little tamer even.  We went to a Danish beer garden in Frederiksberg (posh area of town).  If not for the little girls playing behind our chairs, we would have been the youngest people there.  The band was a Danish jazz band with many friends in the audience.  The main singer kept blowing kisses at people he knew as they came or went.  We stayed through most of two sets, but we had to leave at the end out of hunger.  All of the people sitting at actual tables were having dinner there.  We had dinner waiting for us at home, but we were quite taunted by the giant tray of fried pork set down at a table nearby. 

Although not part of the Jazz Festival, we attended a third concert recently.  This one was held in the concert hall at Tivoli.  Once again, our season passes were all we needed.  This was a classical concert with three pieces being performed, and we were definitely the youngest people there.  The group included around seven performers, but they broke into smaller groups for each piece.  At the end, the audience once again fell into unison clapping (but only after what I considered way too much bowing).  So what were they to do but play the last song again?!  Seriously.  It's one thing for a pop star to play a three minute song again, but it's another for a stiff string sextet to repeat an entire movement as an encore.  They WERE good, and that particular movement was probably my favorite of the evening, but still...

Saturday, June 27

We started our final full day together with a lazy breakfast and walk back to Marionplatz where the Glockenspiel lives.  Our goal was to take a walking tour.  They pretty much all leave from the square after the 11am  playing of the bells.  As the music happens, mechanisms spin and depict a wedding with a joust on the upper level and a dance performed by the beer barrel makers after the plague had ended on the lower level.  We joined a free tour after chatting briefly with the guide.  It’s a great concept.  He works solely off of tips, so he’s driven to make the tour interesting and enjoyable.  The company that he represents makes their money off of the other tours that they offer.  The free general tours are like marketing for them.  Our guide was a performer and offered a really great tour. 

Our Free Tour of Munich


The Glockenspiel - The Bavarian knight just bested the Lothringen one.


After the tour, we went to the Viktualienmarkt, a outdoor market with tons of stalls selling meat, veggies, flowers, etc.  We had a snack, and then the Runions decided to take a rest and meet us later for dinner.  We weren’t sure what we wanted to do, but the ominous clouds drove us to the Deutsches Museum.  We really could and should have spent an entire day there, but unfortunately, we only had an hour or so before closing time.  The museum holds a history of tenchology.  There were exhibits of planes, boats, engines, and much more.  We happened into the electricity room just before a really fun demonstration of electrical arcs and simulated lightning.  It was important to watch the other onlookers to know when to cover our ears.

Viktualienmarkt and the Bavarian May Pole


Matt Happily Approaching the Hofbräuhaus


Dinner was a long anticipated visit to the Hofbräuhaus.  Even though it’s probably the biggest tourist attraction in the city, I thought it was completely worth the visit.  The food and beer that we ordered was really good, and the party atmosphere was a lot of fun.  Matt had a giant pork knuckle that I was kind of sad I didn’t order.  We had a group of Koreans behind us singing silly songs and toasting with anyone in reach.  We followed dinner with a stroll through a corner of the Englischer Garten.  We lucked upon the spot I had read about where the creek creates a wave adequate for surfing.  Since the weather was actually nice, there were plenty of people in wet suits taking turns at the wave.  One guy was so good, he was almost boring to watch.  He needs to work on learning more tricks.  As we left the area, we noticed a sign elaborately warning against swimming or surfing.  It even had an image of a skull to try to convince people of the danger.  This seemed weird because there’s obviously a platform to the side for watching and a ramp to get back in line after wiping out.  It’s like the sign is just there to cover someone’s hiney. 

The Gang Enjoying the Hofbräuhaus


Kathy and John Playing with Coasters at the Hofbräuhaus


Surfing at the Englischer Garten


Surfing at the Englischer Garten


Sunday, June 28

Matt’s parents and the Runions left to catch their airplane back to the states just after breakfast.  We walked them to the train station and said our sad goodbyes.  It was really nice getting to see them.  Skype is great, but nothing beats a real life hug.  Matt’s plan for the day had been the Deutsches Museum, but we had visited there on the previous day to avoid rain.  So instead, we wandered toward the center of town.  We kept passing people in orange running shirts.  At Marionplatz, we found the start and end for a 20 kilometer run through the city.  We checked out the festivities and watched a little of the oom pa pa band all decked out in lederhosen. 

Oom Pa Pa Band at the Race


Then we decided to go back to the Englischer Garten. We went deeper into the park and had lunch at one of its biergartens.  We shared some chicken and some of the best potatoes I’ve had in a long time.  The biergarten area featured a Chinese pagoda that was stage to another oom pa pa band.  It made for a good eating environment.  So did the little child crawling up and down the path by our table.  There was something about him that resembled Gollum from Lord of the Rings, but his actions made up for it.  Every now and then, he’d lift up on his knees and wave his arms like a circus bear while looking around for an audience.  We explored more of the gardens before heading back to the hotel for our bags.  Backpacks in tow, we squeezed in one last biergarten before our night train back to Copenhagen.  I tried not to cry in my weissbier over the fact that we had to return to the land of blah food.  We ended the meal with a final big as a plate pretzel and rushed to catch our train. 

Englischer Garten Biergarten with Pagoda Full of Lederhosen-Clad Musicians


*More photos can be found here.

Friday, June 26

Friday was the day that I had been awaiting.  After our filling breakfast, we piled back in the van and headed toward castle heaven.  Everyone goes to the area for Neuschwanstein Castle (the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland), but many people, like us, also add in the adjacent bonus site, Hohenschwangau Castle.  Hohenschwangau is the childhood home of Bavaria’s crazy King Ludwig II.  It is a perfectly beautiful castle.  We took a guided tour and learned much about the king’s early life and his “comes by it honestly” family.  As we exited the first castle the sky fell.  We had such hopes for a beautiful day, but we ended up having to send the men for our rain gear. 

Hohenschwangau Castle


Neuschwanstein Castle


Due to the rain, we decided to take the bus to the second castle.  It got us there a little early for our tour time, but we had plenty of time to snap outside photos of the castle.  Neuschwanstein was one of the many building projects masterminded by King Ludwig II.  It was meant to be a perfect vision of a fantasy castle.  The romantic ideas about medieval life were mixed with late 1800’s conveniences.  Rather than asking for an architect’s design, Ludwig gave the responsibility to a set designer.  Many of the rooms are an homage to the works of Richard Wagner.  The king’s extravagance eventually led to him being declared insane.  The following day, he was found drowned in a lake along with the psychiatrist who certified him insane.  I was surprised that the guides were content not even mentioning any rumors as to what happened.  We were not allowed to take any photos of the interior, but I can say that no expense was spared in the decorations.  The king’s bed alone was an amazing piece.  It features carvings of cathedral towers from every cathedral in Bavaria.  Since Ludwig died before the castle was completed, the tours only show the 14 completed rooms.  I would love to see the ones that were not completed.  The castle’s contemporary, the Biltmore Estate, offers a variety of specialty tours that show places not seen on the regular tour.  Neuschwanstein needs to do something similar.  The castle was opened to the public only weeks after the king’s death to help get the kingdom back some of the money he spent, so they should have had plenty of time to figure something out.

Neuschwanstein Castle Inner Courtyard


Viewing Bridge by Neuschwanstein Castle


Cyndi & Matt by Neuschwanstein


Neuschwanstein Castle


We drove to Munich from the castles and found our final hotel.  Matt and Bill returned the van while the rest of us checked in and got settled.  The difference between this hotel and the previous ones practically slapped me in the face when I opened the curtains and saw dead plants and giant mechanical units.  On the upside, we had decent pillows, air conditioning, and another great breakfast.   When the guys finally returned we went exploring.  The hotel was just outside of the old city center.  We had a recommendation for dinner, but we were distracted by the tables set up in the courtyard of the neo-gothic Neues Rathaus (new town hall).  The tables were managed by the famous Ratskeller (town hall cellar) Restaurant.  I don’t think that the food was the same as is served by the restaurant.  Half of the items on the menu were crossed through.  The food was fine, but not memorable.  The setting, on the other hand, was memorable.  The front of the building is home to the famous Glockenspiel (“play of bells”).  The inner courtyard is just as beautifully ornamented. 

Stair Tower in the Inner Courtyard of the Neues Rathaus


Glockenspiel


Coming Soon:  Phase 5 – Munich with Matt’s parents and the Runions.
*More photos can be found here.

Wednesday, June 24

After checking into our hotel in Garmisch, a quaint town in Bavaria, we followed a recommendation to a restaurant with “local flair”.  Trying to avoid cigarette smoke, we chose to eat in the empty dining room rather than the bar area.  Once the guys got a look at the characters in the bar, we regretted our decision a little.  There was a group of locals having a good ole time, and we were sadly unable to observe from our table.  Our food there was very tasty.  I had Hungarian goulash, Matt had what can best be described as a festival of meat, and Gayle Runion continued her personal challenge to eat as much schnitzel as possible.  After our meal, we sang a respectable rendition of “Happy Birthday” in honor of Matt’s dad, Bill’s special day.  Then came John Runion’s bright idea.  He wanted to get us girls to pose for a picture with the rowdy locals in the bar area.  They happily agreed to the photo, and one of the guys got a little fresh with Matt’s mom, Kathy.  She handled it well and appreciated the humor in the situation.  The whole place was watching and launched into an uproar when the event took place.  I don’t think that any of us have laughed that hard in a long time. 

The Gang Taking Photos in Front of a Painted Building in Garmisch


Cyndi & Matt on Bridge by the Hotel


Another Pretty Painted Building


The View of the Mountains from Our Hotel Room


Thursday, June 25

Our hotel in Garmisch was a traditional guesthouse.  Our rooms were not quite as charming as the ones in Salzburg, but they did have great views of the surrounding mountains.  After a nice breakfast, we would get to see one of the mountains up close.  The breakfast was pretty thorough.  It even had deviled eggs, possibly my favorite way to eat eggs.  I’ve always wanted to order eggs in a restaurant and ask for them deviled.  I bet someone somewhere would agree to make them for me.  I got directions, and we headed out to the Zugspitze Railway.  The Zugspitze cog train took us from the center of Garmisch through the surrounding farmland.  We saw a bunch of interesting small log cabin-like barns that had walls that leaned out as they approached the roof as if they were packed full of balloons.  Bill discovered later that they were used for straw.  I’m not sure how the strange shape is advantageous, but I’m sure it helps somehow.  After the farmland, we started our ascent.  The final part of the climb was almost half an hour in a steep tunnel. 

Kathy, Matt, & Gayle in the Snow


View from the Glacier Level


Passing Another Gondola


The cog train let us off at an area of Zugspitze Mountain, the highest in Germany, where a glacier exists.  I’m not sure that I actually saw anything I recognized as a glacier, but there was a lot of snow to enjoy.  I immediately regretted leaving my sun glasses in the room.  We took the path less traveled around the complex letting our feet sink into fresh snow.  Our innkeeper said that there was a meter of fresh snow.  Matt got hit by a snowball after just a few minutes outside.  I have no idea where it came from…  When we got around the building to the upper deck, I couldn’t resist the urge to make a snowman with the white stuff drifted against the side of a glass gazebo restaurant.  He’s small, but he’s feisty. 

Cyndi's Snowman


Cyndi with Her Snowman


From that level, we were able to take a gondola to the summit.  The mountain is on the border of Germany and Austria, so the summit is an intricate building complex with part in Germany and part in Austria.  Although the Austrian side had a fascinatingly scary drop (that kept John and Matt away from the railing), the German side of the complex was more interesting.  They had several terraces, and we were able to have a beer and pretzel at the outdoor café.  We were all surprised at how warm it actually felt at the summit.  I was actually hot in all my layers.  Our descent was much faster than our ascent.  We took a gondola all the way down to the lake, Eibsee, at the base of the mountain.  The blue of the lake from the Gondola was stunning.  From Eibsee, we again met up with the cog train that took us back to Garmisch.  We explored the city some and eventually found a place for dinner serving our requisite local food.  Another day, another schnitzel. 

View down into Nothingness on the Austria Side of the Summit


The Gang Leaving Austria


The View of Eibsee from the Gondola


Coming Soon:  Phase 4 – Castles/Munich with Matt’s parents and the Runions.
*More photos can be found here.