Health care is not an issue I particularly enjoy talking about because it seems currently, it can be a touchy subject. But today, I got my renewal private insurance card and decided that I am going to suck it up and vocalize my thoughts on the Danish Health Care System.
One of the advantages to paying the ridiculous high taxes in Denmark is the universal heath care system. It is a nice change to see everyone in a country taken care of medically. Imagine a place where if you require some huge surgery, you won't pay a dime. Or if you need to be admitted to the hospital for weeks, you will never incur any costs. I think back to 1999-2002 when my brother, Joe, underwent multiple surgeries, was in and out of the hospitals on practically a monthly basis, and even spent a little over a month at the Mayo Clinic in AZ. The amount of money that boy racked up was unimaginable. Our family was blessed to have so many friends, family, strangers and even a miraculous generosity of a hospital, that my family didn't suffer financially the way I am sure many many others could have, and do on a daily basis. I think of all that and I can't imagine how wonderful it WOULD have been if that money was never racked up in the first place. Then of think of all the people in the states that aren't fortunate enough to have insurance in one form or another and am thankful that my brother DID at least have insurance. But what if he didn't?
Fortunately, here in Denmark, that is never a question.
But, when I think, "What if Joe had lived in Denmark in 1999 when he got sick", would it have been any better financially? Without a doubt, yes, but in that, I'm not positive he would have gotten the same care that he NEEDED to survive when he needed it. Would he have gone on a waiting list to wait for surgery and would that wait have been too long?
We have read in papers and discussed in depth with some of our Danish friends and even our Danish teacher about the problems of the hospitals being overcrowded and many times patients in the hospitals are left in the hallways because there are no rooms for them. There have been pictures in the newspapers of hallways lined with hospital beds. I met a Canadian girl about 6 months ago who had recently been to the hospital. She told me how she was surprised that she waited about 7-8 hours in the waiting room. Apparently this is common, my guess is that it is because everybody is able to go to the emergency room, so, naturally, there are more people there! Makes sense in my mind!
We know people personally that have had a family member diagnosed with cancer and put on a waiting list to get treatment. By the time their name came up, 2 or 3 months later, the cancer had progressed too much for the chemo and radiation to do anything. This is unfortunately a common problem in the system and that scares me!! Actually, scares isn't strong enough...that terrifies...horrifies me! What if, God forbid, Michael or I are diagnosed with the big "C"? Without our US health insurance allowing us to hop on a plane for immediate treatment back home, would we be left to sit and wait for that call?
BUT....Private Health Care is becoming more and more available over here. Many companies are starting to provide it to their employees. Since Texas Instruments is such an amazing company, and always seems to be very forward thinking we are fortunate to have private health insurance though TI. If we have an emergency, we will go to a private hospital, if something horrible happens to one of us, I can rest assured, we will be taken care of in a timely manner and that makes me....my hubby...and our moms (I'm sure) much happier. :)
Denmark's Health Care system is without a doubt, wonderful. It would be amazing to raise children in an environment where as a parent you weren't stressed about having some kind of insurance and having the comfort of a safety net, knowing that no matter what happens, you and your children will be treated. Those hefty taxes certainly could pay off if a woman had a baby in Denmark and was faced with multiple complications. Our "normal" health insurance card also works as travel health insurance. If we make our way to say, Ghana in Africa, and we get sick, we are covered in Ghana with our "Yellow Card". I think that is AWESOME. Another cool thing is that if you came to visit us here, and got sick in Denmark you also would be covered by the Danish Health Care system. Not because of associate to us, but simply because you are on Danish soil. Pretty cool huh?
In short, this is my opinion of Danish Health Care (*not to be confused with my opinions on universal heath care) as a foreigner:
It seems that there is a particular group of people this system is good for. They are the people that aren't healthy, but aren't severely ill. If you want a mole removed, you'll have to wait months. If you get cancer, you'll have to wait months. But I think, if you break a leg, or get appendicitis, they will put you in a cast or remove your appendix pretty quick.
Back to Joe.
I am thankful that Joe lived in the states when he got sick. At this point I don't have complete faith in the "normal" Danish Health Care system. Perhaps I've heard WAY too many bad stories and it has made me skeptical. However, I hope we never get the opportunity to form a first hand opinion.
Now, dental and vision.... Thats a WHOLE different story for another day.
_________________
Footnote:
* Universal Health Care is VERY VERY good.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Wet Day in Copenhagen
Yesterday I went to the city. Much to my happiness, the clouds have been disappearing a couple hours a day for the past few days. But of course, the one day I decide to go spend the day in the city, this is what the weather looked like:
I have been wanting to go to the "Danish Resistance Museum" for the past 5 years, and finally I made my way there. After my high school band was invited to Russia to help celebrate "Victory Day" I became absolutely fascinated by WWII mostly on the European front. I have over the years learned a lot about Denmark at this time. Denmark was occupied by German forces during the war. I have found the rescuing of the Jewish people in Denmark to be one of the most amazing stories I have read from WWII. So I was disappointed that there was only a small 6 ft case with artifacts from the rescuing of the Jews and hardly anything written about this. There was an extensive amount about the underground press and the different resistance groups which I found quite interesting. I spent about 2 hours in the museum learning even more than I had previously. It was a very well done museum, but when I left I didn't have a sense of satisfaction that I usually get when I leave a great museum. Perhaps it wasn't fair to this little museum because deep down I think I was judging it against the other INCREDIBLE WWII museums I have been to. All in all I'm glad I went and it made for an enriching day. If someone were to ask me if it was worth the time to pay it a visit, I would unfortunately have to say no. Which is too bad because I had high hopes for this museum. When we went to Jutland for the first time in 2002 we visited some German Bunkers that line the coast. We were able to go inside some of the bunkers where they had information and pictures and other stuff about them. That was really cool and that I would say is YES worth paying those a visit.
Pretty window at "The Danish Resistance Museum"
German Bucker on the Coast of Denmark in Jutland in 2002
Back at the beginning of January there was a HORRIBLE incident of a 19 year old boy that was stabbed to death at the entrance to Strøget. This is right at at some of the the big sites in Denmark like the Royal Theatre, Kongens Nytorv, and Nyhavn. I've talked about this street numerous times. It is the huge pedestrian street that stretches through Copenhagen. Anton was on his way to the Metro at about 6am when 3 others come up to him and wanted his hat. He said, no and a fight started. Then the worst happened. One of the guys took out a knife and stabbed him repeatedly. It was so sad to read about and hear about all of this. The place where he was stabbed has since been covered in flowers, candles, beer bottles, and letters to Anton. I knew I would walk past it today as I had a few places to go on Strøget. Ugg, SO SAD! And to think, it all started because some stupid kids wanted his hat!
Nice, Real Nice. (said with ample amounts of sarcasm)
I have been wanting to go to the "Danish Resistance Museum" for the past 5 years, and finally I made my way there. After my high school band was invited to Russia to help celebrate "Victory Day" I became absolutely fascinated by WWII mostly on the European front. I have over the years learned a lot about Denmark at this time. Denmark was occupied by German forces during the war. I have found the rescuing of the Jewish people in Denmark to be one of the most amazing stories I have read from WWII. So I was disappointed that there was only a small 6 ft case with artifacts from the rescuing of the Jews and hardly anything written about this. There was an extensive amount about the underground press and the different resistance groups which I found quite interesting. I spent about 2 hours in the museum learning even more than I had previously. It was a very well done museum, but when I left I didn't have a sense of satisfaction that I usually get when I leave a great museum. Perhaps it wasn't fair to this little museum because deep down I think I was judging it against the other INCREDIBLE WWII museums I have been to. All in all I'm glad I went and it made for an enriching day. If someone were to ask me if it was worth the time to pay it a visit, I would unfortunately have to say no. Which is too bad because I had high hopes for this museum. When we went to Jutland for the first time in 2002 we visited some German Bunkers that line the coast. We were able to go inside some of the bunkers where they had information and pictures and other stuff about them. That was really cool and that I would say is YES worth paying those a visit.
Pretty window at "The Danish Resistance Museum"
German Bucker on the Coast of Denmark in Jutland in 2002
Back at the beginning of January there was a HORRIBLE incident of a 19 year old boy that was stabbed to death at the entrance to Strøget. This is right at at some of the the big sites in Denmark like the Royal Theatre, Kongens Nytorv, and Nyhavn. I've talked about this street numerous times. It is the huge pedestrian street that stretches through Copenhagen. Anton was on his way to the Metro at about 6am when 3 others come up to him and wanted his hat. He said, no and a fight started. Then the worst happened. One of the guys took out a knife and stabbed him repeatedly. It was so sad to read about and hear about all of this. The place where he was stabbed has since been covered in flowers, candles, beer bottles, and letters to Anton. I knew I would walk past it today as I had a few places to go on Strøget. Ugg, SO SAD! And to think, it all started because some stupid kids wanted his hat!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Confessions of a C.F. Husband
Yesterday afternoon I found myself on a random blog out there in cyberspace and before I knew it a couple hours had passed and I was still reading it.
This blog is called, Confessions of a C.F. Husband and if you are looking for an incredible and inspirational read, this is for you!
Tricia has Cystic Fibrosis and while waiting to get on a list for a double lung transplant they got the news that she was pregnant. This was very hard on Tricia's body and the baby, Gwyneth Rose, was born on January 8th at an itty bitty 1 pound 6 ounces! Tricia and Gwyneth Rose have been and are still are fighting for their lives.
The thing about this story and this young couples journey is the amazing strength, courage and faith that this husband and the whole family has. There was one post that addressed not to feel sad for them as this is not a sad thing.... I was in awe reading it.
This link will pull up all of the posts from January. I suggest scrolling all the way to the bottom of the page and read upwards. This will put the posts in chronological order. If you cry easily, I suggest having a box of Kleenex near!
http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html
This blog is called, Confessions of a C.F. Husband and if you are looking for an incredible and inspirational read, this is for you!
Tricia has Cystic Fibrosis and while waiting to get on a list for a double lung transplant they got the news that she was pregnant. This was very hard on Tricia's body and the baby, Gwyneth Rose, was born on January 8th at an itty bitty 1 pound 6 ounces! Tricia and Gwyneth Rose have been and are still are fighting for their lives.
The thing about this story and this young couples journey is the amazing strength, courage and faith that this husband and the whole family has. There was one post that addressed not to feel sad for them as this is not a sad thing.... I was in awe reading it.
This link will pull up all of the posts from January. I suggest scrolling all the way to the bottom of the page and read upwards. This will put the posts in chronological order. If you cry easily, I suggest having a box of Kleenex near!
http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
DTU/TTU Program
I have made reference to this program numerous times on this blog. When I started the blog the main people that read it, all knew what this program is and so I never felt the need to explain it. 2.5 years later, I find, it would be a good idea to explain it again plus it will give me a page to reference back to later. :)
Back in 2001 Texas Tech University (TTU) and Denmark Technical University(DTU) here in Lyngby developed a concept for a duel Electrical Engineering Masters Degree Program funded by Texas Instruments. The idea was that the TTU students would move to Denmark for 15 months where they would take classes at DTU and do research for their Masters Thesis at the Texas Instruments branch in Lyngby. The DTU students would spend 1 year divided between Lubbock and Dallas doing the same thing. At the end of the 15 months or the 1 year the students would receive a masters degree in Electrical Engineering from both universities. In 2001 while Michael was finishing his Bachelors degree Dr. Chao approached him to tell him about this program and the vision and told Michael he was interested in having him be the first student. Obviously he said yes. There was a lot of odds and ends to get the program running and at times we didn't think it would happen but a year later in 2002 everything was set in stone and we only had about 2 months to get ready to move to Denmark.
That was 5.5 years ago and now, there have been 13 students that have done this exchange, 7 of which have already completed it and 6 that are currently in the program. The program has branched out and now some of the students coming to Denmark will do their research at the Texas Instruments in Germany outside of Munich.
There are some articles online about the program as well.
The first link is an article Michael wrote upon our departure from Denmark in 2002 for DTU.
The second is an Article from the Tech Newspaper about Michael and Klaus too.
The third link is about the program, but has a picture of us on there.
An American in Denmark (Written by Michael)
Going Abroad Studing with Advantages
DTU Sets New Standard
We came as the first and got A LOT of special treatment and help from the professor in Denmark that helped set the program. Because of that, one of our motivations for wanting to come back to Denmark was to be here to help out with the new students as they came. A payback to the program if you will. Though I was never a student in the program, I feel great pride in it and want to help out where I can, perhaps because it gave me the experience of a lifetime to live abroad. So, last night we had all the guys that have been part of the program that are in Denmark right now over for beer and food to help welcome the two newest students that arrived only about a week ago. Plus it's always nice to have a house full of Texans and some of our favorite Danes! As it turns out Michael was one of the new students Physics Lab T.A'.s his first year at Tech. That made Michel feel nice and old ;)
January 2007
Back in 2001 Texas Tech University (TTU) and Denmark Technical University(DTU) here in Lyngby developed a concept for a duel Electrical Engineering Masters Degree Program funded by Texas Instruments. The idea was that the TTU students would move to Denmark for 15 months where they would take classes at DTU and do research for their Masters Thesis at the Texas Instruments branch in Lyngby. The DTU students would spend 1 year divided between Lubbock and Dallas doing the same thing. At the end of the 15 months or the 1 year the students would receive a masters degree in Electrical Engineering from both universities. In 2001 while Michael was finishing his Bachelors degree Dr. Chao approached him to tell him about this program and the vision and told Michael he was interested in having him be the first student. Obviously he said yes. There was a lot of odds and ends to get the program running and at times we didn't think it would happen but a year later in 2002 everything was set in stone and we only had about 2 months to get ready to move to Denmark.
That was 5.5 years ago and now, there have been 13 students that have done this exchange, 7 of which have already completed it and 6 that are currently in the program. The program has branched out and now some of the students coming to Denmark will do their research at the Texas Instruments in Germany outside of Munich.
There are some articles online about the program as well.
The first link is an article Michael wrote upon our departure from Denmark in 2002 for DTU.
The second is an Article from the Tech Newspaper about Michael and Klaus too.
The third link is about the program, but has a picture of us on there.
An American in Denmark (Written by Michael)
Going Abroad Studing with Advantages
DTU Sets New Standard
We came as the first and got A LOT of special treatment and help from the professor in Denmark that helped set the program. Because of that, one of our motivations for wanting to come back to Denmark was to be here to help out with the new students as they came. A payback to the program if you will. Though I was never a student in the program, I feel great pride in it and want to help out where I can, perhaps because it gave me the experience of a lifetime to live abroad. So, last night we had all the guys that have been part of the program that are in Denmark right now over for beer and food to help welcome the two newest students that arrived only about a week ago. Plus it's always nice to have a house full of Texans and some of our favorite Danes! As it turns out Michael was one of the new students Physics Lab T.A'.s his first year at Tech. That made Michel feel nice and old ;)
The Guys
Jens Skovgaard Olsen, Bryant Heath, David Tiprigan , Michael Pate,
Jason Slay, Klaus Krogsgaard, Christian Toft Bjerreskov
Jason Slay, Klaus Krogsgaard, Christian Toft Bjerreskov
A Couple Other Program Pictures
June 2007
January 2007
Monday, January 14, 2008
False Spring
Remember our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree?
http://mnp8.blogspot.com/2007/11/jul-i-lygby.html
Well he use to sit on our balcony and we drug him inside and decorated him. Two days before Christmas, after he had been in our warm flat since the day after Thanksgiving, we noticed that he was starting to bud. We were a little nervous because we both have VERY bad allergies and when spring comes around we are both knocked on our asses from all the blooming around us. We had decided that the day after Christmas we would promptly move him back outside to his home on the balcony. The day after Christmas came and we looked at him and just didn't have the heart to move him back outside as one of the buds had bloomed into a pretty new set of pine needles. As of now, he is still inside and occasionally we say, maybe he should go outside, but then we'll go over and look at him and one of us will say something like, "He is so cute" and then we just can't put him out in the cold. Amazingly, neither of our allergies have been bothered in the slightest because of him. Maybe this is a sign that we desperately need another puppy as we have now adopted a tree. I guess he needs a name now.... Hmmm.. Any suggestions?
http://mnp8.blogspot.com/2007/11/jul-i-lygby.html
Well he use to sit on our balcony and we drug him inside and decorated him. Two days before Christmas, after he had been in our warm flat since the day after Thanksgiving, we noticed that he was starting to bud. We were a little nervous because we both have VERY bad allergies and when spring comes around we are both knocked on our asses from all the blooming around us. We had decided that the day after Christmas we would promptly move him back outside to his home on the balcony. The day after Christmas came and we looked at him and just didn't have the heart to move him back outside as one of the buds had bloomed into a pretty new set of pine needles. As of now, he is still inside and occasionally we say, maybe he should go outside, but then we'll go over and look at him and one of us will say something like, "He is so cute" and then we just can't put him out in the cold. Amazingly, neither of our allergies have been bothered in the slightest because of him. Maybe this is a sign that we desperately need another puppy as we have now adopted a tree. I guess he needs a name now.... Hmmm.. Any suggestions?
The bright green pines are the new growth
Friday, January 11, 2008
Gloomy Days in Denmark
My Dearest Sun and Blue Sky,
I miss you guys.
Why do you spend your short hours alive in the sky, hiding behind thick clouds?
Why don't you ever show your bright shining faces to me?
My melatonin levels are suffering since you have left.
I'm so sorry I grew up saying summer was my least favorite season.
I take it back...
I didn't mean it...
I was young...
and naive...
Please come back soon.
I'm waiting for you...
Nichole :o)
I miss you guys.
Why do you spend your short hours alive in the sky, hiding behind thick clouds?
Why don't you ever show your bright shining faces to me?
My melatonin levels are suffering since you have left.
I'm so sorry I grew up saying summer was my least favorite season.
I take it back...
I didn't mean it...
I was young...
and naive...
Please come back soon.
I'm waiting for you...
Nichole :o)
This is pretty much what it looked like for all of the few hours of daytime today, and the day before and the day before and the day before and the day before and the day before and the day before and the day before.........................
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Dr. Pate's Little Chip
This morning I had an email from Michael from work with a link to a video he found on Youtube of the chip he and his team designed while we were in Dallas. At work and at home it was called, "Boston" but in the real world it is known "TAS5162". I thought Michaels dad Scot and his stepdad Wayne would particularly find this interesting. As will Jens, Klaus and Flemming I'm sure. As for everyone else, well maybe you'll find it interesting to! But probably not ;0)
When people ask Michael what he designs at Texas Instruments (after he tells them no, he doesn't make calculators) he gives this answer, "I make chips for stereos that make them loud". But I know what he really wants to say is this:
When people ask Michael what he designs at Texas Instruments (after he tells them no, he doesn't make calculators) he gives this answer, "I make chips for stereos that make them loud". But I know what he really wants to say is this:
Friday, January 04, 2008
Odense Pt. 2
Sunday morning we woke up and Marianne went to get us some delicious 7 grain bread from the bakery. After filling our tummy's Michael and I left for the day leaving Nis, Marianne and Viggo to rest and nap.
The first place we went to was Skt. Knuds Kirke(St. Knuds Church). The church is Protestant, but was formally Catholic. It was named after St. Knud who was a former king of Denmark from 1080-1086. We got there just as the visiting hours started at noon and we had the church to ourselves. By the time we were walking out we were far from alone. I was glad we got there when we did!
The reason we wanted to visit here was because of something I knew we would find in the crypt. Behind the alter we found the steps to take us down where we found some old books and two cases that contain the remains of two men. The first case contained St. Knud, former King of Denmark. The second contained his brother, Bendick. They were killed while kneeling at the alter inside the church down the street during a peasant rebellion, where they had taken shelter. Apparently St. Knuds death is said to have been the end of the Viking Era!
St. Knuds Remains
Writing about Benedikt
The two chuches covered in trees
From the Church we walked around, looked in stores and window shopped. There is an obscene about of amazing looking wine and whiskey stores in Odense. We were in awe and wondered why we haven't found that many that were that big and so incredible looking in Copenhagen!! We also looking at housing prices and realized that if were were to ever buy a house in Denmark, we would have to move to Odense. The prices were so much more reasonable! We found lunch in a cute cafe where we had some nice warm coffee and tapas. YUM.
My Favorite Little Street in Odense
Notice all the lights in the air
Cafe where we ate
Our train didn't leave until 9PM so after spending the day exploring we went back to Nis and Mariannes and talked for a little while before we packed up everything and left to do a little more walking, find some dinner and make it to the train station for our train ride home.
Marianne and Me
Odense at Night
We ate dinner at "El Torito" which was pretty good, the atmosphere made the restaurant. We had some Negra Modelas and tacos and sat for a long time to keep us warm and to pass the time. Our train ride home was pretty uneventful. It was dark but it was fast. We made back to Lyngby about 11pm and went straight to bed!
Odense was a cool town. It wasn't big, it wasn't small either. The perfect size actually. It was fairy tale saturated, but if you don't live there, it is pretty cute. I can see how it might get old after awhile though. Even a lot of the bars and restaurants are named after something of H.C. Andersens. Most of the time I forgot I was still in Denmark even though it seemed so very Danish and everything was written in Danish and people were speaking Danish. As we were leaving to come home Michael was talking and said, "When we get back to Denmark...." We laughed, and about 10 minutes later, he did it again.
Thanks again Marianne and Nis for letting us stay with you and showing us around town! We had a great time!
The first place we went to was Skt. Knuds Kirke(St. Knuds Church). The church is Protestant, but was formally Catholic. It was named after St. Knud who was a former king of Denmark from 1080-1086. We got there just as the visiting hours started at noon and we had the church to ourselves. By the time we were walking out we were far from alone. I was glad we got there when we did!
Skt. Knuds Kirke
Looking Towards the Alter
H.C. Andersen plaque on the church wall saying he was confirmed here
The reason we wanted to visit here was because of something I knew we would find in the crypt. Behind the alter we found the steps to take us down where we found some old books and two cases that contain the remains of two men. The first case contained St. Knud, former King of Denmark. The second contained his brother, Bendick. They were killed while kneeling at the alter inside the church down the street during a peasant rebellion, where they had taken shelter. Apparently St. Knuds death is said to have been the end of the Viking Era!
Michael looking at St. Knud 
St. Knuds Remains
St. Knuds Remains
St. Knuds Remains
Writing about Benedikt
Benedikt
Literally down the street sits St. Alban's Church, which is Catholic. We thought about going in, but they had masses going on all day, so one church was enough for us. But it was pretty from the outside.
St. Alban's Church
The two chuches covered in trees
From the Church we walked around, looked in stores and window shopped. There is an obscene about of amazing looking wine and whiskey stores in Odense. We were in awe and wondered why we haven't found that many that were that big and so incredible looking in Copenhagen!! We also looking at housing prices and realized that if were were to ever buy a house in Denmark, we would have to move to Odense. The prices were so much more reasonable! We found lunch in a cute cafe where we had some nice warm coffee and tapas. YUM.
Cute Street
My Favorite Little Street in Odense
Notice all the lights in the air
Al Pacino's Pizza and Grill - This made us laugh.
Lovely Danish Buildings
Park in Odense
Cafe where we ate
Our train didn't leave until 9PM so after spending the day exploring we went back to Nis and Mariannes and talked for a little while before we packed up everything and left to do a little more walking, find some dinner and make it to the train station for our train ride home.
Marianne and Me
Nis Marianne and Viggo
Such a good looking family!
Such a good looking family!
Pedestrian Street at Night
Odense at Night
We ate dinner at "El Torito" which was pretty good, the atmosphere made the restaurant. We had some Negra Modelas and tacos and sat for a long time to keep us warm and to pass the time. Our train ride home was pretty uneventful. It was dark but it was fast. We made back to Lyngby about 11pm and went straight to bed!
Odense was a cool town. It wasn't big, it wasn't small either. The perfect size actually. It was fairy tale saturated, but if you don't live there, it is pretty cute. I can see how it might get old after awhile though. Even a lot of the bars and restaurants are named after something of H.C. Andersens. Most of the time I forgot I was still in Denmark even though it seemed so very Danish and everything was written in Danish and people were speaking Danish. As we were leaving to come home Michael was talking and said, "When we get back to Denmark...." We laughed, and about 10 minutes later, he did it again.
Thanks again Marianne and Nis for letting us stay with you and showing us around town! We had a great time!
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Meeting Old Friends
Five years ago while planning our wedding I stumbled across a website that made planning our wedding 1,000 times less stressful. It was a forum style website that was very active and I met lots of friends on there that were all planning their weddings at the same time as I was. One girl I met, AnnMarie, is responsible for this blog. She started a blog a couple years before I did and it was easy to keep up with her. She told me a few times I needed to start one, and finally one day I did. I think everyone that has ever read this blog has asked me, "Who's AnnMarie?". Especially when for a year or so she was one of the only ones that ever left me comments. :) She lives in Florida, and unfortunately, we have never been out there so I've never met her. But fingers crossed, one day we will!
Another girl I met on UW is, Marianne (Pronounced: Mar-yanna) is Danish. Her and her family were living in New York for the past few months and just got back in December. This past weekend we finally got to meet in person. Marianne, Nis and Viggo live in on the island of Fyn in the town of Odense. It is the 3rd largest town in Denmark but only has a population of around 150,000. Odense is on the island just west of the island Copenhagen is on and it only took 1.5 hour by train to get there.
Our train departed Copenhagen Central Station at 7:00AM. We left Lyngby on the 6:00 train. and we were up about 5:00AM. When we arrived we stopped for some breakfast and found our way to Nis and Mariannes house. Before arriving they offered to let us stay the night with them, but warned us we would be sleeping in the basement with the spiders their storage and the laundry. We were SHOCKED when we saw such a nice little guest room space set up.
We warmed up (which would become a common theme for the weekend) and all went to a little market set up with flowers and fruits and vegetables.
Odense is the hometown of the famous Dane, Hans Christian Andersen, or as he is known in Denmark, "H.C. Andersen". He is best known for "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "Thumbelina", "The Emperors New Clothes" and many many more. All around town there were statues and plaques of and about H.C. Andersen, and his fairy tales. I thought it was quite funny to see so much about one person in one town. Nis mentioned that there are only a couple statues in town that have nothing to do with him and I assure you there were a whole lot of statues.
Marianne and me with a H.C.A statue behind us
Another girl I met on UW is, Marianne (Pronounced: Mar-yanna) is Danish. Her and her family were living in New York for the past few months and just got back in December. This past weekend we finally got to meet in person. Marianne, Nis and Viggo live in on the island of Fyn in the town of Odense. It is the 3rd largest town in Denmark but only has a population of around 150,000. Odense is on the island just west of the island Copenhagen is on and it only took 1.5 hour by train to get there.
Our train departed Copenhagen Central Station at 7:00AM. We left Lyngby on the 6:00 train. and we were up about 5:00AM. When we arrived we stopped for some breakfast and found our way to Nis and Mariannes house. Before arriving they offered to let us stay the night with them, but warned us we would be sleeping in the basement with the spiders their storage and the laundry. We were SHOCKED when we saw such a nice little guest room space set up.
Nis and Marianne's adorable house
The Guest Room
Market
Odense is the hometown of the famous Dane, Hans Christian Andersen, or as he is known in Denmark, "H.C. Andersen". He is best known for "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "Thumbelina", "The Emperors New Clothes" and many many more. All around town there were statues and plaques of and about H.C. Andersen, and his fairy tales. I thought it was quite funny to see so much about one person in one town. Nis mentioned that there are only a couple statues in town that have nothing to do with him and I assure you there were a whole lot of statues.The yellow house on the right is where H.C. Andersen was born.
It is now a museum of his life and works.
It is now a museum of his life and works.
This is the stream that H.C. A's mom did laundry in as her job.
The Boat from "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"
Marianne and me with a H.C.A statue behind us
Even the street lights for the cross walk were H.C.A.
See his little top hat and cane?
See his little top hat and cane?
After walking around a bit it was time to go get little Viggo. He had stayed the night with Nis's mom. We picked him up and headed back home to warm up. He was just as adorable looking in person as he is in pictures. 
After warming up we ate brunch at a really yummy restaurant, walked around the shopping streets, and went home again to warm up...again. Michael and I left after it got dark to see the city all lit up with Christmas lights, then came back we watched Marianne clean the oven (very well too might I add) and Nis fixed us a wonderful dinner. We stayed up talking for quite a while and then we both passed out and had a spider free, wonderful nights sleep.
After warming up we ate brunch at a really yummy restaurant, walked around the shopping streets, and went home again to warm up...again. Michael and I left after it got dark to see the city all lit up with Christmas lights, then came back we watched Marianne clean the oven (very well too might I add) and Nis fixed us a wonderful dinner. We stayed up talking for quite a while and then we both passed out and had a spider free, wonderful nights sleep.
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