Beer, God, and Goodbye

Last Thursday, we bid Ron and Michael a fond "farvel!".

Our visiting celebrities--both of whom currently perform with the Twelve Irish Tenors and are capable of affecting a remarkably convincing Irish accent, particularly when mocking the Irish--returned home to the US after a whirlwind trip through Iceland, Copenhagen, and the UK. Their stay gave us an excuse to do lots of touristy things that we wouldn't otherwise do. And simply walking around the city with them, ingesting the sights and sounds of this lovely time of year, reaffirmed what a beautiful place Copenhagen truly is. 

Their next-to-last day focused on beer: specifically, a trip to the Carlsberg Brewery, along with Robyn and my parents (I couldn't go, alas). Pics here. 

The morning of their departure, we awoke (somewhat) early and made a dash for one of our nearby favorite pastry joints. We then strolled over to Vor Frelsers Kirke ("Our Savior's Church"), a beautiful baroque church in the Christianhavn district that was initially built in the 1680s. Its defining feature is its famous twisted "chocolate spire"--and yes, you can actually walk along a narrow, creaky external staircase all the way to the top. The ascent is not for those prone to vertigo and/or pants-wetting. But the spire offers perhaps the most breathtaking view in town, as these pics confirm.

Bowels still fluttering from our harrowing climb, we quickly returned to our flat so that the Ron and Michael could catch their flight. I've yet to hear otherwise, so I'm assuming they found their way home.

It was a great visit! 

Tillykke med fødselsdagen, Mor!

More pics from mom's birthday BBQ here (thanks to Ron for taking most of the photos).

Edit: photo link now working.

Ron and Michael Take Denmark

Robyn's brother, Ron, and his friend Michael have joined us in Copenhagen for a few days. Things got off to a rousing start last night with a trip to check out some electronic music action from the Strøm Festival, followed up with a few pints at a nearby pub. 

It's a bit rainy and cool today--in Copenhagen?!? Go figure!--but we have a number of things planned. More on that later. For now, you can see a few pics from last night's adventures here.

Silas and Marsha: From Carlsbad to Copenhagen

A couple of weeks ago--nearly fourty-five years to the day of his ordination--my father retired from the ministry. He'd been Head Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Carlsbad, CA, for twenty-one years. Prior to that, he'd served parishes in Michigan, Arizona, and Texas.

So what is Silas doing in retirement? Puttering around the house, hunting for loose nails and tiles to grout? Working on his lawn care technique? Erm, not exactly. He's moved to Copenhagen (with my mother, of course) to serve as Interim Pastor at the International Church of Copenhagen. We recently said goodbye to our beloved Pastor, Chad Rimmer, and his family as they moved on to a new phase of their life in Scotland. My father's retirement coincided perfectly with Pastor Rimmer's departure--so here he is, filling in until ICC's new Pastor arrives some time in October.

After a moving goodbye service and celebration in Carlsbad (which Robyn and I could not attend, alas), some hectic planning and packing, and a nine hour flight to Copenhagen via Washington, my parents arrived in Denmark and have settled into the church house (though they did stay with us in our flat the first week of their arrival).

It's great to have them here. More Kruegers in Denmark. Who woulda thunk it? View some pics from their arrival and first week here.

Happy Birthday!

Happy (belated) birthday, Robyn!

He's back!

Our fuzzy house guest, Sammy (a.k.a. "Sammy Whammy", "The Samster", "Seattle Sammy", "Samma-lamma-bing-bong") is back for another stay. It's like he never left.

Not feelin' the (soccer) love.

Evidently, something big is goin' down.

There is currently an important soccer (i.e., "football") match playing out on Danish television. Denmark (wearing snappy little red and white kits; very sharp) is pitted against those dastardly Swedes (garish yellow and blue kits; very IKEA-ish). This much I know. And I also know that Denmark currently leads, 1-0. Erm, go Denmark. Kick that ball. Kick it...through the net 'n stuff. Alot. Yay.

Beyond these basic facts, I have no idea why they are playing or what the significance of this match is. Like most Americans, I hardly even know the rules of soccer.

But my neighbors several floors down clearly do. They are reacting audibly, and with much gusto, to each important in-game happening. Denmark's first goal elicited thunderous cheers and whoops of unfettered ecstasy that shook our entire building. Then, a moment ago, the satellite feed dropped out for a few seconds. The ensuing shrieks of horror and panicked screams of "TRUCK!"* (*not what they really said) were surely heard all the way to Berlin. These folks clearly dig their soccer. I hope they don't burn the joint down if Denmark loses.

Silly Europeans and their trivial pastimes. I'm off to play some World of Warcraft...    

Copenhagen surfing?

Check the link for some "dynamite" surfing action in Copenhagen (just underneath the bridge I cross on foot nearly every day).

Clearly fake, alas. But given the nearly ubiquitous Danish affection for all things explosive (see Exhibit A and B, respectively), this scenario isn't entirely implausible.  

Andrew Bird

Last night, Robyn and I went to see the American musician Andrew Bird.

He played at one of our favorite music venues in Copenhagen: Lille Vega. Bird's music is tough to categorize; he tends to roam freely over any number of different genres (e.g., folk, bluegrass, alt-country, New Orleans Jazz, looping instrumental drone, etc.)--very often throughout the course of a single song! Along with a distinctive vocal style, he's also renowned for his lyrical dexterity. It's not often one hears a song kick off with a ditty like "From proto-Sanskrit Minoans to porto-centric Lisboans" (that's from the track "Tenuousness"). Bird veers dangerously close to hyper-cerebral preciousness in spots, but his music is so rich and resonant--and he's such an unexpectedly charismatic performer in person; no emo brooding for him!--that it never really comes off as cloying or masturbatory. Dude's simply a musical genius. He can't help it. And, he's one hell of a whistler!

Someone already posted a clip from last night's show on YouTube. It's not my favorite song, but it gives a pretty good taste of the Bird Experience. Here's another clip (this one from a show in Orlando earlier this year) of him playing "Lull", one of my favorite tracks.

See him if you can. He's a rare talent.