LIKE: I REALLY like the summer temps in Denmark although I realize I may be the only Texas girl who feels that way. I could live the rest of my life and NEVER experience 100F again and be perfectly content. In Denmark you can open the windows (which we do daily) and there is almost always a nice breeze... to the point that you would NEVER need an A/C in your home. And even if it is a bit "warm" (in the high 70s, low 80s) during the day (which does happen a few weeks of the year), you are always guaranteed that it will cool down at night--unlike Texas which has 105 in the day and 99 in the night.
DISKLIKE:
In the US all of our windows have screens. Not sure WHY?? But they do and the thing that drives me nuts here is the LACK of screens. Yes, I could go to the grocery store and kind of rig up some screens on our windows, but honestly they look kind of tacky and yes, I could hire a window-installer guy to put the screens on for us, but omg... SOOO expensive. What I want is the screens to COME with the windows so they look like they are made that way....Why all this talk about window screens?Because the one creature that I HATE more than any other creature on earth is THE FLY. I could not even watch the Jeff Goldblum movie of The Fly because of how much they creep me out! So every time we open our windows to ENJOY this LOVELY DANISH WEATHER, here come the flies. And it is not just in our house..... I have encountered them everywhere.
In fact, Mads did not even own a fly swatter before I met him, but now we have 2-- a normal one that just SWATS and one that is more high tech that FRIES the flies when it zaps them.
Did I mention how much I HATE these "land on you so they can throw up stuff from where they landed before you" creatures?
If we ever build a house in DK, I will definitely add screens to my list of demands for the contractor. Until then I will just keep my FLY ZAPPER close by.
________________________________________________________________
June 5, 2011
LIKE: Have you ever listened to how lovely church bells sound? In Denmark it is quite normal that the church bells ring (as if they are beckoning folks to come) on a regular schedule. Always on Sundays at 9... plus other times associated with holidays or special events. It really is a lovely sound.
DISLIKE: Those lovely bells START off sounding lovely, but I have noticed that sometimes they ring for a full twenty minutes.... That would be an example of too much of a good thing! :-) And let me just say that no matter how LOVELY they sound, I am THANKFUL on a Sunday morning when I want to sleep in that we live across the street from Danish Crown (the pig processing plant) rather than the Herning Kirke!
12 comments:
It's interesting and amusing for me to read your like/dislike lists because I'm your opposite (Dane who moved to the US). So the things you miss from the US are often things that I don't like or just don't understand, and the things you don't like about Denmark are things that I miss. But in this post I must totally agree with you.
I lived almost 30 years in Denmark without even knowing what a screen was. When I visited the US and saw a screen door for the first time, I suddenly understood the cartoons I had read in which Garfield the cat loved to hang onto this weird "net" thing on the door. :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scrrzkNuHXg
Now I don't know if I could ever live happily again without screens on all my windows and doors. Not just because of flies. But seeds and other kinds of fluffy dirt is kept nicely outside where it belongs. And if you have an indoor cat, you can actually open your windows and even your balcony door without worrying about it escaping. Such a brilliant invention. Danes really do not know what they are missing.
And about the church bells. I really don't miss waking up to them every Sunday morning.
I like the bells, but over here the chirpy birds make far more noise than our bells do!
I love the long light evenings when you can be outside at past 10 pm in broad daylight.
Yup, they only sound lovely when you don't have to listen to them every day. One place where we lived in Switzerland was quite close to a church and that bell even went DING every hour announcing what time it was.
Most annoying sound is the one right before the wedding in Denmark. Sounds more like some kind of warning system, but then again...maybe it is. ;)
Ah Kelli now that's not all true. It's not 99 at night. It was a perfect 74 tonight as I sat with my friend on the porch all night talking. There was a light breeze.It doesn't get into the 90's til after 12...good lord woman have u forgotten so soon. Hehe. I run in the mornings and night. There is no way I could if it was 99! Screens are for those pesky bugs so that u can open your windows so they don't get in the house! We open our windows in the summer time here and it's not hot at all. We were just talking today about how we would not trade bundling up like a german sausage for being free to wear shorts and flipflops everyday and be outside all day and not get cold. Hahaha. Thoughts travel around the world. I think that got to us in DK ...we are outside people and could not do those things there without teeth chattering.
Aubrey- had to to anonymous cause couldn't remember which account i'm under hahaha.
Anarella, the next time I am in Seattle, I would LOVE to meet you for coffee! I think our conversations about our 2 experiences would be SO awesome!!!!
We have both learned to adapt to so much.... basically we switched lives! :-)
I so hear you about the temperatures, we are sweating and it´s like only in the 60´s!!! I don´t understand how they do it in Texas anymore...my blood has gotten so thick from living in the North that I am completely satisfied with the "lower" temps here.
When we bought our house the former owner left some screens for us that he built for the windows. They are bit shabby now after four years of usage so the Captain will be making more this summer when he gets home. I love them...they fit really nice in the window and you can have that breeze without the flies and here we have wasps, bastards come in anytime you open a window or a door.
I miss screen porches also, sitting outside enjoying a meal, a drink, or just the view without being attacked by flying insects...bet we could make a lot of money bringing the screened in porches and windows and doors to Scandinavia...
I live in an apartment above ground level, so I don't have any problems with flies, as flies only live at ground level.
I totally agree with the window screen thing. I love the fresh air, and the look of no screens, but flys drive me insane!
When you get finished with all the likes and dislikes, I would like you to do a column that list them. I think that would be really interesting. i am coming in July and will definitely look for the fly problem althout I have not noticed it before.
Great minds think alike, Nina! That is my plan!!!!
Where will you be in July? In Cph or in Jylland?
I actually saw some flynet things at Aldi the other day but I didn't buy them as I wasn't exactly sure that the window size was correct. But, they were like real screens, with actual frames, not the kind you tape on the window!
.....we had a fly inside the house today - which happens quite rarely (even though we don't have a screen on the door to the garden - we fight intruding wasps more)....and right you are, the sound of it totally took me back to Denmark and the feel of Danish summer and oh, how often I've been awakened by a mean fly, right when the sun gets up.... they go for your nose, eyebrows or ears and keep at it...until you finally get up and smack the living daylight out of it.
Post a Comment