Rhino Sushi

Some good reading

2006-08-10T22:47:00.000+02:00

Here's some really funny short articles about an American writer's view of Denmark. Quite comic really. Her name is Xander Mellish and she's got Denmark very nicely summed up.

http://www.xmel.com/denmark_directory.html

Funny Friday

2006-01-21T21:12:00.000+01:00

Danes can't distinguish between the words "fun" and "funny", so any Dane would tell you that "last Friday was quite funny". Well it was, wasn't it?

Bowling at Big Bowl

First task of the day was to find Big Bowl, a bowling and entertainment centre somewhere in Valby. After misleading directions from an old crone who had me walking in the opposite direction for 15mins, i finally got out of the icy snow and into a warm bowling conference room where the IT guy for Big Bowl told us about their computer system, how it was developed, and what quantity of customers it has to handle every day. Oh yeah, forgot to say, this bowling session was organized for the students at DTU attending a Microsoft course on software product development where they had to create a bowling reservation system as a project. Since i was involved as a Lab Assistant, i also got invited to the fun and games at the end of the course :) Anyways, we then proceeded to the actual bowling session and played a couple of games. I hadn't bowled in a while so you can imagine what a fiasco it was. Still, looks like the others hadn't much bowling experience so i still won a couple of games.

We even got a behind-the-scenes tour of the machinery operating the bowling pin handling. The wall behind the machines was full of holes and some of the bricks were even pushed in, because apparently some of the pins sometimes shoot out real fast. Once it was time to leave, we rushed out to the train station and il-bahnan Mikiel forgot to remove his bowling shoes so i had to slip 'n' slide all the way back to Big Bowl to return them and get my own shoes.

Go Karting at Action City

Next up was an evening with my team from work. I went to Allan's house because all trains were cancelled due to the heavy snow, and we got into his car and drove to Ballerup where the rest of the team was waiting for us. Go karting was fun as usual, especially since it was indoors and warm, and we zoomed through our Grand Prix which put me in 4th place (hence no medal). A few beers later, we again braved the snow and headed back to the city.

Steaks at Apollo Bryggeriet

This restaurant serves some fantastic food but the menu isn't too vast. There is one item in particular worth noting... the 1.2Kg beef fillet costing 580Kr (roughly Lm35). Its meant to serve 4 or at most 2, but us hungry tough guys needed all the meat we could eat after all that wild driving, so we got one between 3 and the rest just had peppered steaks. We also had some of the local brewery's beers, including a glass of Chocolate Beer (brewed like regular beer but also containing cocoa beans in the mixture). By now, i had about 10 large beers since 1pm so everything was getting even more funny.

Snowball Fights and The City

What better way to round off the night with a snowball fight and a few more drinks at Heidi's Bar and a few games of table soccer and billiards and another snowball fight and a few Gin n Tonics at some unknown bar and another snowball fight (almost with casualties) and a few more drinks and some table dancing at The Dubliner?

Phew, 5am and maybe its time to go home. But wait, the night isnt over yet. Night buses are all late and trains not working due to snowstorm. Sleeping on an iced bench at Central Station until the first train comes was the only option...

- pic - Bowling conference at Big Bowl
- pic - Faster than the speed of light... and miss
- pic - Ready to launch again. Please note the professional gay pose
- pic - Team Easy-On: Mike, Morten, Kristian, Peter, Allan, Ole
- pic - A very funny meal at the Apollo Bryggeriet
- pic - My Danish is so bad that i ordered 2 beers by mistake
- pic - Bottoms up with Michael, the team's Test Lead
- pic - Allan never looked cuter
- pic - Gunned down. But thats no excuse for MIA on monday...

Tingenek and Massaak

2006-01-20T20:17:00.000+01:00

Ice and soft snow.

Legend has it that Inuktitut (Inuit lingo from Greenland) has over 40 words for different types of snow. Whether this is true or not i cannot say, as the Eskimos we get here are always too drunk to talk. The two title words above are just a sample, but maybe its time i learnt all 40 of them because i will be seeing nothing but snow for a few weeks, maybe even months.

Just yesterday, Denmark had its first snowstorm for 2006. I've been waiting for this day for awhile now because i really love the snow. It just covers everything and makes the world look perfect - sterile - clean - quiet. It puts white wings to your feet as you hover over streets, pavements, steps, gardens, roundabouts: it doesnt really matter because everything has been leveled out with a sheet of white.

Its a wonderful experience just standing in the falling snow, even if the 30mph wind is slashing it across your face. It makes every step a challenge and a risk. Makes you feel hardy like an old snowdog or a wolf, and wolves have that cunning sparkle in their eyes like they do know all 40 words. Check out the photos i took from my room.

- pic - Snowstorms to the left of them
- pic - Snowstorms to the right of them
- pic - Snowstorms in front of them
- pic - Into the Valley of wet
- pic - For miles six hundred

A word of advice from an ancient Eskimo...
"Never eat the yellow snow"

Drunkards are fun

2006-01-15T19:54:00.000+01:00

At around 4am we were returning from a good night out at The Moose (cheapest drinks in the city) and we saw this young couple trying to cycle their way back home. From the way they were swinging about, we knew they had a few to drink and it was only a matter of time before one of them crashed and fell over. So we waited for something to happen...

Crash-boom-bang one of them rammed into a bunch of parked bikes and then hit his partner, the bikes got entangled and they and fell over face-first onto the pavement. As the others ran over to help them up, i stood there with a big grin and took photos of the bruised and drunken duo lying giggling on the floor. Luckily, no one was hurt in the making of this comedy, and in no time they were on their bikes again and screaming drunken nonsense (or was it just Danish?).

- pic - Toilet facilities at The Moose look fiendish enough to make you shit your pants in fear. Dunno why but it reminds me of From Dusk Till Dawn. I was expecting a zombiatch to jump out from behind the door and strangle me at any moment.

The best blonde joke... EVER!

2006-01-12T21:14:00.000+01:00

Lol this has got to be the best blonde joke ever. Danish friends who are reading this, please note that it of course only makes reference to American blondes with giant breasts.

See the funniest blonde joke ever here.

The Constellation of Hvidovre

2006-01-07T00:43:00.000+01:00

Outside my window is the cold winter wind and a fantastic view of the city lights by night: The town of Hvidovre as far as the eye can see.

Room Photos

2006-01-07T00:10:00.000+01:00

Didn't have too much to do tonight so i thought i'd take a few photos of my (almost complete) room with the new camera. You may want to put up the brightness on your screen coz all the photos are abit dark due to a special technique i used called forgetting to turn on the flash. Ok ok i admit it, i purposely did that since bright light picks up all the dirt, scratches and grime more easily. The photos look pretty anyway.

- pic - A lonely christmas candle on the windowsill
- pic - The Entertainment showcase
- pic - And this is where all the magic happens (zzZzz)
- pic - The entrance with cleverly concealed closet
- pic - Bathroom (note the large stock of Brut and Gel tal-Isfar)
- pic - noname.jpg wtf took this photo anyway
- pic - Desk, stereo and viking hat

Survival Tip #2643

2005-12-25T00:48:00.000+01:00

Never do connecting flights through Italy.

Why?
Well i tried to get home for christmas and my voyage wasn't what you'd call fun.
Why?
Because i had a 12 hour wait between my first 2 flights and just 40mins between my last one.
Why?
Because they were through Malpensa, Linate and Rome, and all flying Alitalia.
So?
So they lost my luggage.
And?
They closed the snack bars early leaving me without food or drink until next day.
And?
All flights were delayed.
And?
The cops came and tried to throw me out for sleeping on the airport benches with the other street bums.
And?
They cancelled a flight only to put it back on the list a few hours before the flight.
And?
They sent everyone to the wrong gate.
And?
They believe they can service a queue of 400 passengers with only one passport check booth.
And?
Every other person gives you different and conflicting information.
And?
I got to the Linate gate without even presenting a passport or ticket.
And?
The milan lower-class are UGLY.
And?
The flight hostess dresses like she's on a catwalk but then serves you a dry sandwich packed last month.
And?
Milanese proudly take their pet poodles for a walk by the airport. One decided to leave a cute little turd just behind me. Nexta time ia see a poodle, it sleepa with the fishes.
And?
Well screw Italy in general . And madonna those poodles are everywhere. I kick anything which looks like a fluffy slipper with legs next time.

The Zen of Interior Design

2005-12-18T23:06:00.000+01:00

I'm not particularly gifted when it comes to building things like furniture or electricity. Or maybe i am... but i don't have the patience. Unfortunately, sometimes you just have to roll up those sleeves and do things yourself.

Since my room is completely bare save the white walls and wooden floors, it was time to do some interior design and transform the empty chamber into something more homelike. Starting off with some sanding and varnishing, i got the doors to look half decent and a dark glossy brown colour. Next was the electricity: I had to conjur up some extension cables and multiplugs to feed the entire room out of one single power outlet, as well as pass a network cable around the room without it getting in the way using lots of CableEater. Finally for some construction: The showcase, desk and deskchair all arrived in little boxes so i had to screw and fix everything together over a couple of days. The end result is fantastic even if i do say so myself. The widescreen TV looks real good in the showcase, and i now have ample space to start my collection of superiour 1L beer bottles.

All that remains now are some curtains, a plant here and there, and some funky lighting. I'll post some pics once these arrive and throw a housewarming party to cut the ribbon for the official opening of the room.

The pros of DIY:
- Satisfaction
- Reduced cost
- Getting high for cheap on wood varnish.

The cons of DIY:
- You always end up with extra screws, nuts and bolts in your hand, which you can't throw away.
- You break off the lamp and tear a hole in the wall.
- After wiring the room, you realize the longest wire is too short.
- When you get to step 6, you suddenly realize you had to insert part M way back in step 1, and the only way to do this now is to unscrew everything you've done.
- All your furniture wobbles.
- You learn how heat expands double-sided tape causing it to become useless.

First drive in Denmark!

2005-12-15T22:51:00.000+01:00

Run for cover... there's a madman on the streets and he's got R0ADk1LL written allover his bumper!

Yup i rented a junked out van (aka deathmachine) for the day so i could carry my stuff over to the new place. It was quite an interesting experience since in Denmark they drive on the other side of the road, which also means all your vehicle's controls have been flipped. Driving in itself wasnt so bad, but i occasionally gripped the door handle when trying to change gear. And i got totally lost and ended up somewhere in the city. And i almost ran over a few old ladies crossing the street when i raced through a few red lights. 40mins and a few illegal U-turns later, i somehow found my way home. Luckily, Ulrich took over and carried on with the rest of the voyage after piling all the stuff in the back <-- Thats him bouncing on the bed in the back.

We drove down to Hvidovre and unloaded everything into the lift except the bed which didnt fit, so we had to use the stairs up til the 7th floor, and in the dark since the lights werent working. It was my most extensive workout this year.

Moving House

2005-12-15T22:41:00.000+01:00

Like life isnt busy enough, this month i also had to move into my new apartment in a town just west of Copenhagen. The room is part of a big Kollegium which means i have my own room, entrance, and bathroom, but the kitchen is shared between a number of other rooms. The Kollegium is very well located just 2mins walk from the Rødovre train station (just get the B/B+ S-Train to Høje Taastrup). The building itself is very big with over 300 rooms, and also houses a laundry, billiards room, gym, solarium, party room, bar, bike workshop and private carpark.

My new address is:

Rebæk Søpark 5,
Vaerelse 746,
2650 Hvidovre.

And new room phone is:

(+45) 77661746

IAESTE Julefrokost

2005-11-27T20:49:00.000+01:00

Another christmas meal, this time only 1 month away from Christmas itself, was held at Kaelderbaren at DTU courtesy of IAESTE. With 5 tables laid out with various christmas beers and far too much snapps, we had a big buffet of traditional danish foods followed yet again by that tasty rice pudding. After stuffing ourselves to the point of feeling sick, we headed down to the city to a club called Vega where we practically spent the night.

- pic - Eloise Eloise wake up fair Eloise
- pic - More hungry julefrokostians
- pic - Mike n Rehan ready for more.
- pic - Beware ze Germans. Zey get drunk and do zilly ztuffeenspiel.

Grease: The Party

2005-11-26T20:48:00.000+01:00

MS's Christmas party held at Osterbrohuset last night, the theme of the night was Grease (the movie). I had never actually watched the full movie before so i borrowed the DVD from Erika and watched a few days ago to figure out what to wear. The party was inside a big basketball hall, similar to where the highschool dance was held in the movie, and we had many big round tables laid out with big steaks and potatoes in their jackets, and endless bottles of wine. The entrance to the hall itself was quite impressive, with the red carpet rolled out and old yankee cadillacs and chevy's lined up on the sides, as two high-powered spotlights pointed up to the sky, lighting up the night in a dazzling display of flying snowflakes on shades of blue. We were also given a bottle of budweiser and popcorn upon entering, just to really relive the american 50's and 60's. After dinner we had some standup comedy and a show by some smokin' hot dancers dressed up as cheerleaders, followed by a really funky 50's band dressed up in red suits and caricature elvis wigs. We danced all night, only pausing to take another drink or pose for photos. At midnight, seeing that we were all abit hungry again after all the dancing and drinking, they brought out some great american burgers which went down real nice with some more beer. Oh and best-dressed person of the night was to win a brand new XBOX 360. I spent quite some time perfecting my outfit and took me ages to find those goddamn elvis glasses. My fake sideburns which were roughly the size of africa also had to be taped to my face, and the tightness of my jeans meant i might not be able to have children later on. Despite all my efforts, some other guy won the prize, so in my rage i left the dancefloor in a huff, slammed a few shots of whiskey and went to dance with the Cheerleader girls to cool off...

- pic - Stephen dressed as the uber-nerd
- pic - Finger lickin' good cheerleaders!
- pic - Pink ladies and T-birds
- pic - balloons on the dancefloor
- pic - My crazy outfit

Return of the Gukulari

2005-11-22T20:47:00.000+01:00

Just when i thought my gukulari days were over, i got invited to rejoin the traditional music group for one last event. We were to play for the grand opening of the CHOGM (commonwealth) summit, this year held in Malta at the Mediterrannean conference centre: an ancient building from the 1500s built by the Knights of the Order of St. John to be used as a hospital for the wounded in their battles to defend the Islands from the marauding Turks. So lucky me got his flight expenses paid for to stay in Malta for the weekend and play at the event (much to Erika's delight of course). The great hall in which we played in front of the 500 VIPs and dignitaries was impressive with its coats of arms and flame-like lighting. The Flamenco dancers who danced to our music were also pretty good and we gave quite a good performance together.

And no, i didn't get to see the queen.

Ikla ohra mal-Mikiel

2005-11-15T20:46:00.000+01:00

My turn to cook so i did an extravagant meal of steak drowned in cream sauce, mushrooms and onions, together with some baked potatoes and boiled peas/carrots (which no one took... issoltu). Some red wine to wash it down, and aebleskiver for dessert. Eeexcellent!

Curly's Housewarming Party

2005-11-13T20:45:00.000+01:00

Little Louise (who we used to share the kitchen with) has recently moved into her new flashy apartment in Nordhavn, so last night she threw a housewarming party for all her friends, and of course us crazy neighbours from the kollegium. I was very impressed with the house itself. It was quite cozy and nicely designed despite being small. I guess you wouldn't want anything larger when living on your own. So we had lots of wine and beer and nibbles and stayed chatting all night until it was time to hop into a taxi and head home for the night.

Microsoft's TwC Forum

2005-11-12T20:44:00.000+01:00

I went to this big Microsoft annual forum today, which focused on our recent push for Trustworthy Computing (TwC). We had a whole day of seminars on various topics by some big people, mostly from Redmond, as well as the usual free drinks and sandwiches for lunch. The seminars were quite informative despite being at a very high level, but it was great to hear about how Microsoft is pushing the boundaries above and beyond any other company when it comes to security, privacy, reliability and business integrity.

Christmas Lunch @ the Kollegium

2005-11-06T20:36:00.000+01:00

Yes, we're officially nuts.

2 months til christmas and its already time to start celebrating. Yesterday we held our Julefrokost (Christmas Lunch) at our kollegium. We did this in the ground floor's common area which we filled with tables for the 60 elegantly-dressed people who were to attend later on in the evening, because the Julefrokost actually starts in the afternoon. Each kitchen was meant to prepare one dish to contribute to the buffet, so we were in charge of the dessert: rice pudding. We cooked up a big pot of rice and milk with vanilla and chopped almonds, and another big pot of whipped cream. Unfortunately, we didn't have a spoon big enough to mix rice pudding for 60 people, so i had to dive in with bare hands to mix it. Its tradition to also hide one whole almond in the rice pudding, and the one who finds it received the grand fabulous prize of a bottle of snapps.

I also helped them set up the bar since we were going to do a disco party after. It was quite funny when i went downstairs to find that Jonas and Allan had connected the wrong beer keg to the tap and had to drink it all to make space for the new keg of christmas beer. They came running up to me to help finish the last few glasses, since they already had drank 3L each in a matter of 30mins!

So the party started around 6 with a few drinks of Tuborg's Julebryg (Christmas beer), and we immediately dived into the main course which consisted of many tradional dishes. These included lots of raw herring in vinegar or creamy mustard/curry sauce which you're meant to eat with some honey snapps - one of the most disgusting drinks i've ever tasted. Apart from the fish, there was also some very tasty pork, potatoes cooked in syrup, leverpostej med bacon (my favourite!), Danish version of Quiche, veggies, meatballs, and pickled red cabbage. We ate so much that we didn't even want to party after, everyone was soooo stuffed!

- pic - We decorated the place with Tuborg adverts
- pic - A drunken idiot at the bar (Jonas)

The Royal 69 party

2005-10-30T20:43:00.000+01:00

Ok you're probably thinking this is some pervy party, and this being Scandinavia you might almost be right. But believe me, the royal69 is just good clean fun. Its actually an annual party at the Royal Medicine University about 20mins from here. The idea behind this is to have the bar open for 69 hours straight... Thursday til Sunday... so as you can imagine thousands of students flock here for some good mid-term partying.

As soon as we walked in, you could tell that it had been open for a long time.. The stench of beer and partying was everywhere and the floor was a puddle of sticky mush so thick it could hold cigarette butts upright. They had this really cool thing going, where they change the theme of the bar every 2 hours, and along with the theme was a change in music, the type of drinks serverd and the barmen's costume. We drank and danced all night.

We finished off the evening at Mexibar, a 30-somethings bar which makes great cocktails. In fact, they're so good that you ignore the horny old ladies eyeing you as you sip your strawberry daquiri...

Cognac night

2005-10-28T20:20:00.000+02:00

When i got to know that the wine club at work was organizing a Cognac tasting night, it was an immediate merci beaucoup. Now i know i'm not too refined when it comes to my booze, but its never too late to culture oneself innit? I never really liked brandies and Cognac, so i thought this will be a good opportunity to learn something new and taste some of the most elegant drinks around... for a fraction of the price.

The event was really well-organized, with a number of small tables with ready-filled cognac glasses and fresh French bread. Cognac guru Thierry Giraud, straight from Martell in France, came to educate us in the art of cognac. He quickly took us through the history of Martell, the oldest Cognac house in France, as well as the ingredients, process and different qualities of Cognac. We also got to taste some eaux-de-vie (water of life) which is a 70% bullet through the head, and is the product of distilling the wine and the main ingredient which the cognac "Cellarmaster" will mix to make the perfect Cognac before shoving it into the warehouse to age for a number of years. We got to taste most of Martell's range, some of which i must admit were really really good, even though Thierry didn't bring out the top of the range stuff which comes in designer 24-carat gold/glass decanters and costing as much as 2000EUR.

I am now a convert and will start ordering Cognac at any posh event. I also found out that i am an X.O. man. More of le X.O. garcon... The evening ended with a French snack of bread, cheeses, veggies and hams. Parfait.

Car show in Aalborg

2005-10-28T17:40:00.000+02:00

Damnit, Niels got diahorrea and couldnt drive us to Aalborg for the car show (i thought i'd tell the whole world...). So instead, i'm having a bunch of friends over tonight for some drinks before heading the the Halloween party and then the city. Sounds like a good start to an electric weekend...

Never too late for a Housewarming party

2005-10-18T20:10:00.000+02:00

Seeing that i've been here for almost 8 months and still haven't got down to organizing a housewarming (or houseleaving soon) party, the guys urged me to get one done asap before i have to move out. The girls on our floor did a housewarming party in the kitchen the week before, but i wanted to do something a little bit different, so i chose to do it right in my 14m2 of room.

Somehow, 8 hungry people, table and chairs squashed into my room for an evening of fun and laughter. With the big speakers pumping out the party tunes and the bottle of port quickly diminishing, we ate some tasty shepherd's pie which yours truly conjured up a few hours before, and tried not to get sauce on the white carpet.

My neighbours also got me some little presents which were quite fun. I got 2 small plants to decorate my room, both of which are called Bob (just like their ancestors for countless generations), and a cool magic mug which they all signed. Oh and i almost forgot the final present which was in the fridge.. a tub of my all-time danish favourite: leverpostej (liver pate). Mmmmmmmm leverpostej.

Thanks alot guys, it was fun :-)
Next up will be the housewarming party for my new apartment... when i find one.

Carlsberg Tour

2005-10-16T14:24:00.000+02:00

In Denmark, beer is a way of life. Every celebration revolves around drinking heaps of beer. If your grandma died, you all get together and drink. If you just got married, you all get together and drink. If you visit your parents for the weekend, you get together and drink. If the Pope is visiting Botswana, you get together and drink.

So no visit to Denmark is complete without a tour of the Carlsberg empire. They've got a special tour going where you can visit the brewery itself as well as a walk-through museum taking through the entire history of beer. From the mead-guzzling Vikings to modern-day brewing, you are taken through the process of making beer and how the Danes consume it. Apparently, the Vikings used to get totally faced before battle. No wonder they used to roar and make animal noises and scare the shit out of the brits. And no wonder they died out at some point.

Next, you move onto a room containing a jaw-dropping collection of bottles. An entire room lined with shelving containing thousands of bottles, some dating back to the early 19th century. They had some Carlsberg beer labeled "Malta", but it turned out to be because its made of malt, not from Malta. They also had some interesting Satan beer and bottles from the second world war with big swastikas demanding that you salute and down the bottle in 2.5 seconds.

Anyways, after the museum itself you get to see some parts of the brewery. Not the top-secret parts with the recipes of course, as those remain shrouded in mystery and heavily guarded. They also have stables with about 20 Belgian-bred horses the size of which i have never seen before. You turn the corner and see 2 massive beer carts the size of a bus, made of wood and metal and used to carry the big barrels of good stuff, and suddenly you understand why the horses are so big. I swear a hoof that size can punch a hole through walls.

Finally, and most importantly, the tour ends in the bar where you get to try out any Carlsberg brewery currently in season. I say in season because they have a number of brews which only appear on the market for a very short time, such as their Easter and Christmas beers, brewed specially for those festive seasons. They had a wonderful selection of their 4 Jakobsens beers, named after the founding father, and the creme de la creme of Carlsberg's brewery as far as i'm concerned. With my 2 free coupons, i ordered some Saaz Blonde and Brown Ale and sat down with the lads.

Twasn't too long before our 2 coupons were up, and we were sad to find out that you couldnt purchase any more. There is always a workaround. So 4 of us headed back to the reception to order another "tour" of the brewery to get our next 2 coupons. we also realized that you get a group discount if you're 10, so we ordered tours for 10 people... 20 beers. The screw-up was it was 3:15 and the bar closes at 4....

- pic - The Carslberg elephants guard the entrance

Read the next post to see how i got plastered by 9pm thanks to Carlsberg's brewery tour and Isabella's birthday party the same evening.

MS Offsite event

2005-10-08T00:56:00.000+02:00

Every year, Microsoft in Vedbaek organizes an off-site event which is basically a full day of seminars, teambuilding events, workshops, and socializing... as far as possible from the office. This year's off-site was held at Lo Skolen in Helsingborg, a large place for conferences and weekend retreats with a breathtaking view of the channel. Of course, no Danish gathering is worth its salt unless it ends in a big party.. or twice as big since it was also Microsoft's 30th Anniversary!

After the champagne and cake to celebrate MS's birthday, and a good dinner, we grabbed a few bottles and headed underground to this labyrinth of halls and rooms with pool/billiard tables, bars, and even a mini bowling alley. It was a night to remember and everyone had so much fun. We were meant to leave by 11 to catch the last bus to the train station but time flies when you're having fun and we left at 4am by taxi, all rather drunk. I think this calls for a liver break.

- pic - Ruth and I at the dinner
- pic - Gary still alive, returning home on the train
- pic - Rehan: "Onward to party-town, driver", still in partymood

Louise and Sidse's Housewarming

2005-10-07T00:22:00.000+02:00

Even though Louise and Sidse (2 of the girls on our floor) have been here for well over a month, they finally decided its time to have a housewarming party last night. They cooked up some tasty club sandwiches followed by a whole array of tasty nibbles and some Berry/Vodka cocktails. The lucky girls also got a DIY model car and Barbie doll as a welcoming present (teehee).

And this got me thinking... I've been here almost 8 months now. I never did a housewarming when i moved into room 213. I never did a farewell party when i left 213. I never did a housewarming party when i moved into room 219....

Check this space for an upcoming Hjemfest (houseparty) at Chez Mike's.....

Team System Team Dinner

2005-10-06T00:15:00.000+02:00

Now that I was no longer going to work on Visual Studio Team System, i thought it would be a good idea to organize some event as a team. After all, i was working with these 5 persons so intensely over the past 7 months, and we never ever did any informal get-together.

The event included, of course, meat and beer. We all went down to Bryggeriet Apollo near Tivoli, which makes some tasty steaks and even better local brews. The fact that no one seemed to want to leave probably means we really had a good time. The beer was flowing as well as the stories.. it was great to be able to have a conversation which had nothing to do with work for a few hours. I'll definitely be organizing one again in the near future, and maybe for the new team too ;-) As for the old team, i wish all of them the best of luck in their work and hope to remain in contact. Cheers guys.

Ulrich's Fodselsdag

2005-10-02T15:05:00.000+02:00

To celebrate Ulrich's 25th, we did the usual: drank from morning til morning next day. In the evening we cooked up some big cow for dinner followed by a trip downtown. All i remember is that we played foosball and drank more. The rest is blank :)

Its goodbye Team System for me

2005-09-27T23:06:00.000+02:00

So with the end of this week also comes the sad end of my involvement on the QA team for Team Foundation, one of the major SKUs of the Visual Studio Team System family.

Its been an absolutely amazing experience and i've learnt far more than i could have ever percieved. These past 6 months have flown by so quickly with all the excitement, responsibility, and massive workload, and i am glad i was given the opportunity join the project at such an exciting time when we're about to ship the first release of Team Foundation.

Yes folks, Team Foundation will rock! With the recent release of Beta 3 to MSDN subscribers and the ominous chants of "Go Live!" across the IT world, we're looking at a product which will be a benchmark for all software lifecycle tools to come. Other bloggers have already reported the great increase in stability and reduction in deploy-time, so i urge you to give it a try and play around with the Beta 3 bits in your spare time.

-Check out Rob Caron's blog for tons of tips on Team System.
-Check out the MSDN Site for news and info on Team System.

Get informed.
Get interested.
Get started!

Hospitalized!

2005-09-26T22:53:00.000+02:00

I finally returned to work today after a week in bed due to an unfortunate accident which left me unable to walk. Last saturday at Chris's party i felt a sharp sudden pain to my leg which ruined all the fun for me. Thinking it was just a drunken encounter with a piece of furniture, i ignored it thinking the bruise would heal in no time.

I was wrong. By monday, it had only got worse and my leg from the knee down was swollen like a balloon and bright red/purple. I could hardly walk with the pain so i decided to check in at the nearby RigsHospital. After about 30 mins of hobbling around i found the receptionist who told me to try another hospital since it was late and only the trauma section was on duty that night. So i started hobbling in the direction of Bispebjerg hospital which i just couldnt seem to find. Disgruntled at poor directions and the inability to walk, i decided to say "feckit" and go home. Jonas and Allan took a look at the now-enormous leg and decided it looked too nasty to leave unchecked, so they called me a taxi straight to the hospital. After waiting 2 hours there, the docs said it was a bad poisonous/infected insect bite and that i shouldnt walk. I was put on hardcore antibiotics which definitely did the trick despite the lingering pain.

I was asked by many people to post photos of the leg, but believe me it looked far too nasty for that. It looked like one leg belonged to me.... the other to an obese fellow with elephantosis in his right leg. And it was purple. Not pretty. So quit asking... you're not going to get any photos because there aren't any, and my foot has healed now anyway. Ha!

When i find that little shitfleck of an insect i'm going to tear its limbs apart just like i used to do to flies when i was a kid. After watching it fumble around helplessly, i will impale it with needle, spray vinegar, and set it alight. The charred corpse will be quartered and flushed down the toilet of doom. I will have my revenge: I'm not top of the foodchain for nothing you know...

The Irishman's farvelfest

2005-09-18T14:11:00.000+02:00

Chris has been in Denmark for a whole year now so about 20 of us got together in his kitchen to see him off with a good farewell party (farvelfest). Conor, also from Northern Ireland, is also leaving pretty soon so we were also celebrating his farewell.

Well there's not much to report really. Just the usual drunken buffoonery and far too many beers and shots of whiskey, vodka, and wine. Chris also laid out the toasted cocktail weenies, pringles and dips which we polished off real fast, especially the pizza. Have you ever been to a party in which there was enough pizza? Oh i also got them to empty the bottle of Leila (traditional maltese liqeueueur... tastes good and does you good!) which no one at our kollegium wanted to drink anymore since they thought it was too sweet. I figured the best way to get rid of it is to give it to drunken people who couldnt tell the difference anyway... and what do you know.. it worked!

The party lasted well into the night and most of us slept there. By 6am, we had 2 corpses in the kitchen (Craig and I), one under the stairs already gathering cobwebs (Michael), and a couple more in Chris's room. I was woken up at around 10am and had to rush off because i was meant to go in for a few hours work today, even though its sunday. You can guess how much work i got done with such a bad hangover...

- pic - Craig goes straight for the nipple...
- pic - "We are not drunk" - Bernd, Eloise and Rehan
- pic - Normal behaviour for a white caucasian male, apparently
- pic - Me dancing with Ella. Caption should read, "Help!"
- pic - Beware ze Germans.. zey drink all your vin (scheiser!)

Summer Holiday in Malta

2005-09-11T14:38:00.000+02:00

On the 3rd of September, i went for a week's vacation in Malta.. a week of sea, sand, sun and fun!

Day 1
After Erika got me back from the airport, mum cooked up some imqarrun fil-forn as soon as i arrived. I spent the rest of the afternoon resting since i had been awake since 4am and most of my morning traveling! It was good to see my room had not been destroyed by the forces of evil sister and mother, and everything was still just as i left it. Cousin Karl from England was sleeping over in my room for a few days since he was also on holiday...

Day 2
I spent most of the day locked in at Temple Studios helping out with The Gukulari Ensemble's new CD, recording some drums and other percussion instruments on various tracks.

Day 3
Monday morning was shopping day so Erika and I went to my favourite hypersupermonstermarket, Smart, which always seems to be growing in size. We went through all my shopping list and found almost everything there, and at a few other shops such as the Liquor Shop, Tal-Lira, Scan, etc. We then went to eat at good old Black Gold in Sliema, and then headed straight off once again to the recording studio for my final day of recording. That night, we went to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a movie i quite recommend, especially if you've read the book! It was great to see Roald Dahl's epic come to life, also thanks to a star performance by Johnny Depp. Of course, Erika was salivating allover the place from all the chocolate... next time i'm getting her a bib!

Day 4
Erika woke me up real early to go shopping in Valletta so we braved the blistering heat and went for a stroll through the shopping streets. We then met up with the rest of my family at D'Agostino, a new restaurant near the Grandmaster's Palace, where we had some tasty pasta washed down with some good wine. Erika and I then rushed home, picked up our things, and left for a 2-day holiday in Gozo
(see photo)

- photo - Erika on the Ferry coming from Gozo
- photo - Mike says farewell to Gozo

Day 5
Once again, Erika woke me up early to go and get a wholesome breakfast of fresh pastizzi from Rabat, just like the old days. We then went to San Blas, a beautiful sandy bay which can only be reached after a long drive through narrow winding roads, and a brief walk down a 45º slope, which is great fun walking down but rather painful when walking back up after 2 hours of scorching sun! On the way back, we stopped to buy a hobza biz-zejt from Rabat and ate it at the flat, packed, and left back for Malta in the early afternoon. Since it was Wednesday night, and stuff always seems to happen on Wednesday night in Malta, we went for a poolside BBQ at Chris's palace in Madliena together with all the old gang, and then proceeded to Coconut and Alley in paceville for a night of Aftershock trays. Yes, plural :-D

Day 6
Was pretty tired by day 6 so i slept in all morning, and spent the afternoon ripping my CDs and chatting with the oldies. I also spent a few hours trying to jump-start my car which had a dead battery... managed to get it out, wash it, and put it back in the garage. At night, we went for a walk in Bugibba, and then stopped by my favourite take-away in Gzira for some Greasy Chicken. Much to our amusement, the place was full of these typical village folk.. from massive obese women in tight lycra shorts, to an entire rahli family complete with bleached blonde wife, 4 noisy kids, and daddy kollu imsielet u undershave.

Day 7
Since it was the last day in Malta, i spent the morning rushing around buying last minute stuff like pastizzi, mobile topup card etc... Went to St.Julians for lunch with the nanniet and then rushed home to pick up Erika who joined me for the rest of the afternoon whilst we tried to install mum's new printer which refused to work, and then i waxed my beloved car until it was shining with that carshow finish. In the evening, we went for a fenkata at Sunny's in Mgarr.. quite a good rabbit meal and veeery filling. The guy also got us some karawett and dulliegh for dessert... MMMMMMMMM :-D me was very happy.

Sadly, it was time to leave. I packed my bags and 3-dozen pastizzi and the family and Erika saw me off to my 3am flight to Denmark. There was a thick mist over Malta and the night sky was alight with the orange glow of street lights. Europe was alight with a different glow, as i was treated to a wonderful display of lightning storms all the way til Copenhagen.

Onsdag aften: Ris Salat med Malta Mike

2005-08-31T01:02:00.000+02:00

Yes folks, this is the first sentence i've ever written in Danish.. and it came out so naturally without any thought. Funny how its always related to food... All it means is "Wednesday evening: Rice salad with Mike". Because thats exactly what i cooked up for everyone: some tasty cold rice salad with all the ingredients "just like my mamma used to make it". This includes finely sliced onion, green and red bell peppers, capers, olives, tuna, shrimps, mint, corn, cucumber and tomato... with a giant dollop of mayo on top just for fun. I also got some nice 8% french beer "Grain d'orge" which we later found out was also made from rice!

IAESTE Farewell party

2005-08-24T12:14:00.000+02:00

Tonight was the great farewell party for many of our fellow IAESTE trainees. Held at Nea's place just down the road from my kollegium, we did a BBQ on the roof and followed it up with much alcohol, merriment and laughter. Cheers guys, we've had a great time together, hope to see you all somewhere in the world!

Goodbyes to:
...Nea (Finland)
...Ognen (Macedonia)
...Matt (England)
...Michael Weiss (US)
...Matt (Hungary)
...James aka Satan (England)

- pic - "and don't you forget it...", Mike n Matt
- pic - Matt, Gina and Aliyah
- pic - Nea turns into demonlord after finding puke in bathroom
- pic - Steven molesting the ladies, Aliyah and Kim
- pic - Gary, Cesar, Connor and James... drunk? possibly
- pic - Michael and Ognen
- pic - Hilarious, whatever it was

IAESTE Aalborg Get Together 2005

2005-08-22T17:56:00.000+02:00

All i can say is WOW! This was one awesome trip to the beautiful northwest of Jylland, Denmark. We left straight from work and headed North-West in a hot and stuffy coach for a 6-hour ride to Jylland (Jutland in English). Great fun was in store for us even though we didnt yet know it...

Friday
Upon arriving at the old school in which we were to sleep, the IAESTE served dinner for everyone which gave us the perfect opportunity to break the ice and get to know eachother. There were trainees from various IAESTE committees but the majority were of course from Copenhagen, even though i hadnt yet met them all.

- pic - More Beer bottles than Headcount. Welcome to Denmark.

Saturday
We had to wake up early today since we had alot of traveling to do. The IAESTE crew prepared breakfast which i hardly ate since i was still in a daze: i'm not exactly used to waking up at 7am. We had a car for every 6 people, so we hopped in and they drove us first to Rugbjerg Knub, an area where a giant sand dune is constantly moving inland and swallowing up an old lighthouse in its path! Yes, you heard right, sand in Denmark.. and what pretty sand too, the place looked really fantastic and i swear i would have never expected to see this in Scandinavia. The sand was also full of ladybirds! We then walked across the fields to an old church which will one day fall into the sea, as the cliffs it is built on are made of very soft and easily eroded material. As the story goes, sailors realized how close the church was to the edge when they saw bodies and bones sticking out of the cliff face - once belonging to the church graveyard.

- pic - All of us balanced on the sand dune crest
- pic - Although the dune moves inland, sand is lost to sea with wind
- pic - Anita takes on 2 at a time... Mike and Chris
- pic - Mike takes on 2 at a time... Anita and Barbara
- pic - Michael n Mike balance on the edge of a rather soft cliff

Next up was the very northmost tip of Denmark, Skagen. And by tip i really mean tip! This place is the exact point where two opposing oceans meet head-on, and have gradually formed a long spit of sand jutting out into the sea. The opposing seas crash into eachother creating an interesting pattern of small waves, so here we are with one foot in the North Sea and one in the Baltic Sea! The beach is also the cemetary for a thousand large jellyfish, some bigger than a football. We then went off to have lunch on another distant side of the beach, where Uffe fed the hungry mob from the back of his car, and some rich old geezer came and parked his flashy car.

Later that evening, they took us to a cute seaside village somewhere in Skagen. This place was packed with open-air restaurants selling nothing but fish and beer. The aroma of fried seafood was too much to take, so i ordered a big plate of fried cod and shrimps and an ice-cold pint to wash it down. That was some of the freshest and juiciest fish i've ever tasted!

Night was falling so we went back to the school to rest, have dinner (mmm lasagna) and shower in preparation for the wildest night out in Denmark. Aalborg boasts the most exotic entertainment street in all of Denmark, the famous Jomfru Ane Gade (Virgin Anne Street), an entire street of nothing but bars and discos, something like Pacevilla back at home. The street is very different by day as it is by night, as it attracts thousands of youths for partying til the early hours of the morning, which is exactly what we did til 6am.

Sunday

After a drunken sleep in a football field, i woke up to another sunny sunday and got ready to head out for a tour of the City of Aalborg. The city itself has many ancient buildings, but probably the most interesting were the old monastery (i'm sure there's someone brewing beer in there at this very moment) and the wooden buildings, all twisted and contorted with time. We had lunch in the park and then set off back home. Here's a random pic of a really cute yours truly.

Thanks to the Aalborg IAESTE committee for a truly fantastic job! Hope to see you all soon!

The Perfect Day

2005-08-18T19:00:00.000+02:00

This is what we decided to call it, because it really was a perfect day. I took the day off from work so that we could start the drinking early.... this is how it turned out

Jonas's Birthday

Since it was his birthday today, we gathered round the kitchen table at 9am as we do for every birthday, and begain the eating and drinking (beer, Gammel Dansk, Jaegermeister.... ouch). This was already a good way to start the day! After breakfast was complete, i rushed off to pick up my personalized Denmark soccer team T-shirt since we were going to the game that evening. When i was almost back home, my mobile rang... "Mike, we're going off on our little eventyr, and you're coming. Don't move from wherever you are, we're picking you up".

Bike Ride

They turn up on bicycles of all things. I hadn't ridden one in over 10 years but i was forced to saddle up and follow them on a 20min ride through the streets of Denmark, shaking all the way but luckily never falling off. This was after a good dose of alcohol. I swear my ass was in pain for 2 days after the ride, either coz the bike was too small or my ass has become too soft with the years. We rode all the way to Svanemollen harbour...

Yachting

Jonas's friend Anders owns a big 46-foot sailing boat, so we hopped on with a few crates of beer and set sail for distant (er.. no) lands. Anchoring somewhere out there by the small island and wind turbine farm, we dived into icy cold water... and quickly rushed out again. With 'peanuts and raisins', we continued drinking beer in the warm sun and dried up until it was time to return home to...

Flame grilled meat n bread, aka BBQ

ok so after a morning of beer, the stomach craves some good meat, and BBQ is the key. It was great fun when we burnt everything black, but we were so hungry we ate it all anyways. It was also great fun when Anders, sitting on the table, rolled over and fell off with legs in the air, smashing a plate in the process. We also held a small farewell ceremony for my watch and someone's mobile who died when we dived into the sea. They're both lying peacefully in the garden of eden somewhere just outside our kollegium. We drank some more, washed up, and got into our footie gear ready for the great football match...

Denmark vs England : a soccer showdown

Dressed to the nines in red and white, us Vikings were ready to support Denmark. Yes folks, i was forced to support DK against the Queen herself, but i only did this on one condition: that we all painted our faces and went as proper vikings. So out came the face paint, and we were truly ready for battle. The fearsome party of seven set out, walking across the park to the stadium, chanting some drunken gibberish all the way, and annoying all the locals. Once there, we ate another meal of hot dogs since we were starving again, and drank some more. The game was quite exciting with both teams playing a decent first half, but Denmark taking all the cake and eating it in the second, ending in 4-1 for Thor's lot: England's worst defeat in 25 years. With the score firmly painted on my buttocks and a few more beers in hand, we chanted yet more drunken gibberish through the streets on a long long walk to...

Heidi's Bar

The barmaids reputably have big breasts and wear traditional costume, but that was all wasted on us because all we wanted to do was chant still more drunken gibberish, taunt the brits, and drink more. The pints were flowing and we also picked up some middle-aged brit who really looked down in the dumps. He was completely drunk and had no clue where he was or how he got there, so we welcomed him aboard and dressed him in danish colours and gave him a pint. After hours of dancing and making "peace" with disgruntled brits, we caught the first taxi out of there.

The perfect day ends here at 3:30am.
Tillykke Jonas, and cheers lads for a memorable day and night!

Survival Tip #4217

2005-07-31T14:36:00.000+02:00

Never get your hair cut by a Lebanese woman.

Wicked Weekend part deux

2005-07-31T13:16:00.000+02:00

Saturday BBQ @ Gina's

Gina (Tzina) the Greek IAESTE chick invited us over for a big BBQ at her place on the island of Amager. From 4pm to midnight, we ate burnt meat and drank tons of cheap beer, played loads of silly games, and made friends with the new trainees who's names i've probably forgotten already... twas a real laugh and i'm thinking of doing a big BBQ too in the near future if it can be this fun! Now if only the weather were more predictable.....

pic: silly games with plenty of cheating
pic: Michael Weiss's yodelling punishment
pic: Cesar's gay dance punishment
pic: A pensive Marianna worrying about the ear-licking punishment
pic: Mat and his pink thing
pic: Mike, one point away from a punishment
pic: Vera smiles on the first attempt...
pic: Charlie smiles on the fourth attempt...
pic: all together

Wicked Weekend

2005-07-30T14:37:00.000+02:00

Friday Night @ Køkken 2B

What i expected to be a quiet night at home turned into one wild night with the lads at Køkken 2B. It was the usual gang plus one (Kasper, Ulrich's friend) and we started off with a few beers and vodka+apple juice (?), and then went to visit some friends on the 4th floor where we bummed some more free booze (yay), and we then took a taxi downtown for some more partying at Cucaracha Bar where i also picked up a cool T-shirt (see pic). We then queued up for about 30mins to get into this posh (and i suspect over 28's) club which was packed with some really hot (despite rather old and saggy) women. Drinking ensued, repeatedly. Champagne was flowing courtesy of Kasper. An attempt at dancing was made. We lost one or two men in battle, but it was allright because it was friday night after all. We somehow found our way home at around 6am and i was really starving by then, so i decided to put on my chef's hat and cook up some nice chicken and potatoes fil-forn. With the food in the oven, i fell asleep on the sofa with mouth open and remote in hand, and was awoken an hour later by Jonas, only to find my chicken 'n' tatties burnt to a crisp. Of course, i ate them anyways.

pic: Kasper can't eat watermelon without getting seeds on his head

(teehee) i just remembered we found a nice packaged rose in the street that night and took it home with me.... put it in some random girl's letter box with my business card just for a laugh. I'm just so romantic aren't I :-)

Anita's Birthday

2005-07-29T19:04:00.000+02:00

Last night was Latino Nite at Anita's place to celebrate her 24th Birthday. Good cake, free beer, south-american music, and the highlight of the evening which was dipping chocolate balls in whisky, lighting them on fire, and eating them in flames!

pic: The crowd at Anita's party

Louis Guntrum - weintradition seit 1648

2005-07-24T14:23:00.000+02:00

Travelling for over 1 hour just to buy a few bottles of wine is not recommended. What is recommended is Guntrum Reisling Royal Blue, an excellent German white wine. mmmm.

Bragioli at chez Malta Mike

2005-07-24T14:13:00.000+02:00

Kokken 2B was treated to yet another Maltese meal last night, with "bragiolis" in tomato sauce, patata il-forn, and baby mushrooms with soy sauce. We were 6 in all.. Soren, Allan, Jonas, Ulrich and his friend Martin, and of course yours truly, and we made sure that it was as hard as possible to walk to our rooms after the ikla... by drinking beer, port, wine, and vodka. Hurrah! (for hangovers...)

pic: Dinner Table
pic: Jonas drinks shot from ice-cube tray
pic: Allan
pic: Soren (gotcha!)

Batman Begins

2005-07-20T14:29:00.000+02:00

I was very sceptical about this new batman movie, mostly because in the previous movies they managed to corrupt an awesome script and terrifyingly real gothic city into a blockbuster kiddie-friendly film. I only went because i got the ticket to the tuesday preview at the Palads Cinema Complex at half price as part of the Movie Club at work.

So batman began, with an awesome Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne in gotham city. The movie was surprisingly dark, and for the first time, the bat suit looked less like a silly kid's costume. Coming to think of it, the bat costume is what made the batman cartoons so much better than any film or TV series ever made.. thanks to the illusion of art, they could hide the batman's facial features and ridiculous pointy nose thing and depict him as what he was meant to be. The movie also managed to capture the neo-gothic city with its tall menacing buildings and lowlife scum on every street. Unfortunately, throughout the movie i kept imagining Bruce Wayne running around naked with a blood-splattered chainsaw thanks to Bale's previous hit American Psycho (highly recommended).

After the movie, i had no money to go to a pub with the rest of the gang, so i invited them over for beer at my place (hihihi)

New Mobile number

2005-07-18T14:47:00.000+02:00

I just bought me a spanking new Motorola Razr V3 which i got for only Lm90 since it came with a monthly contract. Jonas has a similar mobile which i just fell in love with.. never mind the price... never mind the features. I saw it and i wanted one.. and now i have one :-)

My new number is +45 2963 1556

"A Hereford Beefstouw", best steak in Denmark

2005-07-17T18:10:00.000+02:00

With over 10 outlets and their own personal brewery, A Hereford Beefstouw is definitely a five star restaurant worth visiting. And if Mike recommends it, then its good. Mike's Five Stars does not mean that some poncy git in a suit serves you food and speaks to you in french. It simply means that the food is awesome, the staff are friendly, and there's enough food for me not to have to stop at Burger King on the way home.

Believe me i'm not exaggerating. This was definitely the best steak i've eaten in my life. Cooked to perfection. A real meat extravaganza. And with a pint of tasty wheat beer to go with it. For over Lm20 you get 300g of tender fillet steak and one giant jacket potato with sour cream. Awesome. Optionally you can go for the smaller dish which Erika had.. Lm7 but still just as tasty and filling. Oh and thanks Erika for footing the bill :-)

pic: Home brew from Bryggeriet St.Clemens
pic: The real deal.. mmmmm
pic: Outside the Beefstouw

Erika in DK day 8

2005-07-16T17:56:00.000+02:00

Christiania may be run-down village but it sure has some colourful graffiti. Here i'm standing near a house at the very entrance of the hippie village, under a giant graffiti painting depicting figures from ancient mythology. The big tree in the centre represents the tree of life, Yggadrasil, which is the only way to communicate between the three worlds, or so the stories tell.

pic: Nicely carved bench in Christiania

On the way back, we couldnt resist buying some chocolate muffins and fresh bread from one of the local bakeries (mmmmmmmmmmmm) and we then went through the shopping streets, including the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain shop, Tiger - the danish version of Tal-Lira, and a very tempting chocolate shop.

Due to bad weather we had to cancel our trip to the park so instead we spent the evening watching one of my favourite movies: The Deer Hunter.

Copenhagen's Round Tower

2005-07-15T17:51:00.000+02:00

emmm. i forgot. Its a tower and there's a nice view from up top.

Tivoli Gardens

2005-07-14T17:28:00.000+02:00

I've been wanting to go to Tivoli Gardens for ages, so this was the perfect opportunity. It was thursday night so we thought it would be a nice quiet evening so we could get on the rides without any wait time. Yeah right...

Tivoli is located in the very heart of Copenhagen and contains many typical luna park rides, plenty of sideshows and games, and hourly shows and live music. So as you can imagine, i went wild. The little kiddie in me was bursting out and i practically played every sideshow game including Flip the Frog, Hans's Hats, Shoot the Squirrel, Bob the Rat, and shoot the things (forgot). As a reward for all the money i spent, at least i managed to win erika a softoy frog. We went on some cool rides including the Odin Express, Valhalla, the and last but not least... the Demon! I was also engaged in battle with a giant candyfloss (see all pics below).

We saw some really sweet shows such as the Thumbelina play which premiered that very night, and the swing big band, as well as the Tivoli light show and A Tivoli Fairytale which was a fantastic display of light, music and costumes... of course based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales. Just as we were leaving, we noticed a big commotion outside the exit where people were lined up with cameras and writing pads for autographs. At first, i thought they were employed by Tivoli just to give you a grand exit so i saluted them with a royal wave etc. Suddenly, we were pushed aside by some big guy in uniform... he was making way for the Queen who was right behind us and leaving that very moment! She had been there all along, and we later found out she was involved as Artistic Director for the Thumbelina play!

pic: me fighting with candyfloss
pic: erika looking constipated on "The Demon" hell-ride
pic: outside the outdoor theatre where the swing band played
pic: the Queen... sortof

Erika makes lasagne

2005-07-13T17:24:00.000+02:00

lasagne GOOD

Det Lille Apotek, the oldest restaurant in Copenhagen

2005-07-12T17:10:00.000+02:00

Erika spent all day doing some sightseeing on her own until i returned from work and we spent the rest of the evening together.

First we went shopping for clothes and shoes at the Fisketorvet shopping mall where i bought a few nice pairs of shoes (danish style) and shorts and Erika got herslef a nice trendy pair of sunglasses. We then took the train to Copenhagen centre and ate at the oldest restaurant in Copenhagen, where Hans Christian Andersen is known to have spent many an evening thinking up stories and eating the local dishes. This place still serves traditional recipes and beer from their own brewery, and very tasty food too.

Cute pic of mike and erika outside Det Lille Apotek

(erika made me write that)

Mike and Erika go Svensk

2005-07-10T16:48:00.000+02:00

Why is it that the moment they land in Denmark they want to visit Sweden?

Erika is back here for a week (yay) so we're doing the remainder of the sightseeing which we didnt do last time she was here. So of course, we started off with good old Sweden. Yes we did the same old trip i've reported about 5 times already, so here goes:

We took the long trian to Helsingor and visited the old Castle by the sea, took a few fotos and went for a strolll by the sea. There was this angry swan who was attacking everyone and this stupid jap went to play with it. Please take a look at the great foto we took with the jap being molested by an irate swan, it was most amusing. We then took the ferry over to Helsingborg and walked about the sunny town for a few hours, visiting the great tower with the awesome view of the channel. My qabbi and i then rested in the park (erika in the shade, mike in the sun of course) and had some ice cream and cold drinks to refresh ourselves in the scandinavian summer.

Yet another pissup

2005-07-06T14:49:00.000+02:00

I woke up at 9:30am rather late for work, and wondered
a. why the light is still on
b. where my t-shirt is
c. why my bed is wet
d. where my shot glass and mug are
e. where my room keys are
f. where my mobile is

So i walked to the kitchen which held the answer to all my questions. The place looked like it had been bombed by some terrorist organization... disaster area. Water allover the floor, bottles everywhere, empty cans stacked up in interesting shapes, t-shirts strewn about the place, wine stains allover the table, etc. Yes, last night we did yet another pissup. God knows what we drank, but i know we drank it in large quantities. I distinctly remember us drinking out of our matching 1L beer mugs and banging them together to the yells of "aaarrrrgh!" and "skål" and other meaningless gargles. After a quiet word with my liver and a trip to the bathroom, i can safely say i drank a few litres of strong beer, vodka, whiskey and some other nasty danish Gammel Dansk. Things got ugly when someone produced a waterpistol and we ended up throwing entire mugs of water at eachother.

yours truly,
the behemoths at kokken 2B

Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2005

2005-07-04T18:17:00.000+02:00

Every year, Copenhagen is host to a large number of jazz bands and artists from allover the world, and for an entire 14 days the city is alive with the sounds of trumpets and saxophone. Allover the city: in bars, clubs, jazz cafes, streets, parks and walking streets, you will find jazz music.

Simon and i decided to go large for 300Kr a head and go to one of the major concerts at the Royal Opera House (Operaen) in Christianshavn. This was completed only recently and sits on the water's edge of one of the many canals onto the baltic sea. Very spectacular both from inside and outside, but particularly the inner theatre which looks modern as it does classical. The acoustics are, of course, absolutely perfect. From our seats high up in the last rows we could hear every note, every hiss and every breath of the New Jungle Orchestra featuring Yousef Latif, renowned Jazz artist specialising in wind instruments, a whole array of which were with him on stage. The New Jungle Orchestra may not play my favourite type of jazz, but they sure were an experience to watch on stage and their talent is incredible.

Simon and Mike go Svensk

2005-07-04T17:11:00.000+02:00

Last full day with Simon here since i have to get back to work tomorrow.

We did the usual Sweden trip.. which i'm kindof getting tired of now. Train to Helsingor, saw the castle, ferry to Helsingborg, saw the castle, ate ice-cream, found cheap chinese buffet for lunch (60Kr.. incredible) and walked about the town. We were home by 4pm just in time to start preparing for the Jazz concert.

Hmmmm.... festival?

2005-07-03T15:24:00.000+02:00

Ok last night we went to bed at 8am so today we woke up real late and feeling like we'd been run over by a bus. So we decided not to go to the Roskilde Festival since we were totally pooped. Instead, we took it easy and cooked some good food followed by a long session of foosball and beer in which i lost almost every match.

Roskilde Festival 2005 !

2005-07-02T19:57:00.000+02:00

Ok i'm afraid Roskilde is mostly a drunken haze so i can't seem to remember what we got up to. The festival was worthy of about 10 posts on its own, but it looks like its all gone now :( Here's to sum things up:

The festival area itself is as big as a city and takes well over 30mins to cross from one stage to another, speaking of which, there are 6 massive arenas with ear-piercing speaker systems! There are acres upon acres of camping area, mostly full of drunken scandinavians, although Simon and I were to return home every night since we planned to tour the city in the mornings, something which never materialized since we'd arrive home at 6am and play Foosball over a few more drinks until 8am!

pic: Roskilde by Night
pic: Roskilde at Sunset

The festival is not just about the music, its basically just a huge fun event with hundreds of little side shows, performances, games and various entertainment. Within the tightly guarded fences of the festival area, you could find everything from roskilde memorabila shops to shisha chillout areas, games arenas, open-air showers, and even a silent disco! This was a big tent where you were given a pair of headphones to listen and dance to the music.. so its real weird watching the others dance and scream when you can't hear what they're hearing! Thankfully there were plenty of foodstalls, selling everything from chinese to super burgers. As the event sponsor, Tuborg was everywhere of course, and always with huge queues, which didnt really put us off anyways. In the blistering heat, all you really want to do is drink beer after beer. And we did. And with all that beer, you need somewhere to unload. Luckily, Roskilde has evolved into a massive cesspit, so the nearest toilet is a few paces away, much to our amusement.

The band lineup was, of course, nothing short of awesome. We rocked and moshed and jumped and screamed and nodded to the best tunes of so many famous artists as well as some unknown and upcoming stars, since Roskilde music is mostly about promoting the smaller bands. I'm still abit pissed off that my Roskilde T-Shirt doesnt have a band list, but for posterity's sake, here's who we saw in just 3 days:

- Black Sabbath (Ozzy was never so alive!)
- Foo Fighters (Grohl climbed and played atop the sound rig!)
- Green Day (awesome, and again they didnt pick me to go on stage)
- Mastodon (rippin' !!)
- Audioslave (went mad when they played Rage/Soundgarden trax)
- Autechre (wow, crazy beats enough to make your heart fail)
- Duran Duran (nice, but they didnt play Rio for me, the fags...)
- DAD (Denmark's finest)
- Velvet Revolver (didnt think them that good)
- Armand Van Helden (really impressed witht his guy's tunes)
- Snoop Dogg (dogg pimpy himself)
- Craig Richards (craig who?)
- BeatSteaks (all i remember is i ate 3 burgers during this)
- Jimmy Eat World (wasnt impressed)
- Tom Vek (can't even remember the guy)
- Eskobar (xi qabda rappers jhekk niftakar seww)
- Outlandish (abit gay to say the least)
- Alter Ego (hmmm)
- Carl Cox (hamallata but great fun!)

There were plenty more bands we saw, but i just can't remember them. 10 litres of Tuborg a day can mess with your head!

Roskilde is all about the people. Over 110,00 punters made their way to the festival, most of which seem to be regulars and have been going for years, and all completely high on weed and Tuborg Classic. We even met some swedish girls who have been to Roskilde for the past 7 years and still have all 7 access bands on their arms! In 7 years they never removed them.. apparently they are now also quite collectible. We also met up with Chris from Northern Ireland for the second day of the festival, and met some other friends along the way too.

Oh well, it was an amazing adventure which i feel better prepared for when i go next year. Its not your average festival, and not for the faint hearted. If you go, make sure you're camping, and make sure you go in costume, or in nothing at all. Roskilde Rocks and i doubt i'll go to another festival with more punch!

IAESTE Sweden's Midsummer Party

2005-06-26T23:44:00.000+02:00

I returned home just 2 hours ago from the great Midsummer Party in Sweden, sunburnt to a crisp and very very exhausted.

Every year, the IAESTE committee in sweden organizes the event to celebrate Midsummer together with some IAESTE committees and trainees from neighbouring countries, which is how wo got invited. I left from work on Friday around 2pm together with some other trainees at Microsoft, and we traveled until 8pm by bus, train, ferry, train, bus... taking a route through Goteborg and then heading to Stansvik in the absolutely stunning western sweden archipelogo... a large number of small and relatively untouched Islands which can be reached by bridge or boat.

Needless to say, in the 28-degree sunlight the place looked just stunning. I never dreamed that scandinavia could be so beautiful in summertime, or that the beautiful waterscape would surpass anyhting i've seen in the mediterranean. You really have to see it for yourself.

We joined up with another 70 people, some of which belonging to another traineeship organization which constituted of 23 Finnish girls and just 2 guys (nice ratio). We had dinner in this big hall by the sea and slowly started to get to know eachother. After explaining where Malta is 32 times, i could only remember 2 or 3 names since everyone there seemed to have some unpronouncable name with letters i had never seen in any alphabet. Dinner was followed by disco party and went to sleep at around 6am after chatting with some pretty young ladies and drinking in the everlasting night sunlight.

I was rudely awoken at around 9am next morning, feeling pretty much stoned but ready to take on day 2 of the summer party. We went on a small hike across the black hills and then took a boat-ride around the islands. We were dropped off on one small island for about 2 hours where we sunbathed and watched the jellyfish float by.. and then went trekking once again across the jagged black hills and green countryside to our boat which took us back home. Oh i also forgot to mention we went to the beach yesterday.. a really beautiful small bay with rock and sand and a grassy area with a large tree providing shade for the now-pink scandinavians. In the afternoon, we played some games such as "Turkish Beer" (uhm, they meant "bear" anyway) where i came in second with about 20 bruises and after almost losing my lunch (beer+bbq+running is not recommended). Which reminds me, dinner was BBQ'd meat and veggies on the grassy area outside the banquet hall, followed by traditional dancing around the grassy pole and singing silly songs such as "Hellan Gore", and more booze of course.

Saturday night was another trip to the beach followed by more booze and chit chat, and the last but rather lethargic disco party. Everyone was pooped by then, either due to the alcohol, intense hiking, or strong sun. In fact, we had a few pinkies thanks to the heatwave, who were quiet a sight really.

With a full stomach and a sorrowful heart, we left the Swedish Archipelago on sunday at around 10:30am and stopped for a brief visit of Gotenborg city which seems like quite a lively place. Might go and visit the city some time soon coz its got reputably great nightlife. See you in Gotenborg Marlin :-)

Frederiksberg Castle

2005-06-20T23:41:00.000+02:00

Located in Hillerød, northish Sealland, Frederiksberg Castle is a large architectural masterpiece surrounded by some spectacular gardens and lakes. The castle also houses a large number of old and contemporary paintings as well as a beautiful church and internal courtyard.

Microsoft Summer Party 2005

2005-06-19T23:21:00.000+02:00

Yes, believe it or not, the IT geeks at Microsoft can party as hard as they work! Yesterday we had the great summer festival for all people on Vedbaek Campus... around 800 in all.

We started around noon and, divided into teams, competed against eachother in team-building activities based on microsoft values. This was quite fun and also gave us the opportunity to get to know big danish celebrities and how their achievements are reflected in the same values Microsoft so strongly upholds. As usual, not only did i put my utmost effort into trying to win, but i also tried to motivate my rather fat team with alot of screaming and waving of the team's banner. I was hoarse by tea time.

We then had about an hour to rest, wash and change, and proceed to the big tent which was set up on the campus green area. The huge circus-style tent with wooden floor, inside-lighting and huge sound system was where I ate our buffet dinner in the company of 2 beautiful women who i'd never seen before at work (recommended trips to the marketing, HR and Finance departments from now onwarsd..), even though they were well past my age-bracket. Food was good, and the wine glass was refilled constantly much to my liver's delight.

At the end of the meal, we had a live entertainment act from Fatboy of the Classroom, a 2-man band which packed as much humour as they did good music. They clearly did their homework as most of their standup comedy was a good poke at Microsoft's reputation etc. These guys were really funny though, definitely worth watching, and had everyone in fits of laughter (and i assure you it wasnt the wine).

After a memorable "group watering of a random microsoft bush" when the ladies occupied all toilets, the oldies went to chat outside whilst the young 'uns hit the dancefloor and open bar. I can also proudly say that i downed a few pints with my boss who allegedly was hungover all weekend thanks to me. Just for the record, i am not fired yet. He's the one in the centre of the photo. "love your boss.. stroke his head"

Helsingør and Helsingborg

2005-06-12T11:13:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was tour day with a group of IAESTE trainees, most of which just arrived here in denmark a week or two ago. I met up with Gary, Michael, Michael, Hakkim, Kim, Nea and Ryan at Kokkedal station, and we set off to explore the northern tip of Sjælland (same island Copenhagen is situated on).

Helsingør
This small town is at the very tip of the island, jutting out into the baltic sea channel dividing Denmark and Sweden. This is where King Frederik build the Kronberg castle, which also features in the novel Hamlet, and has been used for hundreds of years as a location for epic Hamlet plays. Kronberg was not too impressive from the inside, probably because it burnt down in the 1600's and was rebuilt since then, but the architecture from the outside is quite a sight. It did contain an interesting collection of giant tapestries woven for the King himself, depicting portraits of 70 Danish royalty. The King introduced a toll for all ships passing through the channel, which was paid directly in Helsingør, and the castle cannons would fire upon anyone trying to evade taxation. This made Denmark's northern region incredibly prosperous in those days, much to the discontent of other countries such as Sweden who managed to attack and take over the castle, as well as much of northern Denmark, in the 17th century. Kronberg also houses a large statue of the giant viking Holger Danske, reputably lifesize, as he sits in silence with sword and shield guarding the tunnels under the castle.

Since it was also the (current) Queen's husband's birthday, we witnessed a royal military march, salute, and traditional firing of the cannons (all seemed to be aimed at Sweden). And this leads us to part 2 of the journey. Sweden is so close to Helsingør that it only takes a 15 minute ferry ride to Helsingborg. So off we went, crossing the jellyfish-infested waters that were scandinavia's greatest battlefield for many years.

Helsingborg
Sweden's closest point to Denmark, Helsingborg is quite a pretty town which was also involved with much trade and warfare in the early days. Now, its just a place for rich young couples and middle-aged families, with its expensive-looking apartments overlooking the sea and a small dock for all their private yachts and speedboats. Very pretty place though, and i'm sure it would be great to live there. It was also sunny so we really enjoyed lying on the grass and eating Swedish ice-cream (shaped and coloured like their flag).

We visited Helsingborg's castle, Känan, which is basically a tall tower with far too many steps and a breathtaking view from above. We then walked about the town and stopped for dinner at an Italian restaurant, where my half-bottle of red wine cost me more than my plate of pesto (Doh!). We left sweden again by ferry towards late evening, even though it was still sunny since there's light even after midnight in summer in these regions.

Back in Denmark
Our final trip of the day was to Nyhavn, just west of Norreport, an area filed with bars, coffee shops and restaurants overlooking a 10m-wide channel where all the beautiful wooden yachts would berth, their owners inside them with their friends drinking away til the early hours of the morning. We stopped in a small pub owned by some aussies and spent the rest of the evening drinking Leffe (mmmmm) and talking away.

Bavarian Sunset

2005-06-06T17:50:00.000+02:00

So its goodbye Deutschland for me. Its been a busy 3 days and i'm really exhausted, not really looking forward to another 12-hour train ride either. Lets hope there are hot Austrian women in my cabin like last time to keep me company...

Rock im Park 2005 - day 3

2005-06-05T17:47:00.000+02:00

Yeeehah! a rockin' day yesterday and far too much beer. But now its day 3 and the final round of sun and fun. Here's the band list:

Slayer
Motley Crue
Marilyn Manson
Thievery Corporation
Feeder

That makes a total of 21 great bands over 3 full days of rockin in the park. I got a free CD, i got a T-shirt, i almost got to play with Green Day, and i ate too many steaks. Yay!

Rock im Park 2005 - day 2

2005-06-04T17:43:00.000+02:00

Its saturday and we teamed up with Matt for another day at the festival. Mat is an ex-US Army guy who settled in Germany and also works with Simon.

Today was just awesome with regards bands, quite exhausting too. Here's the list.

Mando Diao
Weezer
Incubus
Green Day
R.E.M.
The Prodigy
Slipknot
Apocalyptica

Yes folks, i missed In Flames in favour of The Prodigy. Reason? Well Prodigy only make rare appearances at festivals and dont really have their own concerts, so it would have been a bigger and better opportunity to see them now... or never! As for In Flames, i've committed myself to finding their next concert nearby and going to see them anyway.

Rock im Park 2005 - day 1

2005-06-03T17:23:00.000+02:00

The Rock im Park rock festival held in Nürnberg, Germany, every year around this time. For those who have been hiding under a rock for the past 10 years, its a big festival hosted by Mtv which brings together many of the best bands from allover the world in two major locations... Nürnberg being one of them. We were in the Frankenstadion, Zeppelinfield, where uncle Hitler used to stand tall(ish) and address the masses with his cute little moustache.

From the number of skinheads i'd stay times havent changed much, but in the stadium was a much greater variety of people. You had your average rocker dude with iron maiden t-shirt and long hair. You had your skinhead sporting evil tattoos and denim shorts. You had your goth chicks with all the chains and studs and overuse of eyeliner. Plenty of rock sluts to go round too. The occasional reggae bob with marijuana memorabilia and columbian colours. The punks with massive hairstyles and that awful thing they do with an undershave and a long barbetta hanging. And finally there were the neo-goths, my favourite, with a zero-undershave and hitleresque hair to one side, long black PVC overcoat with studs, clips and handles for even the most masochistic of us, and of course the compulsory army-looking badges and boots. So here we are amidst the most colourful people you could ever imagine, with too much beer in our head and 30 degrees of sun to work us into a sweat as we jump around and cheer on our favourite bands.

The festival was spread over 3 main arenas: the Centre Stage which was by far the largest and also had two massive screens on each side; the AlternatStage which was slightly smaller but was even better since the audience stays in a big pit making the stage more visible, and the Talent Forum which was indoors. On the sides were kiosks selling food, drink and festival memorabilia which of course i had to burn some cash on.

Now for the bands... day 1 of the festival was already a great start as we managed to see:

HIM
the Chemical Brothers
Fettes Brot
Wir Sind Helden
Sohne Mannheims
Silbermond
Adam Green

Unfortunately i missed Velvet Revolver (Slash's band, ex guns n roses) and Mastodon/Meshuggah due to timing. Oh well.

Best performance of the day has to be The Chemical Brothers. Maaaan what a show, they started around midnight and the place was packed.. played an awesome set with some really blasting beats and some really cool visual effects to go with them. Awesome.

Nürnberg

2005-06-03T15:12:00.000+02:00

Here i was in Nurnberg with Simon Vella, whom you might know as Malta's upcoming electric violin star. I was staying at his place in Cadolzburg during the festival... not that we spent much time at home. Before the festival started, we went on a little tour of the city which is very picturesque with its old buildings, parks and castles. I was surprised to find bustling streets and a busy market square, as it was only friday morning. We had some Bratwurst and headed over to the local pub for a drink, before venturing off to the festival itself.

Worth mentioning was this small bar we went to. Its one of the oldest bars in the city (since 1050) and is Nürnberg's most famous brewery. We ordered some nice big pints of the dark stuff and tried out various beers of different flavours, which i must say were damn good. Couldnt help buying a few bottles and a giant 1 litre ceramic mug for those heavy viking nights. Talking about beer, dont forget to check out my Beer Garden page at http://thebeergarden.blogspot.com/ where i'm listing all the beer i've tasted around the world. Feel free to email me any i've forgotten!

Bavarian Sunrise

2005-06-02T17:06:00.000+02:00

Crossing the border between Denmark and Germany, i was treated to a beautiful display of colours in the Bavarian countryside. Around 4am, and my night train had already been traveling for 10 hours, and the sun began to rise from behind the distant hills. Red, orange and yellow, the sky was alight with the colours of yet another morning, whilst the green rolling hills peeked out of the thick mist which settled between the lower patches. This was Deutschland, and I was heading to Nürnberg for the 3-day Rock im Park festival 2005.

Seattle Keynotes

2005-05-19T17:09:00.000+02:00

Pancakes are always fluffy

I saw one of those highway trucks! I was as tall as the wheel!

Mobiles here are so chunky. Apparently its not cool to have a slim, small mobile phone.

These guys really live under the illusion that they have learnt to make good coffee.

Due to the release of Star Wars: revenge of the Sith, this country has gone insane.

Double Cheesburger and a three dollar shake… a real taste of America

Beef Jerky is GOOD

Unlike Florida which I’ve visited before, Seattle has very steep 45 degree slopes

Hot American women can only be found at the Key Arena. Outside, I’ve seen nothing but geckos and blubber-whales. I officially give up.

The Seattle state library is an architectural gem. Must visit.

The Columbia Tower is a 76-floor, menacing darth vader. Look it up.

Mike and the great basketball game

2005-05-15T17:08:00.000+02:00

YES! I went to the Key Arena to watch game 4 of the NBA playoff series between Seattle Supersonics and San Antonio Spurs… the game was AWESOME, such an amazing experience. Even though I was in a $35 seat (which I got for free anyway) I got an awesome view of the court, cheering the Sonics to a 18-point-lead victory over the Spurs. Great shooting and some slam dunkin from both sides, and during every break or timeout there were stuntmen, breakdancers, spicy hot cheerleaders, and the sasquatch team doing dunk stunts or shooting t-shirts to the crowd through a bazooka. After the game, there were happy faces all round, and I joined Brad and Angie (who I met at the game) at the pub where we had some strange tasting beer from some microbrewery. Brilliant Sunday evening which I’ll never forget.

Tour of Seattle

2005-05-14T17:07:00.000+02:00

Long day today at Downtown Seattle.

We visited the Pike Place Market, the oldest operating market in all of America, where you can buy everything from fresh fish to seattle shot glass souvenirs (got one for the collection of course). They also had massive crabs for sale, about as big as a football, and giant king prawns which probably cost ALOT. Most striking was the way the fishmongers sing out aloud together and then throw fish across the shop to eachother, quite entertaining. I also learnt the meaning of Beef Jerky, which is basically dried, salted, peppered strips of beef. You buy it fresh or in packets at the supermarket (as we later found out) and you eat it just like you’re eating a chewing gum. Yumm, beef flavoured gum J I’m in heaven.

We then walked through the shopping streets and malls… and funnily enough you don’t find those good ol’ American prices anymore. Everything has gone up in price, from t-shirts to nike shoes.

After about 4 hours of walking, Mike got hungry. Which was to be expected since he didn’t want donuts again for breakfast and just had 3 glasses of orange juice. So we stopped by this awesome brazilian restaurant. This is how it works: you pay $15 and you get to take as many trips as you want to the salad bar (some very tasty stuff I’ve never seen before), and on your table you have this red/green coupon. When you leave it face up (green), it means “please go ahead and fill my plate with fresh meat”. So this guy comes round every 2 minutes with some different meat on a spit, and he just carves off some and dumps it in your plate… AWESOME! Really juicy tender meat cooked to perfection, worth every buck.

Visiting Seattle is pointless if you don’t go up the Seattle Space Needle, a 600 foot tower with a revolving restaurant up top and an observation deck overlooking all of the city. The view from up there is more spectacular than beautiful, as you can see how far the city stretches out, all the parks and highways, the towering skyscrapers, the monorail, and the lakes joining up to the sea. I could even see the Key Arena where I hope to watch a basketball game tomorrow.

Azteca – the Mexican experience

2005-05-13T17:04:00.000+02:00

After work, Emilia and I went to eat at Azteca – the Mexican restaurant across the road. Typical Mexican music, all-mexicano staff, and a menu full of unpronounceable words made it just that little more fun. My meal consisted of:

Mushed kidney beans with melty cheese
Mexican Salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, celery, onion, carrot – all shredded)
Sour Cream (thick, one blob)
Guacamole (thick, one blob)
Mexican Rice (soft and light, with herbs)
Tortillas with chili sauce (tourist hot)

And the best main course ever…

King prawns wrapped in bacon and covered in cheese, on a bed of bell peppers and onions

Divine.

Redmond, Seattle (Washington, USA)

2005-05-10T05:11:00.000+02:00

Weeeeee! its 8:10 pm (5:12 malta/denmark time) and i'm lying on my hotel room bed with my laptop connected to the hotel wireless. This is at the Mariott Fairfield Inn in Redmond, close to Microsoft HQ, and after a 10 hour flight from copenhagen. Flight wasnt as bad as i thought, probably because we got fed twice, got sweets and drinks every hour, plus i had a nice double cognac to keep me going. During a 10 hour flight, i managed to watch 3 and a half movies and play all the games on the small touchscreen in front of my seat. I am now addicted to blackjack and can't wait to blow a few grand at the nearest casino. That is, when i actually have a few grand.

Seattle looked just like copenhagen. Green trees and grass, wide roads, rush hour, and rain. Its about 15 degrees here but it should go up over the next few days ( i hope ). Anyways, details about seattle will come another day because now its sleepy time... its been over 12 hours since i left europe.

over n out

Malta Night with Malta Mike

2005-05-07T14:07:00.000+02:00

Last night we had "Malta Night" hosted by our very own "Malta Mike" (thats me btw). Cooked up some traditional foods for some friends in the dorm. We were 8 in all so i wasnt cooking for that large a group, but its amazing how many pots and pans you can use for just 8 people.

On the menu we had:

Starters
- Bigilla shuna bnaqa zejt taz zebbuga u bil galletti
- Gbejna tal-bzar
- Zalzett Malti

Main Course:
- Imqarrun fil-Forn (bla bajd)

Dessert:
- Helwa tat-Tork li kont diga naqqart nofsha
- Karawett fil forn

Drink:
- Xi forma ta Sangria, jew kif nghidu ahna... "Sangrijja". Cheapest red wine, orange juice, sliced fresh orange, sprite, and fresh mint leaves for that slap in the face. This was obviously more mediterranean than Maltese, but i don't think they'd want any more Bajtra after last week's TDC.

Most memorable quotes of the night:

"Where are the Maltese girls?" - Jonas
"more of the grey stuff please" - Soren
"goat cheese scares me" - Bo
"goat cheese scares me" - Jakob
"wow this is really good" - Ulrich
"how the hell do you crack peanuts like that?? TEACH ME!" - Alan
"super stor pellas!" - Mike
"haha look at how many peanuts Alan ate" - Jonas
"apple computers are just the best" - Alan

Paradise Lost concert at The Rock

2005-05-03T02:01:00.000+02:00

Just returned from a 4-hour concert at The Rock, Copenhagen's underground rock and heavy metal arena. The gig kicked off at 9pm with 2 supporting bands, both of which were awesome. First band was some good old heavy riff crunching noise kindof like machine head. Second band was interesting too because they were palestinian and played a fusion of traditional middle-eastern music and heavy stuff which sometimes sounded like Dream Theater's old days. Finally, Paradise Lost started off their 2-hour set with the ominous keyboard sounds of Embers Fire (Icon, 1993), followed by songs which spanned practically every album, including my favs Shallow Seasons and Forging Sympathy.

The Rock is a cool place with good staging and AWESOME sound, i'll definitely be back soon.

Moving to new room

2005-05-01T21:10:00.000+02:00

Kristina Marcussen was kind enough to let me have her room whilst she's away in Greenland for the summer. Looks abit nicer than room 213 actually, and now i have Jonas and Allan as direct neighbours. My new address is:

Rådmandsgade 61,
Room 219
2200 Kobenhavn N.
Denmark

TDC 2005

2005-04-30T14:32:00.000+02:00

Woke up about an hour ago and REALLY hungover... what a night at the Tour de Chambre 2005!

We were about 13 in all and started the event at around 7pm with a big meal cooked by Alan and Jonas.. some tasty cuisine including chili pancakes with tuna/apple/onion mush for starters, chicken/pepper/gherkin kebabs, spaghetti with pesto, and this really interesting salad containing small raw broccoli pieces, raisins, onions, pine nuts, and some balsamic vinegar salad dressing. Thanks to 2 pints of good ol' harboe pils and a few rounds of cheap port, we were in high spirits by 9pm.

Onto the actual pissup.
13 participants.
13 rooms.
13 bottles of booze.

We toured from room to room of our dorm which were decorated according to the "summer" theme we had established earlier... mine was the only one not decorated coz i really didnt have time or stuff to put in it *sigh* Each room offered some booze based on the room theme and we werent allowed to leave a room until the booze was finished. Those are the rules.

To sum things up, here is the result of the Maltese jury:

Worst drink of the night goes to Isabella's swedish booze/snack combo. 2 inches of vodka followed by a piece of raw fish (sild). I swear i was about to puke.

Best drink of the night goes to Ulrich with his refreshing Pina Colada with fresh pineapple.

Most interesting drink of the night goes to Kristina's fresh strawberry daiquiri with tons of vodka.

Most original room theme is a tough one. Can't really decide between Alan's camping room where he patiently spent the past 2 weeks cultivating a bed of mustardseed grass which covered the entire floor of his room, or maybe Ulrich's Beach Boys room where we ended up jumping in a huge inflatable dinghy to the beat of Surfin' USA.

Best snack of the night goes to Mike's freshly baked pastizzi. They vanished in seconds but, being drunk, they didnt realize how hot they were so tihs morning everyone woke up with sore burnt tongues (teehee).

Best costume of the night goes to Mike's "ugly beachbabe" outfit, complete with blonde hair, massive breasts, and tight bikini revealing 4 inches of skillfully unshaved muff.

Best TDC room experience probably goes to Pennerla's "Cuban Summer", with big cuban cigars for all, pictures of Fidel and Che Guevara, and a big tub of cuba libre on the rocks.

Best stunt of the night goes to Jonas who put a fucking oxo chicken cube in my shower head so this morning i showered in yellow chicken juice.

The fun ended at around 4/5am and we've got a log book to prove it, which we filled with some drunken anecdote every few minutes. I am still missing my towel and a breast.

GoKarting in Sweden

2005-03-31T23:36:00.000+02:00

Just returned from a few hours of GoKarting in Lockarp (Sweden) with a couple of other MS workmates. Even though we were only 15, we had a great time and some awesome driving in these professional karts running on gasoline (top speed 90Km/h). Massive race track with each lap taking about 1:25 (best lap today was 1:14 by Martin Born). Free sandwiches and drinks also made the subzero temperatures abit more bearable.

Roskilde !

2005-03-31T23:35:00.000+02:00

Full day at Roskilde, including Roskilde Viking Ship Museum and also the "Domkirke" and piazza. Pity the old butcher and grocer shops were closed.

Easter Sunday

2005-03-27T23:32:00.000+02:00

After a good meal of lasagne courtesy of Erika, we headed off for Christiansborg and the neverending Copenhagen National Museum followwed by Easter mass at some chuch full of philippinos and indians.

Encounter with a Smørrebrød and other stories

2005-03-26T17:12:00.000+01:00

Woke up *early* and headed towards Copenhagen City (centre) which is full of old buildings, cafes and shops. First stop was Radhuspladsen (Townhall square) where we visited the Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum, a tribute to the weird and the wonderful. This place had some cool stuff like ugly people and a two-headed cow (yay). Next stop was the new H.C. Andersen museum with dioramas of the author's life and his works, including some very cute displays for his most famous works such as Thumbelina and The Little Mermaid. Never realized this man was responsible for so many of our childhood stories!

By then it was about 2pm and time to start hunting for a restaurant. We found this small underground place where we decided to try out the Smørrebrød, a very popular dish in Denmark consisting of a slice of rhye bread and butter with a mountain of err.. anything you can imagine on top. Toppings range from slices of beef and onions to lettuce and herrings with tartar sauce. Its quite a meal in itself and the combinations of toppings can be quite interesting. Erika had the Smørrebrød with a minced-meat pat and fried egg and onions, whilst mine came with liver pate, bacon, ham, and an interestingly tasteless cube of jelly fat.

We then walked through the main pedestrian and shopping streets with our last stop at this massive sweet shop where you get to choose from hundreds of different types of sweets, and just put them in your paperbag. Strangely, 500g of sweets only lasted 2 days.

visiting Fjordland

2005-03-25T20:12:00.000+01:00

Just hearing the name "Fjord" conjurs up images of cold lakes and rolling green shores to the minds of many. Mythbusters Erika and Mike went on a mission to investigate what a Fjord really is.

We took the 45min train to Fredrikssund, north-west town in Zealand, which runs along the great Roskilde Fjord. The icy sea breeze accompanied us as we walked around the bay pontoons and visited a pretty little Viking village (Vikingspladsen). The silence and peacefulness in the air was just inspiring. Its as if time has not tarnished this beautiful slice of land far from the hustle and bustle of Copenhagen's traffic and fumes. If i had to sum up a Fjord in one word, it would be "peaceful". Its a pity we couldnt take the ferry right down the Fjord to see the rest of the countryside. The area is also host to a number of seagulls, ducks and swans which provided much entertainment as they flapped around and generally made themselves a nuisance to eachother. Yes, we talked to the swans. No, i refused to share my twistees with them.

We also saw a really cool viking hat in a shopwindow. Brass skullcap with steel rivets down the centre, and real bone horns which would make any viking proud. I hereby proclaim that i will not leave Denmark without one of these. MUST.... HAVE.... VIKINGHAT!

The Little Mermaid

2005-03-25T19:57:00.000+01:00

Oops, i forgot to mention that we also went to see Denmark's most famous attraction: the mermaid statue placed at the edge of the shore, based on H.C. Anderson's tale by the same name. And i've got good reasons for forgetting to mention it... twas abit of a let-down... just a tiny statue sitting on a rock. Yay. great fun. Time to move on.

We also went to what the map described as a "Castlet", which we thought was a massive castle by the sea as it took up a good part of the map. Somebody should correct the map and call it "funny red almost modern-looking army barracks".

On the other hand, i did see two statues i really liked. One was of the mythological figure Gefion, goddess of unmarried women, who had four sons which were transformed into powerful oxen at birth. Legend has it that she was insulted by the King of sweden so she decided to pay him back. Dressed up as an old beggar, dared the King that any piece of his land she can plough within one day will be hers to keep. The King thought it would be entertaining to watch an old beggar woman plough the land without any tools, so he accepted. She set her oxen-sons to work who ploughed deep into the earth, breaking off a part of sweden and dragging it across the ocean. This land she named Zealand, which is the largest island in Denmark on which Copenhagen is found.

Another statue i liked was of a Valkyrie on horseback, spear in hand and charging into battle. The Valkyries were female warriors who rode high into the sky in battle, directing the fight and helping the souls of the heroes into Valhalla.

Note that my love for Norse Mythology had no influence on my liking these statues *wink*

visiting the Rosenborgs

2005-03-24T19:31:00.000+01:00

Erika came over yesterday so we've been doing some sight-seeing.

We visited Rosenborg Castle today. Pretty little building surrounded by a large garden, but you could hardly call it a Castle.... I've seen boathouses in Gnejna which had more rooms. I didnt know a castle could even be that small! Turns out this place was more of a "store/showroom" for the royal family's stash of jewellery, porcelain, furniture, and other goodies handed down from generation to generation, plus it doubled up as a summer house for the bluebloods. There was also this cool exhibition of the family jewels: crowns, bracelets, weaponry, and other gold/stone-laden items probably worth a fortune.

Full-day MS Seminar

2005-03-23T19:15:00.000+01:00

Its not every day you get to go to a Microsoft product presentation. We've been downloading videos of them off the internet for a while, wishing we were there. Well, i can now say... I was there!

Rick LaPlante kicked off the full day presentation of the new Visual Studio 2005 Team System at the Cinemaxx complex (ie. big cinema thing) in Fisketorvet (Dybbelsbro) just 10mins away from the centre of Copenhagen. An awesome set of demos and his usual touch of comedy kept us gripped to our seats until (free) lunch, after which Binia continued talking about various parts of the system. Great fun and a real experience shared with hundreds of other software gurus in Kobenhavn.

chef's choice

2005-03-21T20:37:00.000+01:00

Today i had to fill in a form in danish for a microsoft event, so i asked a guy what "informationschef" means, wondering if it meant i'd be peeling potatoes for the next few months. Turns out, "chef" just means "chief". But then again, a "chef" in english translates to "kokk" in danish.

visiting Christiania

2005-03-19T17:49:00.000+01:00

I just got back from Christiania which is this "hippy" village built on an ex-military base. Its like one weird community full of pot-heads, misfits, political refugees, eco-freaks etc. The place is actually quite a sight since all the houses have these really beautiful graffiti... more like paintings than acts of vandalism. Its also a place to buy hash.. there are dealers at every corner and in every coffee shop, and its generally acceptable to smoke anywhere outdoors. The flea market also sells all these drug-related goodies like pipes and bongs, hats and t-shirts with columbian colours, Bob Marley memorabilia, massive 3-foot bongs in the shape of a cock, and even grow-your-own marijuana seeds. You also get all these people dancing around and with a smile on their face.... must have been the sudden change in weather (-1 degrees but clear sky and warm sun).

Mike moves to Visual Studio Team System

2005-03-18T22:21:00.000+01:00

Looks like I'll be working on Microsoft's new Visual Studio Team System from now on... pretty cool stuff and looks like more fun than the MBF stuff i've been working on for the past 3 weeks.

danish hot dogs

2005-03-12T11:50:00.000+01:00

ok these countries may be famous for their sausages but today's hotdog was plain funny. 12 inch sausage... very tasty. But with it you get a 3 inch bread roll and a dollop of ketchup/mustard on a piece of grease-proof paper. The words "what the fuck" come to mind.

partyboy gets home at 9am

2005-03-05T20:43:00.000+01:00

Umph.... still hungover and really tired. I woke up at 7am yesterday... was at work by 9am. At 3pm we had a small office farewell party for Sharon (Australia), IAESTE student who's been at MS for a year and is leaving on Sunday. The food n drink lasted til bout 5 or 6, after which i established myself as the new upcoming master at Halo on the Xbox against some of the guys from work.

9pm we were at Sharon's place straight from work, some student apartment block in some long-lost part of north Lyngby. The party later moved down to the disco hall and bar and, a few punch-bowls later it was 5am. By then, the slav girls had left and all that remained was a couple of drunken guys fooling around. Oh yeah, then James Skywalker (USA) broke the table-tennis table in half and that kindof sobred us up abit.

Probably best part of the night was me lying down for an hour on a comfy armchair in an empty disco hall... no music - just utter silence - but the swirling lights and disco balls still shone a constellation of multicoloured dots around the room. This was the perfect way to recover from the hangover and wait for the morning bus to arrive. We then took the first bus out of there and i got home around 9am... whoa! what a night :)

One small step for mikekind

2005-03-02T20:46:00.000+01:00

Today i "closed" my first bug at work... yay !

-3 degrees and a wind so hard it could cut diamonds are not good for your health

2005-03-01T20:15:00.000+01:00

I suppose a blizzard is nature's way of occasionally showing who's boss, as it did today.

Its been snowing real hard since noon, so there's about 4 inches of fairydust coating anything and everything which faces the heavens. The raging winds don't help much either, blowing snowflakes into every crevice of your face and right into the bus where you think you're safe from it all. I swear i checked my ears at least ten times to see if they're still in one piece. Ears are always the first to go!

Anyways, i took refuge in the warmth of the trainstation until my ride arrived. I was sitting alongside a dozen or so people - mostly foreign workers from microsoft and the neighbouring factories - all huddled up, shivering and nagging about the snowstorm, when outside we caught a glimpse of the true rugged Norseman. Wearing what seemed to be a light jacket and corduroys, this rough blonde-bearded bloke casually strolled along the aisle eating his apple, without a care for the wave of ice constantly crashing against his brow. He was later joined by his friend, also well over six-foot tall and lightly dressed, who chatted away on his mobile and waved his arms around, as if he were on some Hawaiian beach. No hat. No scarf. No gloves. We shuddered.

Rude awakening

2005-03-01T20:10:00.000+01:00

In true danish fashion, the neighbours woke me up at 6am to drink and celebrate my birthday. 3 pints of beer and 1/6 of a Gammel Dansk later, i was back at work. Skol guys, was a good birthday :)

Dishwashing

2005-02-28T20:36:00.000+01:00

Why is it that every time i go to the kitchen there's some really hot blondie with big titties washing dishes? i confused. i happy.

Food

2005-02-27T13:10:00.000+01:00

I'm off to cook some pasta now, with tomato sauce and gammon cubes. Even though the microsoft buffet is good, the mediterranean belly still craves some good old home cooking every now and then. Its the first time i'm really gonna try cook something, because previous evenings have been just slopping together a toasted sandwich or some cuppasoup.

Skål !

2005-02-27T13:01:00.000+01:00

Skål !

Thats what you must yell before you down your pint. It just means cheers and its pronounced "skoll".

Oh and just for the record, there are no vikings left in Denmark. My dreams of returning home triumphantly in a viking hat and with a bagful of stolen shot glasses have been completely shattered.

Cars

2005-02-27T10:20:00.000+01:00

I really miss driving and my MBC206. All 206's here come in black or grey only, so i'm feeling nostalgic. I'm missing my woman too :(

SWEDEN

2005-02-27T01:15:00.000+01:00

Oh great sweden.

Today i went with Hakkim (South Africa / India), Gabriel (Canada) and Stephanie (Switzerland), all IAESTE trainees at MS, on a day trip to Sweden. Its just a train-ride away, about 40mins, and the train travels underneath one of the longest bridges connecting Denmark to Sweden, across a dark blue sea which doesnt look too inviting. We walked around the town of Malmo for a few hours, first dropping in to visit St. Pitirs Kirke (St. Peter's Church). Malmo is more quiet than Copenhagen, and cleaner too, with less traffic and wider spaces. The temperature was a nice -1 but the sun was shining and it was cloudless. We walked to the edge of the park which meets with the sea... it was great to just sit on the bright green grassy knoll and look out across the dark blue sea at Copenhagen, lying in dark smog and with dark grey clouds all above it. I see why many choose to live in Malmo and just go to CPH for work.

We then visited the Malmo Museer, set in a funny looking castle made of red bricks with a great frozen moat around it. The castle architects must have been mighty pissed when they realize that a moat is pointless in Scandinavia... its frozen solid most of the time. This was one weird museum, it contained rooms of very random stuff.. some related to medieval life in the castle, others dedicated to other cultures and the history of sweden. It was all very confusing, and in swedish. There was an art, maritime, technology, history, and natural history museum all rolled into one, with a wine break in between. I dunno what the wine was, but it was sweet and left a nice taste in your mouth. The bloke behind the counter said he's not selling it, even though i wanted to buy a bottle to take back with me.

A trip to Burger King where i ordered 2 doublee whoppers and a large fries... cost me Lm6 (shite). Sweden is even more expensive than denmark (EEK) and beer is more expensive too as i later found out. Anyways, 3000 calories later, Gab and Steph decided to go back home so Hakkim and i set out for a long walk around the shopping area and cafeterias. Espresso House served us giant mugs of hot coffee and chocolate muffins, just what the doctor ordered for a cold winter day. We then had a few beers down the local pub whilst eyeing the beautiful blonde swedish muffins who were way taller than us. I'm talking about six foot four or something. They probably thought i was a hairy midget with a speech impediment. I've been in Scandinavia a week and i still can't speak a word in their tongue.

Hakkim and i were on a mission to analyze and compare the women. Yeah, both Danish and Swedish chicks are damn HOT with a capital H, but men must have a favourite. Always.

Final verdict: Sweden > Denmark.

First day at Microsoft

2005-02-22T23:45:00.000+01:00

Holy shit. Its been one looong day!

The neighbours woke me up at 6am to celebrate Allan's birthday. Now all of you who know me fully understand the consequences of waking up Mike before his time (ie. 11am). I was grumpy, tired, and looked like some undead character out of Night of the Living Dead.

So as tradition dictates, you wake up at 6 with your mates and invade the kitchen. You then proceed to eat tasty bagels and pancakes with butter and jam and cheese and anything else you can scrape off the back of your fridge. You do this repeatedly for about 2 hours whilst drinking loads of beer and shot after shot of Gammel Dansk, a Danish spirit which tastes somewhat like a digestive liqueur mixed with horsepiss. Its an aquired taste, and by 8am i've acquired it.

I got washed and changed and met the IAESTE guy outside, still abit drowsy, and we took bus and train and bus to Microsoft's grand palace in Vedbaek. This is a quiet seaside village north of Copenhagen, and the Microsoft area takes up a good part of it.

I met Andries Roux, Test Manager, who directed me to my place and told me what i'll be doing. Nice guy to have as a boss, and he as well as all the other employees look like very experienced and talented people. Now i'm really feeling out of place in a suit, because in Denmark you just wear casual clothes to work. I met the team i'm with, who's names i can't pronounce anyway so i wont bother mentioning them. Apparently there's also another 10 IAESTE trainees working at MS.DK.

[Geek Rant -- just skip this if you don't have thick glasses, crusty underwear, pimples, and have never met members of the opposite sex]

Apparently i'm in the MBF Devtools Entity Mapping team. Let me explain. MBF is MS's new Business Framework, a plugin which will be part and parcel of the new Whidbey release and will come into its full culmination in VS for Longhorn. This framework is an amazing set of tools, all very graphical, for creating business applications rapidly and securely, by using drag-and-drop entities, relations, properties, and other elements with automatic code generation and automatic mapping to tables. Its going to be an awesome tool guys, mark my words! My job is apparently to test some shit here n there and to perform daily test runs, apart from some other stuff my test lead Jan Jakobssen will be giving me.

Microsoft is BIG. There's a giant corporate intranet with literally thousands of pages connecting all the teams and products together, and they've got tons of internal software systems working in unison to help development and the company move forward in general. So much to learn, so much to do, and all so confusing on your first day! My desk also has a huge Fujitsu TFT and a fast computer, as well as a nice thick book about the framework which i suppose i have to learn inside out within the week. Sweet!

On a lighter note, i also found out i've got BUFFET LUNCH and breakfast, plus free drinks and sweets all day long, cake on thursdays, and leftovers in the evenings. If you're lucky, you'll get wine and champagne on fridays: leftovers after the conferences they hold there (yay). So yeah, i'm in heaven. MS really knows how to create a perfect working environment for its 800 employees in Copenhagen. Its not about giving out freebies, its about making sure everyone is happy. A happy employee is a productive employee. A happy employee is a faithful employee.

One thing which impressed me is the amazing sense of belonging and will to work which these guys have. Its like everyone is rowing the same boat, happily working overtime to reach deadlines, congratulating teammates on achieved milestones, and really working intensely towards the final deadline and release of the product. Its great to work with people who are there to work because they love it, you can really see it on their faces. This is where i belong, not in some shit-hole with minimum wage where everyone does his best to leave earlier and steal stuff from the office, outputting the minimum possible quality work and trying to sound clever and bombastic.

Its going to be great! I love this place already and don't want to go back to any other shitty job.

Transport

2005-02-21T21:36:00.000+01:00

Taxes are so high, even up to 60%, but you get what you pay for. The city is clean and directions are everywhere. Plus there's an excellent welfare system and things like free health insurance for all. The transport system is well organized, but i just can't understand how to use it.

You can get around with bus, night bus, metro, or tog (trains which come in different flavours, like inter city, regional, etc). Shit, everything is so confusing... the place is divided into zones and there's buses of diferent colours representing different routes, plus timetables with what seem to be the times when buses pass, and belive me, if a bus arrives at 2:42, it does. The entire transport ecosystem works like clockwork and the people in the city swear by it.. its just so efficient. Pity i can't figure out which goes where or what all these train numbers mean.

I just bought a 30-day all-transport card for about Lm60 which is rather steep. Still, its better than buying a per-trip card since i'll probably get lost and catch twice as many trains and buses until i figure this place out.

Encounter of the first kind

2005-02-20T22:57:00.000+01:00

So today i met the neighbours. All nice people with friendly smiles, despite seeming abit quiet.

There's Soren, Ulrich, Karen, Jonas, Allan, and some others from upstairs who's names i just can't pronounce. These people speak funny.

They're all studying in the nearby university which is split up in different buildings, and they all drink as much beer as me which is worrying really. The beer here comes in so many different flavours. These guys normally drink the cheapest one (Harboe Pilsner) which can be bought from the local supermarket for less than 2 Kroners (about 9c) !!!! I'm in heaven. There's other beers populating our "beer fridge", some of which having over 8% alcohol content... neat ! Apparently, beer aint so cheap from the bars though, costing as much as 30 times as much. I will be drinking at home from now on, which is what everyone does anyway here.

Orienteering

2005-02-20T20:32:00.000+01:00

Just back from looooong walk across Copenhagen, freezing my nuts off on a 6-hour walk and trying to figure out the place, the roadsigns, what people do, the language, and the size of the map.

I am Mike's frozen toes.

I'm starting to miss Erika. Mike is in need of some good lovin'

First day in Denmark

2005-02-20T07:04:00.000+01:00

So its Saturday night and my first day in denmark. I slept like a log last night, right until about 11pm, after which i went to Netto -- the local cheap supermarket -- to get food for the weekend. Mike can't survive without food. Even crappy food costs alot in Denmark, so just bought the survival essentials to keep me going until i figure out the place. Everything here is pre-packed and there isnt such a big choice... i'm already missing Smart supermarket.

Armed with my trusty map of Greater Copenhagen, i then went for a walk to figure out where i live. There's snow everywhere from the night before. In big clumps by the roadside, in neat rows on each side of the bike lane, against the wall near the pavement, and allover the grassy parks. Most shops were closed, but i was able to pinpoint the most important outlets: barber, grocer, pharmacy, bus stop, Dominic's Pizzeria, travel agency, cheap booze shop.

Copenhagen is written Kobenhavn and pronounced 'Koobfenhawn' or something like that. These people speak funny.

My apartment is really nice. Its one out of a few hundred rooms in this brand new student dorm, only 8 months old, called Industrial Colleggiem or something. Construction is of thick wooden beams and concrete walls and floors all throughout, and plenty of glass from floor to ceiling to let in as much light as possible. Quite neat actually, and looks very modern. The room actually belongs to this girl, Isa Damgaard, but she's abroad and sub-letting it to me until she returns in April, so its nice and comfy since its been lived in. I've got a real comfy wide bed, a TV with English and Danish channels and enough porno to keep me entertained for awhile, a telephone, desk, heater, loads of shelving, internet, a bathroom and some real nifty lighting. I'm sharing a kitchen with the other rooms on my floor, about 8 people, and a nice big steel kitchen equipped with fridges and freezers and microwaves and ovens and all a gourmet like me needs to survive. There's also a communal lounge area with big puffy armchairs and TV/Playstation (yay).