Robyn and Joel's Blog: Chronicling our Copenhagen Adventures

Yes, we're that interesting.


Saturday, January 24, 2009

Supersize me!

Robyn and I have become big fans of shawarma. We have a regular rotation of local shawarma joints we frequent when the craving hits. And just to keep things interesting, we rarely go to the same joint two times in a row. We're crazy like that.

One of our local joints, however, seems to consistently give us (or rather, me) trouble. I faithfully order the same thing every time from the same guy behind the counter: "One shawarma menu, please, and one extra shawarma sandwich" (of course, imagine I've just said this in kindergarten-level Danish). The former is the Danish equivalent of a McDonald's "extra value meal": shawarma, fries, and a coke. The latter is, quite obviously, just the sandwich itself. The friendly Turkish chap behind the counter nods solemnly with understanding every time and shuffles off to put together my order.

Alas, there seems to be a persistent hiccup in our communication process. We always get the first part of the order, just as requested. But half the time I come home, open the bag, and am greeted by some sort of obscenely engorged shawarma mutant sandwich big enough to feed an average Danish family of four for a week. I have no idea what this is or how I continue to order it.

Here's some photographic evidence:

What you can't see in this picture are the three pounds of meat and streams of red grease that will soon come shooting out of this mutant sandwich with the next bite. 

I remain committed to solving this communication problem. If it means eating shawarma three times a week for the remainder of our stay in Denmark then, by Morgan Spurlock, I will do it!

     

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Meteor!

So last night, Robyn and I were dining with friends. They live in a beautiful house in Charlottenlund, one of the "poshest" areas in greater Copenhagen. Their dining room has a large window which overlooks a spacious, meticulously-manicured backyard (a rareity in Copenhagen). It's truly a beautiful house and a beautiful piece of property. We always look forward to our visits with them.

In the middle of dinner, our rather boisterous conversation was suddenly interrupted by a series of abrupt flashes of white light. They were bright enough that we all noticed them and stopped, mid-sentence (or in my case, mid-quaff, with wine glass on my lips). After a few jokes about alien abduction, we concluded that some locals were simply finishing off leftover New Year's fireworks (recall that, as we've posted previously, the Danes love them their fireworks!).

Turns out we were wrong. The flashes of light were actually the result of a large meteor plummeting to earth! Video here.

Earthquakes, meteor attacks. What's next?

My money is on a plague of locusts. 

 

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Happy Birthday GG!

Today is a special day!

My grandmother, Grandma Ginny turns 80 today! Happy Birthday! And, it is very fitting that I write this while in London, because thirteen and a half years ago my grandparents met me here in London and helped me move to Kingston Upon Hull for my year abroad. My grandmother’s face was the first face I saw as I entered the arrivals terminal after a sleepless night on the plane. We toured London for several days before loading up a rental car and my grandfather drove us up to Hull. He was very brave to drive – on the wrong side of the road – through the tiny little side streets of the English countryside. We even survived a flat tire! What a great adventure. I’ve had many great adventures with my grandparents… and met them all over the world…

So, Happy Birthday to the coolest and most well-traveled grandmother in the world! Can’t wait to see you back in London… or Copenhagen… or wherever we meet up next. We love you!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

The Day After.



Happy New Year!

Here's a live report from Copenhagen (pardon the shoddy camera work):






Check out the protective eyewear with the sparkly scarf!


Yes, I am holding my ears. Our neighbors were setting off fireworks right in front of our balcony... there were a few misfires, which made me wonder if we should have been wearing protective eyewear.

Happy New Year!

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