Feb. Weekend

This weekend was off to a slow start when Saule didn't feel well on Friday. I decided to give up the day  and give her exactly what she needed and wanted and needed to heal herself- which mainly consisted of nursing and watching Dora on the couch. Worked like a charm.

Shes was up and running Sat. morning again. We adventured out into the city to the Danish National Museum, which has a children's museum inside. I joked to Pollo it should be called "A Viking Lost in Pakistan" because it seemed like there was as much of a focus on Pakistani culture and life as there was Danish. It was cool to see what a Pakistani shop sells, and to dress up in their traditional clothing, and to visit a traditional home. There were lots of toys and hands on activities for Saule, and even one or two small exhibits about Danish heritage like a really neat Viking boat complete with fishing rods and "fish". The particular area where we live in Copenhagen is called Amager, and there seem to be allot of Islamic people (and all kinds of foreigners for that matter) living here. This paper has some interesting information on immigration to Denmark by various groups. Sometimes it feels more diverse here than in NY. Well maybe not that diverse....

We also walked across the street to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek which was free today (because its Sunday). The best part for us this time was the huge center hall with the glass dome roof, filled with tropical trees and plant. We all enjoyed the green living surroundings on this dreary cold day. 

This sculpture and fish pool was at the center of the hall, and Saule loved the nursing babies and fish. The rest of the museum, or what we saw of it, was interesting. Rooms and rooms full of roman sculptures, or pieces of them rather. There was an entire wall of just noses and ears that has been broken from faces. At least 2 rooms were severed/broken heads. Saule had fun playing the "Whats this guy missing?" game. 

We celebrated Saules 2.5 year old birthday. Because who needs an excuse to eat cake?

We went to the beach early on Sat morning which is very close to our home. There were scuba divers, kayaks, dogs swimming, children playing, a snack cart. It was also well below freezing and very windy. Danes have a saying "There is no bad weather, just poor clothing.", Next time I'll wear more clothes.

Pollo and Saule share a special selection of games that only they play. Its their secret world. He is her "Benny the bull"- he can fix anything, is super  human in strength, and always ready to share a snack.  

Pony rides.

This is Saule's funny face. Enjoy. 

Saules perch and Sprouts!

Saule has a perch on the kitchen counter over the sink. She and I have spent allot of time in the past week talking and hanging out in the kitchen there together. I cook, she plays, reads me the cook books, and generally entertains me. As you know we are on the fifth floor and this window faces the yard behind our house, where lots of people walk their dogs and play with their kids. Saule watches the world go by and reports to Pollo if he is in the house "Dogs! Bikes! Lady!"

Here is Saule and her Sprout Babies near her feet.

Here she is grating cheese for Ziti. 

We also had great success with our sprouts this week. I had done this when she was younger- but this time she really got into it. They were her little baby plants! This is the perfect project for anyone with little kids- its a full seed to plate experience in less than a week!  For a 2 year old- she could actually see them grow between breakfast and lunch!

This web page http://sproutpeople.org has great information, step by steps, and trouble shooting, and what appear to be good quality seeds and supplies. However, for beginners like us all you really is a mason jar, a small piece of screen (or in our case a square off Saule's tutu) and a rubber band. Plus your seeds which we got a nice mix at our local Mother Earth foods before we left NY (I need to find a source here).

So here is our step by step  (toddler friendly process!)

1. Put a good heaping tablespoon of seeds into the CLEAN glass mason jar, cover it with the screen and put the rubber band around the edge so the seeds can't slip out.

2. Fill the jar with water and soak the seeds. All seeds have different soak times- I did about 18 hours.

3. Keep them on your counter or someplace you see them ALLOT so you don't forget this step which is rinse them 3x per day. Fill the jar (don't take the screen off just leave it on) and them turn it over and let the drain through the screen and the seeds/sprouts stay behind.  Observe everyday how much they have grown. Don't let them dry out.

4. DONE! Soon (in our case ~ a week) your sprouts will shed their original "seed" and you will notice the first set of leaves opening and the sprouts will look like those in the shop. Your ready!

Tonight we will be having OPOH or for those of you who don't eat at the Box Lunch an Organic Pocket with hots and onions. ENJOY!

 

Jægersborg Dyrehave

We took advantage of the free train on Sunday (the first Sunday of every month the shops are open and trains are free) and got out of Copenhagen to Dyrehaven or "The Deer Garden".

They are supplementing the deers diet by providing hay and sugar beets around this old bar, which was dated 1890. 

 Its was a dark and stormy sort of day (aren't they all?), perfect for wandering through the old woods in search of the 300 Red Deer, 1600 Fallow Deer and 100 Sika Deer who live there. The trees were huge old Oaks covered in green moss and algae. They lined the old muddy roads that wind throughout the park giving it a very medieval feel. Saule really enjoyed climbing the trees knobby roots and trunks. 

We rode our bikes onto the train so we could ride around the park when we got there- which really was a good idea since the park is huge (~7 square miles) and the roads are VERY muddy. Next time we know to wear our play clothes. Its also worth adding (for any one reading this who is considering taking the trip) that there was no train that goes all the way to the park (even though it has a station), we were let off in the stop 1 town away and road our bikes the rest of the way. 

We intend to go again next month- because by my calculations they should have lots of little babies in tow by then. Its the perfect place to pack a picnic and sit for an afternoon. The deer are shy, but some will let you get very close if you approach slowly and respectfully.

The Mermaid

Saule sleeping in the trailer

We took a ride out to see the Mermaid for the first time today. She is reputed as being one of the most photographed statues in the world, and is an icon of Copenhagen. We peddled across town and by the time we got close, Saule had fallen asleep in her trailer, so we dismounted and cut across a park on foot so we could talk. The bike riding we have done on the street here is very fast paced and not concussive to conversation, so it was nice to slow down and watch the world a little.

 We passed a grove of trees hiding pillbox forts from  WW2, winded our way through a military fort shaped like and a  star surrounded by a moat and several draw bridges.  We saw mute swans lumbering on the iced over canals, diving moorhens, and Japanese tourists.  Our GPS was slightly off on the location of the mermaid, but the small crowd lead us straight to her. Shortly after we arrived, it started to rain, and we were left alone on the shore with the fair maiden. Lots of travel reviews say she is a letdown, but I have to disagree. I thought she was really beautiful, perfectly placed, exactly what I expected.