House Hunting for the Holidays

Good morning! How was your weekend? I hope you had a magical Christmas. I know we did. We played with new toys, read new books, ate lots of yummy food, and, for the first time in living memory and despite being half a world away, shared a white Christmas with my family. That's right. It snowed on Christmas morning in Mississippi. It was a Christmas miracle!

Now that Christmas (and December) are almost over, The Boy and I have to get serious about finding permanent housing here in Denmark. Currently we are staying in a gorgeous 3  story, 5 bedroom, 3 bath home while the owners are away on a 3 month vacation. (Gotta love the vacation time the Danes get!) They return February 1, which means we need to be in a new place by the no later than the 22nd of next month. Yikes! 

I know what you're thinking. We've had 3 whole months to find something, but it's not that simple. First, we signed a lease for this roomy home for 3 months and plan to enjoy every minute.  It will probably be years and years before we are able to afford something this spacious again. Second, and most daunting,  the Danes are buyers, not renters so there just isn't a very large market for leasing.

Herning has a lot going for it.  It is lovely with picturesque streets and a pedestrian shopping district where you can find two of everything you could possibly ever want. The people are super friendly and helpful. It's got the largest entertainment complex in Scandinavia, The Messecenter, which hosts sporting events, theatrical performances, and concerts. (Not that we get out that much anymore with a one year old to entertain us at home.) Lady Gaga performed here in October. Next year Kylie Minogue, Eric Clapton, and Rihanna will all make a stop here.  And I have to admit that the possibility of seeing the likes of Lady G or Rihanna walking down the street of this quaint little town makes me smile. Most importantly it is the closest "big" town to The Boy's job which is 17 miles away. 

So what are we looking for in a home? Ideally we would like a 3 bedroom - and that's actual bedrooms, not rooms - apartment or house with upwards of 90 sqm of space. If it's an apartment it should have an elevator, because I'm not lugging The Babe in his SUV up and down a walk up. Some kind of outdoor area would be nice. It should have all appliances, including washer and dryer. I would like good bones to work with - nice wooden floors, good light, etc. It should be within walking distance of shopping, which for me means 30 minutes one way. And that's it. Easy peasy, right?

Well, here are some of the things I've found or looked at so far:

1. The DGI Huset building in Herning is brand spanking new. It just opened this month. The big selling point for this building is that it's located over an ah-mazing new gym. There are two apartments for rent in this building. The first is a one bedroom on the 11th floor with hardwood floors and lots of light and a great view. The second, a 2 bedroom on the 6th floor,  has a not so great view and less light. They are both 83 sqm (about 900 ft2) and have the exact same layout. The only difference is that part of the living space in the 2 bedroom has been walled off to make a 2nd bedroom. Verdict: These apartments are fantastic, but not for our family.

2. The next house is just a few blocks over from where we are now and very similar to our temporary home. It's 2 floors plus a finished basement, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. We haven't seen it yet, but it sounds very nice. The catch? According to the ad via google translator it won't be available until "spring" 2011.

3. On the same block as the house above sits option number 3. There are three floors in all, two of which we would have access to, 5 rooms, all appliances, a covered carport. The catch? The owner wants to live on the 3rd floor. 

4. The next apartment is a little closer to the city center. We have very little information about this one- just that it's a 165 sqm luxury penthouse. That's pretty much it for the description.

So there you have it. Our pick of the handful of housing choices we have here in Herning. We have e-mails out to them all. Now we wait. 

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you peace and joy and happiness this Christmas!

 

Herning for the Holidays

Here are some festive pictures from our new -ville.

Oh Christmas Tree

I'm not one of those people who has all their Christmas decorations up the day after Thanksgiving. It's partly because I'm just not that organized but it's mostly because I like to savor the season. The first things to appear in our home are an Advent related - calendar,  wreath and candles  - and then gradually I add holiday greenery, plants and flowers, a wreath for the front door, little holiday knickknacks, our elf on the shelf. I like to leave our tree up until the 12th day of Christmas (i.e. January 6) and so the piece de resistance of the Christmas season does not make its appearance until the the second week of Advent.

This year we found our tree at the most amazing home and garden center here in Herning. Have Oasen is part garden center, part pet store, part home decor store, and completely awesome.

The Babe checks out the tree selection...

...and the gold fish...

... and the birdies.

beautiful Christmas blooms

And there's a cat that sleeps by the register. See? Awesome.

Meet Our Elf on the Shelf

His name is Albie.

My sister got the real Elf on the Shelf for her boys and it's been a huge hit. There's never been less naughty and more nice at her house! The Babe is a little to young to understand what the elf is all about, but I figure it's never too early to start a tradition and so Albie arrived from the North Pole the first week of December with a letter from Santa and everything. And while The Babe may not yet understand Albie's purpose, he certainly loves him. The first time they met, The Babe offered Albie his sock, which, as anyone who has ever read Harry Potter knows, is the way to free an elf. True story.

*As I could not find an Elf on the Shelf here in Denmark, our "elf" is from Maileg.

New Dungarees!

The Babe received the cutest gift from a dear friend in London the other day... car dungarees! Since cars are without a doubt his most favorite thing in the whole wide world right now, his face lit up like Christmas tree. 

"Car! Car!" he said with as deep, and growly an inflection as a little boy of 15 months can muster. He grabbed the dungarees and began pointing at every single car on the print. And that's a lot of cars!

Thank you, Auntie S. ! The Babe absolutely adores his present!

 dungarees by Peakprincess using Liberty prints

Decorating

Tree? Check.

Twinkly lights? Check.

Christmas music? Check.

Peppermint hot cocoa? Check.

We're off to decorate the tree.

Photo via Ezra Pound Cake, who offers an amazing recipe for peppermint hot chocolate. Mine's a little more lazy: Melt desired amount of mint chocolate (I used Lindt Mint Chocolate bars) with desired amount of milk. Top with whip cream from a can and crushed candy cane. Enjoy.

Copenhagen

Last week I got an e-mail from The Boy.  It said, "We're going to Copenhagen this Sunday. I'll explain later. " That's it. Nothing more. Being newly arrived here and not knowing the ins and outs of the Danish immigration system just yet,  I thought it might have to do with our visas. Maybe we had to present ourselves to the Queen (oh my God, what would I wear!?!) or, at the very least, the US Embassy. Alas, it was not quite that exciting. Well, at least not for The Boy, who, as it turned out, had a conference and wanted The Babe and I to tag along to explore while he worked. (Sweet!) So Sunday morning we packed up our bags and bundled up The Babe and trudged through the snow to the train station for our very first trip to Copenhagen.

Folks back home keep asking if we got caught in "The Blizzard". My one and only experience with a blizzard was in 1984 in North Dakota. I remember the heavy snow, the driving wind,  the giant snow drifts so high they reached the first floor balcony of a Holiday Inn,  and the temperature so cold that it froze the emergency brake on the car so that we had to have it towed to a garage to have to thaw it out. So I guess that maybe my idea of a blizzard is a little on the extreme side. There was nothing like that here. To be sure, there was some snow (about 4 inches in Copenhagen) and there was wind and it was cold, but I never once thought that I was in the midst of a blizzard. Sorry to dispel the myth, media.

Despite the weather, The Babe and I spent a lovely three days wandering around the old town while The Boy attended his conference.  The Babe was snuggled under layers of clothing, zipped up into a very thick lambswool footmuff , and secured behind a raincover to keep the snow off and the wind out. He was a snug as a bug in a rug. I, on the other hand, was completely unprepared and so I learned a few things about cold on this trip. One: It's hard (but not impossible) to have fun when your hands and/or feet are freezing.  In addition to the gloves I brought with me,  I  ended up buying two  more pairs in an effort to keep my hands warm. None of them worked. Eventually I resorted to layering them all and even that really didn't really work all that well. My fingers still ended up frozen and numb.  Lesson learned. Good gloves and warm shoes are a must. Two: If you don't move, and I mean really move, you will freeze. A pleasant stroll won't work.  You have to keep that blood pumping. I spent 30 minutes "strolling" around Amalienborg Palace waiting for the changing of the guard and it was the coldest half hour of my life. And I lived in Mongolia.

Oh, but Copenhagen at Christmas is a beautiful, magical place made even more so by the appearance of snow, which is apparently rare this time of year, and as long as the baby was warm I was happy to explore even with frozen fingers and toes.

 obligatory photo of The Boy and The Babe on a train

the Christmas tree at City Hall Square

 Stroget, the longest pedestrian shopping area in Europe

 adorable little ally next to Royal Copenhagen with 

a lovely florist and cafe

 excellent cupcakes at Agnes Bakery

 street musicians

It was sooo cold, I'm sure how these guys were performing,

but they played Schubert's Ave Maria beautifully.

TIVOLI

 The Babe freed from his warm pram. I think he appreciated

his mobile cocoon more after insisting he be allowed to

wandering around in -10 C weather.  

ROSENBORG CASTLE

 really, really cold pigeons

outside CHRISTIANSBORG PALACE

I love that they provide blankets at cafes if you're crazy enough 

to sit outside. 

AMALIENBORG PALACE

Winter residence of the Danish Royal Family

snowflakes 

  

The top floor of Illum department store where The Babe 

and I thawed out during lunch everyday.

The Boy (in silhouette) drinking gluhwein to keep warm at Tivoli.

Pooped

We're just back and pretty exhausted from a fabulous but freezing 3 days in Copenhagen.