work work work

It's been a while since I have posted anything and I am being asked about our job situation frequently so I would like to report that I have found plenty of work. There are other not so positive things we are trying to figure out with Rus' Visa right now, but we can at least celebrate the fact that I now have steady income.

I have three part time jobs:

1. Cashier/Sales Assistant at Freeny Collection - A family owned store in downtown Kolding selling fine leather goods (wallets, purses, jackets, etc.). Only 2 shifts per month. I work when the owners have doctor appointments or when a little extra help is needed. Only completed one shift to date but there will probably be more during the Christmas shopping season.

Flags in the window indicating sale! sale! sale!

2. Maid at Hotel Kolding Apartments - Small modern apartments rented nightly, weekly or monthly. 60 hours per month.  My brother and his wife and son actually stayed at this hotel several years ago on a visit to Kolding. The work is hard and I am sore every day but the women I work with are great and the fresh air from going between buildings all day is nice. Also, the view is amazing on my walk to work and looking out the windows while at work.

*Definitely check out the link to this one, they are very cool*

My walk to work at Kolding Hotel Apartments

View from one of the apartments

3. Sales Assistant at Bilka in Bilka-To-Go department - like Walmart if it was owned and regulated by a socialist country (= better).  At least 7 hours per week and more to be added later. I had my first day of training today and will be filling online orders, gathering ordered items from the store and sorting and packing them for pickup. This one I think I will enjoy. There is a cafeteria for employees with free food on breaks and we get half price at the local movie theatre, so you know, totally awesome. There are other perks that I can enjoy too after three months of loyal employment.

I love that everyone spells my name right in this country.

Flensburg

Flensburg, Germany is where Danes go to fulfill their need for shopping, especially junkfood. If it wasn't for my conscience (actually my daughter's voice) telling me that products with palm oil are destroying the orangutan's natural habitat, I would have come home with several enormous containers of Nutella. Instead, I bought peanuts and soup. And chocolate. And advent calendars. I'm sure something somewhere is being harmed by the purchase of them as well but I am blissfully ignorant so far.
One of those advent calendars was a Lego one, which was quite a bit cheaper in Germany, even though Lego is a Danish company. So I went to Germany to save money on something Danish. Flensburg itself is very Danish however, as it has been a part of Denmark previously and now lies just a few kilometres south of the border.
Enough about shopping, here are some pictures of cool things we saw while walking the streets and visiting Museumberg Flensburg.

Museumberg Flensburg - it was a bit of a rainy hike to the front door but it was worth it.

I always love the taxidermy section. The deer in this part of the world are tiny!

Closeup of one the interior walls of an old farmhouse.

A sewing chest

This thing is old - circa 1400

This sucker is even older - circa 1300 

Our English friends make fun travelling companions - "peace" signs are for my benefit, despite what the gesture might signify in the UK

Interiors of old farm houses like this one were dismantled and put back together in the museum. They were at least 400 years old, full of beautiful paintings and carvings.

The rainy streets of Flensburg

The conductor let the kids sit in his chair before the train ride home. Dean was in heaven!

fame without fortune (and Halloween)

My family has this funny habit of appearing in local newspapers and publications. I joined a Kolding Facebook group and inquired about Halloween in Denmark. It received a lot of response and discussion which led to a reporter from a newspaper contacting me. He came to interview Rus and I about what Halloween traditions meant to us in Canada and what we will be doing for Halloween here. A photographer came and did a photo shoot with us, which was definitely not within my comfort zone, but still fun.

We didn't end up going treat-or-treating on Halloween night but Rus took Dean to Halloween in Legoland a while ago and we all went to an awesome Halloween parade (with fireworks) in the neighbouring city of Vejle on the weekend.
We decorated our front window a bit to let trick-or-treaters know that we were open for business but only six kids came. We all miss the good Halloween night vibe of Canada, when everyone is out in the streets, eating junkfood, showing off their costumes and meeting neighbours. It is considered an American holiday here, and has only just caught on about ten years ago.

That's Freya's head that this creature is eating!