Summertime?

Here in Denmark we don't have Daylight Savings, as such.  Instead we change the clocks twice a year, in late October and late March.  From October to March we have Vintertid, winter-time.  And from March to October, it's Sommertid, summer-time. 

In a way, this is hopelessly optimistic, since March in Denmark is not especially balmy or sunny.  And yet, there's something true about it.  Of course we get the extra hour of light in the evenings, and it comes right when the days have actually started getting longer-- just over 13 hours long this week.  And if you've ever been to Denmark in the summer, then you know the evening light is special in a heart-breakingly nostalgic, Nordic sort of way.  And when Sommertid starts, that kind of light starts up too.

Despite the special summer light, it is actually just becoming spring.  The first sign of spring here is when the crocuses start popping up.  Some years they have to fight their way up through the snow, but when you see them carpeting Rådhusparken and the grounds of Vor Frue Kirke, then it's springtime in Aarhus.

  

It's getting warm enough now that C and I have been finding lots of ladybugs--more and more each day.  Today we found nearly 100 mariehøns!  Luckily we know the Danish rhyme to say when we find them:

Marie, Marie, Marolle
Flyv op til Vorherre og bed om godt vejr. 

Marie, Marie, Marolle.

Fly up to Our Lord and pray for good weather.

So far it's working!

Hot Times in Holland!

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you might think we only go on vacations.  This is sadly untrue.  We do have more vacations than you might expect because we are embracing the Danish holiday mindset.  But the shameful truth is that having lived here for almost 4 years, we don't see much to blog about.  This is just our life now.  It's not that weird or special or exotic.  It's just us, B and E, and little C, going about our business.

Last week we took a little break from the routine and headed down to the Netherlands for our almost-annual tulip pilgrimage.  It didn't disappoint.  Holland is just about the best place on Earth in the springtime.  We set up a home base in Haarlem but also traveled out to tulip country, visited the famous gardens at Keukenhof, and prowled around Amsterdam.

A fine start as we ride the bus out to the airport.  C gets into the Dutch spirit with an orange sheep sticker on her nose.

A genuine "kermis!"  We were in Haarlem on King's Day and enjoyed the festivities at De Groote Markt.

St. Bavo's Church in Haarlem

I think Holland beats Paris any day.  The weather is warmer, the food is better and cheaper, and there are tulips!

Holland continues to be perfect.

Even though we were a bit late for prime tulip viewing, some fields were still dramatically stripy!

Extra-patriotic orange tulip fields just outside of Keukenhof.

But surprise!  Up close they're actually red and yellow striped tulips!

C digs the tulips.

C's mind is ever-so-slightly blown by the sheer riotousness of Keukenhof.

Ahhh!  We love the tulips!

We love them so much!

Tulips speak for themselves.

C demands to see the view from above.  It's not always easy being shorter than a tulip.

As far as the eye can see!

Tulips in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam. 

Also in the Vondelpark.  See the crown on the A?  That's for King's Day!

If you weren't sure how big a deal King's Day is--it's so big, there are special edition orange M&Ms.

Just toodling around Haarlem.

Toodle toodle toodle toodle.

Early morning in Haarlem.

Almost home again.  At the train station in Vejle.

Finally Forår!

Yes, dear readers, it's true!  Spring has come to Denmark at last!

Here's photographic proof.

Also, we know it's spring because yesterday at the farmer's market we bought flotte danske jordbaer, and rhubarb too.  Which means only one thing--strawberry rhubarb crumble tonight!

Just in case you're not totally tuned into the Europop phenomenon, I'll also report that Denmark won the Eurovision Song Contest this year!  (This is a BIG DEAL). Stort tilykke, Emmilie de Forest.  You can see her performance below.  Thanks to her, Denmark will be hosting the contest next year!

On Optimism

It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.
"So it is."
"And freezing."
"Is it?"
"Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately.”

Today B and I were bemoaning the "wintry mix." If you're lucky enough not to know what that is, it's when it rains and snows and maybe sleets all at the same time. Now the wintry mix has turned to snow, which is certainly an improvement, but also kind of a disappointment since we were thinking maybe spring was coming soon.

(According to the Danes, it already is spring, since March 1st is always the first day of spring! I guess that also shows a certain optimism).

Anyway, we're thinking about how we'll go to Holland soon and see the tulips and wait for spring to come to Denmark. And we're also thinking, well, we haven't had any earthquakes recently either.

Holiday in Holland!

On Saturday, B and I took the CityNightLine train to Amsterdam. We booked a sleeping compartment and settled in for a long ride. After arriving in Amsterdam, we took a small train to Haarlem, and then a bus to Noordwijkerhout.

Noordwijkerhout is the heart of bulb country. Even from the bus, we could see huge fields of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and lilies.

It was amazing, and so utterly fabulous that we took about 400 pictures of flowers, with an average of 3.7 million blooms in each photo. Keep reading to see some of them!

We also enjoyed the fantastic Dutch spring weather. It was warm and sunny all the time, so we were able to walk everywhere. On this trip, we walked 54 kilometers. We covered a variety of terrain, including flower fields, dunes, beaches, and polders. B even saw his arch-enemy Ammophila in its native environment!

Before arriving, we weren't sure how many tulips we'd be able to see, so we planned to visit Keukenhof, the biggest bulb flower park in the world. It was beautiful, although packed with tourists. On the other hand, tourists who like tulips are my favorite kind! It was fun to see some of the more exotic flower varieties and specially designed exhibits, though as it turned out, we saw plenty of tulips for free just walking around.

Besides wandering around the Dutch countryside, we made small trips to Den Haag and Haarlem. Both of those cities were really nice, with lots of trees, parks, and attractive canals. We saw many bicyclists--though maybe not as many as here-- and the Dutch people were very friendly and helpful.

In Den Haag, we visited Madurodam, which is basically Holland in miniature. B visited there as a small boy and has never forgotten it, so I said we had to go. It was worth the trip--there were even tiny tulip fields!

E is excited about getting on the train!

Bam! Lots of yellow tulips!

Tulip fields somewhere between de Blink and Noordwijkerhout (I love Dutch!)

Not far from our hostel were these nice fields

B thinks about tulips

Stripes of tulip colors

E in tulips

One thing we didn't expect is how good everything smells!

Sunset added some nice lights to the tulips. It smelled really good here too.

E is inspired

Keukenhof was pretty cool

One of the rarer colors we saw at Keukenhof

Orange is the color of Holland, so I think these must be extra-Dutch

See what I mean?

Some more tulips at Keukenhof

Flower production is serious agricultural business in this region.

Here we are on the beach near our hostel

Holland in miniature! At Madurodam in Den Haag.

Tiny tulips and a tiny tulip tractor

B-zilla!

A very nice springy park in Den Haag

Haarlem