So we moved from a cupboard in Aarhus with 1/6 of a bathroom, and about the same kitchen space, to a house with 3 bathrooms and a walk in wardrobe next to the kitchen. The mind still boggles as to why you would need a wardrobe off the kitchen, but it's a wardrobe bigger than our whole space in Aarhus so we no complain.
I've managed to give the postman a thrill twice already, being caught in my underwear, on my way to the washing machine, when he's knocked on the rather not opaque door to deliver a package. And that wardrobe, that I told you I would have left in the street rather than walking it up 5 flights of stairs in pieces, not only came down those 5 flights, but went up a further flight to be installed on the second floor of our new home.... it is never ever moving again. Never.
A peculiarity of Danish homes is that they do not come with installed light fittings. So when you move into a home, you then spend a week dining by torch or lamp light until your handy Danish man/person, who comes with a degree in IKEA reconstruction and a minor in electrical engineering, manages to install all of your light fixtures without giving himself a new and interesting hair style. And all the Australians go 'why would you do that??? Why not just have lights installed when you build a place?'...and when I ask that same question all the Danes go 'why would you do that? then you can't choose where the lights go'...There are some cultural differences that just can't be explained in simple terms...apparently the appropriate timing for light fixture installations and the Danish fondness for lining up are amongst them :)
Since my last post, we have also acquired two new babies. Felix and Fabian. We had gone to the cat centre to adopt a new cat. On arrival, Fabian walked over to me, straight up my leg, into my arms, and started purring. So you would think that would be that. However, Fabian had a twin brother who is not so smoochie and the cat centre was most insistent we could not take one without the other. And two days later I was waving one cat off a bench while the other one ran past with a steak bigger than itself, growling and drooling all the way. Needless to say they are settled in happily and already getting their own way too much, as well as substantially fatter than they were when they arrived. We can now hold kitty skype sessions between my Danish and my Australian kittens. Oddly enough they don't seem so keen.
The new shooting range is about 7km down the road and so it becomes more necessary to address my slight issue with bikes... or rather my slight issue with falling off bikes. And I had thought things were progressing nicely until I realised that for some reason when I try to turn right, my brain malfunctions and I try to commit suicide by wall/bush/tree/ground....so I have spent the better part of a week practicing that whole not falling off when it isn't a straight line or a left turn and today I think we can declare the bike is no longer my arch nemesis, but more my rather untrustworthy, don't turn your back on him, ally. We might make a Dane of her yet...(as long as she doesn't have to eat herring or say words like Sorø).
Speaking of unpronounceable Danish words... My new classes start with a vengeance next week. I will have 18 hours of Danish a week and my first exam will be before Christmas. I had an evaluation test on Monday and although I can still barely string a sentence together, apparently my reading and translation skills are adequate enough to bump me into a harder class. Of more importance, I drove there on my own and no one died from the experience despite the whole of Denmark driving on the wrong side of the road and their cars being arse backwards... I don't even have bruised knuckles, from smacking my left hand on the door, when I forget which side the gears are on.
And shooting... we had a quick trip over the border, for a coaching day in Hamburg, and I shot a few rounds of indoor to start the season. It was ugly. Not 'fell of the ugly tree and hit every branch coming down' ugly... but certainly not pretty. In my defence, it was on the back of days of moving and painting and much stress... but it was still depressing! Now, settled into new surroundings and slowly recovering, I seem to be shooting about a 570 average. A year ago that was great shooting for me, so with an untuned bow and not so much practice, I think it is a great place to start. Bring on indoor.
