Denmark's slowest cyclist?

It has been suggested that I could actually be Denmark's slowest cyclist. I'm not convinced by this argument, so we need to look at the facts. I cycle everyday: to work, city centre, swimming, Danish classes, so I'm out and about a lot on my bike. During this time some people have overtaken me: teenagers (while texting on their mobiles), girls and guys my own age, joggers (on the hill by ARos) and many people older than me (40+), but not 70+ I might add. A man in a wheelchair also passed me out in the cycle lane (please note: an electric wheelchair). And most of the overtaking takes place on the hills - yes, all the hills in Denmark are in Jutland (the western region of Denmark), where Aarhus is located. I seem to keep up with everyone fine, and then we get to a hill and they pull away and I'm left stranded, wondering why my legs won't move faster. Slow-moving leg motion clearly does not help my plight.

But on the other hand, we should also consider the facts that do not support this somewhat *outrageous* claim. I pass out many cyclists on a daily basis: cyclists who are 70+, children, and even some people cycling up hills. When this happens, I am really shocked, and assume the cyclist must be injured, texting on their mobiles, or cycling slowly because they are waiting on a friend. I proudly mentioned to Esben the other day that I overtook a cyclist on the hill leading up to the university. He asked was she wheeling her bike up the hill :o) Of course not - this simply proves that I am not the slowest cyclist, but I am in the group of the slower cyclists - hence the title of my blog. One couldn't happen without the other.

A post for Susi

Two hamsters embark on a wild chase across the globe in this very cute CG animation directed by Jacob Frey & Harry Fast during their time at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg via @broadsheet_ie
Watch until the very end to get the punchline ;o)

Bamse og Kylling

A little while ago Esben and I were talking about TV programmes from when we were younger. I mentioned Bosco and checked on youtube for a few episodes to show him what I was trying to explain! There were episodes with Bosco, Marian (Richardson), Philip Tyler and Frank Twomey. They sang songs and went through the magic door to visit Dublin zoo. I remember that I didn't like the part when they arrived at the zoo because it was real and it didn't look like the studio where Bosco was (I was three/four years old at this stage!). So then Esben recalled his favourite programme from childhood - Bamse og Kylling (Bear and Chicken) and we looked up a few episodes on youtube. Supposedly Bear was always giving Chicken a hard time and bossing him about. They lived in a house together, and during each episode the chimney would fall off the house and they would have to put it back up. So we were looking at this episode where Bamse and Kylling are out walking and they are very tired. Anyhow they keep walking and after a while they come across a tent (on a campsite). There's no one there and there's a table set up with lagkage (a very popular type of cake in Denmark) and apple juice. They are very excited with their find and just then it sounds like of them farts (but you're not sure). Anyhow they sit down at the table and help themselves to juice and cake. During this time they both start to fart, and can't seem to stop. They ignore this and keep eating the cake. I thought this was hilarious - not something I can imagine would ever have been on Irish children's television. They realise the family are coming back to the tent and have to leave quickly, and as they run off they keep farting. I'm not sure what other people will think, but I have included a video from Bamse og Kylling to show you the equivalent of Bosco or Wanderly Wagon in Ireland, or perhaps Zig and Zag. Enjoy!!



Btw: this morning I was cycling to work and saw an advertising poster of Bamse wearing a tutu - he's back to perform in a ballet production during October, and of course Kylling will make an appearance too. Another bit of info - there is a cafe/bar in Aarhus called Forlæns og Baglæns and it means 'forwards and backwards'. This is in reference to another character in Bamse og Kylling who had two heads, so the creature was always going forwards and backwards (see picture).

All things new

The Danish general election was held on 15 September this year, and after ten years of being governed by (mainly) the same party - the Liberal Party (Venstre), this year the Social Democrats secured the majority of the votes. For the first time in Danish history, they have a female prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who incidentally is married to Neil Kinnock's son, Stephen (a little bit of trivia is always interesting :o) ). I haven't followed Danish politics before, and am only learning about the different parties and their policies. I have always been interested in politics, but for obvious reasons this interest has been focused mostly on Irish politics. It wasn't until there was all this talk about the general election in Denmark, and then the presidential election back home in Ireland that I realised I do not have a vote in any general election unless I do the following: return to live and work in Ireland, or become a Danish citizen. I don't know if either of these things will happen (more likely the former rather than the latter), but it feels strange to think about your vote being taken away from you. I will of course have a vote in local elections in Denmark (so I could influence what happens in Aarhus municipality), but it still feels strange to be suddenly excluded, when we supposedly live in a democracy, where the rights of everyone are taken into account. I look forward to learning more about Danish politics and how they implement policies etc, as it will be good to compare it with what I'm used to in Ireland. Here's a sample of who stood in this year's elections (I'll include three photos of candidates in our area - to be uploaded later today) firstly, we have Harry Potter; secondly, Borat; and thirdly, a guy who's head was too big for the election poster. Not sure if any of them were successful  (will check this out: news in, Borat didn't make it.).

About two weeks ago the weather took a turn for the worst, and autumn had arrived in full swing - torrential rain (especially when I was cycling to Danish classes for some reason), grey, overcast days, and even getting a little cooler in the evenings (for me anyhow - for the Danes the summer never arrived). Anyhow, last week the sun came back and it has been around 22 degrees on average. I love to look out the window of the apartment to see the autumn-coloured leaves illuminated by the sunshine, with the blue sky in the background. There is also a certain smell in the air when autumn arrives - it's the same smell I remember from childhood when we went back to school, or the smell when I first started university. I really like this smell, and perhaps it influences why I love this time of year in particular. The Danes have been talking about an 'Indian summer' and it makes me smile, as I always remember in Ireland people saying 'this year we'll have an Indian summer', but they said that every year. The weather is always nice in September in Ireland - it was when you had to go back to school, so of course the sun came out! Anyhow, since October is officially here (I think we went from Sept 3 - Sept 30 in a blink of an eye), it's nice to still have some lovely weather, because everyone has warned me about the winter since August. And I thought the Irish were the only ones who could talk about the weather for an entire evening :o) We share a lot of similarities with the Danes, but I was informed last night that it is highly unusual for a Dane to invite you to their house for dinner (something about they don't want you to feel that you have to invite them back...) so the next aim on my list is to be invited to an all-Danish household, and then tell non-Danes of my experience :o)

View from the apartment

I have started Danish classes - they began three weeks ago - and it is such good fun learning a new language again. There are people from all over the world in my class - mostly because they've come here to do a PhD or postdoc. When everyone asks me (i.e. Danish people) why I'm here, I just have to say: I have a Danish boyfriend, and the same look of 'aaahh' appears on their faces. Why else would I come to this country, they think (out loudly!).

I began teaching at the start of September, and all is going well so far. Getting on top of the reading before the students do is probably the biggest challenge, but I'm exploring an area I haven't taught before, so I'm also learning too.

My final new thing happened two weekends ago - I took part in the H.C. Andersen half marathon in Odense (where Áine and Troels live and the birthplace of HC Andersen - but no relation to Troels or Esben) and I finished in a time of 1:51:43. It's my best time so far for a half marathon. This was probably helped by the relatively flat course, but not helped by the constant, heavy rain from the starting gun to the finishing line. What helped my recovery were a leg massage and a pint of beer, courtesy of the organisers. There were three firsts associated with this run: beer for participants, a rose for participants (given with the medal) and the fact it is the only women's half marathon in Europe.

After finishing the HC Andersen half marathon in Odense