The one thing that we have come to learn over the past few days is that Danish people are the friendliest in the world! It was no surprise to us then that upon meeting our first hosts, that we have been welcomed so warmly!
Peter, Lisa & one of their daughters Laura are my hosts in Thisted. They live in a beautiful house near the water here. Lisa is a dentist in town, and Peter is a retired solicitor who now serves on the Council. Laura is currently home from school for a break.
After a delicious dinner, and some discussions about back home (Peter traveled to Aus in 2003) we set off on a walking tour of Thisted. As the sun didnt go down until around 10pm, the family were able to show me many sights including the pig abattoir, the harbor, the old church, town centre and Lisa's workplace.
The towns streets are cobblestone, and there is ample bike lanes similar to Copenhagen.
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
Day 1 proper
We flew from Copenhagen this morning and were met at Aalborg airport by our hosts, District Governor Vibeke and GSE Coordinator Finn. A quick trip through the countryside, including a look at Denmark's newest wind generator and then a traditional lunch complete with pickled herring, beer and schnapps - what more could one hope for? I was then taken home by Henning and Gro (please excuse any spelling as getting my tongue around Danish names is hard enough). It was a great start to our exchange proper and we are truly, so pleased to be in Denmark. First presentation tomorrow night.
Doug
Doug
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Tivoli Gardens
We went to the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen last night. It's like an amusement park and is a central attraction for the city. Alisha suggested that we ride on the demon rollercoaster (a ridiculous suggestion after 24 hours in a plane but we were obviously all jet-lagged and agreed) The pictures hopefully tell the story.
Chance meeting with GSE Tasmania Team en route to Copenhagen.
We met Team Leader Alan Harris and his four compatriots from GSE Tasmania at Dubai airport when we were both due to fly out to Copenhagen. It wasn't to hard to meet as we were booked on the same plane and they stood out in their blue Rotary polo shirts as we did in our maroon ones. Alan and his team were to spend 5 weeks in the Copenhagen area and we wished each other every success.
Brisbane to Denmark - The Joys of Travel
Much to Doug's relief the team arrived at Brisbane airport with passports and tickets in posession! After months of planning and stuffing our faces with Doug's famous home-made sausage rolls it was finally time to set off on our Danish adventure. A quick "beer"(a necessity before any long-haul flight) led to a mad dash to the gate, needless to say we made it time!
A non-eventful and sleep-filled flight brought us into Dubai for a relaxing early morning coffee at 4.00am. Following my first sip of the worlds largest cappuccino I discovered that I had left my toiletry bag and ray ban sunglasses on the plane. This began what I will now refer to as The Rotary Foundation's Dubai Inter-terminal Not-so-fun, hopefully the first and last of its kind! Whilst Doug and the girls lazed about sipping on their ice teas and cappuccinos. I repeatedly traversed Dubai International Airport attempting to convince (very uninterested) Arab airport staff to care about my missing belongings at 6.00am on a Sunday morning! Various visits to multiple terminals ensued visit to the airport police station witness an interrogation of a suspected drunken traveller was an eye opener! Regularly checking in on Doug and the girls at the Irish Pub they had settled into ensured my legs we're well rested for each leg of the event! Finally a glimmer of hope, after telling a small white lie (insinuating to Emirates business class lounge staff that I need my heart medication before our connecting flight!) I was told that my glasses and toiletries will be waiting at the Gate for me on departure!!!! Three and a half hours of running had paid off, or so I thought!!!! At the gate I was given a small bag with some children's antibiotics found on the same plane!!!! Oh well, I've done my excersise for the week and learned a valuable lesson if you leave inexpensive belongings on a plane.... Leave it as a gift to the hostesses!!!
After my marathon we had time to settle at the gate and happened to bump into another Rotary GSE team outbound for Denmark! What a small world!
We are currently on our last leg... Only four hours away from copenhagen and experiencing a mixture of excitement and exhaustion!!!
Fun times to come!!
A non-eventful and sleep-filled flight brought us into Dubai for a relaxing early morning coffee at 4.00am. Following my first sip of the worlds largest cappuccino I discovered that I had left my toiletry bag and ray ban sunglasses on the plane. This began what I will now refer to as The Rotary Foundation's Dubai Inter-terminal Not-so-fun, hopefully the first and last of its kind! Whilst Doug and the girls lazed about sipping on their ice teas and cappuccinos. I repeatedly traversed Dubai International Airport attempting to convince (very uninterested) Arab airport staff to care about my missing belongings at 6.00am on a Sunday morning! Various visits to multiple terminals ensued visit to the airport police station witness an interrogation of a suspected drunken traveller was an eye opener! Regularly checking in on Doug and the girls at the Irish Pub they had settled into ensured my legs we're well rested for each leg of the event! Finally a glimmer of hope, after telling a small white lie (insinuating to Emirates business class lounge staff that I need my heart medication before our connecting flight!) I was told that my glasses and toiletries will be waiting at the Gate for me on departure!!!! Three and a half hours of running had paid off, or so I thought!!!! At the gate I was given a small bag with some children's antibiotics found on the same plane!!!! Oh well, I've done my excersise for the week and learned a valuable lesson if you leave inexpensive belongings on a plane.... Leave it as a gift to the hostesses!!!
After my marathon we had time to settle at the gate and happened to bump into another Rotary GSE team outbound for Denmark! What a small world!
We are currently on our last leg... Only four hours away from copenhagen and experiencing a mixture of excitement and exhaustion!!!
Fun times to come!!
Monday, 20 August 2012
Toowoomba Presentation 20th August 2012
We did our first full presentation at Toowoomba Rotary Club on Monday 21st August. Their hospitality was fantastic and we particularly liked the "welcome" song.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Team Introduction - Rotary Club of Sunnybank Hills - 14th August 2012
The Team introduced themselves to the Rotary Club of Sunnybank Hills on the morning of 14th August 2012. Present were Doug St Clair – Team Leader, Alisha Radford and Jasmine Cooper with apologies from Neil Mair and Lauren Barton due to work commitments.
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