Get on the ferry

We tried to go visit Mons Klint yesterday late afternoon, but it was raining horribly and they closed at 5. We decided at 4:50PM that it wasn't going to happen. So this morning we got up, had some breakfast overlooking the yellow fields of flowers and backtracked to Mons Klint. I am glad we did because the cliffs are spectacular. There will be pictures later. Then we drove and drove and drove. We drove through about 3 or 4 different islands. As we were leaving one island the GPS showed that we were nearing the point where we would cross. I assumed there would be a bridge and then we pull up to the ferry. At that point the GPS tells us to take the ferry. Holy crap there was a ferry and no bridge. We pull into line to wait for the ferry and the GPS says get on the ferry. It was my first time with a car on a ferry.

After the crossing we headed to a small town Rudkobing on the island of Langland. It was supposed to have some antique stores and we were hungry. Well, let's just say by 3PM on a Sunday the whole town was closed down. Thankfully we found a really good pizzeria. We then crossed over (by bridge) to the island Funen and headed to our B and B which is located in Strandvedt. If you'd like to see pictures click on over to here. As we were heading (I'm having font issues) to the B and B, which is out in the middle of nowhere Dan asked how I found the place. I basically found a B and B that had horses nearby, but they were booked and were kind enough to recommend this place. I am glad that they did. It is a beautiful old thatched house and we are located in the attic dormer of the garage/barn. There is a full living room, dining area and we have a kitchenette and bathroom downstairs. The woman who met us is so nice and there were fresh cut lilac flowers in living room. The garden is huge and beautiful and we are five minutes from the beach. We unpacked the car and headed to the beach for a walk. Keep in mind that was around 7PM. It was still light. In fact it stays light until 10PM. 


After that I was kind of hungry and so we headed into Kerteminde for some dinner. The place we planned on going to was closed and so we wandered past a hotel, but it was too pricey. We ended up at another place and when we walked in we weren't sure (Dan commented later that he thought maybe a senior citizen tour group had stopped there!). We debated over the buffet because I wasn't that hungry, but then we splurged. There was baked fish, smoked fish, crab legs, mussels, prawns, shrimp and tons of other dishes. I ate a ton of fish. It was so good. I'll admit I am a bit too full, but the fresh fish was worth it. We ate overlooking the harbor and the boats. Desert was slightly sweetened strawberries with fresh cream. I forgot the directions back to our hotel, but thankfully we remembered the way.


I have to go to bed and get up early tomorrow morning to go horse back riding. My only complaint is we didn't come to this b and b earlier. It is a little slice of heaven.

Moving to the country...

Today we left Koge and drove about an hour South to the island Mons. The ease of traveling in this country continues to astound and delight me. On  our way we found a shop open that sold ceramics, candles and they had some wooden utensils and dishes. I fell in love with a small square dish and I bought it partly because it was beautiful and also because it smelled like smokey wood. We went to Elmelunde Kirke (Elmelunde Church), which is one of Denmark's oldest stone churches. It dates back to 1080. That reminds me that in 1066 William the Conqueror arrived in England and thus started the English language. That would be one of the only dates I remember. Anyways, the church was bright and white and airy and had amazing frescoes inside. The grounds were very interesting and laid out in a very formal manner. Then we noticed that the small hedges were actually outlining the plots and there were grave stones surrounded by flowers. I'd never seen anything like it before. Next we stopped at Stege Kirke which is famous for its frescoes that are very primitive in style. What was very interesting is that both churches were left unlock for people to wander in. There is definitely an on your honor system here that I also found in the Netherlands. It is rare to have anyone check your ticket for the train and there are tables that are left out overnight that would be gone in a heartbeat in the states.

After visiting churches we headed North on the island to Ulvshale Strand, which is a lovely sweep of beach located on the Baltic Sea. On the way Dan spotted an antique store and we had to stop and check it out. No special finds, but it is always fun to look. It was so nice to walk along the beach, hear the sound of the surf and smell the sea. We then continued to the farthest Northern point of the island (over a bridge) to Nyord. We had lunch at Lollesgard, a little cafe whose address wasn't even found by the GPS. Thankfully there was a sign with the name of the restaurant. We headed down a short country road and parked the car and there nestled in a tiny village was a beautiful white washed cottage with blue trim. We sat in the garden and I had the fish plate for lunch which included fresh mussels, smoked salmon, shrimp and a fish cake. Everything was caught in Nyord and it tasted so incredibly fresh. The sun came out and I was happy.

We headed to Bogo By, a small island West of Mons and checked into our hotel. Unfortunately, it started to rain. We drove East to the far end of Mons to try to go see the cliffs, but it was too wet. Instead we headed to Bryghuset Mon a small cafe that is also a brewery and had a delicious dinner of quiche, salad and home brewed beer. We came back to our bed and breakfast, Stalden, and had desert. Tomorrow we head North to Nyborg. 

Civilization

Oh Denmark. This place is wonderful. It is so pleasant and so easy to get around. Day one and two were spent wandering around Copenhagen. I'm here with Dan and it is wonderful to be traveling with someone. The first day we wandered through a lot of parks, saw art and had lunch at Ida Davidsons. We had traditional smoorebord and my smoked tuna with spinach and a poached egg was melt in your mouth delicious. We took a boat ride on the canals and that was a great way to see the city. We splurged and went to dinner at Famo, which is an amazing Italian place. They even managed to make something vegetarian friendly just for me.

We started the second day with a trip to Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, which is a beautiful mansion built in 1881 and later expanded to house Carlsberg's art collection. Yes, Carlsberg as in the beer. There are some works of art, like Edgar Degas' Dancer, that were unexpected finds.The cafe overlooks the winter garden, which is delightful. I decided that I was just going to move in. We then walked to Christiana, which is a pretty free spirited place. I was hoping to find some handmade goodness, but unfortunately there was none. Before that we stopped at a nearby bakery and I had a delicious smoked salmon sandwich on a fresh wholegrain baguette. We ate picnic style sitting on the canal and watching the guy across the way try to figure out how to raise his sailboat that had sunk.We meandered back to the hotel, walking down the main shopping strip and picking up a couple of presents. That evening we went to the Tivoli which is a very quaint amusement park. We sat on the grass and watched a vaudeville show for awhile. Then Dan tortured me by making me go on some spinny ride that made me want to puke. He then forced me to go on the swings and I spent the whole ride with my eyes closed. I feel like I've developed a fear of heights as I've gotten older. The bumper cars were great fun. We also went on a ride that was like a Hans Christian Anderson version of It's a Small World. The final fun was a roller coaster ride reminiscent of Big Thunder Mountain at Disney. That was my favorite. I had nacho chips and beer for dinner. Mmmmm.

The next day we had a bit of a late start and picked up the rental car and drove to Roskilde. I do have to mention that it took me awhile to put the car in reverse, because in the States the reverse is to the far right and down. Here the reverse is up and to the left right next to first gear. Well, if you do that with out first pushing down on the gear stick you end up in first gear and almost run out of room to figure out where reverse is. I am in love with GPS because it got us to the Viking museum without incident. The museum had 5 ships that had been found in the fjord. Originally they had been scuttled to provide a barrier against attack. Based on the remnants and other research the museum rebuilt one of the war ships and it sailed around to Dublin and then around the UK and back up to Roskilde. It was fascinating. The museum also had a fabulous gift shop. We stopped to eat a really late lunch in Roskilde and I had a salad and the house smoked Salmon. It was not sliced thin, like on a sandwich, but was a delicious chunk of fish. I think it is the best salmon I've had at a restaurant-ever. We then drove half an hour South to a town called Koge. Really, that is all I've got. There is a town called Koge with the largest square in Denmark and the oldest house in Denmark. So, we had some ice cream and then some beer for dinner. Tomorrow morning we plan to get up early and drive a couple of hours South. 

Sweets

I may have mentioned some of the customs here in Iraq, some of which are representative of the Middle East, and I apologize if I repeat myself. First off people bring you food. They bring you food if you are sick, they bring you food if you have a baby, get a new place to live, or if someone dies. When you return the dish you are supposed to put a little something in it. Either cook something in return, or put fruit or sweets in the bowl. You always take your shoes off when you enter someones house. To not do so is a big insult. When somebody dies you visit at the mosque for three days. Then after forty days the family goes to the cemetery. After that it is an annual tradition. If you get a new position, get engaged, get married, have a baby or have some good news you bring sweets. One of our legal coordinators today submitted the topic for his thesis and it was accepted. To share his good news and celebrate he brought sweets fresh out of the oven from Al Hamdany. Al Hamdany is originally a shop from Baghdad, but they have a branch here in Suly. Can I tell you how happy I am for that man. I am happy down to the ooey gooey honey that is dripping on my fingers. They wrap mahalabia, which is an amazing pudding, in pastry layered in honey and then they bake it and sprinkle powdered sugar (which melts into the honey) and pistachio on top. He brought them straight out of the oven and it was better then any crispy creme donut I ever had, even the ones straight from the oven.

The hills are alive

When I arrived in Iraq in August last year it was a barren desert. Everything was brown and it was so dry.  Today I looked out the kitchen window and the mountains were lush and green. It almost looked like Ireland.

Some days

Some days this job is rough. Some days I am confronted with a very near and devastating past. I had to edit a chapter today that was about the abuse the Iraqi people suffered under Saddam's regime. It outlined torture, rape, enforced disappearance, and genocide. It is hard to be an objective editor and ask for citation sources when the sentence is describing the thousands of people who lost their homes in the Marshlands in the South. People hid out there after the uprising in the 90's and so Saddam had them drained. An entire generations livelihood wiped out. Those who didn't die had to move. Unfortunately, that is only one example. My hope is that this book will shed some light on the past.

Iqama

There is an interesting divide between Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq. For example, in order to go to Baghdad you must have a visa. If you are an American or British citizen you do not need a visa to go to the Kurdish region. While living in Sulaimaniya you have to have a residency card, or iqama, that is issued by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). Americans have ten days to stay in Iraq before they have to get the residency card. Six months ago, I went to the Directorate of Residency to get my residency card. Thankfully I was with a staff member who understood the process and spoke Kurdish because we would go to one room and get a form, then go to another room give the form, get another form and go to another room to give the form and give blood and get another form. Finally you end up in a room that looks kind of like the DMV, but there are no numbers or any sense of order. People would jump up and force themselves in front of the government employees. It was chaos. Let me back up and touch on that giving blood thing. They test for HIV. Having seen some of the living conditions here, let me tell you, the thought of having a blood test made me faint before they even took blood. Thankfully, it ended up being a very clean and quick process.

This time when I went we walked in and there was a machine that gave you a number. There were fewer rooms to run around and get forms. I had my blood test and it was quick. My staff member was so sweet because after the test he told me to sit down. He was just standing there and finally I asked why he was just standing there and he told me to rest. I laughed and said are you going to give me a cookie, I'm ok. Then we went to the DMV room and waited for our number to be called. It was civilized. I was amazed. Progress has come to the Directorate of Residency. Plus my residency card is good until the end of next year.

On a side note, one of our new project directors is over 50. When she went to get her card she did not have to do a blood test. Apparently women of a certain age just aren't doing certain things in Kurdistan.