I survived the heat!

This past weekend was a very active weekend in the Shepler household! On Saturday morning my parents and I (and the dog) got up and out of the house at 6am to drive to Bonham, TX because my parents were part of a bike ride and I was going to cheer them on (and take care of the dog)! I was really excited for them and very happy to support them... until about 5 minutes after they crossed the starting line and I realized it would be 3 HOURS before I saw them (their moto when it comes to "racing" is "we'll get there when we get there!") Luckily I had brought some yarn and a crochet hook so I was able to stay occupied :) Duncan and I tried to walk around a little bit, but he got tired pretty quick so we'd come back to the chairs and he would sleep. My parents said the route was really challenging and they were just happy to finish! But I was really proud of them and I think they did great! :)

Sunday morning I had signed up for a 5k that was connected to the Plano Balloon festival that is literally in my parents back yard! So we got up early again and got to the field in time to see the balloons blowing up and launching before the race.  There was also a half marathon that left an hour before the 5k which at the start line I was thinking "I totally could have done that... " But once the sun came up fully I was REALLY happy I decided to stick with the 5k! lol! Considering that my training over the last few weeks had been at the park in Lyngby where there is PLENTY of shade and the high was only in the upper 60's the change in environment was pretty severe and I was completely unprepared!

The course was actually really nice and flat and if it weren't for the sun beating down and the HEAT I would have probably had really good time. But I had forgotten that half of the course was out in the open and there was ZERO shade to be found for the last mile or so, but thankfully I had brought a small bottle of water with me which was good and I only slowed down to take a sip a couple times so overall I was really happy with the race :) I finished in about 36 minutes so not setting any speed records, but it was a nice fun run! :) And I have another race bib for my collection! :)

 After the race they had a breakfast area set up for the runners and I had grabbed a little bottle of water, 2 bananas, a couple slices of bacon, orange juice and coffee and was heading back to find my parents when I saw one of the half marathon runners pretty much collapse in front of me!! He didn't pass out, but he knelt to the ground and was not looking so good so I went over and asked if I could bring him anything and he asked for juice first so I handed him my orange juice and then I gave him my extra banana because he said his calf was cramping up, by this time one of the actual medical people had spotted him and was bringing some ice compacts and towels so I asked if he needed anything else and he said no so I got out of the way for the medics to help but it was really crazy! I felt so bad for him! (But part of me wanted to ask "well WHY did you run so fast??? lol! Slow Down!!!" But I didn't think that's what he wanted to hear at that time lol!)

Other than that, I'm really enjoying my time in Dallas and I have LOVED seeing my friends and family, its been soooo nice to spend time with everyone again! :)

XOXO

Joy

Favorite things and not-so-favorite things

Since I will be heading back to the states in just about a week, I thought I would do a little round-up of things I'm REALLY looking forward to in the states and things about Denmark that I will miss while I'm there (keep in mind, this trip is SHORT so I will probably be too busy seeing everyone that I miss so much to really notice anything else, but my Nov-Jan trip will take some adjusting!)
Things I miss from the States (Aside from the people which I have mentioned countless times by now!)

1) MEXICAN FOOD!!!! I went to a cafe for a friend's birthday (who's also american) and we decided to split the "nachos"... I'm pretty certain all the guy in the kitchen did was take a GIANT plate/bowl thing and pour an entire bag of tortilla chips in it and sprinkle a little bit of cheddar cheese on top.... THIS DOES NOT MAKE IT NACHOS!!!! It also came with a cute little side plate with a tiny scoop of sour cream, salsa, "guacamole style dip", and a couple other dips that shouldn't really be associated with "nachos". To say the least I cannot wait to go to Fuzzy's and Chipolte and El Fenix. Not to mention being able to buy corn tortillas (those have apparently not made their way across the ocean yet... as a gluten free girl that's kind of a bummer)

2)Massive amount of choices in grocery stores! On that note, there are soooooo many things I took for granted that you can find at just about any grocery store in the states that is impossible or absolutely ridiculously priced. A can of frosting (Like the ones you can get in the states for like $1.50 in pretty much ANY flavor imaginable) costs roughly $7.00!!!!

3)SHOPPING! Not even fancy shopping- I've never been a designer label girl, but going to the craft stores and not having to spend a small fortune to get supplies for a couple projects is going to be cool. (Yes wedding related projects mostly, but some other stuff too) Mostly just not going into shock every time I see a price tag on almost anything over here! A friend of mine gave me the tip that I shouldn't try to convert things back to $$ but just go with it in DKK and sometimes I'm ok doing that but when I'm looking for toothpaste over here and realizing that every tube is like $15 its a little hard to bite the bullet and buy it! So I can say with certainty that there will be at least a couple trips to my favorite Clothes Mentor to stock up on new sweaters and cold weather stuff!

4)CUSTOMER SERVICE! I know we complain about rude waiters in the States, but honestly they are no where NEAR as bad as some of the waiters I've had over here (although I have had a couple very lovely waiters, but its definitely NOT the norm) I am convinced the difference comes from tips- in the states its standard to tip for good service so you have a little bit of leverage and your waiter is usually "working for their tips", but in Denmark it is not common at ALL to tip so the staff doesn't really care if you're happy or not. Last night I went to dinner with Klaus' sister and we had probably the WORST service I have ever had in my life and really the only thing we can do is just not go back to that restaurant.... :( The waitress still got paid the same and couldn't have cared less that we waited for 30 mins for our food AND drinks and then they were still wrong... :(

Things about Denmark that I will miss: (Again aside from the friends who I will miss dearly!)
1) KLAUS but that's pretty much a given! I've gotten so used to having him close that going back to Skype dates and emails is going to be pretty tough, add to that the fact that we will be trying to plan a wedding from separate continents... :( Yeah definitely not looking forward to leaving him here in Denmark...

2)Hyggeligt or "Cozy-ness" of Denmark- There's actually not a good translation of this word, but cozy is probably as close to one as possible. It refers to the atmosphere and mindset mostly. Danes will refer to dinner with friends as Meget Hyggeligt or "very cozy" This comes into play a lot when you consider that going out with friends is much less common and typically people will spend time at home with friends instead. Its very relaxing and a big change from what I was used to of going OUT to meet my friends for dinner or whatever. And I've been told Denmark gets even MORE hyggeligt when the weather gets colder! :)

3)Nature- I mean seriously I only have to walk a couple of minutes and I can be in the middle of the most gorgeous wooded area or near a beautiful lake or the park with all the deer! Its stunning here and I still have to pinch myself to make sure its all real!

4)Transportation without a car! I haven't driven a car since I left Texas- yes we have one, but Klaus uses it mostly to get to and from work, otherwise we typically take public transportation (buses, trains, metro) or we walk or I ride my bike! :) And I LOVE IT! :) Danes like to complain about their s-tog (one of the trains) system but I have had very little trouble with it and actually really enjoy using it to get to and from the city, its only about a 15 minute ride and it gives me time to read or play on my phone or whatever instead of being stressed out by traffic and other crazy drivers on the road! And riding my bike is AWESOME! I use it almost everyday to get to and from the gym or the grocery store or any of my other errands that I need to get done! The thing about bikes in Denmark is that the roads are actually set up for them, literally almost every road has a lane between the cars and the sidewalk called the "cykelsti" (like pigsty but bike-sty) and drivers are used to seeing bikers around and know to look out for them when making a turn. As well as other bikers and walkers too. So I feel very safe riding my bike along a busy road because I'm in my lane and I know that when I signal that I will turn the cars know what that means! :)

 

5) THE WEATHER!!! I have been trying not to brag about the weather here because I know how hot it is in Texas, but I gotta say I'm totally going to miss the 60-65 degrees when I'm sweating to death in triple digits!!! :( I've signed up for a 5k while I'm in Texas so we'll see if I pass out from heat stroke before I cross the finish line or after... I really like running here when its nice and cool and there's a soft breeze... And I love the fact that I've actually had to break out my nice comfy sweater jacket to wear around the apartment in the evenings :)

 

I'm sure that there's a lot of little things from both sides of the ocean that I will begin to realize are missing, but for now I am loving my life and I am also super excited to go back to Texas for a few weeks! :)

XOXO,

Joy

Friends and Fitness in DK

I am so incredibly thankful for all of the technology that is so easily accessible these days! In this week alone I have gotten to see and talk to my mom two or three times, my grandparents and my brother and sister-in-law, in addition to google chat from my phone (so it really just seems like texting) with three different friends, in addition to my weekly phone call to Michelle PLUS facebook has made staying in touch sooo much easier! I tried to imagine how much different my experience would have been without those options and I think I would have been so lonely and homesick that I wouldn't have been able to enjoy all of the wonderful things that Denmark has to offer. :) So I guess I just want to say thanks to all my friends in the States who are keeping in contact with me while I'm over here and all of my new friends over here who are helping me get to know the city and take in all of these fantastic experiences, you have no idea how much easier you're making it for me!

This week Klaus and I had one of his former colleagues and his wife over for brunch on Sunday which was really fun! Its amazing how similar our situations are and how comforting it is to know that someone else is sharing the same thoughts and frustrations (with regards to the laws and red tape that is involved in being here for a foreigner). We also realized that we have joined the same gym!

So on Monday morning Lyn and I went to a fitness class together called "Stram Op", I had been before and enjoyed the class and the instructor (although being "encouraged" in danish is just kind of weird... "OP-NED-OP-NED, KOM SÅ!!!") it made me miss Nichole's classes and training sessions!!! But going with Lyn was so much better, I don't know if its because I didn't feel like I stuck out so much as the only non-danish speaker or what, but it made the class way more fun! So I think we're going to make this a regular thing as well as the class on friday afternoons. :)

Monday evening Klaus and I met up with the running club we joined for the first time. I LOVED it! It felt really good to get back into running after I have been slacking a lot since I got here. I've been good about training on the treadmill, but as far as really running goes, I haven't wanted to go by myself and running with Klaus isn't so much fun because he runs WAY faster than I do so our compromise has been that I ride my bike while he runs lol! But the running club is great because everyone meets up at the beginning and splits off into 5 or 6 different groups who all run at different paces and then everyone meets back up after an hour. This week Klaus and I ran in the beginner group just to see what its all about, but I think next time he will pick a faster group. The start of the run was insane because there were probably 50 people all standing around in a big group with no real organization that I could see until 6:00 when all of the leaders of the different groups said "Skal vi løber?" ("shall we run?") and took off in different directions towards different paths! It was a bit of chaos until we had gotten onto our path and away from the rest of the groups, but once we had split off our group of 17 people stuck together pretty well and the run was very organized and at a good pace for me. :) They run thru a big park called "Dyrehave" or Deer park which looks like something off a postcard! So running here was really nice because of all the great views along the way:
(I took this picture on a different trip, but it looks about the same these days!)

Other than that, I've just been working on wedding stuff and things for the apartment. I am also getting a LOT better/ more confident on my bike and ride it almost everyday! :)
I think that's all for now, but I'll try to update again soon!
XOXO,
Joy

Smooth Sailing, or canal boating!

This week has been amazing! I still have a hard time believing that this is actually my day-to-day life, but I am loving it- especially when I have weeks like THIS! (To put it in perspective the week before was not so good because Klaus was working really long hours trying to finish up a project which he ended up having to go in to work on the weekend too, which meant I was on my own for a LOT of time) BUT this week he sent his project off to the next person and has been soooo much more relaxed and happy! :) So Tuesday night we went out to celebrate by going to a sushi place on Strøget and people watching for the evening. But Wednesday was the best by far since Klaus took the day off and we got to have a "re-do" on our weekend! :) In the morning we went to the hardware store and got a bunch of stuff for the apartment, we've been talking about little projects around the apartment since I moved in, but nothing had really gotten started so we went together to the store and picked out some of the stuff. After lunch we headed into Copenhagen and did one of the all time tourist-y things that everyone should do at least once- We went on a canal tour! :) Yes I played tourist and even took a bunch of pictures:

Ready to be tourists!

Nyhavn

The little mermaid! (and TONS of tourists!)

Amalienborg Palace

Our Savior's Church Spire

The Royal Playhouse

The Copenhagen Opera House

After our canal tour we headed to Tivoli and passed by some pretty impressive street performers- this guy had created a xylophone out of bottles and was playing some pretty complicated music!

 We also had fun walking around Tivoli and people watching, and we managed to find the BIGGEST lollipop I have ever seen!! (But it costs 200 kroner or $40...)

I thought these were cute too!

The rest of the week has been really nice and relaxing as well as productive. I've been busy with wedding planning and Klaus has been getting started on the apartment projects! :) AND I got a bike! So now I'm one step closer to becoming a real Dane! lol!

This afternoon we're going to go see his sister and parents and then we have a birthday party to go to for a friend of ours!
I hope everyone back home is doing well, I can't wait to see everyone again- I'll be back in about a month! :)
XOXO,
Joy

Olympics and Ravellenic Games!

First of all... I LOVE the Olympics! :) I think there's something incredible about this event where all of the best athletes from around the world come together and compete- not just to win, but sometimes just for the pride of being an "Olympic athlete" I have been obsessed with the Olympics since I was a kid and the women's gymnastics team won the gold in Atlanta in 1996, and every 4th summer I will sit and cheer at the top of my lungs even though I know logically it makes no difference and that they can't hear me- but somehow me screaming "SWIM FASTER- GO GO GO!" might help Michael Phelps win that gold medal... lol! :)

This year has been a very different Olympic experience for me. First of all not being surrounded by the American new coverage means that I don't get all of the back stories and interviews with the American athletes. But since I'm watching the BBC coverage online I am getting the British spin on everything which is kind of funny since APPARENTLY not everyone in the world loves that Team USA wins a LOT... its a little bit hard to swallow when I hear the commentators say something snarky about our guys- they were not so kind of Michael Phelps after his first race didn't go so great. But on the flip side its also been fun to learn about Team GB and all of the wonderful athletes on their team as well. (I think Jessica Ennis has been my favorite athlete of the summer! Along with her counterpart Katarina Johnson-Thompson who just always seemed to be having the time of her life during the competition) I still scream and cheer for Team USA especially in gymnastics and the pool, but its also been interesting to see the other sports that I don't normally pay attention to (Fencing, Canoe Slalom, the Marathon, Cycling, Rowing, Sailing... so many more!) But I have to say gymnastics is still my favorite sport of them all and the girls of team USA did NOT disappoint! :)

In addition to watching the real athletes compete, I've taken part (for a 2nd time) in something (now) called the Ravellenic Games (formerly Ravelympics... but the USOC had an issue with that...) It may not seems like fun for everyone, but I have a blast setting a goal of which projects I want to do in the span of the Olympics (you can't cast on until the Opening ceremonies have started and you must "cross the finish line" by the time the flame is extinguished) So far I've completed 2 of my 3 projects.

First I made a Mug Sweater this was entered in the "Single Skein Sprint", the "Cable Steeplechase" and the "Homestuff Hammer throw"

My second project was a pair of slippers that competed in "Sock Put" and "Felted Freestyle"

And finally I'm working on a shawl that is nearly done (which is good considering I only have a couple days left!) It will compete in "Shawl Sailing" and "Synchronized Stash Busting".

So that's what's going on here- Olympics and Ravellenics!
GO TEAM USA!!!
XOXO
Joy

We're Back!

I know this post is seriously delayed, but ya know the saying "I need a vacation to recover from my vacation..."? Well it wasn't that I was stressed or tired from our trip, I just seemed to be lacking enough time to catch up on things since our trip! lol! :)

Scotland was AMAZING!!! Probably my second favorite vacation EVER (Denmark last summer being the all time #1 vacation of course!) The landscapes were beautiful, and the people were so incredibly nice and helpful and welcoming. I would definitely recommend it to anyone considering going. And on that note I thought I would give you a list of my top 10 favorite things from our trip instead of recapping the entire thing. :) But they aren't in any particular order, it was hard enough narrowing it down to just 10 things we liked let alone deciding which we liked more! :)
***Warning: LOTS OF PICTURES and EPIC-LY LONG POST!!!***

10) CASTLES! We started our trip in Edinburgh and went to visit the castle! I love castles in general and this one did NOT disappoint! :) We actually got to go in 2 castles while we were in Scotland so this actually covers both of them!

At the Edinburgh Castle
It was REALLY rainy that day!

Absolutely beautiful view of Eilen Donnan Castle

9) City of Edinburgh- or actually the difference in Old Town vs. New Town as well as the contrast between the city and surrounding area. It was stunning to see the different architecture styles so closely seated next to each other. Apparently when the city of Edinburgh became too crowded and disease ridden the rich people, instead of trying to fix what they had, decided to build a brand new city right next to the old town. Also the fact that Edinburgh itself is fairly small and the change into the rolling hills and vast fields is very striking. I loved each different area, but it was really neat to see them all almost on top of one another.

In "New Town"

Along the Royal Mile in Old Town

Also in Old Town

Just outside Edinburgh

8)Arthur's Seat- Our first hiking adventure in Scotland. We spent the better part of a day hiking up and around Arthur's Seat (It is possible to do it in less time, we got to the top and back down in about 2 hours but then spent the rest of the time exploring other areas in the park) It was so nice to enjoy the fresh air and spend some time away from the tourist traps for the day. Make no mistake though- you will NOT be avoiding the tourists, there were TONS of people hiking around the park, but it is much nicer than when you're trying to shop or make your way thru the city. :)

At the top!

View of Holyrood Park from our hotel

7) FOOD!!!!  We had a LOT of really yummy food while we were in Scotland. Because of the gluten intolerance thing it made it a little tricky for me to try all of the local favorites, but that doesn't mean that we didn't eat well! :) There were too many good restaurants to mention all of them, but our top two favorites were a small local pub in Edinburgh called "The Last Drop" and a fantastic Indian restaurant in New Town called "In Touch".  The Last Drop got its name from the story about bringing the prisoners here the night before they were to be hanged for their last dram of whisky or their "last drop" :) Klaus tried a traditional Scottish Steak Pie while I tried a dish called "Minced and Tatties" which was mashed potatoes and ground beef. Both were VERY good! In Touch was recommended to us by a friend and we were also very impressed! :) Wonderful service and very yummy food!

Slightly creepy story but really cool pub!

Very nice dinner and good wine! Can't go wrong with that!

6) Mercat Walking Tour- while we were in Edinburgh we took an hour and a half walking tour called "Secrets of the Royal Mile" which was a lot of fun and also really informative. We heard a bunch of stories about the history of the Royal mile and the people that lived there. The tour also pointed out a lot of really cool and significant things that we would have probably missed out on. It is definitely worth the time and small cost to go along on one of these tours! :)

Mercat Cross (where they read all royal proclamations...
 3 days after they're read in London!)

Deacon Brodie - the real life inspiration for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Midloathian Cross- where they used to hang the condemned and
 to this day locals still spit on the heart as they pass

5) Gilmerton Cove- while we're talking about tours in Edinburgh we should mention our fabulous tour of Gilmerton Cove. This was a cute, quirky, unique and just plain fun tour of an underground cove just south of the city center. Not much is actually known about the cove, but the tour guide does a good job of explaining the different theories and legends surrounding the cove. :) AND we got to wear cute hardhats! lol!

One of the 7 rooms in the underground cove

Aren't we stylish?!?! lol!

4) St. Andrew's- venturing out of Edinburgh we made our way to St. Andrews to have a "wee wander about" and take in the impressive ruins of the castle and cathedral. We were both surprised to see how massive the ruins were. I have seen pictures in the past, but it didn't really register just how BIG this place was! I also snuck onto the golf course and the famous bridge at the 18th hole to take a quick picture! :) Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time here and it was raining for most of the time we were, but I think it was totally worth it!

Part of the cathedral

YAY!!!! :)

3) Aberdeen: the city of random coincidence!  So we ended our trip in Aberdeen which is a very pretty town, lots of neat architecture and everything but what stood out to me was that in our two days here we had two very RANDOM events! #1 was actually probably the coolest thing for me- I got to carry an Olympic torch!!!! :) OK, so it was just around the running shop, but still I got to hold a REAL Olympic torch on the day of the opening ceremonies!!! I totally felt like a rock star! :) Basically what happened was that I wanted to buy a new pair of running socks (aka I ran out of clean socks with one day left on our trip...) and while we were in the store Klaus spotted the torch and asked the guy checking us out about it. Turns out the guy that ran the actual flame thru Aberdeen had donated the torch to raise money for a charity, so of course Klaus and I both started pulling out spare money to get a chance to take a picture holding the torch! :) That's one of those things that I will probably never get to do again in my life and it was sooooo cool! :)
#2 random coincidence is that it happened to be "Tartan Day" in Aberdeen while we were there... which basically meant that there were a LOT of kilts and a LOT of bagpipes!! Most people don't know, but I actually HATE bagpipes... I think they sound like someone is trying to kill a cat... so the thought of close to fifty bagpipers playing at the same time in a parade was a little frightening, but that is exactly what we ran into on our last day in Scotland! lol!

OMG! Totally cool!

NOT a fan of bagpipes

Sooooo many bagpipes!!!

2) Glencoe- So #1 and #2 are actually Klaus and I's favorite parts of the trip but honestly we couldn't pic between the 2! Glencoe was totally impressive and majestic! We spent a wonderful afternoon/ evening hiking and trying to take in the unbelievable scenery. It literally looked like something out of a movie (probably because they actually filmed some movies here too! lol!) Have a look for yourself, but know that these pictures can't really capture just how impressive this little area was!

Just beautiful!

We found the hidden valley!!!

1) Real Scottish Journey Tour to Isle of Skye- This is actually a combination of SEVERAL of our favorite moments of our trip. We took a 3 day bus tour up to the Isle of Skye and stopped along the way at some really cool places, but what made the trip so fantastic was that our tour guide (Bill) was incredible! :) I really appreciated how he made the history of Scotland come alive as we saw where these stories come from. It was also really neat to see Skye- and MY absolute favorite part was the "Fairy Glen" :) Thank you Bill for such a great tour! :)

Bill!

The Fairy Glen- with all the little monuments to the "wee people"

See the fairy tracks that they make by
running around the hills every night!

VIKING FACES with Bill! :)

We had SUCH a great trip (I hope you can tell that from these top 10!) And so many other great fun moments that if I tried to type out every one of them this post would need to become a novel! (Its already well on its way to that point... oops!) If you or anyone you know is going to Scotland and wants more info on these places just let me know! I had a blast and I think we are hoping to go back again sometime in the future! :)

XOXO,
Joy