Snowy Days in Copenhagen

It's been one of the mildest winters in Denmark and so the first snow we has only fallen in the last week or so.  Snowy Day activities are generally outdoor - building snowmen and igloos and sliding down hills!

However, when it's -4C and the two year old keeps taking off his gloves, resulting in bright red hands and lots of tears, it's time to find something else to occupy us both.

Shortbread is always a favourite in this house, and making it is literally child's play :)

We made Almond Shortbread - I've adapted a fantastic recipe from BBC chef Lorraine Pascale - but any number of added ingredients will work well - Lemon, Chocolate Chips, Orange....

My little one loves to use the mixer and he's pretty adept.  I find putting the bowl inside the sink helps prevent any spillage catastrophes!  

Almond Shortbread:

Preheat oven to 170C

125g Butter at room temperature

50g Golden Caster Sugar - plus extra to sprinkle

1tsp Almond Extract

50g Chopped Almonds

190g Plain Flour

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.

Mix in the almond extract.

Add the chopped almonds and flour and fold in until combined with the butter mixture.  It will start to come together after a minute or so.

Press the mixture into a lined 8 inch tin and smooth with the back of a spoon.

Score the round into halves, halves again and halves again, making 8 triangular biscuits.  Prick the biscuits with a fork.  Bake for 30 minutes at 170C. 

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.  Sprinkle with caster sugar while still warm.

Enjoy!

House Hunting in Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen

So we’ve just started the next part of our life journey, our relocation to a new job, a new city, new culture and new life.  It seems like just the other day that this all seemed like a pipedream, something that we’d talked incessantly about but never actioned.  When my husband said that everything would happen quickly, once the ball was rolling, he wasn’t exaggerating! 

He’s just taken a new role with the company he’s worked for in Ireland for the past eight years and we are moving with our children from our warm family home in which we’ve lived since we got married.

Coming from a relatively expensive country, Ireland, we thought that property prices in Denmark would not be too much of a shock.  I travelled over to Copenhagen for two days to do a property search with my husband, leaving the two kids at home. 

We had seven properties to view and there were a couple of important factors to consider. 

Our daughter will attend Copenhagen International School and my husband will work in Soborg so we needed to be close to both locations.  Having a seven and a two year old, space was extremely high on our wanted list.  The house also had to be comfortable and safe, with more than one bathroom. 

We started with Hellerup, close to the school and very commutable to the office in Soborg.  The house was within our budget and we were feeling positive.  When we arrived however, there was a very good explanation for the price!  The house was quite run down with old windows and doors, very cold and very uneconomical.  We were very disappointed.

Moving on to Lyngby, we found a beautiful house, in the process of being renovated.  It was pretty large, open plan, all on one level and with two bathrooms.  I was delighted!  However, we felt that the location was less than ideal for our circumstances. 

We then moved on to a house in Rungsted.  I was ecstatic!  It was an amazing house, absolutely huge, very family friendly, right by a forest and all on one level.  I wanted it from the moment I saw it, however, it was way outside the region we needed for travel to the school and the office.

We viewed a couple of other houses that were completely unsuitable, lots with basements that were suitable for storage, but not for living space – I understand that there is a law that says that rooms below ground level cannot be used for living, but it is a pity to leave such space unused.  There was also a house that looked amazing when we first arrived, but the only bathroom had a bathtub in which you had to sit up and was therefore completely impractical for our needs.

Unfortunately, the most beautiful houses were often in terrible locations for us, and the most rundown houses were in the best locations.  There was always going to have to be a compromise.

We eventually found a house in Soburg that suited us well.  Although I didn’t like it half as much as the house in Rungsted, it was in a great location and was a nice house.  We made an offer and waited nervously for a response. 

We didn’t have any other options for viewing on the second day, as there was a distinct lack of properties available, so I conducted some further searches.

To live in the area around CIS, we would need to have raised our budget to around 38000DKK per month!  That is over €5000!  We were astounded by the costs.  To make it worse, we would have to pay very high Electricity, Water and Gas charges. 

We had been told that the cost of living was estimated to be +12%, however, the rents here are more than 100% more expensive than in Dublin. 

We eventually got feedback from the house that we had made an offer on.  We were not successful.  It was hugely frustrating.  We were running out of time to search for a new property and it seemed that good rental property was in high demand and low supply.

Going back through the properties we had seen, we decided to revisit the house in Lyngby.  My husband drove out to Lyngby very early one morning and commuted to the office from the house to test the practicality of the property.  It took twelve minutes, so we decided that we would make an offer there.

Our offer was accepted and thankfully we will have our property delivered there later this month, with the view to moving in on January 1^st.

However, the other big surprise was the deposit required to secure the property.  In Ireland, one month’s deposit plus a month up front is the standard amount required on a rental property.  In Denmark, not only was rent over 100% more expensive, but three month’s deposit and one month’s rent was required within seven days of an offer being accepted on the property!  In our case, we had to transfer over €10000 to the agent. 

Another huge difference is the internal maintenance costs.  In Dublin, the landlord is responsible for the maintenance of the property, including all painting and redecorating.  If there is damage done to a property by a tenant, the landlord can use the deposit to repair the damage.  Normal wear and tear to a property is expected, however, and a landlord will typically repaint a property between tenants.  However, in Denmark we were shocked to discover that we could take a house either ‘as seen’ in which case the house is returned the way it was found, or ‘newly painted’, which means that it must be returned repainted.  This sounds fine in theory, until it is revealed that the painting must be carried out by a registered company and that wages are very high in this industry.  Shockingly, it could cost anywhere from €10000 to €40000 to repaint a house, depending on the size!

The cost of living difference has been the most difficult thing for us to come to terms with and the property market is difficult to negotiate.  Thankfully we had an agent to help us avoid too many nasty surprises!

Our First Flight

So now it’s time for us to take our first trip to Copenhagen as a family.  As Will is already working, I have to travel alone with the two children.  I’ve never flown with the kids on my own, so I’m a little apprehensive.  It’s only a 2 hour flight, however, so it shouldn’t be too difficult, I say slightly tongue in cheek!  Our eldest will be seven in December and she’s never caused a problem when travelling, however, we now have a son who’s almost two, and he’s a different story!  I’ve always said that if you need an area checked for baby-proofing, Cormac should be sent in.  He will find any hint of danger within five minutes of entering a room :)  He also has a terrible temper, so it doesn’t bode well for a peaceful flight.  We flew with SAS, and the experience couldn’t have been more pleasant. 

I stayed landside in the airport as long as possible in order to keep the kids occupied.  We had some brunch in Alcock & Brown.  The coffee was fantastic and the staff ultra-friendly.  There were plenty of planes around to keep the two year old amused, so we could enjoy our food in peace for almost an hour.  When it was time to board, we went through the Special Assistance Lane and got through Security in less than fifteen minutes.  Again, staff in DAA were very helpful and it was a very stress-free experience.  We arrived at the plane just in time to board and brought the buggy right to the steps of the plane. 

Once on board, we found our seats quickly and I stowed our bags and coats.  I had prepared thoroughly for the flight with plenty of snacks that I could break open as soon as things started to get difficult.  The Air Stewards were really friendly and provided colouring packs for the kids to use.  I also had games and books to keep them entertained.

I tried to keep things relatively healthy - I bought popcorn kernels, which I cooked the evening before with some rapeseed oil and left without salt – precooked popcorn is extremely salty.  We had oat biscuits with dark chocolate chips, which went down a treat, as well as chocolate and coconut rice cakes, yoghurt covered rice cakes, and raisin, apple and cinnamon bread with poppy seeds.  We also brought bananas and apples and scotch crumpets.  Finally, in case of an emergency, I brought a bag with some jellies, mints and marshmallows. 

The children were both really well behaved, singing, playing and colouring their way through the flight.  We ate some snacks and suddenly we had landed.  The kids didn’t even know there were sweets in the bag!!

The queue through security was quite long and we hadn’t got the buggy for the wee one, so I had to hold onto him while he struggled to get down and we were quite hot and bothered by the time they opened a seconded checkpoint and we got through.  However, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment, I had successfully brought the two children on a flight alone!  My husband met us at arrivals and we got the Metro from the airport straight to Christianshavn where the apartment is.

 

On our trip home to Dublin, again we had no difficulty getting through security in Copenhagen, staff were friendly.  The two children were extremely well behaved once again and on board the flight, staff helped us to our seats and provided activity packs again.  We moved around the flight a little when we could and as the flight was relatively empty, we could sit in other seats for a change of scenery.  Changing nappies also provides a break for ten minutes!  On arrival at Dublin Airport my two-year old was so taken by the service that he kissed the Air Stewardess!  Passport Control in Dublin Airport was pretty empty and we were through very quickly.  I would highly recommend SAS as a child-friendly airline.  

Navigating Transport in Copenhagen

The trains and bus services are extremely easy to navigate all over Copenhagen.  Everything works and is very much on time and there is a great app – Rejesplanen, available from the Google Playstore and on the App Store for Apple – which will plan your journey on public transport from door to door.

The Metro is a driverless train which is extremely frequent and runs throughout the night, only reducing in frequency after midnight.  It runs right to the airport and throughout the entire city, but ensure that you have a ticket for the correct zones as there are frequent checks during the day and the fine is substantial (750 dkk, over €100).  A ten journey ticket, costing 200 dkk allows you to travel for 1 hour across 3 zones. There is a great explanation of tickets at http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/service/tickets-and-prices, however, please note that the ten journey ticket now costs 200 dkk, not 150 dkk as per the article. 

The link for the timetable information for the metro is below and shows exactly where in the city you can travel with the metro.

http://intl.m.dk/#!/about+the+metro/travel+information/timetable.  Be careful when travelling with children and ensure that they are holding your hand as the doors close automatically and the train will leave even if people are trying to board/disembark.

The S Tog (pronounced S Toe) is the mainline train in Copenhagen, run by DSM, connecting the city centre to the suburbs.  It is very easy to use and the information at stations is excellent.  There is a carriage for bikes/buggies and it is easier to get on and off with children than the Metro is as it is driver operated and will not take off without all passengers.  A more detailed explanation is available here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-train and timetable information etc is contained here http://www.dsb.dk/s-tog/.

All websites that are not in your native language will be automatically translated by Google Chrome and can be adjusted in Advanced Settings.  This is extremely helpful when looking at Danish websites!  The only words that won’t be translated are those within PDF files on the website.

I have found all of the transportation to be very simple, especially when using Rejesplanen, which accurately plans journeys by linking with the transport sites.  I can’t stress how easy this makes things, as it will plan in walking time to and from each link in the journey and can plan journeys in advance.  It is extremely worthwhile to download this app – life is difficult enough! 

However, there is one issue with the S Tog – the lifts.  Travelling with children can be difficult enough, without having to negotiate with buggies up and down stairs.  The lift at the platform at Hellerup Station, where my daughter goes to school, has been out of service since the beginning of December and now the lift from the tunnel below to street level outside is broken and has been since last week! 

If that’s not bad enough, I have visited two other stations this week that also have lifts that are out of order.  I have had to carry a heavy buggy containing a two year old as well as keeping my other child close and carry bags for us all.  Having spoken to another Mammy at the school, it seems that the company often has to order parts for the lifts and they take some time to be delivered.  I await a response to my complaint made earlier this week.

Pretty Tasty Gluten-Free!

If you have been searching high and low for tasty gluten-free baked goods, then search no longer as the perfect spot has just opened in Dublin’s city centre. 

Antoinette’s Bakery is the brainchild of Sinead Vaughan, who has been developing her own gluten-free recipes for some time now.  There are six people employed in the bakery/coffee shop – three of whom are bakers. 

The staff are warm, friendly and informative and one girl explains how each cake requires a slightly different mix of flour in order to give it a light and airy texture.  She invites us to try the chocolate brownie and we have to agree that it is impossible to identify it as a gluten-free product.  It is light, moist and chocolaty with a soft, smooth texture – no graininess or grittiness that might sometimes be associated with this type of product. 

Being coeliac herself, the staff member states that she has never before had so much choice in baked goods – Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies, Lemon Drizzle Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cupcakes, Mince Pies, Christmas Pudding, the list goes on!  There are also delicious looking Soda Breads on display as well as several products that are Dairy, Egg and Sugar Free. 

The entire shop is gluten-free – staff aren't even allowed to bring in lunch that might contain gluten, lest it contaminates anything in the kitchen.

The whole store screams sustainability, but in a pretty tea-shop fashion – the décor is pink and floral with compostable coffee cups to takeaway coffee.  The coffee is sourced from a company called Mojo in Wexford and it’s delicious and great value (€2 for an Americano).

Antoinette’s is taking orders for cakes on an ongoing basis and for Christmas products up to December 16^th.

Check out Antoinette’s Bakery, 6 Kevin Street Lower, Dublin 8, Twitter @Antoinettesbake and facebook.com/antoinettesbakery.

Lakrids - A Danish Love Affair

Having worked hard on my fitness over the last few months, I felt it important to keep to my healthy eating plan.  Not so easy with the season that’s in it, dinners, lunches, drinks….  So when my husband brought home a very classy advent calendar, I was torn.  Should I open it and eat what was inside?  The smooth black box with a gold band advertising ’24 Little Black Secrets’ was very much aimed at an adult market, so I didn't want to open it in case I couldn't stop at just one sweet.
I resisted until Saturday, the 7^th December, at which point I opened up the box for December 1^st.  The sweets were AMAZING!  Small chocolate balls, covering a small piece of delicious liquorice.  The chocolate was the best I have ever eaten – and I have eaten a lot of chocolate!  It melts at just the right rate and all of the flavours invade your whole mouth.  After the chocolate melts, you’re left with a delicious piece of liquorice to chew. 

I quickly finished the two pieces and opened the box for December 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, 6^th and 7^th.  Each sweet was as delicious as the last and there was also a jar of liquorice syrup to use on day 6.  

I was a little confused about how to use the syrup, however, on looking at the inside of the numbers, there was a message or an instruction to follow for each day, including a link to a website that outlined recipes for the syrup. 

There were tasks such as posting liquorice inspired photos on Instagram and seeing them posted on the FB page for Lakrids by Johan Bülow.  Other tasks involved writing slogans and suggesting interesting things to do with the liquorice syrup.  The level of thought that had gone into planning this level of customer interaction on social media platforms was impressive.  I was immediately drawn in and it was an excellent way to increase consumer contact.  As I was a little behind on the tasks, I didn't interact immediately, but I did tweet about what a fantastic product it was, putting a liquorice-loving friend on to the secret I’d discovered. 

I had to admit I was hooked.  Obsessing about the flavours and the varieties available, I worked through the 8^th to the 10^th of December, eating the sweets for each date and making myself walk away without trying to open any other dates.  I was impressed with my willpower.

However, last night, my husband arrived home with a tube containing three 160g jars of Lakrids by Johan Bülow. 

I don’t know whether my screams were of delight or fear – I could happily munch my way through the three jars without help from anyone else.  There was a jar of Christmas Chocolate Coated sweets – Liquorice pieces in Belgian White Chocolate and rolled in edible gold stardust – a jar of Belgian Chocolate Coated sweets – Liquorice in Belgian Milk Chocolate, rolled in cocoa – and a jar of White Chocolate & Passion Coated sweets – Liquorice in Belgian White Chocolate & Passion Fruit.  Having tried one of each, I couldn’t decide which my favourite was, so I went back and ate two more of each type! 

On reading the story behind the brand on their website, it is clear that there is huge passion behind the product and a great team working hard to make it the success it is.  It is a very upmarket, elegant brand and this comes through in everything the company does – its packaging, design, marketing and in the outlets to which it sells.  You won’t find this product in supermarkets; Lakrids by Johan Bülow is only available in high end stores and in their own stores.  In this way, they can ensure that the same passion with which the product was created by Johan initially can filter through to the end user at every interaction.

The product is also extremely high quality – only the very best ingredients are used to create the unique taste.  Lakrids by Johan Bülow use gluten-free flour to create their liquorice, which is great news given the high numbers of people who are gluten intolerant or coeliac.

I am a fan of healthy food and I try not to eat too many sweets or desserts, however, when I do treat myself I believe it should be worth it.  The product should be high quality and I like to know exactly what I’m eating.  With Lakrids by Johan Bülow, you get just this.  It is a great product that is really worth treating yourself for.

I've decided that these sweets would make a fantastic Christmas present for my family and friends in Ireland where they are not yet available and I know that once they taste them, I will be inundated with requests to replenish their supply in the New Year!

Lakrids by Johan Bülow are available in Denmark – in Copenhagen Airport, at Magasin Kogens Nytorv, Lyngby, Odense and in Tivoli Gardens.  They are also in the UK in Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Masons in London aswell as in Chelsea Market Basket in New York.

You can buy online at http://liquorice.nu/.  Beware – you too might get hooked!

Delightful Dentistry!

I've just had the most pleasant experience at the dentist!  Granted, I wasn't being treated, but it was my two-year old son so it could have been very different.

Having registered in Denmark, we were automatically put into the Healthcare system.  We were all called for various health checks and our two-year old was called to visit the dentist.  I was surprised as he was so young, given that in Ireland children are not seen until much later.

Childhood dentists are something with which I’m very familiar.  Two years ago, I noticed a chip in my five-year old daughter’s tooth.  It turned out to be an advanced cavity, of which she had four.  We were devastated.  We eat well and clean our children’s teeth, how could this have happened? 

I brought her to the HSE dentist, who ordinarily doesn't see children until they are eight years old.  I was told that we should leave the cavities to develop until such a time as they needed to be removed, at which time we could have the extractions done free of charge in St James’ Hospital, under general anaesthetic. 

I was horrified.  We will allow children to damage their teeth to such an extent as to need extractions before we will intervene on the public system?  Luckily, we were in a position to avail of a private dentist, but we hoped to claim back some of the treatment cost from our Health Insurer.  This turned out not to be possible.  There is an obvious hole in the healthcare system when it comes to paediatric dentistry. 

We visited Castleknock Orthodontics, who had a wonderful Paediatric Dentist at the time (she has since joined Crumlin Hospital to treat patients there).  My daughter was made to feel welcome and comfortable before any treatment was attempted.  In order to treat her four cavities, she would need two extractions - as the cavities were too advanced to treat – one filling and the other cavity was in her front milk tooth that would soon fall out.  Ironically, the waiting list for our dentist to take a place in a private hospital to carry out the extractions was so long that we were better going to St James’ Hospital on the public system.

I remember the morning we travelled there by bus.  My daughter was nervous, but not overwhelmingly so.  We arrived into the hospital, where there was already a queue of parents with their children.  During the time we waited, patients were being brought into the treatment room very quickly, with no child in there longer than four or five minutes.  The doctors and nurses were well used to performing these extractions and made the children feel very comfortable.  But what was shocking to me was the numbers of children being treated.  There must have been about thirty children being treated that morning.

On discussing this with our dentist, she recalled a two-year old patient on which twenty extractions had to be carried out – every single tooth that the child had was so decayed that they could not be saved.

So what is wrong with our dental system?  Firstly, not seeing children until they are eight years old is too late.  Bad practices have had so long to develop that it is almost impossible to correct any damage done.  In countries such as the US and Denmark, children are seen from birth, in order to educate children and parents, therefore reducing the need for treatment.  People’s teeth are so good in these countries and it makes such a huge difference to their appearance.  Have you seen the clever Colgate campaign? http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2013/01/colgate-dental-floss-ad-campaign.html

Secondly, the education for parents regarding care of their children’s teeth is almost non-existent.  Every now and again there might be a poster outlining a key point with regard to teeth care, but nothing substantial.

I learned so much about teeth care through our experience with my daughter –

Cavities develop at the rate of about 1mm per year – in our case, the dentist could tell that the damage had occurred to my daughter’s molars at about eighteen months.  It was done by falling asleep with a bottle.  Leaving a coating of milk on teeth overnight is as bad as sucking a hard sweet through the whole night!  She also loved raisins, which are notorious for damaging teeth.

Toothpaste with a fluoride count of less than 1450ppm (parts per million) will not be effective in cleaning and protecting teeth – this information is written in small print on the back of the toothpaste tube.

Children should not be allowed to brush their own teeth up to the age of eight.  It’s OK to allow them to brush their teeth, but then lay them down with their head on your lap (it’s easier to see into their mouths this way) and gently brush all faces of their teeth.  Lift their lips out of the way to get to their molars.

There appears to be a complete lack of focus on children’s teeth which is leading to misunderstandings, even within the dental profession.  When my daughter was one, I brought her along to my own checkup.  I expressed concern that it was difficult to clean her teeth as she didn't enjoy having it done and cried a lot when I tried.  I was told that it was not important to clean her teeth very well, that it was more important not to turn her off brushing.  My experiences since then have shown me that although it is important that children enjoy brushing, it is more important that their teeth are cleaned properly, especially in the evening.  Small children do not like having their teeth brushed, so laying them down to do it may make it easier. 

Playing games and telling stories about ‘who can we see inside your mouth’ may also help. 

Let them have their own brush that they can chew and wave about, but also have a brush that you can use to clean properly.

Here in Denmark, entering the dentist’s office was like going into a nursery.  Everyone smiled and chatted to my son and there were toys everywhere.  Everything was focused on helping the child feel at ease and he played and sat on my knee during the entire process, right up until he was handed a bag of small toys and stickers to take away with him!  We were given lots of practical advice about his teeth and my son got to choose a new toothbrush to take away with him. 

It really gives you food for thought, when you imagine the HSE clinics in Dublin, with mildew on the walls, staff trying their best to be happy and help people in pretty poor working conditions….