Travel So Far: moving

Yesterday, my aunt and uncle came to Kolding with a trailer and helped us move loads of furniture, bikes and boxes. Liam and Ila and Mei are staying at the apartment of some Polish friends who are in Poland visiting family while Dean, Freya and I are staying with our British friends. We have successfully sold and given away the majority of our posssessions and are trying really hard to get our suitcases down to 23 kg each. We are each only taking the same amount back that we brought here: one suitcase and one backpack per person. Deciding what to bring back has proved a lot more difficult than when we packed to come here.

We are going back to clean in the next couple of days and then doing the final move-out inspection on Thursday. On Friday we will be taking the train to Berlin where we will stay until we fly back to Canada on July 8th. It was the most economical way to return to Canada and the fact that we get to stay in Berlin for a few days is a pretty sweet bonus.
We have been starting to say goodbye to people. I had my last day of work on the 18th. In Denmark, it's tradition for the person leaving to bring cakes or treats to share with their co-workers. This is also how it works for birthdays; the birthday person brings the treats. I worked with some really great people and learned a lot about the Danish workplace and culture. I have to say that it is a much healthier environment than the typical Canadian workplace. There is more concern for the welfare of the individual employee and the work-life balance is more reasonable as well. I know this is not the case everywhere, but it is what I have noticed as a whole. I will definitely miss that!
On Thursday, I got together for a small tapas garden party with my Polish friend Ela and a couple of other ladies. Ela's daughters went to the IB program with Ila and Mei and became good friends and Ela has been a good friend to me during my stay here, always offering any help she can and making sure we are doing well.
We had a nice visit from my cousin Lars and his family on Friday. They brought sandwiches and we took a little trip to the nearest playground. Freya and their kids really bonded and will be sad to not see each other again for a while. They might come to Canada next summer though, so we will look forward to that!