Day In, Day Out

We moved here to Denmark so that Christopher could spend his sabbatical doing research in Ole Kiehn's lab at the University of Copenhagen.  So, that's where Christopher spends his days, Monday thru Friday.  Gaius is enrolled in the 7th grade at CIS (Copenhagen International School).  So, Gaius spends most of his time at school and at the various skate parks around the city.  I thought my friends and family might be wondering what I do everyday.

CIS BOOTCAMP

Before we moved here, I was so excited to discover that there is a bootcamp class that is held at Gaius' school for parents of CIS students!  The class meets 2-3 times a week, and I've been going ever since we arrived.  I love it!  The class takes place in the Early Years Gym at the school.  Usually, there are around 8-16 people who show up for each class!  Here is a picture taken on my very first day at CIS Bootcamp!

My First Workout

My trainer, Sophi is the one on the right.  She's a really great coach!  The class is always fun and challenging, and the workouts change from day to day.  The music is great, the classmates are super nice and interesting.  It's just the best!

Since the weather is now warming up, Monday classes take place outside on the roof of this cool parking structure.  

I'm the one in the middle

This rooftop gym is located in Nordhavn, just a short walk from Gaius' school.  One cool feature is this long staircase that runs up the side of the building.  At the bottom of the stairs, you hit the timer and run up the stairs.  When you get to the top, you tap out and the display shows you your time.

It's a long way to the top

That's fast, BTW

Rooftop Gym

Going to bootcamp is my favorite part of the week!  In addition to working out, sometimes we have coffee after in the CIS cafeteria.  On this day, we had a bootcamp birthday party for everyone's favorite boot camper, Sanne!

Workout, Eat Cake.  Repeat.

DISCOVER COPENHAGEN WALKING TOURS

Another group I've joined is the CIS Discover Copenhagen Walking Group.  Our professional tour guide, Heidi takes a group of us CIS parents around Copenhagen and tells us the history and background of the different parts of the city.  

Our first tour was of Christianshavn (my neighborhood), Holmen and Christiania.    We learned about the history of Christianshavn.  We toured the naval islands of Holmen and learned about the history of Freetown Christiania.  

Christianshavn/Christiania Tour

My second tour was of Nørrebro, one of Copenhagen's most ethnically diverse residential areas.  We explored the old working class area and visited the Assistens Cemetery, where Hans Christian Andersen is buried.  The tour ended right down the street from Christopher's lab, so afterward, I joined him for lunch!  

Nørrebro Tour

The most recent tour was of Vesterbro and Valby.  We walked from the hipster Meatpacking District (great restaurants) all the way to the grounds of the Carlsberg Brewery.  It was amazing!

Vesterbro & Valby Tour

Famous Elephant Gate at Carlsberg Brewery

Boy Elephant

The next two tours will take us out of Copenhagen.  Next week, we will go to Roskilde and visit the Viking Ship Museum!  Next month, we'll be going to Helsingør, home of Hamlet's Castle!

CIS URBAN SKETCHERS

This week, I joined a group called CIS Urban Sketchers.  Katya, our leader will take us to places all over Copenhagen where we can sketch what we see.  For our first meeting, we went to a little garden in between the Opera and Amalienborg Palace (where they do the Changing of the Guard.). It turns out that I'm really not that good at sketching!  I was actually shocked by how bad I was at it.  But, I had a lot of fun.  I'm not giving up!  I'm going to stick with it!  I hope I get better.

Art is Fun

Tomorrow is Queen Margrethe's birthday.  I've heard that on her birthday, she comes out on her balcony and waves to the crowd.  So, that's what I'll be doing tomorrow.  Hanging out with the Queen!  This is how I've been spending my time here in Copenhagen.  As the weather gets warmer, I'm sure I'll branch out!  

På Gensyn!

Doctor, Doctor

Tandklinik (Dental Clinic)

One of the first official emails I received when we arrived in Denmark was notice of Gaius' first dental appointment.  They made the appointment for him automatically.  "Welcome to Denmark!  Let us check your child's teeth."  I was a little nervous because I had heard horror stories about "Viking Dentistry" being rough.  Luckily, at that first appointment we didn't experience any of that!  

Dental Office at Christianshavn School

The first thing that surprised me is that the dental offices for kids are located inside of the public schools.  Gaius' dentist is located in the primary school for our neighborhood, Christianshavn Skole.  Dental care (including braces) for kids 18 and under is free.

Self Check In

When you walk into the waiting room, there is no receptionist.  Instead, you scan your CPR card (health card) and that lets the dentist know that you are there and waiting.  At his first appointment, Gaius had X-rays and they checked him for cavities.  They gave him a quick little lesson on how to brush his teeth better, and we made an appointment to come back in one month for a cleaning.  They gave him some of those dental disclosing tablets that dye your teeth to show you the areas you need to focus on when brushing. They gave him a new toothbrush.  The congratulated him for having no cavities!  

Viking Dentistry: The Cleaning

We went back for a cleaning one month later.  I was so impressed by Gaius.  He spoke Danish to his dentist!  The cleaning was fine.  No blood.  No tears.  It was over just like that!  Nothing to pay, no paperwork.  In case you are wondering, even though the dentist here is "free," kids still get a toy when they leave at the end of their appointment.

Lægehuset (Health Center)
I recently had to make an appointment for Gaius to see a doctor.  If you call the number on your CPR card between 8 am - 9 am, you can actually talk to your doctor and make an appointment.  I got Gaius an appointment for the next day.

The doctor visit was a flop.  When I arrived at the office building, I was greeted by this bank of buzzers.  I didn't know which buzzer to press.  Which one would you pick?  Hint, it's the most used button.

Lægerne means "The Doctors"

When we walked into the waiting room, we checked in with the receptionists.  It turns out that one of those receptionists was the doctor.  He listened to Gaius' lungs.  He looked in Gaius' ears.  He looked at Gaius' throat.  He said, "Everything seems fine."  I said, "Well, didn't you notice that his tonsils are really swollen?"  He said, "That's normal for this age.  They'd have to be swollen like this for two years before we'd surgically remove them."  Then, they gave Gaius a finger prick blood test.  I'm not sure what they were testing for.  It came back negative.  And then they said goodbye.  Huh?  What?  Wait!  He's sick!  

They pricked his finger twice

I think Gaius' congestion might be due to allergies.  So, on my way out, I asked another doctor what allergy medicine Gaius should use.  She wrote this down for me.  Can you read this?  It's supposed to say "Cetirizin 10 mg."  It most definitely does NOT say that though.  I mean look.  There's not even a Z!

Taking Illegible Doctor Writing to a New Level
This does NOT say Cetirizin 10 mg

So, the good news is, according to Danish standards, Gaius is in perfect health!  

På Gensyn!