The Stick Shift Experience

This post is long overdue as we have been driving here for three weeks now, or at least I (Rob) have been driving here. In the past three weeks we had two different vehicles, both having brought us to our knees in a heap of mass confusion and frustration. Our first task was conquering a black Opel station wagon owned by the GM himself. This, shall we say, was a very humbling experience. For those of you who have never driven stick before and have tried, you can relate to the feeling of being outwitted by something with no brain. I managed to lure one of my teammates on afternoon after practice to teach me the intricacies of the clutch and how to get the car from a dead stop to just rolling. In this process I stalled the car approximately fifty times before I could even attempt to get into second gear. After many stalls, the Opel groaned in defiance of how I handled it and started smoking like wet leaves on a fire. So here I was, third day in Denmark, totaling the GM's car. Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed. Fortunately, we took a couple hour break and picked up Elizabeth to give it another shot. On our return to the car, Elizabeth, was a nervous wreck and hesitantly sat in the drivers seat with a deer in the headlights look. After she was through with her twenty point inspection making sure all the mirrors, seats, and locks were checked and ready to go(learned from Mr. Safety himself, Johnny Ballgame), she drove off on her first try like it was the Nissan Sentra she knows so well. I was stunned and driven further into my shell of embarrassment. After that magical night, Elizabeth has only driven one other time (another story below) and Rob has slowly become the zen master of the stick. Little did we know, we would only have the smooth driving Opel for one short week.

It soon became apparent, the GM wanted his car back, smoking and all. This is understandable and decided to replace it with a white two seater station wagon from somewhere in the 1980's. This thing has 160 thousand miles on it and purrs like a cat on it's ninth life. The car ran smoothly(if you want to call it that) for the first week, but has since started on a radical decent for the junkyard (similar to my truck at home). The main issue with the car is that the gears are very "sticky." Even when the clutch is jammed into the floor you have to have a good amount of force to move the stick between gears. Due to this major problem, I am the only one that can attempt to drive because I am the only one strong enough to shift into different gears. However, Elizabeth did try to be brave and test the waters on the open road while I was out of town. Here is her version of the tale:
I decided to drive Rob to the rink so then I could use the car while he was away. On the way to the rink, Rob at my side, coaching and encouraging me, I easily dropped him off feeling confident that I could master the road home. I had one minor incident on the way home, but felt strong enough to drive to the little soiree I was invited to with the other wives later that evening. I continued my hot streak and arrived at the gathering with no accidents or stalls. That is where I decided to pat myself on the back, but the celebration was premature. Leaving the event, I ran into some major problems. I reversed out of my parking spot but that is as far as I went because I could not muster the strength to shift into first gear. I started sweating and was left only with prayers that I could somehow get home. Fortunately, one of the wives was watching from the window, and came to aid in the effort to move the car forward. After ten minutes of fighting with the stick, the car finally obliged and moved into first. I left the parking lot and stalled at a light. With my hazards on, cars passing me and the light changing several times, I was back to sweating and prayer. I decided to try a different technique and use both hands to shove the stick into first gear. I was so afraid to move into a different gear that I rode the rest of the way home in first gear ignoring the engine scream at the high RPMs. Thus ended my driving experience in the white station wagon.

Currently we are waiting(as usual) on the edge of our seats for a new car. We are starting to get used to hearing the phrase "It will get done soon." Hopefully, this will not take as long as it has to get our phone and Internet up and running, which we still don't have. Look forward to a general update in the next couple days if we don't crash and burn by then.

Rob and Elizabeth

Home Sweet Home

Finally, we have entered into our humble abode for the next three to four months. Upon entering we were eager to see all the fine furnishings of the Danish people, who have created some of the most stylish architecture known to man (Sydney Opera House, Legos, Georg Jensen and Bang & Olufsen). However, this was not the case. We did have a DVD player, but no TV. We did have a large redone kitchen, but nothing to cook or eat with. We did have a beautiful bed to sleep on, if that means two twin beds pushed together with no sheets or blankets. We had bags of clothes sitting for weeks waiting to be hung up and put away, but no closets or shelves that were ready to welcome them. We would have loved to use our stylish brand new bathroom, but we would have had to air dry seeing as how we had no towels. Even if we were comfortable with air drying it would not be feasible because there are no drapes or blinds on any of the windows and we don't think our new neighbors would appreciate the full American experience.

Fortunately, before Elizabeth was about to pull out the infamous fist shake, our GM (whose name still eludes us) phoned us and told us he was dropping off boxes of stuff and a TV. Hallelujah! This was definitely a relief and started the process of turning our place into a home instead of a house. We are still lacking some things but have enough now to make it livable on a daily basis. Also, the GM gave us free reign to buy the rest of what we need at no cost to us (very nice) and is working to get our lines of communication opened up...Internet, phone and cable. Despite some of the initial shock and awe of the emptiness in the place, we are very pleased with how nice our home is becoming. Within the next week, we should have our own Bed and Breakfast ready for those looking to vacation in Denmark. Please post a comment if you would like to set up a reservation.

General Update - Things are going well so far. Elizabeth is getting to know the bakeries quite well, as this is her replacement for Starbucks (she went into mild depression realizing there was no Starbucks in any part of Denmark). She has been spending time with some of the other wives who have been very helpful throughout this transition. I am back to playing games after a two week break. Hockey is good and I am still adjusting to the European style of play. The refs are embarrassing. We had four ten minute misconducts in one period, mine was for shooting the puck back into the net after an empty net goal. We are settling into the ways of the Danish each and every day and look forward to blogging more consistently in the upcoming weeks.

Before you go, some...

Words Of Wisdom for home life in Denmark:
-Refrigerators are small, so eat less
-Give yourself a full day for laundry, 1 load = washer 90 mins + dryer 120 mins
-When flushing the toilet, realize there are two flushers for a reason, number one and number two...you get the picture
-Queen beds are hard to find and King beds do not exist
-When cooking think Celsius unless you want your baked chicken dish really well done

Rob and Elizabeth

First Impressions

Well, we finally have our blog up and running. We have been here for a little over a week now and our first impressions of the great land of Denmark have been rather mixed. The first couple of days were a whirlwind, but now we are finally starting to settle into a normal routine. However, we happen to be still living in the infamous Scandic Hotel. This place is absolutely classic. It's like Denmark's version of a Disney Hotel, outfitted with a gigantic wave pool, two hot tubs, and a water slide. The weekends here are like waiting in line for a Hannah Montana concert. You have kids running the halls unsupervised because their parents are out at the bars/clubs which open at 12 am and close at 7 am, just in time for them to arrive back for the morning buffet. It is here where we experience breads and deli meats, crying babies, and adults mowing over children to get the last smoked fish. To top it all off, you have the parents walking around with nothing but a towel on, while having conversations/YELLING in Danish.

Speaking of Danish...........people say it's like putting the Swedish language in your mouth, chewing it up, and regurgitating it back so nobody can understand you. They tend to speak in mumbles(even when speaking in English) and when they try to tell you their names, you are lost for the first ten introductions. The import families, us included, are still spilt on how to pronounce the GM's name.

All kidding aside, the Danes have been very nice to us and are willing and able to speak English, which has made this transition easier. The standard of living is very agreeable and the town of Frederikshavn, although small, is very cozy and clean.

Sadly, we will be leaving the hotel tomorrow. Look forward to more posts and updates in a few days once we get our Internet up and running in our new place.

Rob and Elizabeth