Berlin Bound

Last week was autumn holiday in Denmark, so E and I took our own holiday to Berlin! We hadn't been there in over ten years, when we last went together in high school. It was great to be back, and see things from our adult perspective. We also got to visit my old host family in Potsdam, where we also revisited Sanssouci and other familiar places around town.

Near our hostel in Berlin, crossing the river

Morning sun on the Reichstag

This area sure has changed a lot

The palace at Sanssouci (which means ohne sorgen)

E in a nice spot on the Sanssouci grounds

See above

I like this picture because of all the different things that are in it. Evergreen trees, red ivy, leafy deciduous trees, Romanesque arches, and a windmill! Awesome.

E with B's old host family (and new daughter-in-law) after a nice dinner in Potsdam

The Deutche Dom, Berlin Concerthouse and Französischer Dom in Berlin

The Berliner Dom and Fernsehturm - a nice contrast of new and old

B about to get his zoo on

A pretty tree in the zoo

Autumn in Aarhus, the sequel

We are in the middle of some fine fall weather here in Aarhus, and we've been celebrating with lots of walks in the nearby forests and around town. Also, lots of hot chocolate. Here are some pictures from recent walks - one to the forest south of town a couple weeks ago, and one to the forest north of town today.

Marselis Skov

A small bear statue at the edge of the forest. We like it a lot

 

An awesome fungus! This year has been great for fungus in the forests, I guess because of the very wet summer.

Grow tall, little mushroom!

From near the Queen's summer palace, there is this nice lawn then some trees, then the bay. Very nice.

Some fall colors

And some nice oranges

Riisskov

A view through the forest and towards the bay

E in the forest

Some cool mushrooms

Sitting on the dock by the bay

See those long shadows? Yeah, that's what the light is like here at noon!

Things That Make Sense, But Are Still Wrong

There are lots of little things that make life different in Denmark than in the US. Many of those things I don't care about, some things I like better here, and others I prefer in the US. This is about a couple of things I have been thinking about recently, where deep down, I know that the way here makes more sense, but darn it, I just don't like it.

1. 24-hour clocks. Digital clocks here nearly universally give "military" time. I have to admit this makes a lot of sense. Why should there be two different times during the day both called 7 o'clock? It clears up confusion! If someone tells me their flight leaves at 8, I don't have to ask whether that's a.m. or p.m. If it were p.m., they would have said 20:00. Despite all of that, I just don't like it. Every time I look at a clock, I get a little confused. It's especially confusing when doing time-math, which I'm used to doing modulo 12 (e.g. what time is 5 hours after 11, 4 of course!). For some reason, doing this in 24 hour time becomes very hard, when in fact it should be easier! Plus, I want to go to bed at 11, not 23! It's just wrong, and that's all there is to it.

2. Colored money. The bills here are different colors depending on their value. I know what you're thinking - that sounds awesome! It makes it super-easy to tell the bills apart from one another. That's all true, and it makes great sense. I just can't overcome the feeling that I'm buying stuff with Monopoly money. Real money should all be the same color (preferably a sort of ugly shade of green).

On another topic, Danes are famous for not wanting to boast. One funny place you see this is in advertising, where the goal is to try to say that your product is good without sounding like you are bragging. For example, it is acceptable (but pushing it) to say that your beer is "Probably the best beer in the world" (Carlsberg beer ads). My personal favorite, though, is for a bank called Nykredit. Their ads feature a solid blue background with only these words:

"Nykredit er en bank"

This means "Nykredit is a bank". I love it! Really, what else do you need to know? Come on, it's a bank. You put your money in it. Then later you can take it out. That pretty much says it all.