Spring Time? Already?

It is beginning to feel like spring in Denmark!  Let’s hope I don’t jinx it by saying so though!  I grew up in a much colder climate where spring doesn’t come until April or later, so to me it seems early.  That being said, I refuse to complain about it! 

This past weekend my husband and I packed up the little one and took a 45 minute train ride through Copenhagen to look at a bike trailer for sale.  I found it on the classified ads online and it was a good deal for what it is.  I love classified ads.  The website I found here is completely in Danish but somehow I muddled my way through it and found us a good deal.  We wanted a bike trailer so we could enjoy all of the weather as it gets nicer this summer.  We had thought about finding a Christiania bike or a Nihola bike (we call them “mom” bikes) but they are so expensive!  To buy them brand new starts at $3,000 and just goes up.  Some bikes can hold as many as 4 kids in them!  Many families have them instead of a car, so I can understand having a decent bike for the family.  We will try the bike trailer and if we find that we use it a lot, maybe we’ll invest in a “mom” bike.  Below is an example of a Nihola bike.

 

 

On Sunday we decided to go for a walk.  The sun was shining and it looked gorgeous out, but it turned out to be a bit chilly with the wind.  Still a great day for a walk, so we walked through the main street of town.  We saw that the ice cream shop had just opened for the season so we got waffle cones and walked along the oceanfront.  I’d say we walked between 2-3 miles, so I felt that I was totally justified in getting 2 scoops of ice cream J  Hopefully I walked it off by the time I got home!  It was probably 45°F out and there were people EVERYWHERE!  There were people sitting on the piers, on the beaches, etc. in their coats and hats.  It seems that when the weather is nice, everyone goes outside.  I understand completely as I had a huge desire to be outside yesterday too.  As we walked, we saw many flower bulbs starting to grow and some were even blooming.  They were different than the ones we have at home (maybe they’re the same, but I’m not an expert).  These are teensy tiny flowers....they make a crocus look big.

 

 

 

 

We walked past the sailing club and got to see people in their sailboats.  I think they were taking lessons and learning how to sail.  I would love to do that….I don’t know why but it just looks fun.  It looks like a lot of work too!  Pretty sure I’d knock myself into the water at least once.  Perhaps I shouldn’t take lessons as I am quite a clutz, lol!  We have seen people out kayaking and sailing all winter, even when it is below freezing. 
 

 

 

 

I cannot wait for the weather to warm up just a bit more.  My husband and I are going to try to find a grill and a patio set soon.  It’s almost warm enough already to go out and sit on the patio.  I’m going to have one heckuva tan J  But if you know me, I have two colors: white and lobster red J  Perhaps I’ll just soak in the sun covered in some serious suntan lotion.  I also have 2 great patios for growing things so I may try my hand at growing a tomato plant or something. 

So I met this Dutch gal at the mom group 2 weeks ago.  We got to talking and I told her that I’m also of Dutch origins.  So that followed with a  conversation where I asked her about different Dutch words I grew up with and if she knew what the heck they meant.  My grandma used to use the word “veis” and “bachy” (pretty sure I spelled those wrong), both meaning dirty and she said they were actually words.  “Honyakker” (also spelled wrong, I’m sure) isn’t one she’s heard of but it might have German origins too.  She thought it was pretty funny when I was asking her about the words.  She gave me a few suggestions of places to visit in the Netherlands  My mom and her boyfriend are coming to visit us in a few weeks and we really wanted to go visit during tulip season.  I can’t wait….I will try to post pictures if and when we go.

Thank goodness for playgroup.  I think it’s one of the things that’s going to keep me sane here.  I was going to try another one this week but the little one isn’t feeling well so we stayed home today.  It's nice to be around other moms and kids that are in the same boat as we are.  I think I would've found one back home, too.  It's good for the babies to play with each other and find some new toys to play with :)

Hope you all are well!  Let me know of any other Dutch words you’re curious about.  Ta-ta for now!