reopening

Denmark has gradually started to reopen.
On April 15th, daycares opened again as well as elementary schools for students up to grade 5. It has been so good for Dean to be back at school. I am doing home schooling with Freya and Ila and Mei are doing virtual school with their IB program.
On April 20th, some non-essential stores were allowed to open along with health and beauty services such as salons, physiotherapists, and psychologists. This reopening has been controlled, however, with procedures in place to protect everyone. The point is to slowly resume regular activities without overburdening hospitals with critical cases. So far things are going well and should continue to do so as long as people adhere to the measures still in place such as no gatherings over ten people. It is recommended of course that everyone continues to wash hands regularly and keep a safe distance from others.
Churches, museums, recreation centers, shopping malls, etc. are still closed.
The border is still closed to non-Danish citizens but they have recently relaxed that to let family members of citizens enter the country again.
All summer festivals have been cancelled.
All other restrictions that were made in March are being evaluated and will remain in place until May 10 or 11. The government will be making some decisions next week about what the next phase in reopening will consist of.
I am really hoping that museums and churches (and Legoland!) will be able to safely open soon before Rus has to return to Canada in June.
In the meantime we will just keep going for walks and bike rides...

the wildlife at Koldinghus

family bike ride and picnic

Dean loves peeling carrots for some reason...and he's exceptional at it.

manners

I grew up with good Danish table manners. I threw most of them out the window when I moved out. Then when I had my own family I tried implementing some of them again but failed and gave up. It has been nice to be around it again with my extended family here, except for recently since we can't all get together.

Here are a few that I know and appreciate:

"Værsgo"

We all wait until everyone is seated at the table together before starting. The host says "Værsgo!", here you go, the food is served. We can then fill our plates and eat, passing the dishes around. 

"Tak for mad"

At the end of the meal and before leaving the table, we say thank you to the person who cooked and prepared the meal. This one was very important in my family and I think it's a great way to show gratitude and respect. Many of us feel like we go to so much trouble making a meal and it is gobbled down in a few minutes with no show of appreciation. We were never allowed to leave the table before thanking my mom for the meal.

"Velbekomme"
(You're welcome) This is always said at the end of the meal in response to those saying thank you. I was confused however, when people would say this to each other at the cafeteria at work before sitting down to eat. I asked why this was said and no one seemed to have much of an explanation, just that it's a Danish thing that people say to each other, like "enjoy your meal". It is used in sort of the same way that "Værsgo"is.

"Skål"
On special occasions, when guests are over, etc. we clink our glasses, make eye contact and say "Skål!" (cheers!)

"Tak for sidst"
This directly translates to "Thanks for last" and is used to follow up with someone after a visit, thanking them for the time spent together, the meal, or whatever else was involved. I like this one because it leaves nothing hanging. I feel a natural tendency in my relationships to want to connect again after a get together and just thank them or let them know that it was good to see them.

Expressing gratitude to others is highly valued. At the end of a workday, we often say to each other "tak for i dag" (thanks for today). Maybe that is part of why Denmark is one the happiest countries on Earth.

Free food on our breaks at work...I eat way too much bread and chocolate...

Favorite beverages: elderflower juice and chocolate milk (only three ingredients: milk, sugar and cocoa)

The Queen's Birthday

The Danish national flag is being flown all over Denmark today in celebration of the Queen's 80th birthday. There was supposed to be a huge party in her honour but she canceled it due to the need for social distancing.

Tillykke med fødselsdagen Dronning Margrethe!

The magazines and newspapers are full of the queen this month. I just had to buy this magazine because it had a paper doll of the queen in her underwear with six different outfits. Next week's issue will include a paper doll of her younger self and earlier outfits. I might have to buy that one too.

Queen Margrethe II and a couple of her outfits -  silver anniversary dress and national clothing of Greenland

even the busses were flying flags today

Happy Easter/God Påske

Easter was different this year of course. We usually get together with Rus' parents and they bring a basket of goodies for each of the kids. We dye eggs and roll (or throw) them down a steep hill. This sounds odd, but it is surprisingly fun and the seagulls like it. This year, I boiled eggs and no one was in the mood to colour them. Dean painted one red and they ate the rest. I was looking forward to experiencing a traditional Danish Easter with my family here, but with social distancing this wasn't possible. My cousin Marianne and her boys came to Kolding on Saturday though and we all went for a hike together. Being together outdoors seems safer somehow.

We were also blessed this weekend with a reminder of what Easter is really about. I haven't been to church in a very long time but yesterday, we were visited by two members of our church who came into our home and were able to give us the sacrament (keeping their distance and being hyper-hygenic of course).  It was so nice to be able to do that again and to have them come on Easter Sunday was extra special. 

Even though Easter was not the same, I am grateful for the sweet moments that we had anyway and that we are together as a family. Rus thinks we should have a big party when we get home with all of the Canadian traditions that we missed. A party with eggnog and rolling eggs down the hill by our house in Lethbridge.

family picture with Marianne, Gorm and Thorbjørn...and most of Sussi

me and Marianne (picture by Dean)

twisted trees

Dean and Sussi (it's not easy getting Sussi to be still for a picture when she's
so excited about all the new smells and places to pee)

my co-worker painted these cute guys for me for Easter

And here are a few pictures from a trip last week with Rus, Dean and Freya. We took the bus partway and walked the rest to Harteværket, Denmark's first major hydroelectric plant, built 1918-1920. It is still in use but is now mainly a historical site and water playground where kids can play and learn about water and energy. It was closed but we could still explore the grounds and enjoy the scenery.

a little cold and rainy but still beautiful

met this guy and his friends along the way - he was behind an electric fence (Rus tested it)

Harteværket