Familien Christensen Weblog

Farvel Denmark….

familienchristensen — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:15:30 +0000

It’s been almost two weeks since we have returned to Hawaii and I finally have a little time to update this blog. (Maybe the last entry!)

Here’s what has happened….

After a long and stressful flight back to the US, we arrived in Honolulu at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday the 19th of July. We came back to balmy weather and a house full of boxes. At least our beds were made up and we had groceries, thanks to Kevin and my Mom.

There are a lot of mixed feelings upon our return but I think for the most part we are happy to be “home.” Yes, there are a lot of things we will miss about Denmark — especially while I search Long’s and Walmart for the 107 items EACH child will need upon their return to Kaimuki Christian School whereas in Denmark all they needed was a backpack and a pencil! (In Denmark they thought I was weird when I asked what school supplies the kids would need when they started school!) But oh, well… there are a million things that I am marveling at! Like the ease at which we can find find things we take for granted — large trash cans, good aluminum foil, stores open on Sundays. Sounds weird but those of you who have lived or even visited Europe will understand.

We will also miss the wonderful way of life the Danes have carved out for themselves. Despite the awful weather, the Danes have a wonderful love and appreciation of life. It was refreshing to be in a society not yet tarnished by materialism, racism and superficiality. (Yes, there is all that in Denmark but not to the degree we see in America.)

Before we left for Denmark our goals were: that Danika, Viggo and I learn to speak Danish (two out of three is not bad!); the kids could experience the Danish way of life; and we would visit Paris and Rome. In all, the move was a wonderful success in more ways than we could have imagined!

But now the kids are eager to start school; Keld is eager to get his business going again; and me, well, I think I’m going to try and find a job in this awful economy!

We thank you all for joining us in this remarkable journey and hope this inspires you to follow your dreams!

Much love and aloha,

Keld, Sandy, Danika & Viggo

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Sandy’s 50th Birthday Bash!

familienchristensen — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:21:19 +0000

If you’re going to have a party you have to have it in Denmark! So that’s why I decided to have my Big 5-0 party here! I invited 70 of our family and good friends for a “rigtig godt Dansk fest!” – really good Danish party! We had beautiful weather with a bouncer in the yard for the kids. We grilled a whole pig, had a delicious salad bar and, of course, potatoes! Afterwards we had coffee, cakes, candies and cookies (cookies were made by Aunt Hilda! Yummy!). The party was made complete with Danish songs about me, entertainment provided by the neighbors, aka “Fousing Four” and many “Hurrahs!” The last meal of the night which is called “natmad” was hot dogs at midnight. The party winded down around 2 am with us diehards staying up until 5:30 a.m. That’s when Marie tucked Hans into his car and we called it a night. What a night to remember!!!!!

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What’s happening…..
familienchristensen — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:54:42 +0000
Well, now that we’ve finally moved in to the new house (see new pics in Flickr) we found out that we must return to the US within a year or Keld will have to reapply for his green card. (If we had applied for a special Visa before we left it might have been alright but as it is now it would mean a lot of hassle, i.e. medical exams, interviews, etc.) So we must now scramble to finish this house in Denmark and pack up and move back to Hawaii where we will have to unpack all our household goods there!
And now that we realize we only have about 2 months left here we thought we should visit Copenhagen and Legoland! So we squeezed in a trip to Copenhagen last week and visited Tivoli (twice), Bakken and a place called Experimentarium. (For those of you with kids it is like the Bishop Museum and Children’s Museum x’s 100!) It’s fantastic for kids and adults alike! Next we have to go to Legoland for a couple of days.
The oldest roller-coaster in the world!
Playland at Tivoli
Tivoli was in full-bloom!

So my 50th birthday party, which was scheduled for July 4, we’ll also be having a farvel party! We should be back in HI the end of July! Until then…………

         


House Update
familienchristensen — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:36:23 +0000


         


Hans Christian Andersen’s House
familienchristensen — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 06:24:53 +0000
We finally planned a trip to the island of Fyn where Hans Christian Andersen grew up. We stayed at a harbor city named Bogense (pronounced Bone-sah) which is half an hours drive to Odense (pronounced Own-sah).
Hans Christian Andersen's childhood home.
Odense is the city where HC Andersen lived as a boy. We also visited a friend of Keld’s from his “bachelor” days in Hawaii, Kim Falden, so they could reminisce about the good old days when they could party all night and their six-pack was on their stomach not in the fridge!
We think HC Andersen slept here as a boy.



Danika and Viggo had a fun time trying to find 5 items in the HC Andersen museum, including HC Andersen’s top hat and false teeth!
We had beautiful weather and a fun time — what more could we ask for!
Danika found HC Andersen's top hat -- Viggo found his wooden false teeth! Yek!

         


Happy Easter from Around the World!
familienchristensen — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:51:27 +0000
Happy Easter or god påske from Denmark! The whole family got together to celebrate Easter and have our annual Easter egg hunt! My Mom sent us a couple of egg coloring kits since they don’t color eggs here. We got all 50 eggs from a neighbor’s farm. Some were big, some small and some a little deformed! Plus another 25 eggs from my nieces who had an egg coloring kit from 2 years ago when we spent Easter here. So a total of around 75 eggs for 5 kids to hunt for!
Danika, cousin Helene & Viggo made Easter decorations.
We “borrowed” neighbors Hans & Birthe’s garden for the egg hunt since our yard is ravaged from construction. Hans is an artist who sculpts from metal and rocks. Check out his website at www.felthaus.dk. His garden is a virtual art museum and the kids love to play there! Viggo got the Golden Egg and we managed to find all but 1 egg.
After that we had our usual kaffe tid or coffee time with cakes, cookies and candies!
All but one egg was found and Viggo found the golden egg.

         


FESTELAVN
familienchristensen — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:48:24 +0000
The Danes have a holiday called Festelavn which is similar to Halloween however it is in February. My best interpretation I got is that in the old days it was a time of fasting and a time to scare off bad luck. So they actually put a black cat in a barrel and bashed it until it broke open then chased the poor cat through town, i.e. like chasing the evil spirits away. Luckily nowadays they only put a picture of a black cat in a wooden barrel. But they still bash that barrel until it breaks open and candy spills out. Kind of like a piñata.
Danika hitting the barrel.
Let me tell you, that barrel is solid! So all the kids dress up and bash that barrel! The first one who gets it to start breaking is named the queen and the one who finally breaks it open is the king! Danika won the double honor ofbeing “King & Queen” which she shared with her cousin Helene. The kids also go door-to-door and sing a song for candy or money. I don’t think it is as big as Halloween but it was a lot of fun for the kids!
Cousin Helene, Danika & Viggo

         


All Roads lead to Rome….
familienchristensen — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:55:33 +0000
For our “vinterferie” we planned a trip to Rome from February 7 to 14. And it was perfect that we spend Valentine’s Day in Rome where it all began. Keld’s niece, Lise, met us at the Fumicino Airport and from there we took a private taxi to our hotel, appropriately named Hotel Gladiatori. Needless to say, it was right next to the ancient gladiator’s living quarters and practice area. The rooftop restaurant of our hotel overlooked the Collosseum and each day as we went to tour the city we saw it right in front of us. It never failed to awwwwwe us!
 
A must was a visit to Pompei as Danika read a book about it. She got to see the famous dog that died that day.

 
Although it was chilly in Rome we got to see Vatican City with no lines or crowds, made our wishes at Trevi Fountain and ate a lot of gellato. And yes, the spaghetti tastes so much better in Italy! And since wine was cheaper than a can of Coke…..when in Rome do as the Romans!
Ciao for now!


         


MOVING DAY!!!
familienchristensen — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:53:20 +0000
The time has FINALLY come….vi skal flytte ind i det nye hus! WE SHALL MOVE IN TO THE NEW HOUSE!
It’s been a looooooooong 5-plus months waiting for this moment! (The original “deal” was that we would be moved in for Christmas but alas that was just a dream.) Although not completely finished (when is a house ever completely finished, especially when you are married to a contractor!) As long as the water and toilet is working I’m moving in this weekend! Believe me, I’ve lived in worse renovations so this is luxury to me!
 
Jens Peter, neighbor and good friend, helps out!
This is the kitchen which Keld helped design. It’s really big and has many modern features such as a vacuum cleaning system that is under the sink so you can just sweep all the crumbs into it and it sucks it up! Also, the lights turn on automatically when you enter the room! Certain things are not common in Europe such as garbage disposals! Oh well, can’t have everything!
Cleaning the windows -- check out that view!
Verner (behind, left) is Keld’s brother who is building the house. He too is a contractor and will live downstairs in the main house. We will live upstairs where there are three bedrooms, a bath with a small living room! 
Danika and Viggo have chosen some neat colors for their rooms and I’ll get some pics soon! 
There is a lot to do so gotta get going…….farvel!

         


Looking back at 2008…
familienchristensen — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:55:23 +0000
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