Here we are in Copenhagen. Finally!! And we found a house! Similar to this, just a few less rooms.
The process of working out the details is under way. The company is actually signing the lease, so it's going to be handled, from this point on, by the HR department. We've asked for a few things...a new fridge, new microwave, and the removal of the Spiderman carpet in one of the bedrooms....but the agent doesn't think any of this is going to be an issue since the guy is in a hurry for a tenant.
The new place has a very nice fenced yard for the dog, lots of very nice wooden lawn furniture for me, and a pool for John (albeit an unheated one).
I know an unheated pool in Denmark sounds kind of funny but six weeks use in a year is better than nothing! And we're tough.....I think.
The back wall of the house is glass which makes that great backyard feel like it's part of the house. And the first thing I'll do when I get there, is take all of that garden furniture waiting under the carport and place it around my new patio.
I am such a sucker for garden furniture. I spied this treasure trove as we drove up and most of what was inside the house became inconsequential.
We didn't look at all that many houses since there aren't all that many fully furnished houses to look at. We did see some apartments but I think a house is a much better option with the dog. Especially when I think about how many 4th and 5th floor apartments we saw in buildings with no elevators. Obviously all that bike riding to work and the grocery store has given the Danes nice strong legs.
I need nice strong legs, too, so I've been bike shopping online. I've been browsing the bike racks on the streets and been to a couple bike shops. The selection of bikes here is incredible! Which makes sense since 36% of the population of Copenhagen bike to work or school.
Who would have thunk that a country with a population as small as Denmark's would be able to support more than a dozen cycle manufacturers. Those companies sell enough bikes to the local market that they don't need to have their websites in any other language but Danish. After 4 nights of bike browsing, I've learned a fair bit of vocabulary. When I get back here in May, I'll begin my search in earnest and take some of them out for a test drive. That should amuse all of the Danes in the new neighborhood.
Whatever I do choose for a bike, it will have to be a good sturdy one. I might be forced into two wheel transportation by a new freakish Danish law that makes people with non-EU driver's licenses be completely retested in order to get a Danish driver's license. And foreigners living in Denmark are required to get a Danish license....an International one won't do either. Within 2 weeks of getting our residency cards we have to begin the process of converting our licenses.
The very nice lady with Deloitte passed this info to us a few minutes after John signed his contract and we handed her our immigration paper work. She was very sympathetic and apologized for her government but explained how the North American licensing system wasn't considered rigorous enough for us to qualify for an automatic flip. I can see by checking out the requirements of new drivers in Denmark she's right, but dammit, shouldn't 32 years of experience count for something?
We were strongly advised to take a driving course that prepares you for the tests....the written and the road (yikes!)....and she gave me a name of a place that has classes in English. English.....I never thought of that! Could be important, no? The written test is in Danish and so we have to take a certified interpreter with us. The interpreter must also be sitting in the back of the car during the road test too. The school has made an English translation of the Rules of the Road book but apparently it isn't perfect and it costs about $100. There isn't any point to just getting the book and studying on your own for the test, since the driving instructors are the only ones allowed to book appointments for testing. Mom and Dad are not legally allowed to teach the kids to drive here. You have to take driver education.
From what I've discovered, the written test is a bitch, with questions not designed to test your knowledge....but to trick you instead. The driving schools train you on how to take the test. They teach you the words they use with ambiguous meanings, and get you to practice and practice and practice. When they think you're ready, they go to your local "commune" and book your appointment. They also take care of getting the interpreter. Apparently, this isn't all that simple since there are 4 schedules that have to be coordinated for anything to happen.....space for the test on the commune's schedule, and the availability of the 3 parties involved. The instructor will also come to the written test with you. It takes an hour! Get 6 questions wrong out of 100 and you flunk.
That's the easy part. If I was a Dane I would HAVE to take the test on a manual transmission, but since I am an uncoordinated foreigner, they have relaxed the rules so that I may take my test on an automatic. But because I am an uncoordinated klutz, the car I use for the test has to have dual controls. The driving school will rent me the automatic but of course it costs more. (I think there is a ton of money to be made in the EU off foreigners who need to go to driving school.)
We had the cost of the driving school added to John's contract. It cost something like a 5,000 kroner (about $1000) each for the course. But this time it isn't the money.....it's a road test! Can't I show them a Manhattan parking ticket as proof I know how to drive anywhere? Would they accept the course I took in Texas to counter my speeding ticket last year? It was 6 freaking hours long!
There aren't all that many cars in Denmark, I don't get it. I can't see any here...
Wait, I can see a couple in this one if I squint...
And there's another one....behind that tree.
So there are a few round-abouts........I think I'd catch onto them quick enough. I know not to run over a cyclist. But will I remember to check the bike lanes on that driver's test? My new mantra is....bike lane, bike lane, bike lane. I WILL NOT forget there are bike lanes on all of the roads. I will forget everything I saw in Baku that passes for driving. When I am in Halifax next month, I will practice model driving skills and try to expunge some bad habits.
On the bright side I am not a new Danish driver who has an even more rigorous test to pass and a 7 hour first aid course to complete. Maybe that's why 36% of the people in Copenhagen bike to work.
I don't need a beer right now, I need a brewery tour.
The process of working out the details is under way. The company is actually signing the lease, so it's going to be handled, from this point on, by the HR department. We've asked for a few things...a new fridge, new microwave, and the removal of the Spiderman carpet in one of the bedrooms....but the agent doesn't think any of this is going to be an issue since the guy is in a hurry for a tenant.
The new place has a very nice fenced yard for the dog, lots of very nice wooden lawn furniture for me, and a pool for John (albeit an unheated one).
I know an unheated pool in Denmark sounds kind of funny but six weeks use in a year is better than nothing! And we're tough.....I think.
The back wall of the house is glass which makes that great backyard feel like it's part of the house. And the first thing I'll do when I get there, is take all of that garden furniture waiting under the carport and place it around my new patio.
I am such a sucker for garden furniture. I spied this treasure trove as we drove up and most of what was inside the house became inconsequential.
We didn't look at all that many houses since there aren't all that many fully furnished houses to look at. We did see some apartments but I think a house is a much better option with the dog. Especially when I think about how many 4th and 5th floor apartments we saw in buildings with no elevators. Obviously all that bike riding to work and the grocery store has given the Danes nice strong legs.
I need nice strong legs, too, so I've been bike shopping online. I've been browsing the bike racks on the streets and been to a couple bike shops. The selection of bikes here is incredible! Which makes sense since 36% of the population of Copenhagen bike to work or school.
Who would have thunk that a country with a population as small as Denmark's would be able to support more than a dozen cycle manufacturers. Those companies sell enough bikes to the local market that they don't need to have their websites in any other language but Danish. After 4 nights of bike browsing, I've learned a fair bit of vocabulary. When I get back here in May, I'll begin my search in earnest and take some of them out for a test drive. That should amuse all of the Danes in the new neighborhood.
Whatever I do choose for a bike, it will have to be a good sturdy one. I might be forced into two wheel transportation by a new freakish Danish law that makes people with non-EU driver's licenses be completely retested in order to get a Danish driver's license. And foreigners living in Denmark are required to get a Danish license....an International one won't do either. Within 2 weeks of getting our residency cards we have to begin the process of converting our licenses.
The very nice lady with Deloitte passed this info to us a few minutes after John signed his contract and we handed her our immigration paper work. She was very sympathetic and apologized for her government but explained how the North American licensing system wasn't considered rigorous enough for us to qualify for an automatic flip. I can see by checking out the requirements of new drivers in Denmark she's right, but dammit, shouldn't 32 years of experience count for something?
We were strongly advised to take a driving course that prepares you for the tests....the written and the road (yikes!)....and she gave me a name of a place that has classes in English. English.....I never thought of that! Could be important, no? The written test is in Danish and so we have to take a certified interpreter with us. The interpreter must also be sitting in the back of the car during the road test too. The school has made an English translation of the Rules of the Road book but apparently it isn't perfect and it costs about $100. There isn't any point to just getting the book and studying on your own for the test, since the driving instructors are the only ones allowed to book appointments for testing. Mom and Dad are not legally allowed to teach the kids to drive here. You have to take driver education.
From what I've discovered, the written test is a bitch, with questions not designed to test your knowledge....but to trick you instead. The driving schools train you on how to take the test. They teach you the words they use with ambiguous meanings, and get you to practice and practice and practice. When they think you're ready, they go to your local "commune" and book your appointment. They also take care of getting the interpreter. Apparently, this isn't all that simple since there are 4 schedules that have to be coordinated for anything to happen.....space for the test on the commune's schedule, and the availability of the 3 parties involved. The instructor will also come to the written test with you. It takes an hour! Get 6 questions wrong out of 100 and you flunk.
That's the easy part. If I was a Dane I would HAVE to take the test on a manual transmission, but since I am an uncoordinated foreigner, they have relaxed the rules so that I may take my test on an automatic. But because I am an uncoordinated klutz, the car I use for the test has to have dual controls. The driving school will rent me the automatic but of course it costs more. (I think there is a ton of money to be made in the EU off foreigners who need to go to driving school.)
We had the cost of the driving school added to John's contract. It cost something like a 5,000 kroner (about $1000) each for the course. But this time it isn't the money.....it's a road test! Can't I show them a Manhattan parking ticket as proof I know how to drive anywhere? Would they accept the course I took in Texas to counter my speeding ticket last year? It was 6 freaking hours long!
There aren't all that many cars in Denmark, I don't get it. I can't see any here...
Wait, I can see a couple in this one if I squint...
And there's another one....behind that tree.
So there are a few round-abouts........I think I'd catch onto them quick enough. I know not to run over a cyclist. But will I remember to check the bike lanes on that driver's test? My new mantra is....bike lane, bike lane, bike lane. I WILL NOT forget there are bike lanes on all of the roads. I will forget everything I saw in Baku that passes for driving. When I am in Halifax next month, I will practice model driving skills and try to expunge some bad habits.
On the bright side I am not a new Danish driver who has an even more rigorous test to pass and a 7 hour first aid course to complete. Maybe that's why 36% of the people in Copenhagen bike to work.
I don't need a beer right now, I need a brewery tour.
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