Laundromat

NASA Mission Control?

You are not looking at Nuclear Weapons Launch Console.  This is not the control panel for a Hydroelectric Dam.  This is a Danish Laundromat Control Panel.

I helped Mary do laundry this morning (I drove the car, and carried the laundry, that was the extent of my "helping").  As I watched Mary at work, I saw that all the steps required to wash our clothing had become second nature to her.  It certainly wasn't to me.

The concept is the same in both the USA and Denmark.  Bring in dirty clothes.  Deposit  money.  Leave with clean clothes.  That's where all similarities end.

A typical USA laundromat experience.

Arrive with dirty clothes, soap, and fabric softener.  Put dirty clothes in washing machine with soap and fabric softener.  Deposit coins.  Push button and wait.  When done, put wet, clean clothes into drier.  Deposit coins.  Push button and wait.  When done, fold clean, dry clothes and go home.


A typical Danish Laundromat experience.

Arrive with dirty clothes.

Read all of the instructions.  (If anyone knows me, reading instructions is not high on my list of things I do well.   Thank God Mary reads does, though I am still not sure how she read these instructions.)

Soap, fabric softener, and bleach is included in the price of washing your clothes.  Put dirty clothes in washing machine.  Go to the Soap despenser and get your soap and fabric softener.

Put it in.

Go to Mission Control and push random buttons and put money into various slots.  (I have no idea how Mary figured this out.  It involved multiple buttons, coins, levers, calculations, and reading instructions in Danish.  I was completely lost.)

Once enough buttons are pushed and coins are inserted, go to the washing machine and push START.  (I was allowed to do this).

The machine started and the clothes washed!

Interesting bit of information now.  Danish laundry mat washing machines do not have a spin cycle.  When the washing is complete, the wet clothing goes into another machine, the CENTRIFUGE!

I took the wet clothes out of the washing machine and put them into the centrifuge.  Mary went to Mission control, pushed buttons, did further computations, and deposited money.  I was then told to push the start button.

If anyone has been near a large jet engine as it was starting, they would understand the sound I heard.  Slowly winding up to takeoff speed.  Just as the machine was about to break free of the concrete floor, it stopped.  Mary told me to push the button on the top and move the clothes to the dryer.

I put the clothes (now only slightly damp after spinning at 100000 RPM) in the dryer.  Mary did further button pushing, lever pulling, coin insertion, and calculations (at one point I swear I saw a slide rule in use) and told me to push the start button.

The clothes dried!

We folded our clean, dry clothes and went home.

But I swear as we left, I saw a glow in the distance, like a missile launch.  Maybe that console did more than we thought.

Danish Cheese

I have always been a fan of cheese.  Cheese and crackers are like heroin to me.  In the evenings, after dinner, I have a ritual I've enjoyed since, well, since I can remember.

I get out the box of crackers.  Usually Ritz, but I do love Wheat Thins as well.  I grab some.  Now, the key is to not count them.  Just grab some.  (Just so you don't think I am eating a box of crackers every night, I usually end up with 5 or 6 crackers, but I'm getting ahead of myself).

Put the crackers on a plate.  Get the block of cheese and the cheese slicer we have had for 30 years.  Slice off the cheese, BUT DON'T COUNT THE SLICES!  Put the cheese back into the refrigerator, the crackers away, and the slicer in the sink.

Now comes the fun part (or weird part, your call, but I really don't care).  I put a slice of cheese on each cracker and put the cracker with cheese back on the plate.  If the planets are in alignment, the number of crackers and number cheese slices agree and I enjoy a snack.  If they do NOT agree, I enjoy my snack anyway.   That's the beauty of this.  Either way, I get cheese and crackers.

You enjoy your snacks your way, and I will enjoy mine my way!

By this time I am sure you are asking yourself, "What's this got to do with Danish Cheese?".  Absolutely nothing!  I just thought I would tell you how I ate my cheese and crackers every night.


When I would get the block of cheese out every night back in the good ole USA, it was usually Sharp Cheddar.  Occasionally Blue Cheese, and if I was feeling really daring, I might go with a nice Goat Cheese with herbs.

Now that we are in Denmark, Mary and I have been going to an open air market every Saturday Morning.  You may have seen some of my posts about the flowers and vegetables.  Well folks, I found the cheese truck!

The aroma as you walk up to the truck is almost overpowering, but in a wonderful way.  Giant wheels of cheese dipped in wax.  Small wedges already cut.  Point to one, and a sliver of cheese is handed to you to taste and savor.

Cheeses of every shape, smell, taste, and country!  Gruyere, Gouda (smoked and plain), Swiss, Edam, Butterkase, Havarti, Roquefort, and good old Cheddar!  The list goes on and on.

Today we brought home a block of 5 different Cheddars in one, a wedge of Dolaner Hard Cheddar from Holland, and a Pesto (yes Pesto!) infused Gouda that is bright green and wonderful!

All I need to do now is find the Ritz crackers!  But as good as the cheese is here, I may have to broaden my cracker palette as well.  I'll keep you posted.

OMT

I have been putting in some long hours this week at work and haven't had time for a blog entry.  I thought for this one I would give you a tour of where I work and why I'm here.

I work for Bath Iron Works (BIW), a shipyard in Bath, Maine.  BIW has a working relationship with Irving Shipyard (ISI), located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.  ISI has a contract to design and build the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) for the Canadian Navy.  ISI subcontracted the design work to Odense Maritime Technologies (OMT), a ship design firm in Odense, Denmark.

ISI needed a Design Liaison Manager to work with OMT on the AOPS design.  They asked BIW and that's how I ended up in Denmark.

BIW to ISI to OMT for AOPS.

I wouldn't have this job if it weren't for a long list of acronyms!

Odense Maritime Technologies

The building I work in was a grain warehouse that has been beautifully renovated into an office straight out of "Architectural Digest"!

Odense Maritime Technology main office

 

View across the canal from the office

 Grain Elevator across the canal

The canal just outside my office window is a deep water canal and connects to Odense Fjord.  Each day we can watch large ships go by.

Not your typical Ship design Office!

When they renovated the building, they left the machinery used to pump the grain into storage

Did I mention that OMT has a chef on staff to prepare us lunch each day?  Chef Jan sends out a menu to let us know what to expect for the week.

Unbelievable food, from broiled Salmon to Curried Chicken over wild rice to Danish meatballs with brandy gravy and asparagus wrapped in bacon.   Homemade bread and homemade butter.  Salads, fruits, cold cuts, the list goes on and on!  This is prepared for all the employees at OMT each day.

I am glad I am riding my bicycle to work each day.  If not, I would have already gained 30 pounds!

Everyone at OMT has been friendly and welcomed "the American" with open arms.  Many thanks to all the employees at OMT for their hospitality,  and a special thanks to Thomas Knudsen, COO of OMT for allowing me to take these photos.

Out of Hibernation!

Today, the sun came out.

It was perfect,  beautiful blue sky, upper 40s, perfect.

Mary and I decided to take a bicycle ride.  We ended up riding over five miles!

Our bicycles took us all over Odense.  It seemed as though everyone was outside today, taking advantage of the glorious weather.  I think I will let the photos do the talking.

 Mary and I on our new "steeds!"

Beautiful day

And an amazing sky today.  The best.

Danish beds

One of the first things Mary and I noticed when we moved into our apartment here in Odense was the bed.  A nice King sized bed.  With two down comforters.

Two. One on each side.

When we pulled back the comforters, there was a bottom sheet, but no top sheet.  Just the comforters in duvets.

Okay, .........interesting.

In the USA, King sized beds typically have two, twin box springs.  That makes it easier to move and setup.  Then one, King size mattress on top of the box springs.

Our bed has TWO, twin mattresses, side by each.  Two.

When we sleep, if I roll towards the middle, ................

We thought it was just our bed in this apartment.  But check out all the beds in IKEA we saw.

Now, we have not seen ALL the beds in Denmark, but all the beds we have seen are like this.

Not sure how this trend started, but not one of my favorites in Denmark.