Week Two!

Oh man. It's going to be harder to keep up on this thing now that we're ramping up school and work! I'll do my best. :D

Friday

Friday, I was still pretty sick (but I was also in denial that it was going to get me down). There had been some severe windstorms, and since they were pretty much past, Zac made up some of his window cleaner and shined up a bunch of the windows. He also spent a ton of time cleaning up all the downed branches and leaves outside. We keep the windows open a lot because the air is just so incredible. However, window screens are really not a thing in Denmark, so when we open windows, Marabel leaps out. We were a little worried because A) we just moved here, and B) she's old - she doesn't need to be leaping 8 feet out a window. So far, she's been happy, purring, and has always returned same-day through a different open window. I guess she's fine.

I also figured out how to get Danish phone numbers for the kids, so I thought I'd set up the account and order the SIM cards ahead of time. I picked Oister as the vendor after hours of talking to Vibe and Googling, but I realized I could only order one SIM card to start with and then once I got it in the mail, I could activate my online account and order two additional cards. But it was still progress! I ordered one and selected a phone number for Khloe that is kind of close to my old U.S. phone number so it will be easier to remember.

Saturday

Since I was sick in bed all day, I decided to be productive by reading everything I could find about Rejsekort (my travel card). My goal was to figure out how to get the "monthly card" the woman at the train station had lectured me about. I now see why Danes found the implementation of the Rejsekort confusing. I think the system works great once you have it down, but there is a steep learning curve.

Even though I have an account online, my current Rejsekort doesn't show up on it since I bought it at the station and not online. Because of that, I figured I'd just deplete the funds on it and then destroy it. I chose to order a separate commuter card that can only be used in the zones between here and work, and the benefit of that is that it gives you an even cheaper rate per trip than the personal Rejsekort. I also ordered a Rejsekort Flex, which still gets a discounted rate (not as much as personal Rejsekort) but can be used by anyone, not just the owner. I figured this would come in handy for visitors, so if you have a trip planned to come see us, I have preemptively taken care of the public transportation stress.

Zac has still be covering dinners and he made food for us all (even though I couldn't taste it). He also assembled the table Vibe is letting us borrow until ours arrives. We hadn't assembled it previously to ensure that the coating on the soft pine floor had time to cure properly before putting anything heavy on it (per homeowner instructions). It was nice to sit down to eat!

Zac serving up our first seated dinner in this house.

After dinner, I saw a post from the kids' school indicating more info about the first week had been sent via Firefly, and my brain went into full-on panic mode:

What is Firefly? Didn't the school say they would email me information before the school year started? Why haven't I gotten that email? School starts Monday!! Is Firefly an app? Should I download that?

I guessed it was an app and I found it in the App Store. I downloaded it and correctly guessed the school code, but whenever I clicked to send me the email to activate my account, the email never came. I figured I needed to be added by the school or something, so I turned to Facebook. I went to the school post and commented that I didn't have Firefly access yet and asked another parent to please send the info. They took care of me. :)

I also started listening to a podcast hosted by the Copenhagen Post about newcomers to Denmark. The podcast is sometimes entertaining and sometimes informative, and the hosts recommended newcomers sign up for Facebook groups like Americans in Denmark. Even though I'd LOVE to get rid of Facebook again, it's still been serving a purpose, so I found the group and requested to join. The first question you had to answer for the admins just said: Prove you're an American. I wrote:

"As a kid, I had birthday parties at McDonald's. I lived in a subdivision. I've been to a Brooks & Dunn concert. I'm 40 years old and still have $20K in student loan debt".

I was approved, and so far, I've found it to be a very supportive and responsive group.

Let's see...what else? Oh, Zac and Kaden tried to get haircuts. Zac and I had seen a place they could go, so they traveled down that way but the barber only took kroner or MobilePay (which is the Venmo of Denmark and everyone uses it for everything). Paper money is quite rare here. The guy was really helpful and tried to take Zac to an ATM to get a cash advance using our CapitalOne credit card, but Zac has never set up a PIN on his card and so it couldn't be done. They came home, still shaggy.

Maybe I mentioned in a previous post that I had to take an IQ test and a personality test before my second interview, and when Zac had his one and only interview, his manager and director wanted him to just skip all that. Well, turns out HR actually wants to see the personality test and have it on file, so Zac pulled a kitchen chair into Harrison's room (which has a small, built-in desk) and knocked that out.

We've been struggling to find a few things on our list of needs at the stores in town, despite looking several times. Happily, I discovered that German Amazon delivers some items to Denmark. I placed an order, and hopefully I won't have to order more because, ya know, Amazon, but it will sure help us out for now. TBD whether our stuff actually arrives or not. :)

In the evening, Zac said, "I know you're not feeling good and you probably don't need to get wet and cold, but do you want to go for a short walk?" Absolutely. I was more than happy to put on our sweatshirts and go for a walk in the rain!

Soggy, not sad. Well, I'm not sure what that look on Zac's face is, honestly.

It was a good end to the day and I think it's good for people to go outside everyday, even if they're sickly.

Sunday

I was a little worried about Zac having to navigate public transportation alone all the way into Copenhagen on Monday with the kids for the biometrics appointment, so on Sunday (since I was feeling waaaaay better), I suggested we take the same trip so Zac would know where they're going ahead of time.

I knew I could check in multiple people on my Rejsekort, and I had seen the kiosks that allow you to do that at the train station, but I had never seen an "ekstra" kiosk on the buses. (Update, March 2024: We now know it's possible. You just ask the bus driver to do it for you and he does it from his personal kiosk thing.) Of course I didn't think of this until the moment we were ready to head out the door, so I delayed us all while I spent about 30 minutes watching YouTube videos and reading Reddit posts trying to figure out how to do it on the bus.  I finally decided it was impossible, so I used my Rejsekort and we just bought tickets for Zac and the kids.

Khloe and Harrison on the train. I don't know what either of them are thinking.

When we got off the train in Copenhagen, we walked to the biometrics office, which was totally uneventful and seemed like it would be easy to repeat the next day.

I looked at the map and saw we were close Frederiksberg Have, which is a really lovely park. When I was in Copenhagen with Michele last March, we went there, and even though nothing was blooming, it was still cool. I thought there might be a hot dog cart in the park (there's a castle, Frederiksberg Slot, in addition to the huge park) so we could have lunch, plus I knew that there was a path in the park where you could see directly into the elephant enclosure at the zoo.

Unfortunately, I only found an ice cream cart and some fancy restaurants, and everyone was starving. Kaden was beside himself with hunger and was making things very unpleasant. We did stop to see the elephants though!

Elephants at the Copenhagen Zoo, as seen from the path in Frederiksberg Gardens.

The kids in front of Frederiksberg Slot.

We found a pizza place called Freddie's on the map that was just on the other side of the park, so we walked there, got a table outside, and had some pizza. I forgot that pizza in Denmark is served uncut and is usually personal. We ordered three and they each came on a single plate. We were not given silverware or plates, but we finally asked for plates and then just ripped them all apart with our hands and shared like the uncouth Americans we are. The elderflower lemonade was incredible.

While we were eating, I mentioned that we were pretty close to Jacob's house. When I had messaged Jacob to tell us we were moving to Denmark, he instantly started recruiting secondhand bikes for us. Kaden asked me almost every day when we were getting them, so I suggested we text Jacob and pay him a visit while we were close. Maybe we could just see what he had rounded up for us and it would give Kaden and Zac an idea of whether or not we'd need to buy other bikes right away to satisfy their needs.

We were so excited that he was home! It's always nice to have a little reunion with Jacob. His wife, Christina, was home as well, so we got to chat with both of them until Christina had to leave (she's an extra in an opera that's part of the Opera Festival in Copenhagen!). We stayed and chatted with Jacob for a while. He took us out to show us the two bikes he had rounded up so far, and since one of them was already in rideable condition, he suggested we could take it home with us.

We all tried it and Jacob adjusted it so any of us could ride it (except Harrison, of course).

We decided to stop at Frederiksberg Chokolade for ice cream to eat during our walk to the train station and it did not disappoint.

Pink grapefruit and coconut!

We also stopped at an ATM so I could pull out some kroner for haircuts using my credit card (because I do have a PIN).

Here's what DKK 1000 looks like in case you were wondering.

We made it to the central station in Copenhagen (passing Tivoli on the way) and I used my Rejsekort (almost) like a champ to check in myself, the older kids, Zac, and the bike (Harrison rides free with us). We didn't know if we could take the bike on the bus, plus we needed dog food, so the kids and I left Zac at the station to ride to the store for dog food and dinner groceries, and we took a bus home.

Since we have a fire pit in the backyard (Danes call the backyard "the garden"), Harrison wanted to make s'mores. We did manage to find a bag of marshmallows at the grocery store, but we couldn't find graham crackers or Hershey bars, so we bought these biscuit cookies that have biscuit on one side and chocolate on the other side. Zac and Kaden got a (slightly smoky) fire going.

Starting the first fire.

The marshmallows in Denmark are different than ours, but they made great s'mores, and so did those biscuit-chocolate things! I think "Danish s'mores" are excellent.

Monday

This was our first day of work and school! I have a separate post about our first day, so I'll keep it short. Here's the map I provided to my mom to explain where we are in relation to Copenhagen.

And now you know.

I took the bus to and from work and it was way easy. Check out my bus stop! I have horses to talk to.

Bus stop where I wait to go to work.

One of the horses that comes to say hello in the morning.

Zac had Vibe's car, so he drove the kids to and from their first day, which was only 1.5 hours long. They all went to go get their biometrics in the afternoon and after that, Zac needed a beer. Look what he found! It's Stone IPA!

A favorite from home!

We saw the kids' schedules weren't the same every day, so we decided to shut down for the evening and think about it another day.

Tuesday

I went to work and had another great day of settling in. I get to see so many familiar faces and I just feel very welcome there. Thomas outlined the grocery stores from cheap to expensive and I discovered that Zac has been shopping at the most expensive one almost daily.

Thomas's list of grocers ranked from cheapest to most expensive.

Zac stayed home to receive our furniture delivery from IKEA (the kids' bed frames) and worked really hard assembling them. He got through Harrison's and Khloe's (except for the drawers underneath her bed, which are separate).

Khloe's IKEA bed (missing drawers)

Harrison's IKEA bed

I came back to work from home starting at 2 p.m. so someone would be here if they delivered our mattress from Jysk, and Zac picked up the kids in the car.

Zac was pretty beat after a full day of IKEA assembly, so Kaden started putting together his own bed.

Unfortunately, the basement (where Kaden's room is located) is very humid, and with all the wet weather and humidity, the walls have started kind of seeping. Jacob says that's normal in older homes with basements in Denmark, so we aren't exactly worried, but we all agreed that maybe the conditions didn't make for the coziest bedroom. The bed was relocated to the family room in the basement about halfway through assembly, and Kaden and Zac finished it there.

Kaden's IKEA bed in the middle of the basement floor.

Harrison asked to walk down to his "new friend's house." We asked who that was referring to, and it was the 14-year-old boy down the road, Mads. (Harrison loves the older kids.) We agreed to let him go, and he ended up going on a long walk around the lake with Mads and his mom and their dog. They taught him to say "goodnight" in Danish, so he came home and showcased his new word.

We got some belated school supply lists for the kids, which included freaking laptops, but all the stores were closed and I didn't have it in me anyway. Literally every evening, I'm on the internet trying to learn something new to help us succeed in our life here, so I'm trying to draw proper boundaries regarding what I can handle in a day. School supplies was the bit I refused to allow myself to think about on Tuesday. I did see that they needed to order P.E. uniforms because I guess the international schools all put forth various sports teams to play against the other international schools. For this, they must have uniforms.

The older kids' uniforms consist of a t-shirt, gym shorts, and a full track suit monogrammed with the school logo, and Harrison just needs the shirt and shorts. I took all their measurements to figure out which European size they needed, but I'm not confident. I mean, every size chart disagrees. It was like based on the sleeve length, this kid needs a M, but based on the chest, it's an XS, and the waist measurement indicates a S, and the inseam indicates a L, and the hip measurement is child's XL, etc. I just did my best. Guess we'll see when they arrive, huh? They're wearing them regardless. It was over $400 for P.E. uniforms.

Wednesday

Work was wonderfully relaxed. I have not mentioned before now, but in Denmark, the government requires that employers provide employees with a daily piece of fruit. The fruit used to be handed out after lunch in the canteen - it sat in a big basket as you left the lunch area and walked back to your desk, and everyone grabbed one along the way. They have changed that now, and the fruit is delivered in the morning directly to each of the kitchens on the different floors in the different buildings. I love this. Ya'll now how Zac can't be around bananas because of the migraines, right? Well I get one every morning now and it's amazing.

My daily piece of fruit.

My colleagues are taking excellent care of me. I had three offers for a ride home! Jacob brought another adult bike and child-sized bike to work in the car, and Helle (my boss) had also brought an adult bike for us in her car. Thomas offered me a ride, too, since he was late and had brought the car instead of riding his bike. I rode home with Helle and then Jacob met us there. Harrison and Kaden are enjoying their new bikes and have gone riding around the neighborhood a few times already.

Also, I got my new Danish phone number! If you're reading this and I haven't reached out to you via Messenger, WhatsApp, or Instagram, please send me a message through social media and I'll get it to you (or you can ask someone else if they have it). As I noted in my post about communication (Keeping in Touch), it will cost money to text or call directly from a U.S. phone to a Danish phone, so messaging, talking, and video chatting through apps is going to be the new norm. I prefer WhatsApp, but Messenger and Instagram are OK, too. I just might take longer to respond. :D

Zac picked up the kids and I met them at home to go shopping for school supplies. Kaden, Khloe, and I took a bus to Birkerød since Vibe had shown me a bookstore there that sells school supplies. (Again, I used my Rejsekort and bought tickets for the kids because I didn't see a way to check in multiple people on my card for the bus.) We got everything they needed at Bøg & Idé, then we took a bus back in the opposite direction to go to a small mall in Hørsholm with an electronics store.

I picked out really middle-of-the-road laptops with the MS Office package for them, grabbed some neoprene sleeves, and headed home. Overall, a success, albeit a slightly expensive one that we didn't plan for. WHY DO I HAVE TO SPEND SO MUCH MONEY EVERY DAY?!

Oh, and I got my first pieces of mail from the U.S. - a birthday card from my Grandma Iris (with a Sunday NY Times crossword), and a birthday card from Aunt Lorie and Uncle Eddie. So fun!

Thursday

All three kids have different school schedules even though they go to the same school. On Thursday, Khloe had to be at school an hour before the boys, so I took her up there before I went to work, and Zac brought the boys up later. They also don't all get out at the same time, so Kaden or Khloe or both of them have to sometimes wait for the other kid(s) to get out of school for around an hour. So weird.

Thomas gave me a tour of the labs at work and I got to meet Zac's future colleagues. I broke the news to him that the nice coffee machine near his office is also right next to the fruit basket, so he's going to have to explain to a whole new department why they have to rearrange their fruit habits to accommodate his debilitating migraine condition. Poor guy.

The Danish SIM card I ordered arrived, so I got my old iPhone 13 set up for Khloe. She now has a Danish phone number as well, so same deal - contact her on WhatsApp (or SnapChat, I think) and if you don't have the number, ask someone else who knows Khloe because we tried to get it out to everyone.

As expected, I outlined the rules for texting/calling people in the U.S., including what would cost us money and what wouldn't. Khloe tried so hard, but ultimately ended up unknowingly texting out a bunch of WhatsApp invitations to friends and family who aren't using WhatsApp, which cost me about $15. Alas.

Since I had activated the SIM card I ordered, I was now allowed to set up an Oister online account, after which I could order SIM cards for the boy, too (so they can have Danish phone numbers). One thing about Denmark I haven't really gotten into is that the entire country operates on digital systems. You need something called your MitID to do almost everything. I had that set up on my U.S. phone, and I had assumed it transferred with everything else to my Danish phone. I was wrong.

With my MitID out of commission, I couldn't log into my Oister account. I tried about 70 times or more to re-instate my MitID on my new phone using my passport (click some things, agree to some things, type in some numbers, scan the passport, read the chip inside the passport, then confirm your identity with a biometric scan of your face...fail...repeat). It didn't work. It said my face didn't match my passport.

First, my passport photo was taken after I'd had a baby. My face was all round and shiny and I was wearing makeup and I don't know what else. But it's a poor representation of what I look like. We used a flashlight to increase shine. I tried to go put on makeup but I don't have any here in Denmark. I puffed out my cheeks. I smiled. I didn't smile. I took off my glasses. I put my glasses on. I tilted my head up and down and pulled it back and clenched my jaw and, and, and. Nothing worked.

So there's a trip to Copenhagen's citizen service center to look forward to - I'll need to go there to get the problem corrected ASAP!

I'll leave you with this hilarious garbage can photo.

Push me down.