4,408 Miles From Home

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2010-04-21T10:56:00.006-05:00

Recapping the weeks highlights

Monday, April 12th, 5 pm: Arrived in Italy to beautiful sunshine and incredible scenery. Checked into the country house (amazing views) and devoured a Tuscan styled steak.

Monday, April 12th, 10 pm: Rob rolled the rental car down a 200 foot cliff while Elizabeth watched and screamed as the car continued to crunch. How this event even happened is a story that needs in person explanation and would take way too long to write in this blog.

Tuesday, April 13th, 1 pm: Driving in the new rental car back on vacation. Crazy. Spent the day in the town of Fano trying to figure out the culture and how it works. Aka, trying to find an open restaurant because Italians shut it down between 1 pm - 3 pm every day.

Wednesday, April 14th, 12:30 pm: Headed south to the Frasassi Caves, a place that makes you realize how great God is. Not to mention we were lucky enough to have a personal guide who took us through the caves. This guy was a classic who loved to repeat himself four million times and used the word "admire" more times than Randy Jackson says "Yo Dog." For some reason he loved poodles. Lastly, we spent the rest of the day in Urbino, a very cool Roman stronghold sitting atop a collection of hills.

Thursday, April 15th, 2 pm: Travelling through the mountains trying to cross into Tuscany, we were blockaded half way through our trip on the only major road going east to west between our destination and departure points. In order to save time and not have to track all the way back and around, Rob decided to take a small, one lane, dirt road up the side of the mountain while Elizabeth sat white knuckled on the brink of tears. Let's just say it made for an awkward and eerily silent drive.

Friday, April 16th, 9 am: Woke up in midst of the beautiful Tuscan hills of Chianti. Highly suggest a stay in this place whenever visiting Tuscany. The food was incredible; just ask anybody who looks at our stomachs. After spending hours trying to find and figure out parking, we arrived in Siena. Another Roman city known for its wealth throughout the ages. Although, somebody decided it would be a grand idea to drop a tourist bomb on this place because it was crazy. Besides that, it was beautiful.

Friday, April 16th, 10 pm: Finally turned on a TV just to check the news. Supposedly some volcano erupted and was causing problems. Like morons....We didn't think too much of it and prepared for our bike trip.

Saturday, April 17th, 11 am: We are looking sweet in our alien helmets riding bikes through the olive groves and grape vineyards on a beautiful Tuscan afternoon. Enjoyed a tour through a Chianti vineyard, wine and oil producer. Ended the trip with a well deserved gelato for a euro (that is not a typo). For those who have been in and around major Italian cities, you know that most gelatos run you close to five Euros. They say in Italy "The Italians have eyes like a fox." We guess so.

Saturday, April 17th, 10 pm: Started to realize this volcano was not messing around when we looked at Ryanair's website to see that they cancelled all flights until Wednesday.

Sunday, April 18th, 1 pm: Arrived at Florence central station to begin our quest back to Germany. The line did not seem too long.

Sunday, April 18th, 2 pm: Still waiting in line.

Sunday, April 18th, 3 pm: Still waiting in line, with a slice of pizza.

Sunday, April 18th, 4 pm: Still waiting in line, Elizabeth left for the bathroom for the fourth time (costs us more than the slice of pizza). Rob's lower back is done.

Sunday, April 18th, 4:30 pm: Received our travel plans via train back to Germany. Starting in Florence and ending in Dusseldorf with an overnight stop in Zurich.

Monday, April 19th, 12 pm: Went to Florence airport to return the rental car. Elizabeth was singing for joy upon the relinquishment of our automobile and Rob was crying looking at the bill (refer to Monday car accident).

Monday, April 19th, 3 pm: Spent the day trying to kill time before our train leaves at 5 pm. We had trouble enjoying lunch because of the teenage Italians basically having sex in the park outside the train station.

Monday, April 19th, 12 am: Arrived in Zurich after sitting on a train with no air conditioning, yikes! Walked to the cheapest hotel we could find and were greeted by a ninety year old man smaller than Elizabeth. According to the man, he had one room left and the other hotels within walking distance were sold out. Rob wanted to go see for himself to price shop but Elizabeth was not so keen. The old man demonstrated his wily salesman skills one more time by telling us that another couple called earlier and wanted him to save the room. However, he told us since we were there first, we could take it. Elizabeth was sold. In her defense, it was late, we were exhausted, and we did not want to risk sleeping in the train station.

Tuesday, April 20th, 10 am: We assume our flight to Chicago will be cancelled watching the reports on CNN before we catch our train. (Remember this later)

Tuesday, April 20th, 6 pm: Finally, our feet touched German soil. Who would have thought those words would ever touch our lips. After picking up our car from the airport, we go to a friend’s house to check the internet on the status of our flight back to Chicago. We soon realized we should have called Lufthansa earlier in the morning because our flight did indeed take off for the motherland. We could've been home right now.

Tuesday, April 20th, 10 pm: After talking to a representative via Skype, we were fortunate to get our flight changed without much damage to the bank account, but we will have to wait another week.

Wednesday, April 21st, 7:02 pm: We are done writing this blog.

Still Here in Good Old Germany

2010-04-05T06:07:00.006-05:00

Sorry for our lack of posting...and very sorry for the previous post, it was neither funny nor entertaining. I am inadequate with words when Rob is not writing with me. And this post will also be sans Rob, while he's busy stretching, I thought I would take another stab at it.

We are still in Germany for another week because Rob is continuing to rehab his knee from his injury in early March. His team did not make playoffs and the last regular season game was March 21st. After this week, we are headed to Italy from April 12th - 19th. We will be staying in the Le Marche region for three days and then we head to the Tuscan region for four days. We are renting a car, so please say a lot of prayers for us (we hear the Italians are crazy drivers), and plan to drive through the countryside of Italy. We are staying at farmhouses where they raise their own livestock and make their own wines and olive oils. We can't wait to eat the food and experience the culture and lifestyle of the Italians.

Our plan is to fly back from Italy to Germany on April 19th and then head to Chicago the following day. We are still waiting for confirmation on our flight, but most likely, we are headed home on April 20th. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and are sincerely sorry for our weak effort with the blog this year. We promised to be better last year and we were not! When we get back we will post pictures from Italy as well as write a blog about the trip.

Wait for it, Wait for it...

2010-03-15T04:13:00.006-05:00

We know y'all have been waiting for a post from us...so here it goes...

1. Rob's team, The Krefeld Penguins, have three regular season games left with the last one being played on Sunday, March 21st.
2. The team is in the playoff hunt, and in order to make the playoffs they have to place 10th or higher. Right now they are in 11th in a close race behind the 10th place team.
3. If they place 10th or higher, they will be playing a one-game play-in aganist team 7 or 8 depending on if they place 9th or 10th by the end of the season.
4. If they win the play-in game, then they make playoffs.
5. If they do not place 10th or higher, then the season is over March 21st.
6. Rob is currently injured(partial tear of the MCL) and will most likely be out the rest of the season, however, if the team makes playoffs, he will be back and ready to play.
7. When the season is over, we plan to travel to Italy. We are planning to visit Venice, and parts of Tuscany (Chianti, Florence, Siena, Pisa, etc).
8. Depending on if Rob's team makes playoffs, we could be home early to mid-April.
9. Our Hamburg pictures are up and ready to be viewed(sorry there is no blog to accompany said pictures).

Its Beginning To Look Alot Like.....

2009-12-24T07:18:00.004-06:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

The Highlands(part two)

2009-12-04T12:23:00.001-06:00

We have been slacking. We know it has been a long time since we promised our second posting from our trip to Scotland, and for the record, we are sorry. But, do you know what its like to live in Germany and have so many errands to run.....didn't think so. Anyway, the second half of the trip is pretty much the coolest. It was our adventures in the "Highlands" of Scotland.

When people think of Scotland, the highlands are usually the first mental picture of what Scotland is like. Well, maybe after Braveheart and William Wallace. FREEDOOOOOMMMMM!!!! It truly is a beautiful country full of amazing history, rolling hills, and some of God's greatest handiwork. The land is so untouched by human contact that its almost as if you are entering into another world. Elizabeth loved breathing while we were there. I think she added 10 years to her life because of the air quality.

For our trip to the Highlands, we did something we normally tend not to do. We booked a tour guide to take us on a two day journey of the highlights in the Highlands. At the time of booking, we were both unsure of whether or not this would be a prudent decision, but shortly into our trip, we realized this was a surprisingly pleasant way to experience all the Highlands had to offer. We usually try to do things on our own, but having a guide take us directly to the hot spots and explain everything about these said hotpots is very convenient. Also, we got to listen to some sweet Scottish bagpipe music while looking at the scenery and meet some interesting people. Onto the Trip....

The Places

Loch Ness -- The deepest Loch (Lake) in all of Scotland. It is a very long narrow lake that "reportedly" is home to the famous Nessie. Rob did not see anything, but after a few starbucks, Elizabeth spotted her and some monster babies. SO, we are still undecided about whether or not the monster is real. Google claims to have spotted some kind of large shadow while capturing images for Google Earth. There is even a man who has sold everything and lives in a tiny old trailer hoping to capture a glimpse of the "real deal." Regardless of a monster or not, the area is drop dead gorgeous....like Elizabeth.
Inverness -- The capital of the Highlands and are place of lodging during our trip. This is a small city compared to U.S. standards, but it remains the central hub of life in the northern part of Scotland. They actually have grocery stores, a university, and shops which are hard to find anywhere else in the Highlands.
Glen Affric -- Our favorite part of the trip. The ride into this valley alone was worth the trip. We took a small hike and saw some absolutely beautiful stuff. Trees, waterfalls, the sun, hills all around, the trip was one of those...."you have to be there to understand what we are talking about." Rob tried and failed to capture some of the surroundings. We implore you to put this on the itinerary when visiting Scotland.
Urquhart Castle -- On the shores of Loch Ness, the castle is actually just a pile of ruins. However, it is what surrounds this pile that makes all the difference. Of the numerous castles throughout the country, many people claim this is one of the best. We wholeheartedly agree, even though we didn't see that many castles. Plus, we got to see some "fireworks" during our visit, but more on this later

The people

Richard -- Our one and only tour guide. A native of the Highlands he was a wealth of knowledge, not to mention the awesome accent which added to the aura of our trip. The entire trip he was decked out in his traditional family kilt, hiking boots, and knee high wool socks. If you were wondering, they typically do not wear anything under the kilt, so don't ask. He claims this is where the term "going commando" comes from. He was always smoking which is pretty common in the United Kingdom and he seemed to end up in a lot of our pics. A man has to keep his business running with some free marketing.
The Hong Kong Crew -- These guys were awesome. They barely knew english and passed out everytime our van started moving. They paid a lot of money to catch up on some sleep. We would be shocked if they did not have any neck problems because their heads were all over the place with every twist and turn in the road (which there were plenty). Trust us, our seats right behind them allowed for maximum viewing pleasure.

Something Random

The Engagement -- While at Urquhart Castle, love was in the air and fireworks were in the hearts of two young Scottish lovers. We were stationed on the highest point in the castle enjoying the views when the unexpected occurred. Rob took the opportunity to redo his lackluster proposal......just kidding. Seriously though, a larger younger man in a fit of sweat literally fell onto one knee. At first, we thought for sure this dude was having a heart attack or some other major problem judging by all the factors. However, after a few moments we realized that he was just nervously preparing for the rest of his life. We did not really hear all that he said to his girlfriend, but we could see the box and the look on her face, so we concluded this was a proposal. Naturally, I tried to get some camera shots and Elizabeth thought we were watching one of her romantic comedies, but this was real. We don't know if its a good sign or a bad sign, but the bride to be called her man a "sausage" before saying "of course I will marry you." Maybe its a Scottish thing, we don't know. But it was definitely a high point for us on that day and something we still laugh about even now. Rob should have been taking notes instead of pictures.....

That is but a small taste of the many things we did in our two days into this land. We wish we had more time and would suggest to anyone going to this part of Scotland to spend more time because there is so much we did not get to see. Until next time....

Herzliche Danksagung from Germany

2009-11-26T05:26:00.004-06:00

Make a Smilebox invite

Great Scots! (part one)

2009-11-06T12:22:00.020-06:00

We have returned from our trip to Scotland, and let's just say, AMEN to english speaking countries. The trip was enjoyable and quite refreshing to escape the daily routine of life in small town Germany. There were two parts to our trip, city and country, both of which are unique in their own ways. We did a lot of things, but we hope to give a glimpse into our week long vacation.

The City

Day One
The day started out with a wonderful flight on the extremely low-budget airline, Ryanair. This airline makes Southwest seem like you are flying in your own private jet. They set the standard for making you the most uncomfortable you can possibly be while flying as well as charging you for everything including the bathroom (I guess we are in Europe). Although it seems this airline is unsuitable, they happen to have a 90% on-time arrival rate, and our flight was no exception.

We normally like to take a picture of our lodgings, but since we forgot, we would like to let you know we stayed at 23 Mayfield. This B&B was a very nice house near the city and served traditional scottish fare for breakfast, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Lamb intestines anyone? Haggis is a traditional dish at anytime of day made of sheep's insides and mixed with oats and served like sausage. Rob, with the iron stomach, decided to have a sample, and said it tasted like LIVER. Yummo. Anyway, on to the activities.

First things first, Starbucks. Elizabeth made sure we hit up the Bucks before we went anywhere...she had been having major withdrawals since we've been in Germany. This also had the benefit of making the trip more enjoyable for her man(she had a cup in her hand at all times).
It also gave her the energy to walk up the famous Calton Hill. This is one of the highest points in the city and offers great panoramas of the city skyline. The Stewart Monument, The Scottish National Monument and The Nelson Monument all find their homes on top of Calton Hill, and make for some impressive photos. We did not stay long because of the weather...it's not what you think. Surprisingly for us it was not raining like you would suspect in this part of the world, but it was very windy. People assume we are used to the wind because we are from Chicago??? People need to get their facts straight. Regardless, we had to get off the hill for fear of losing Elizabeth and her ninety pounds.

In Scotland, the sun goes to bed well before the people. So, we spent the rest of the night, and if you're thinking 8 pm or later, try 3:30 pm or later, walking around Princes street and it's adjoining gardens. This street had many upscale shops and boutiques which we perused while waiting for dinner. We ended up eating at The basement . This is nothing like your Mom's basement...but an upscale bar and restaurant that served scottish fare. Nothing like a meat pie and some fish and chips to finish off our first day.

Day Two
We did three major excursions, The Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh Castle, and Mercat Tours.

The Royal Botanical Gardens is a huge nature park located in the northern part of the city. Although it was somewhat gloomy, we took pleasure in strolling through the gardens and seeing some of God's creation. Rob took this opportunity to practice his picture taking abilities which are still lacking (he thinks too hard). Elizabeth seemed to be preoccupied by searching for a bathroom because she just drank a Starbucks.

Edinburgh Castle is a major attraction for those visiting Edinburgh. This giant fortress sits atop a volcanic rock at the end of the Royal Mile (oldest and most famous street in all of Scotland). The structure and its surroundings is very impressive and will leave an impression on anyone. We spent a couple hours touring around and listening to our audio guide to give us a little more historical background about what we were seeing. We were lucky enough to see the famous One o'clock gun being fired at One o'clock. This happens every day except for a couple major holidays. Royal Guards walk around telling parents with little ones to makes sure their ears are covered, as the sound of the boom can be traumatic. So, Elizabeth followed the instructions and buried her head into my coat so she didn't die of a heart attack (she is becoming more and more like her parents each day). After awhile in the castle, we needed to refuel before our tour of the Historic Vaults.

If we made one mistake on this trip, it was taking this tour of underground Scotland. The underground vaults were created in the late 18th Century and abandoned by the 1830s only to be discovered again in 1996. These vaults have since made Edinburgh the capital of paranormal sightings. While we don't believe in ghosts, we thought this tour would be interesting and a little spooky. We were disappointed with all the hype because our guide spoke with such a thick accent that we had a hard time understanding a word he was saying. Our guide mentioned he never believed in ghosts until the day he married his wife, a practicing physic and medium, and now he is also a client. Weird, yea, you don't have to tell us, we were there. Surprisingly, we did not see a ghost, even though our guide resembled one.

Stay tuned for our second installment...The Highlands. Here is the link to the pictures.

Its All Bruges To Me

2009-10-24T08:45:00.012-05:00

I know what you must be thinking....What is Bruges and how do I get there? For those of you who fail to come and visit us, getting to this charming little town would be quite the problem. However, when you have the luxury of being a stone's throw from various attractive European destinations, driving 2 and a half hours to Bruges, Belgium is not such a bad deal. Not to mention easy access to one of the finer aspects of German culture: The Autobahn!!!

Bruges is a very small town on the northwest side of Belgium and about a 15 minute drive to the English Channel. The beauty of this city lies in its ability to convey a sense old European charm that has been spared being damaged from the many wars that have been through this region. Many people refer to it as the "Venice of the North" because of the many canals and style of architecture. In an effort to keep dentist's in business world wide, Bruges has taken the claim of being the chocolate capital of the world. Also, being in Belgium, waffles and "pommes frites" are mandatory. Finally, Bruges is a very romantic setting for enjoying while with your loved one.

Day 1
We spent the day walking around the city and stopping in some of the shops. One of these fine establishments was called the Chocolate Line. This was just one of the gazillion chocolatiers flooding the city. Seriously, its like Starbucks in Seattle, if you blink you might miss one. The Chocolate Line is famous for one very peculiar reason. The owner had the bright idea of creating a machine, as a gift for Mic Jagger of Rolling Stones Fame, that would pulverize cocoa into a very fine powder....as if its not already. This would then be sniffed and used in place of a more traditional drug. All we can say is: Weird. We took a multitude of pictures which we conveniently posted on smugmug (link to the right) for your viewing pleasure.

Day 2
Elizabeth saved the day by booking a fabulous 3 hour bike ride with Pink Bear Bike Tours. Yes, that was a plug because the tour and the guide were excellente (as they say in the spanish). We were outfitted with some sweet mountain bikes and some gloves because Rob was not prepared. Elizabeth actually was able to experience life on an adult bike without an accident. Nice!!! The trip went through some of Bruges, but mainly the Flemish country side surrounding the city. We were able to see some windmills, a variety of animals in their natural setting, and the historic village of Damme. While in Damme, we stopped at a nice little cafe for some famous waffles and beer. Elizabeth wimped out and had a plain waffle with some sugar on the side. I at least asked for some whipped cream on top. I mean if you're gonna do something, you might as well do it right. Both waffles were delicious. Elizabeth claims the beer was good too. Although, I have my doubts. After the bike tour we didn't have much time before heading back so we walked around the city some more and stopped in one of the many Markt Square eateries for some local cuisine.

That was our trip.

Stayin Alive...

2009-10-06T07:59:00.006-05:00

For those of you who read this you probably think we are dead, but we are ALIVE and well. We have a lot of updates so we will start with a couple and continue to write more as we have time.

First things first, we have landed on the moon, aka, our internet is connected. This is our only means of communications as well as our one method for conducting shady business operations. Needless to say, we were lost without it (Rob was crying in his cheerios because he almost missed some deadline for fantasy hockey)! The internet company had us on house arrest because they said they would come to our home and install it but never showed up. This was a major problem because we could not just call and complain because nobody speaks english and if they do, they hang up on you. Luckily, we had our main man, Gungor, at Media Markt (BestBuy Germany), was able to help us out by calling and yelling at the internet company. He also hooked us up with a 200 Euro gift card which helped us purchase our Speed Link Speaker System and a Blender, which does not fit in our kitchen. Speaking of kitchen...

Secondly, we are finally settled in our new place. The place is OK but has some major flaws.

1. Shady construction--the place was obviously rehabbed by a blind man. We have random holes in the middle of walls and if Rob gains anymore weight he will fall through the floor by the end of the year. Disclaimer: If you come to visit and weigh more than Rob we are not responsible for any injury that may happen while being here.

2. Ceilings--we are on the top floor of a building that is shaped like an A...so, our ceilings are majorly slanted. This would not be a problem for Scott Wendell or Johnny Ballgame but the entire Globke crew would have dents in their head from bumping it on the ceiling every single day. To make matters worse, anything used frequently in the kitchen is placed under the lowest part of the ceiling. Rob is left with two options: a. double his arm length or b. ruin his back by crouching down like Montgomery Burns.

3. Bathroom--one word...bushleague. It's hard to explain without actually being able to see it or be in it, but let's just say only one person who is 4 feet tall can fit in there comfortably. The space is awkward at best and more confounded when you throw in a washer and a mirror system in a random corner behind the door.

Vacuum Cleaner?

2009-08-30T12:26:00.009-05:00

My departure date is nearing and I am anxious but excited. I leave on September 10th and arrive in Dusseldorf on September 11th. Rob has been living in a shoebox size apartment but is moving into our new pad tomorrow. I only hope there will be some curtains and useful kitchen items in the APT before I get there. Rob has the responsibility of contacting the internet guys, which we've heard can take a month or longer to install, but we hope to be the exception and they come in two weeks(hopeful thinking). I am bringing our computer so Rob will now have access to read and return emails, write amusing blogs, as well as participate in fantasy football leagues (he's most pumped about that).

Rob is doing well and is currently 6 hours from home in another part of Germany playing in a three game tourney. His last tournament in Poland he received the most valuable player and was given a vacuum cleaner for his efforts. In most cases when a player receives this honor they are given a watch, ring or nice sized trophy, but it looks like the economy has also affected the rewards the players are given. I prefer the vacuum over a ring or watch because I will actually see Rob use it at least once or twice a month(yes, he knows how to use a vacuum). All of his never-worn rings and watches are stowed away in a box somewhere collecting dust bunnies. Hopefully he plays well in this tournament and he gets a swiffer, then I will be able dust while he vacuums (the cleaning duo)!

I'm going to leave you with a little video clip of Rob's team, not sure what the song is or what the words are saying, but enjoy!

Poland

2009-08-18T14:17:00.002-05:00

Rob is currently on his way to Poland...via bus...oh my. From Krefeld, Germany to the middle of nowhere, Poland is about a 15 hour bus trip. I could not imagine being the size of Rob and sitting on a bus for that long...glad I'm not him. While there, they will be playing four games in four days and turning around to come back home on another 15 hour joy ride.

They had a preseason game on Sunday vs. Dusseldorf. Rob's team won 6-1. He said the fans do not care if they win or lose any games during the season except for when they play Dusseldorf (DEG Metro Stars). They must beat Dusseldorf in order to keep their fans, so they are off to a good start...even though it's just preseason, hopefully this is a sign for future games to come. The teams season opener is on Friday, September 4th...Go Penguins!

Fussen

2009-08-10T07:34:00.003-05:00

hey all, or to the few who actually read this....
this will be short because i am running out of minutes in this internet cafe and i am trying to type on a german keyboard....and that is no easy task.

right now, i am in fussen, geramany. its a small bavarian town on the austrian border nestled amongst the mountains. it really is beautiful although i have not had much time to explore because we have been on the ice twice a day for the week we have been here. my day is pretty much...eat...skate...sleep...repeat. i know...really exciting.

hockey has been good. got my first point in our second preseason game and the level of play is much more enjoyable to play over last year. it is actually easier to play because most of the guys know what they are doing.

as usual there are some funny stories and some other random stuff, but i do not have that kind of time at this moment. just wanted to let yall know how it was going on this side of the pond.

Golf Plus

2009-08-03T14:46:00.016-05:00

Rob left yesterday afternoon, his flight left at 4:15 pm and it landed at 7:30 am in Dusseldorf. I have yet to hear from him, but on the team website it looks as if he got there safe and sound. By the picture, it looks like he is receiving the keys to a new vehicle he might be driving...a Volkswagen Golf Plus...in the article it says that the Autohaus, car dealership that sponsors the team, handed over keys to all the players. If Rob gets to keep the keys, he will love the car because it is a similar size to our Nissan Sentra which he treats like his personal go-cart...so...can't wait to see how he handles this gem on the Autobahn...yikes!

Away We Go

2009-07-31T15:53:00.002-05:00

The adventure continues as we will be heading to Krefeld, Germany for another season of hockey. Rob signed a contract two days ago and will be leaving for Krefeld on Sunday...yikes! Luckily, Elizabeth will be in town for another month while Rob is busy with his hectic preseason schedule and trying to get set up in the new pad in Germany. Although, Elizabeth will assume Rob is spending most of his time stretching, purposely leaving sweating clothes on the floor, and eating many times a day only to leave the dishes in the sink. Needless to say, Rob will be on vacation for a month. We will continue to keep you updated on our journey(s) and will be posting more often. Rob requests any and all people who are willing to entertain/TALK to Elizabeth at anytime after his departure to feel free to contact her. This will be a huge step in keeping the sanity of both of us. We guess that's it for now, but for the two readers that read this pass on the word for us!

Camp Firefly

2009-07-21T11:42:00.005-05:00

Just got done reading Kirk Cameron's (aka Mike Seaver, The Growing Pains) memoir and wanted to share a bit of his and his wife's ministry with you all. Take a look at the video.

Brighten your day...

2009-06-10T13:10:00.005-05:00

with a little laugh!

Must See...

2009-05-15T14:56:00.003-05:00

We saw these videos on our friend's blog, the Baughmans, and wanted to share them too. Check em' out.

Málaga, Spain

2009-04-19T12:58:00.009-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since our last post, but we have been traveling the world as well as a few US states in between. We are now back in Chicago for a whopping three weeks until our next trip, woo hoo. We figured we could write a post or two before we are gone again.

So, where have we been...let's start with Málaga, Spain. If we are going to start, we might as well begin with our flight from Aalborg, Denmark down to Spain. Málaga happened to be a destination with very attractive flight offers and thus became the logical choice for us to begin our tour of Spain. A word of caution for those 5'10" planning to use CimberAir as your means of travel from or to Denmark. Not only was it bad enough waking up at 4:30 am to catch our flight, they decided to make the space between seats comfortable only for those as small or smaller than Elizabeth. Needless to say, we made it safely but the person traveling in front of Rob was immediately taken to the hospital to treat his whip-lash.

Day One
We arrived in Málaga at 10 am and walked over a mile to our hotel. We would have never done this if Rob understood kilometers because he was carrying three out of the four bags as I had the bag with wheels. Anyways, we checked into our hotel and immediately proceeded to raid the FREE minibar to refresh before hitting the coastal town of Málaga. The first thing we decided to do was hit the streets and get a feel for the town by walking around for a bit. We had many impressions from our early hours on the streets...
1. All the streets were marble. It was amazing to think that Americans long to have this in their kitchens and bathrooms yet in this region, it is so plentiful they use it for people to walk on.
2. We were not accustomed to the lively hustle and bustle of people being out and about. Instead of three hours of daylight we could see others well past 8pm. Instead of shops closing at 4 pm, we could get an ice cream 24 hours a day. Instead of dodging old ladies on bikes, we were watching street performers and the lively Spanish culture live their daily lives.
3. We had the chance to eat outside in a typical Spanish plaza for the first time of our trip. What is a Spanish Plaza like? Well, they are typically large squares surrounded by beautiful buildings full of history and many little cafes with tables and chairs scattered throughout the open space. Also, if you are really lucky, you may have a beautiful fountain or street musicians to entertain you while you eat. It is something straight out of a romantic movie. For example, the plaza we ate at in Málaga was right next to a gigantic cathedral that was hosting a wedding.

We also went to the Picasso museum on our first day. Pablo Picasso is the most well known painter in all the world. It just so happens that he was born in Málaga and lived there until he was ten years old. Of course they had a museum dedicated to him with many of his works. We spent a good deal of time in the museum. Not only were his works fascinating but the building, a renovated 16th century mansion, was gorgeous. Another word of caution...for those of you with small children, we want you to know that Picasso really liked boobs. In most of his works there would be a woman's breast in some part of the painting whether it be left corner, right corner, or upside down, it was always there. We do not understand why, but we thought we should pass it on.

Day Two
On day two we began the day by walking through a garden/park on our way to La Plaza Merced to meet for a private bike tour. These gardens/parks are everywhere in Spain and were a great part of our trip. Anyway, on to the bike tour. Our guide, Kay, told us to meet her at La Plaza Merced by 10 am so that she could take us to her shop to get our bikes and start the bike tour. In American fashion, we arrived 10 mins early eagerly waiting and looking for our guide. We began to think there was a problem when no one was there five minutes past ten, so Elizabeth and I began to discuss options, when we spotted another touristy looking family walking around with a map and looking around the plaza like we were. A few minutes later, they started walking in the direction of the bike shop, so we did the most logical thing and started to tail them without acting as if we were following. After walking back and forth on the same street, we finally introduced ourselves and worked together to try and find the illusive bike shop. We eventually found it but the street was gated and locked. Luckily, Kay, needed to go in to clean the bikes and unlocked the gate as we were trying to figure out how we were going to get in. Basically, we ended up getting lucky because Kay had us scheduled for the following week and was only there by chance. She quickly apologized and we started our tour 30 minutes later than scheduled. Before we get started about the bike tour, we forgot to mention that the family we stalked was actually from Toronto and their son was wearing a jacket from Hockey Opportunity camp, the same camp Rob went to growing up. In the words of Walt Disney "It's a small world after all."

Our bike tour consisted of...
1. The famous cathedral called La Manchita (The One Armed Woman) by the locals. This is a massive church right in the center of town with four different sides based upon what period each side was completed. The reason it's called the one armed woman is because only one tower is completed and now because of the nickname, they may never finish it. Either way the inside is full of history pertaining to the religious timeline of Spain. Like most cathedrals, it was very beautiful and eccentric.
2. We biked around town and found out some local history. One thing we learned was that during the Holy week around 50 "brotherhoods" march around town holding their own platforms, which are very extravagant floats. This activity takes the whole day and is a big celebration. One of the "brotherhoods" is led by Antonio Banderas, yes, he was Zorro, and born in Málaga. He attends the Holy week festivities every year with his family in tow. We learned about the cities multicultural development and this was seen in the variety of architecture. The city was first founded by the Romans in the first century. In time, the Ottomans, which were the fathers of Islam, came to conquer this city and left their mark on top of what the Romans had already produced. Finally, Christianity sought to regain control of Spain during me devil times and Málaga was one of the last cities to be taken from the Arabs.
3. Lastly, we pedaled towards the harbor and the beach, where we stopped for a quick bite on the beach. While snacking, Rob took a stroll down by the sand and found a photo op. As he took a picture of the beach, somehow a woman, topless, landed in the picture. Our guide, Kay, said do not be alarmed as this is a normal custom in Spain. The coast was beautiful and captured the essence of Málaga. Out of the three cities, Málaga, felt the most like a laid back coastal town where people came to vacation.

After the wonderful 4 hour bike tour, we decided to visit Alcazaba. This was a Moorish (Islamic) fortification built in the 8th century on a hill overlooking an old Roman amphitheatre. We spent many hours walking through the many passage ways and gardens of the compound. Since the fortress is built on a hill, when we reached the top we stood in awe of the great views of the city and coastal line.

The best part of this two day stay was the bike tour because we learned so much history and saw so many different things. We hope to go back one day so we can catch a real Spanish bull fight instead of looking at an empty stadium from the outside.

All Things Come To An End...

2009-03-12T05:50:00.003-05:00

Eventually. Let's hope it's not my career. For now, at least, it is just 2008/2009 hockey season. The Whitehawks lost their hard fought series in Game 7 on Tuesday evening. While the winning team is gearing up for the semi's, my wife and I will be packing up, saying goodbye and preparing for a trip to Espana, where Elizabeth can show off her spanglish (aka, crossword spanish).

The past five months have been so many things...

Good - The easy access to European travel and the schedule to make it happen.
Bad - Being here while the weather stinks. We missed August and September and now we are leaving when it's starting to get good again.
Good - Being able to spend a lot of time together, it has been like an extended honeymoon (woo hoo).
Bad - Too much time together, as we missed our family and friends while being 4,408 miles away.
Good - Elizabeth has finally learned how to COOK.
Bad - Rob is no longer allowed in the kitchen.
Good - Learning about a new culture and meeting new people.
Bad - Not understanding a word they are saying and watching the same four english channels on TV.
Good - Learning how to live with minimal items.
Bad - Not having curtains, sleeping on the floor with two mattress pushed together, and lack of certain kitchen essentials (we burned our hands quite a few times).
Good - Having Skype (it's free)
Bad - Having to use Skype as your sole form of communication back home
Good - Great Bakeries with a lot of treats
Bad - Great Bakeries with a lot of treats
Good - Starting the blog
Bad - Barely updating it (we will get better)

Now that Rob is finished with hockey, it's hard to just sit around and do nothing. This will be a problem since our flight back home is scheduled for April 5th leaving us with three weeks to kill. We will kill some time by travelling to Spain, but we hope to schedule our flight to Chi-town a bit earlier. We will keep you posted on our ETA, we look forward to spending time with everyone we missed since we've been gone.

Leaving Amsterdam Behind (part 3 of 3)

2009-02-15T07:24:00.006-06:00

On our last full day in the canal city, we woke up to our usual routine of shower and breakfast. The food was exactly the same and everything else seemed normal as well except for a random comment made by our wonderful host, Vlad. Well, maybe not so random considering that he already put the vibe out on Rob. Anyway, it made our morning when Vlad asked Rob, "Would you like some tea, Tiger?" This would seem normal if you were Tony of Frosted Flakes fame, but not so normal when you are devouring some freshly baked croissants. Obviously, we could not burst out laughing at the moment so we used all our strength to save it until the morning stroll to the Heineken Brewery.

The Heineken Brewery was our first stop on the agenda for the day. Despite the fact that Rob doesn't drink and Elizabeth is a light weight, we still decided to do the tour because it's one of the worlds most famous beers and it originated in Amsterdam. We went in not expecting too much but left pleased that we took the full "Heineken Experience." Some of the highlights included:
1. Since Rob is a history fanatic, he enjoyed the extensive detail and information about the days of yore of Heineken.
2. We got to go on a mini ride (if you want to call it that) that took us through the whole process from the hops to bottling. It was one of those simulation rides where you watch a screen and you move according to what you watch. We even got sprayed with beer...well maybe just water.
3. They had a plethora of interactive technologies that were fun to play around with. We even made a video that is available for viewing for up to one more month.
4. We did have one random experience during the tour...three random dudes were following us throughout half the tour. Somehow, they managed to get into many of our pictures and drink Rob's sample beer (Elizabeth was quite ticked). What made it even weirder, was that one of the guys lives in Chicago. We managed to ditch them because Elizabeth had to make one of her frequent bathroom stops.

After the tour, we walked around the shopping areas and found something we would never find in Denmark. It was a giant cafeteria where you could get pretty much any type of food you could imagine (Rob's eyes were HUGE). Let us make something clear, this was not cafeteria food, this was cafeteria style complete with trays and grab your own silverware...pretty much college style. The food, however, was along the lines of Whole Foods quality. We enjoyed it so much, we went for seconds oh wait...maybe thirds and left the place ten pounds heavier. Why did we spend a paragraph talking about some random food place? Because it was SWEET!

After we finished eating, we headed out to meet up with our boat tour. In Amsterdam you could find a million canal tour operators but we found something a little more off the beaten path. It was a non-profit organization who only did one or two tours a night. There boat could only fit about 15 people and did not have a covering. This was both good and bad. Good, because it allowed our boat to go where the larger tourists boats could not which allowed us to see a variety of things. Bad, because it was colder than Shaq at the free throw line. It was actually their first trip out in over two weeks and the guide called us "Brave Souls." Some highlights included:
1. A stroll through the Red Light District from the safety of our boat. We got to see the bright lights, ladies in the windows(advised not to take photos of) and the many sketchy characters walking around.
2. Being on the water and seeing the city from a different perspective with all the lights and tunnels made for a romantic outing.
3. It was technically free except for tips.

That concluded our trip in Amsterdam. We hope to be able to go back during the summer when the tulips are out and the weather is nicer. We also want to see some more things we didn't get to see because there is just so much to do in and around Amsterdam. Basically, you MUST go there.

The Journey Continues (Amsterdam, part 2 of 3)

2009-02-06T12:19:00.008-06:00

Despite our best efforts to not get to Amsterdam, we eventually puttered into town weary and wanting to get to our B&B. We arrived at the B&B and were greeted by the friendly owner, Vlad, who quickly took a liking to Rob. Within the first two minutes of the conversation, he felt the urge to comment on Rob's winter wear. His exact words, "Your hat is very CUTE, it looks like something on a Disney character." We overlooked the comment for the time being because he held the keys to our apartment and some serious relaxation. After we were settled in, Vlad directed us to Thai Fusion, a yummy Thai joint in the nine streets district.

The next day we woke up ready to conquer yet another city in our quest to travel the world using hockey as a disguise. We started by taking the tram out to the museum district so we could visit the Van Gogh museum. Both of us, funny enough, choose Van Gogh as our favorite artist, and we would highly suggest you get on our program and like him too. The museum was a great experience with some exceptions. 1. Don't go to a museum when there are high school field trips...self explanatory. 2. Stay away from people who feel the need to taste the painting to get the full experience. Seriously, this one lady was blocking others viewing pleasure so she could lick the paintings. 3. Learn the language of the country you are in so you can tell the museum helpers to stop breathing smoky breathe all down the back of your neck. If I need help, I will ask for it. Besides these exceptions, we saw some great paintings and learned a great deal. Van Gogh was self-taught and did all of his works in a ten year span and dying at 37 years of age. We now admire his work even more in light of this.

After the museum we had the chance to explore the city on foot. This was a good experience because it is such a nice city with all the canal streets and architecture surrounding these canals. We went through the flower market, but unfortunately, there were only vendors selling bulbs for the coming spring and no tulips. The streets were filled with many cool shops and vendors that made the atmosphere that much better. One thing we were wondering while there...if people worked during the day because there seems to be so many people out and about even during the week. Odd. Anyway, after wandering around for awhile, we wound up at the Anne Frank House, which was only a few blocks from our B&B.

If you are planning a trip to Amsterdam, this is one place you have to visit. The building is the original place where Otto Frank ran his business and converted the top level into a hiding place for eight people during WWII. The experience was so many feelings it's hard to describe with such little space. It had something for everybody including history buffs, survivors, and anyone interested in stories of the human heart. Even though the rooms were unfurnished (per wishes of Otto, the only survivor), we were able to learn so much about the life of those during that time through this one family. Unfortunately, we were unable to photograph, so we can not share some of the memories from inside the house. We were sad to go but we left enriched and with a great experience.

That night we had the opportunity to eat at an authentic Dutch cafe called De Reiger in the heart of the Jordaan district. This cafe was pretty cool because it was a hole in the wall place with excellent, large portioned, food. This is key when Elizabeth can be choosy when it comes to food and Rob eats like he's never eaten before. Lastly, we had to get some dessert because the Dutch are famous for their pannenkoek. This is basically a giant crepe in which they top with anything you can think of, both savory and sweet. We thoroughly enjoyed eating this Dutch treasure and went to bed ready for the next day.

And So The Journey Begins (Amsterdam, part 1 of 3)

2009-02-01T06:05:00.006-06:00

After playing 5 out of the 9 games in our playin tournament for the playoffs, the league takes a two and half week hiatus so the European players can tryout for their respective Olympic teams for the upcoming winter games. Within this break, we saw a three day window with no practice in sight. We felt this would be an opportune time to escape the shackles of Frederikstown, and we diligently started planning a vacation. We decided upon Hamburg, Germany as a great place to visit. However, in typical hockey fashion, we were informed just two days before the break that we had a "slight" modification to our team schedule. Instead of having three days off, we now had a full week, which is historic by hockey standards. This modification was bittersweet. Sweet: Extended time off. Bitter: Two days to find something to do. For those of you who travel a lot, you know that advanced planning is key to getting good deals on flights and various other things. With our limited time we were relegated to driving which limited our options of places to visit. In the end our trip to Hamburg turned into an overnight stay and an extra four hour (more like seven)drive to AMSTERDAM in The Netherlands.

We set off for Hamburg on Tuesday afternoon after picking up some Imodium for my husband's bowel problems. We did not want to stop every ten minutes for him to use the toilet, especially since you have to pay to use public restrooms. Anyway, the trip went smoothly and we arrived at our destination ahead of schedule, thanks to the German Autobahn. Rob was driving in Nascar fashion, like Dale Earnhardt Jr, because the Autobahn has no speed limit after 8 pm. Since the odometer is in kilometers, I had no idea how fast he was actually going. Rob thought it was sweet. We had a very relaxing evening at extremely nice Steigenberger Hotel. The hotel had an impressive amenities list headed by their spa, sauna, and pool. We decided to take advantage of these fine services...since we were paying for them. We are used to saunas and spas, but we are not used to the European style of these same things. Put it this way.....We were the only ones in bathing suits. Lets just say we were literally shocked and awed by the amenities in the hotel. Both in how nice they actually were and in how revealing they ended up being. Upon waking up, we started the second leg on our trek to the Netherlands. This is where things went haywire.

We should have known that something was going to happen when we started the trip by getting lost in Hamburg. We usually never get lost and now we were on a time crunch to make our check in time at Maes Bed and Breakfast. No worries, however, because we could just make up some time on the excellent German Autobahn system (previously discussed). Two hours into our trip, making great time, we ran into what could be considered a little bit of a problem. While changing lanes, we heard a popping/ripping noise toward the rear of the vehicle. Both of us froze, then turned Phil Collins, in his 80's glory, down to a reasonable decibel and proceeded to drive another kilometer praying that we did not have what we knew we had. Of course when it feels like you are driving on Rosie O'Donnell after she has lost some weight, you can assume there is a need for concern, but we were in denial. So, we pulled over and saw the inevitable.....a flat tire!!! Plan A, change the tire ourselves. Obviously, this would be all too easy if there was a spare in our car, but we usually don't get that option. Plan B was to sit for a couple of minutes and see if someone would slide over and let us at least use there phone to call someone. I guess the Germans don't read Luke 10:25-37. Plan C was for Rob to walk to the nearest exit and find help. Luckily, the nearest exit was 800 meters up the road. Even more of a blessing was that the only thing at this exit (we were in the middle of German nowhere) was a small highway police station. The cop working the station only asked me one thing after I told him we had no phone, no spare, and needed help....."DO YOU HAVE MONEY?" I suppose it doesn't buy you happiness, but it can get you out of some tight situations.

Half an hour later a yellow tow truck pulled up and motioned for us to hand him the keys and get into his vehicle. The man spoke no English and had German folk music blaring in the truck. Instead of chatting, he chose to hum to the music. It is hard to describe in full detail where the auto repair shop was located. In fact, we were surprised there was an auto shop around there period. Thankfully we were there during the day because this shop had not been updated since the 1960's. We were afraid to sit down in the waiting room, not really a waiting room, more like a dungeon with nude magazines thrown around. After waiting for a the owner to stop playing solitaire and waiting for a bid on EBay, he finally turned around to talk to us about the tire. This was a difficult conversation since he knew no English and we knew no German. We resorted to kindergarten techniques by drawing sorry looking pictures to communicate. The method worked and 500 dollars poorer, an hour later, and a story richer, we drove off to finish what we started. Alas, you truly needed to be with us to experience the full effect of that afternoon but we hope our story will suffice. Next up: Part Two.

Christmas in Copenhagen

2009-01-01T12:11:00.005-06:00

We know it's after New Year's but we are trying to catch up. It has been an enjoyable holiday season thus far and we are sad to say goodbye to 2008. Alas, we have a few things to say before we close the book on the past year.

We had the splendid opportunity to spend Christmas with Rob's Mom and Dad in Copenhagen. It was a sad start for our parents because they ended up being delayed on one of their legs overseas. We bet you will never guess where? Bueller...Bueller...yep, that's right, CHICAGO. Due to this delay, they missed seeing Rob's game which was on their "must see" list while visiting Copenhagen. In the end, this tragedy turned out to be a comedy because my parents did not actually miss a hockey game. They missed Rob's team getting beat down like Nancy Kerrigan did in 1994. It was like we were the Mighty Ducks before Bombay and the other team was The Hawks with Adam Banks scoring goals like it was his job. This whole experience does not shock us because every time an activity involves both parties something goes awry. Here's a couple examples:

1. Before our wedding this summer, we planned a visit to the West Bloomfield castle for what was supposed to be a fun filled week. However, they day before we arrived, Detroit had a big storm and most homes were without power. The castle was one of the many casualties. My parents said not to worry because the power would be back on in a day or two, but they were wrong. Good old Detroit Edison turned the power back on the day we left. It was fun being under candle light during dinner and calling the power company every fives hours to get our "new" estimated time of renewed power.

2. After our wedding this summer, we were going to Detroit for our wedding reception which was held at the Globke Family residence. On our drive up, we received a phone call from Mom to find out our ETA and some other things. Among these things she failed to mention a very important point. We soon found out when my brother called to mention that Mom and Dad were going to the hospital because Mom had fallen and possibly broke her hip. Turned out, she did break her hip and needed surgery the day before the big party. She was out of commission for the grunt work of setting up, but still managed to be the hostess with the mostess. Not to mention, it poured throughout the reception.

So you see, when the younger Globke's collide with the older Globke's, chaos is going to happen.

We don't want to make you jealous of our sweet vacation (and we don't want to type all night), so we will just give you some of the highlights of the rest of the trip.

1. Pedestrian street - We spent the majority of the day touring around the many pedestrian streets perusing shops, eating food, and checking out a few local attractions. The street started at the Radhuset (City Hall) and ended at Nyhavn, a well known canal street in Copenhagen. A pass through Kogens Nytorv and an outdoor skating rink as well as the Round Tower, the tallest building in Copenhagen.

2. Amlienborg - The Royal Palace and Church is the current home of Queen Margarette II and her children (the same queen that our Danish teacher hates). It was here we saw the changing of the guards and the interior of the beautiful church. On a side note, it is weird how the guards need guards (the police) to protect them. Their main duty is to protect the Royal Family, so why can't they protect themselves.

3. Tivoli - One of the first and oldest theme parks in Europe. It is a Copenhagen landmark and becomes extra special during Christmas. The park, decked in it's Christmas gear, made for a festive evening.

4. Frederiksborg Slot - This is the oldest and biggest castle in Denmark. Not only was this a very cool castle, but to our delight, it was one of the only things open on Christmas Eve. Surrounded by a moat, this castle has it all. They have a church, museum and beautiful landscape which is why this used to be the most preferred castle among Danish Royalty.

We saw many other things and have posted a gallery in our photos link for your viewing pleasure.

Aarhus

2008-12-26T08:41:00.009-06:00

After two trips to the gas station, one drive thru stop through the golden arches for a six dollar cup of coffee (don't worry it was a cafe latte) and a couple bathroom breaks, we ended up in a little town called Aspe...oh wait, I mean Aarhus. According to the locals this city is quite large. We found the city to be bigger than Frederikshavn but calling it large is a bit of an overstatement. It took longer to find a parking space than it did to drive through the entire city. Once we found our lovely hotel, Villa Provence, we parked the car at the price of a night in many North American hotels, which should be a lesson to all those looking for travel in Europe...take the train. The hotel was built in the heart of the city and modeled after a French country inn.

The location of the hotel was ideal as we were able to explore the city the European way, on foot. The city revealed many treasures during our exploration. We first headed to a place called Den Gamle By (The Old City). This was an outdoor museum which displayed actual houses dated back as far as the 16th century. Each house was decorated for the holiday season as it would have been during the period from which it came. Also, each house depicted a different trade and how people worked during that time. The experience was enjoyable because it felt as if we were actually in a small town during the middle ages. In America, we never had much history of Denmark during the 16th and 17th century so it was intriguing to see how life was lived without the things we have today. Despite all the fun we had there, we will not request the time machine to transport us back because we would have been dead within two days. Let's face it, we are spoiled living in the 21st century.

After Den Gamle By, we took a stroll around the city on the pedestrian street. You may be wondering what a pedestrian street is, well, this is the one concept we want to take back to North America. The pedestrian street is for walkers only (Elizabeth no longer has pedestrian stress). All cities in Denmark have a pedestrian street, many of them have multiple streets. The big cities, the streets can span up to five miles. This particular walking street is lined on both sides with shops, boutiques, and restaurants. During the holiday season, the street is ordainly decorated with lights and Christmas trees, and if you are in the mood, you can purchase some cinnamon roasted nuts from one of the various vendors along the street. As we dodged the mega shoppers we took some time to relax and window shop until we had to get ready for our fine dining experience at Seafood restaurant. Yes, they did serve fish at this restaurant and yes, this was the actual name.

Now, we don't need to go into heavy detail about each course at the restaurant, but we did want to share about the choice of dessert. Since we can't read Danish too well (thanks to our teacher), we picked both options for the dessert thinking that it would be nice if we were able to taste each others selection. This turned out to be a disaster. One of us ordered what the waitress called chocolate cake and the other ordered what the waitress called cheese. Growing up in America, we assume dessert will be something sweet and tasty. When the waitress brought out the word cheese, Elizabeth and I incorrectly guessed that it would be some form of a cheese cake. Wow, we were wrong. You could smell our dessert the minute it came out of the kitchen. To our amazement the plate consisted of a variety of cheese with some olives. Two of the cheeses made me want to puke, two more of them smelled so bad I had to check my pants to see if something was there, and the last two were edible only if I hadn't cracked my tooth on the un-pitted olives that came with the cheese. I guess the next time we see the word "ost" on our dessert menu we will happily avoid it like I would if I read liver and onions instead. Fortunately, the other dessert wasn't half bad and we left the place with a very positive experience.

This was our first official "trip" away from the friendly confines of home. It was good to just get away and see something different for a change of pace. We conquered Aarhus, next is Christmas in Copenhagen. This trip will feature a couple new characters and some more classic adventures. Stay tuned.

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

2008-12-26T07:08:00.003-06:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we have updated the photos link. This will be the home for our photos and allows all of you (our friends and family) to view our ridiculousness without having to sign up or sign in. Hope you Enjoy.

Back to School

2008-12-04T08:55:00.009-06:00

The past couple of weeks Elizabeth and I have been enrolled in a Danish class with other members of the hockey team. The class is taught by an old, seemingly toothless woman, straight out of Woodstock. Everyday she comes to class wearing flannel pajama pants, a collared "woods woman" type of shirt and a brightly colored dew-rag/head wear telling stories about her girlfriends and the Danish police. She has definitely kept the class entertaining to say the least. To show you what we mean by entertaining we will tell you a few stories...

1. This would be more humorous if you were sitting in the class with us, but our storytelling will have to suffice. Our first day we went around the table and introduced ourselves to the teacher. The introductions went smoothly and she thought she had a grasp of each name in the class. As we moved onto the lesson, one by one we had to repeat after the mastermind of the Danish language. Thankfully Elizabeth and I were at the end so we could hear all the words that were mispronounced and corrected by those who butchered their attempts before us. However, despite our good fortune in our seating arrangements, our luck would only last for so long. After muling over the words in my head I was prepared to tackle my first Danish phrase. This preparation was completely destroyed by one gigantic word from the teacher...ROD! Yes, that's right, she called me ROD and threw me completely off so I could not remember what I was supposed to repeat. After fumbling through, Elizabeth, who was next, politely corrected the teacher before she spanishized her Danish pronunciation. Now, we understand that this was the first class and didn't expect her to remember our names, so this was not a big deal. The real fun began when each and every time it was my turn she either called me Rod or Ron the entire class. It was extremely hard to say my Danish line without busting out in laughter. It is so bad even Elizabeth is giggling through her turn as well as all the other people in the class. Our second class went much the same way. Our third class was going along the same lines until one of my teammates, Mike, interrupted while giggling and told her my name was Rob. She vowed to remember my name (ROB) associating it with a story of her past. She lied. The very next rotation, she decided it was time to call me ROGER. Now the whole class had their heads down laughing uncontrollably. Despite this, we finished the class and have accepted my new names, Rod, Ron and Roger, which are used interchangeably throughout each class. At least I now have a new locker room nickname and Elizabeth is pleased that this team does not call me BOB.

2. If you don't really like learning, then this class is for you. If you like storytelling, then please sign up ASAP. For every ten minutes of language instruction, there is twenty minutes of "Girlfriends' stories". This is partly our fault because someone always a) asks a question which leads her off topic or b) makes a joke, which again, leads her off topic. For example, I asked if it was common to have a cat on a leash because Elizabeth and I saw some "yahoo" walking their fluffy lump the previous day (sorry cat lovers). This turned out to be the wrong question to ask. She looked at the class like we had four heads in amazement that this is not common practice among North Americans. She then went on to tell us stories about how her girlfriends prance around town with their cats in tote. She even went so far as to admit that she had tried putting her cat on a leash as well. Currently, she does not walk her cats because they refuse to wear a leash. That's a shocker?!? There are many other stories that she shared with the class that I would love to share with you but I pay the typists by the hour and must move on to the next item.

3. I shall call this one "Sex, Drugs but no Rock'n'Roll." Rob and I were sitting on our couch one evening looking over our Danish workbook when he found a shocking image. There was a page that displayed a bedroom from a typical danish house to help us learn and visualize the translation of things from a bedroom. Rob asked me to scan the page to see if there was anything wrong, I said "no." So he said "Are you sure?" Again, I said "yes, I am sure." He graciously told me to look above the bed where there hung a picture. As I looked closer, I saw a little more than I bargained for because I was looking at a black and white drawing of a fully nude woman. Now, we are clearly mature enough to handle this, but knowing the workbook is intended for children, we felt a need to laugh, hysterically. At the next class after Rob's discovery, I felt the need to share our "dirty little secret" with a fellow classmate. Unfortunately, our teach noticed us giggling and asked if something was wrong. I was laughing so hard that I could not respond, so my classmate said take a look at page 37 and the whole class burst into laughter. The teacher went on to tell us that in Europe they are more relaxed / less prude when it comes to the human form. We all understood this to some level but our teach then took us to new heights. She went on to explain how she also had a picture like that above her bed. Rob, who could not fathom the sight of our sixty year old teacher, cautiously asked "Is it a self-portrait?" She burst out in laughter and said "Nej (NO), but the picture is quite lovely because it was painted by someone famous." The whole class was in tears at this point and did not need anymore fuel to the fire but we got some anyways. For no apparent reason, she felt the need to share with us how her and her friends would export pornographic magazines to fellow Europeans because it was free in Denmark. Along with this she mentioned the drugs portion of the story. She went on to tell us how her and her friends would sit around eating "hash brownies" while flipping through the pages of said magazines. At this point, we were running over our time limit and also feeling a little creeped out, so the class thought it best to call it a day. However on our way home we were disappointed that we did not cover "Rock'n'Roll."

As of right now we are done with class until after Christmas. However, we won't be looking to rehire her as our teacher seeing as how we only managed six classes out of ten scheduled. Of those classes we actually did thirty minutes out of ninety in actual work. We were warned up front that an hour session is actually forty five minutes with a fifteen minute break in the Danish teaching world. We were not warned about consistent cancellations, random stories, and receiving new names. All and all we have many fond memories and some good stories for years to come, but very little knowledge of the Danish language.

Catching Up

2008-12-01T13:33:00.004-06:00

Sitting on the couch, RELAXING (as Rob would say, recharging the batteries), the events of last month reeling in our minds we realize that we have been living the life of Aesop's tortoise. It has been a struggle to continue the race knowing that we were so far behind, however we kept trucking. Now, the hare is finally in site and we know that the finish line is soon to come. In the midst of constantly playing catch up, it seems that we have forgotten everything that has happened.

So..."What the H just happened?" (in Rob's words)

1. The white station wagon finally died...oh wait...I mean it is stuck in reverse, literally. The good thing about this tragic situation is that we finally got our real car, a beautiful KIA Sorento. This AUTOMATIC car is a two seater SUV and drives like a dream (diesel ONLY). I don't know how we landed an automatic...maybe because we broke two manuals...but Elizabeth is absolutely pumped.

2. The Internet is here, which means we no longer have to steal from the rink. Even though we had to install the software three times, Rob can now check his fantasy football without feeling rushed (believe me, this was a PROBLEM). As good as this sounds, we are still without a house phone so we are relying on SKYPE for our communication. Download NOW! (http://www.skype.com/)

3. We have slowly acquired a few more furnishing for the house making it more livable. We know that is better for the neighbors as well because we now have mars colored drapes that cover our "private" lives.

4. Hockey, sorry to bore you. Overall, it's going well. We have won our last two games and that is a winning streak. This winning streak thing is kind of a big deal because it is rare for this team. I am not doing as well offensively as I hoped but am playing well overall. The points will come with each passing game as I get more adjusted to European hockey and life. It would have been nice to be here for the whole season so that everything wasn't happening all at once and I would have had time to get comfortable before we started playing games. We only have six more games until an extended Christmas season break. Elizabeth is looking forward to that because we will have time to travel.

Now that we have Internet we should be able to post more on the blog, so please continue to read. If you want a specific update post a comment and we will respond.

Rob and Elizabeth

The Stick Shift Experience

2008-11-26T06:44:00.002-06:00

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

2008-11-15T12:57:00.002-06:00

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

2008-11-01T15:35:00.004-05:00

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