Monday, Jan. 27 (Part II)
I was happy to see a new candle on Arne's grave when I stopped at the cemetary in the afternoon. It had been burning since yesterday, I think, since it was almost burned down as far as the candle I had relighted. My guess is that it was Annette, our former neighbor, who put it there, and I will ask her about it when she comes to dinner on Wednesday. It's just nice to know that there are others besides Nurse Grethe and I who are remembering Arne here in Copenhagen and making the special effort to come to his grave site.
Old Grethe was Arne's oldest and closest friend. She's now 82 and still looks as if she is in her 60's. I've always liked her apartment becase of the paintings. Her husband was a painter, and she has every bit of the wall area from floor to ceiling covered with paintings done by him and their friends. Most of them were probably done in the 1930's and 1940's. I've spent many hours over the years looking at all the artwork. One of my favorite paintings has always been the one that shows the back side of an apartment building; inside each window can be observed the daily lives of the people living in the building.
I spent most of the day with Old Grethe, arriving at 2:00 p.m. and leaving around 9:00. Our visits these days are always similar and very enjoyable. We reminisce about the past--people we have known, events we have shared, etc. We talk about current events--politics, world disasters, things that have happened in our personal lives, etc. And we have a traditional dinner that Grethe prepares--frikedeller (meatballs made with ground pork tenerloin and beef combined in equal parts), boiled new potatoes, and parsley sauce (white sauce with chopped parsley added to it). It's a very traditional Danish meal, and Grethe's frikedeller are among the best.
I was sorry today to see that time is taking its toll on Old Grethe, my friend. She suffers from macular degeneration and can see only out of the sides of her eyes when using magnification (including a giant magnifying screen placed in front of her TV). And, also due to her eyesight problems, she no longer makes her homemade chocolate chip cookies she learned to make on her trip to Texas in the mid-1980's. But we made the most of the evening, and I promised to try to see her again before I leave Copenhagen.
Tuesday, Dec. 28 (Part I)
I finished reading the novel I recently started this morning. I just stayed in bed until 11:30 and read all morning. What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt was rather different and interesting. It was a mystery, multiple love stories, the story of a child without conscience, etc. Grethe had given it to me for my birthday this summer. Now I will leave it here for her to read.
Tonight, Grethe and I will visit Lotte, a nurse who is a friend of hers. There is a funny story about live that has occured since I met Lotte for the first time this summer. To understand, I must go back to tell you about the Danish Consul in Calgary. He and his wife took good care of me this summer after Arne's death and became friends. They told me about his childhood home in Virum which they had visited in the past year. Friends of theirs live there. The Consul and his wife had planned to visit me in September of this year, but they postponed their trip, because the friends from Virum had decided to make a trip to Calgary then. I guess during their visit, they heard the story from the Consul about the American and the Dane who had been there--about how they had rescued me and kept me safe and comfortable as I dealt with the problems of Arne's death. Well, the Consul got an e-mail this winter from the friends in Virum describing a coinsidence. They had gone into Copenhagen to visit a cousin of theirs. They told her about their trip to Calgary. Sometime in the evening, they told about hearing about an American and a Dane who had been traveling when the Dane died and that their friends in Calgary had helped them through the situation. The cousin spoke up and said, "That must have been Randy and Arne." Their cousin they were speaking to and who knew us is Lotte who I will see tonight. Isn't it a small world?!!
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Monday, December 27, 2004
Second Christmas Day (Dec. 26)
Sunday, Dec. 26
Grethe and I had a leisurely breakfast together. During it, we began opening gifts. I had a pedometer from Morten and Helle and a gift certificate for a book from Grethe. It was wrapped with some chocolate sticks for use in hot milk to make chocolate milk. Grethe got a Fitz and Floyd Chrismtmas ornament and a burgendy knit shirt from Sue. From me, she got some Christmas stationery, some stickerjs, a photo of Arne, a Linda Ronstat CD, two videotapes, some soft socks, and a suede shirt.
I went to Jens' and Robert's apartment at 2:00, stopping in the cemetery on the way to re-light the candle on Aren's grave. They served a very nice meal of roasted duck with eggplant and zuchini. Afterwards, we had ice cream which they ate with cookies I had taken them. I also gave them a Texas calendar and a photo of Arne.
I stayed too long. I was enjoying the visit and was full from the lunch. But they made sandiches and served them. I'm surethey didn't expect me to still be there with them. I eventually left at 8:30, just after we had finished the sandwiches and some table discussion.
Monday, Jan. 27 (Part I)
Today is Arne's birthday. He would have been 63. I've always made a special effort to have a gift and dessert for him on this day each year, because he told me when we first met that his birthday was often ignored when he was young. Instead of giving him a birthday gift, relatives often gave him a Christmas gift and told him that it was for both Christmas and his birthday. I always bought fragilité as a dessert, since that was his favorite--layers of caramel cream and crunchy nougat. I usually gave him a single gift such as a shirt, a sweater, a bathrobe, etc. Today, I will visit his grave on my way to spend the afternoon and early evening with his oldest and best friend Old Grethe.
Sunday, Dec. 26
Grethe and I had a leisurely breakfast together. During it, we began opening gifts. I had a pedometer from Morten and Helle and a gift certificate for a book from Grethe. It was wrapped with some chocolate sticks for use in hot milk to make chocolate milk. Grethe got a Fitz and Floyd Chrismtmas ornament and a burgendy knit shirt from Sue. From me, she got some Christmas stationery, some stickerjs, a photo of Arne, a Linda Ronstat CD, two videotapes, some soft socks, and a suede shirt.
I went to Jens' and Robert's apartment at 2:00, stopping in the cemetery on the way to re-light the candle on Aren's grave. They served a very nice meal of roasted duck with eggplant and zuchini. Afterwards, we had ice cream which they ate with cookies I had taken them. I also gave them a Texas calendar and a photo of Arne.
I stayed too long. I was enjoying the visit and was full from the lunch. But they made sandiches and served them. I'm surethey didn't expect me to still be there with them. I eventually left at 8:30, just after we had finished the sandwiches and some table discussion.
Monday, Jan. 27 (Part I)
Today is Arne's birthday. He would have been 63. I've always made a special effort to have a gift and dessert for him on this day each year, because he told me when we first met that his birthday was often ignored when he was young. Instead of giving him a birthday gift, relatives often gave him a Christmas gift and told him that it was for both Christmas and his birthday. I always bought fragilité as a dessert, since that was his favorite--layers of caramel cream and crunchy nougat. I usually gave him a single gift such as a shirt, a sweater, a bathrobe, etc. Today, I will visit his grave on my way to spend the afternoon and early evening with his oldest and best friend Old Grethe.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Christmas in Denmark
Thursday, Dec. 23
I was out and about all day long. I went to the local stores to buy some snacks--cheese, nuts, cookies, candy, coffee, etc., before they got busy. Then i was at a cybercafe for an hour updating my blog and reading and writing e-mail. From there, I went to the flower market at Israel’s Plads to buy two wreaths--one for me to put on Arne’s grave and one for Grethe to put on Ander’s grave. Next came a sandwich shop. Then I was at the library to read the Herald-Tribune, TIME, and Newsweek.
I visited Robert for a couple of hours in the afternoon to catch up on his life. We had a great tea from Fortnum and Mason (Strawberries and Roses) with a rolled cake. Then I headed downtown to see the Christmas lights. I never cease to be amazed that the garlands of lights strung across the streets are still made with live greenery. I was disappointed, however, that there was only one street musician.
I made a final stop at Tivoli just to see the entire Illumination Show with lasers, fire, smoke, water, and music. I had only caught the end of it last night and didn’t want to wait another hour. it’s an amazing show. The lasers create wonderful interactions with the smoke and fountains. Also, the lasers form planes, spirals, parabolas, etc. The colors are purple, green, and blue for the most part, and the music is somewhat new age-space age type. The show is well worth seeing and I’m glad I went back for it.
Grethe and I had risengroed (rice porridge) tonight. It’s traditional to have it on Dec. 23. It’s a special rice (plump grain) cooked in milk with a little salt. It looks somewhat like oatmeal when cooked. A pat of butter is put in the middle of each bowlful to melt, and it is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. It’s delicious and filling. It’s what the nisser (elves) are always eating in stories and pictures here in Scandinavia.
Well, Christmas has begun in Denmark. The 24th, 25th, and 26th are holidays here. The stores are closed and won’t reopen until the 27th. The next 3 days will be quiet ones. I hope the tourists have gone elsewhere. People will be with families and friends for the next several days. Traditionally, the 24th is when you are with immediate family, the 25th is when you are with extended family, and the 26th is when you are with friends here in Denmark. There will be nothing for tourists to do during this time. I’ll write about what happens during the next few days.
Friday, Dec. 24
Just after I awoke this morning, it began to snow--giant flakes about the size of American half-dollar coins (30 mm in diameter). It was beautiful to watch. usually the snowflakes here are small and powdery. it can look almost like rain when it falls. These big flakes, however, were floating and meandering down. As the morning progressed, they became smaller, but the big ones would return occasionally.
The first of my 20 Christmases in Denmark was in 1985. (Arne came to Texas for Christmas in 1984.) As we shopped for flowers to take when we were invited for friends for dinner that first year, I kept seeing beautiful wreaths made with greenery, berries, pine cones, etc. I suggested to Arne that we should buy one of those for them to hang on their door. Most people in the U.S. hang wreaths on their doors during the Christmas season. Arne explained that we couldn’t do that; such wreaths in Denmark are only for grave sites. it was just one of the many cultural differences I learned through the many years of our relationship. Every Christmas after that, however, I would tease Arne by saying, “These wreaths are beautiful. Let’s give them one for their door.” It became a funny joke between the two of us that continued through our final Christmas together last year.
This year I bought my first wreath in Denmark. Unfortunately, I had a reason. This morning Nurse Grethe and I took two wreaths and two candles and walked in the snow to the nearby cemeteries. First, we stopped at Ander’s grave where she placed a wreath and a candle. Then we walked across the street to Arne’s grave where I placed a wreath and a candle. Grethe then left me there alone for a while as she went to buy flowers (NOT a wreath) for her hosts tonight.
The bereavement counselor at the Unitarian Church had told us that Christmas would be a difficult time. Others had said the same. And standing before Arne’s grave proved them right. I don’t think I had been so sad since the day we buried his remains. All the memories of our times together and the realization of what I have lost in my life came flooding back.
There was a small cedar tree in a pot on Arne’s grave. It had Christmas bows in the pot. Our neighbor Annette had placed it there a few days ago. it’s so nice to know he is also remembered and missed by others who knew and loved him. He was a charming man with the purest heart I have ever known, and everyone quickly recognized that about him.
By the time we were at the cemetery, snow had made beautiful formations on the bushes and trees. Arne and i used to walk through that same cemetery after a snowfall to enjoy the beautiful snowscape. I took a photo of the cedar tree, wreath, and candle. Then I backed up and took photos of the views in the distance--snowscape photos like the ones we always took during our walks through the cemetery together each winter.
Tonight we celebrated a typical Danish Christmas at Arne’s sister’s and brother-in-law’s apartment. I caught the bus to there around 5:30 p.m., just before the service stopped for the Christmas pause (until 11:00 p.m.). Arvind was still decorating the tree when I arrived. By 6:30 p.m., the tree and the meal were ready and we sat down to eat. There were eight of us--Evy, Arvind, Gitte, Carit, Sascha, Niels, Amelie, and me.
We had a traditional Danish Christmas meal--roast pork with crispy skin, roast duck with prunes and apples, caramelized new potatoes, white potatoes, homemade pickled red cabbage, and brown sauce. Niels had done the cooking this year, and it was delicious. There was the sound of crunching pork skins all around the table.
For dessert, we had the traditional rice-almond pudding with cherry sauce. Gitte dropped one whole almond into the brown as we all watched and stirred the pudding again at the table. Then we each served ourselves hoping the whole almond would be in our portion. We had to pass the bowl again and keep eating until Sascha eventually produced the whole almond and claimed the almond gift--a candle with holder and several packages of candy. Niels served a particularly good pineau (a dessert wine) with the pudding. Of course, as has happened every year, the story was retold about Arne bringing his own almond one year and producing it after the person who got the real almond had tried to claim the almond gift. The story is a beloved one in the family and highlights Arne’s sense of humor.
We retired to the living room where Arvind lighted the live candles on the tree. We sang about six Danish Christmas carols. At one point, we glanced across the street and could see the family there performing the more traditional ritual of dancing around the tree as they sang their carols. We’ve only done that at Arne’s family’s celebration once in honor or my first visit there. Because of a lack of space, we just sit around the room with the tree in the corner.
Gifts were distributed and opened after we finished singing. I had requested that they not get me gifts this year, since I am take only one suitcase on my flight to South America and since I won’t be back in Texas until March. Still, I was given a pen and pencil set which I can take with me and a jar of homemade pickled herrings and two kinds of chocolates (Marabou and Toblerone) which I can eat before leaving.
We took photos of the evening and sent them via an e-mail to my sister Sue who was here for Christmas with us three years ago. By then, it was 11:30 p.m., and it was time to head for home. It had been a Christmas just like the others I’ve shared with them for 20 years except for one difference--Arne wasn’t there to share it with us.
Saturday, Dec. 25
Arne and I always celebrated a private Christmas just for the two of us on the morning of Dec. 25 each year. It wasn’t a Danish celebration, nor was it American. We would sleep until we awoke naturally after the late celebrations the night before. Then Arne would prepare a special breakfast while I would arrange the presents and light the candles. Arvind’s centerpiece would b e on the table as we ate. We would have scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, smoked mackerel or herring, pickled herring, a variety of cheeses, and other treats. Afterwards, we would move to the libing area and take photos of each of us with our presents. Mine were usually in one of the two fabric-covered chairs, and I would squat beside it as Arne took the picture. Arne’s were often on the end of the sofa or on the leather chair, and I would take his photo. With Arvind’s centerpiece now on the coffee table, we would take turns opening gifts. Arne would squeeze and shake each one and had an uncommonly good ability to guess what each was. I always wanted each one to be a surprise to him. We would thank and kiss each other after each gift. Typically, there would be 12-20 gifts each--things thoughtfully bought that would fulfill a genuine need or interest--clothes, kitchen items, calendars, books, etc. It took 2-3 hours or more to open them all with all the playing around thanking and kissing each other. As soon as the last gifts was opened, we would take photos again of each of us beside a stack of our gifts for the year. Then we would try on the clothing items to see if they fit and how they looked on us. Arne was always assuring me that I could exchange his gifts if I wanted something else, but I always kept them. It was typically mid-afternoon by this point, so Arne would make coffee for us and we would eat my homemade Danish Christmas butter cookies (Finskbroed, klejner, and pepper nuts) along with special treats like stollen and chocolates.
We always got phone calls from friends on Christmas Day. Dieter usually called from Munich. Ruedi called from Bern. Margaret called from The Hague or later from England. And Arne would often run a bath and sit for a long time in it. I know he spent this time thinking a out the people in his life--especially the ones who had died during the past year.
This morning, I remembered Arne and our Christmas Days together as I lighted the candle on Arvind’s centerpiece. But I didn’t prepare a breakfast. Instead, I waited for Evy and Arvind to pick me up at 11:00. We drove into the countryside to see their new camping ground. They have a caravan (small camping trailer) as a summer house and had to move it to a new campground at the end of the season last year. They’ve now been given the number of the sites at the new campground they may choose among. We saw each of the four possible sites. All are fine, but two were especially nice--one that is terraced down to a small lake and one that is larger and more flat. They will probably get the one on the lake.
On the way back to town, Evy and Arvind dropped me off at the cemetery. I returned to Arne’s grave site for a visit, then I returned to Nurse Grethe’s where I napped and read in the afternoon.
Morten, Grethe’s brother who has visited me in Texas, and Helle, his wife, had Grethe and me over for dinner. It was a typical First Christmas Day table beautifully set with lots of choices for making smoerreboed (Danish open-faced sandwiches). We had pickled herring with onions, pickled herring in curry sauce, boiled shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted pork with crispy skin, frikadeller (meatballs), with red beets, pate with mushrooms and ried bacon, chicken salad, rolled sausages, etc. We drank beer and aquavit with the meal. Later, we had Irish coffee with chocolates and cookies. During the evening we talked about various topics--Morten’s experience driving a tractor trailer to Belgium to set up a booth at a convention, current films, famous American painters, the falling value of the dollar, etc.
Thursday, Dec. 23
I was out and about all day long. I went to the local stores to buy some snacks--cheese, nuts, cookies, candy, coffee, etc., before they got busy. Then i was at a cybercafe for an hour updating my blog and reading and writing e-mail. From there, I went to the flower market at Israel’s Plads to buy two wreaths--one for me to put on Arne’s grave and one for Grethe to put on Ander’s grave. Next came a sandwich shop. Then I was at the library to read the Herald-Tribune, TIME, and Newsweek.
I visited Robert for a couple of hours in the afternoon to catch up on his life. We had a great tea from Fortnum and Mason (Strawberries and Roses) with a rolled cake. Then I headed downtown to see the Christmas lights. I never cease to be amazed that the garlands of lights strung across the streets are still made with live greenery. I was disappointed, however, that there was only one street musician.
I made a final stop at Tivoli just to see the entire Illumination Show with lasers, fire, smoke, water, and music. I had only caught the end of it last night and didn’t want to wait another hour. it’s an amazing show. The lasers create wonderful interactions with the smoke and fountains. Also, the lasers form planes, spirals, parabolas, etc. The colors are purple, green, and blue for the most part, and the music is somewhat new age-space age type. The show is well worth seeing and I’m glad I went back for it.
Grethe and I had risengroed (rice porridge) tonight. It’s traditional to have it on Dec. 23. It’s a special rice (plump grain) cooked in milk with a little salt. It looks somewhat like oatmeal when cooked. A pat of butter is put in the middle of each bowlful to melt, and it is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. It’s delicious and filling. It’s what the nisser (elves) are always eating in stories and pictures here in Scandinavia.
Well, Christmas has begun in Denmark. The 24th, 25th, and 26th are holidays here. The stores are closed and won’t reopen until the 27th. The next 3 days will be quiet ones. I hope the tourists have gone elsewhere. People will be with families and friends for the next several days. Traditionally, the 24th is when you are with immediate family, the 25th is when you are with extended family, and the 26th is when you are with friends here in Denmark. There will be nothing for tourists to do during this time. I’ll write about what happens during the next few days.
Friday, Dec. 24
Just after I awoke this morning, it began to snow--giant flakes about the size of American half-dollar coins (30 mm in diameter). It was beautiful to watch. usually the snowflakes here are small and powdery. it can look almost like rain when it falls. These big flakes, however, were floating and meandering down. As the morning progressed, they became smaller, but the big ones would return occasionally.
The first of my 20 Christmases in Denmark was in 1985. (Arne came to Texas for Christmas in 1984.) As we shopped for flowers to take when we were invited for friends for dinner that first year, I kept seeing beautiful wreaths made with greenery, berries, pine cones, etc. I suggested to Arne that we should buy one of those for them to hang on their door. Most people in the U.S. hang wreaths on their doors during the Christmas season. Arne explained that we couldn’t do that; such wreaths in Denmark are only for grave sites. it was just one of the many cultural differences I learned through the many years of our relationship. Every Christmas after that, however, I would tease Arne by saying, “These wreaths are beautiful. Let’s give them one for their door.” It became a funny joke between the two of us that continued through our final Christmas together last year.
This year I bought my first wreath in Denmark. Unfortunately, I had a reason. This morning Nurse Grethe and I took two wreaths and two candles and walked in the snow to the nearby cemeteries. First, we stopped at Ander’s grave where she placed a wreath and a candle. Then we walked across the street to Arne’s grave where I placed a wreath and a candle. Grethe then left me there alone for a while as she went to buy flowers (NOT a wreath) for her hosts tonight.
The bereavement counselor at the Unitarian Church had told us that Christmas would be a difficult time. Others had said the same. And standing before Arne’s grave proved them right. I don’t think I had been so sad since the day we buried his remains. All the memories of our times together and the realization of what I have lost in my life came flooding back.
There was a small cedar tree in a pot on Arne’s grave. It had Christmas bows in the pot. Our neighbor Annette had placed it there a few days ago. it’s so nice to know he is also remembered and missed by others who knew and loved him. He was a charming man with the purest heart I have ever known, and everyone quickly recognized that about him.
By the time we were at the cemetery, snow had made beautiful formations on the bushes and trees. Arne and i used to walk through that same cemetery after a snowfall to enjoy the beautiful snowscape. I took a photo of the cedar tree, wreath, and candle. Then I backed up and took photos of the views in the distance--snowscape photos like the ones we always took during our walks through the cemetery together each winter.
Tonight we celebrated a typical Danish Christmas at Arne’s sister’s and brother-in-law’s apartment. I caught the bus to there around 5:30 p.m., just before the service stopped for the Christmas pause (until 11:00 p.m.). Arvind was still decorating the tree when I arrived. By 6:30 p.m., the tree and the meal were ready and we sat down to eat. There were eight of us--Evy, Arvind, Gitte, Carit, Sascha, Niels, Amelie, and me.
We had a traditional Danish Christmas meal--roast pork with crispy skin, roast duck with prunes and apples, caramelized new potatoes, white potatoes, homemade pickled red cabbage, and brown sauce. Niels had done the cooking this year, and it was delicious. There was the sound of crunching pork skins all around the table.
For dessert, we had the traditional rice-almond pudding with cherry sauce. Gitte dropped one whole almond into the brown as we all watched and stirred the pudding again at the table. Then we each served ourselves hoping the whole almond would be in our portion. We had to pass the bowl again and keep eating until Sascha eventually produced the whole almond and claimed the almond gift--a candle with holder and several packages of candy. Niels served a particularly good pineau (a dessert wine) with the pudding. Of course, as has happened every year, the story was retold about Arne bringing his own almond one year and producing it after the person who got the real almond had tried to claim the almond gift. The story is a beloved one in the family and highlights Arne’s sense of humor.
We retired to the living room where Arvind lighted the live candles on the tree. We sang about six Danish Christmas carols. At one point, we glanced across the street and could see the family there performing the more traditional ritual of dancing around the tree as they sang their carols. We’ve only done that at Arne’s family’s celebration once in honor or my first visit there. Because of a lack of space, we just sit around the room with the tree in the corner.
Gifts were distributed and opened after we finished singing. I had requested that they not get me gifts this year, since I am take only one suitcase on my flight to South America and since I won’t be back in Texas until March. Still, I was given a pen and pencil set which I can take with me and a jar of homemade pickled herrings and two kinds of chocolates (Marabou and Toblerone) which I can eat before leaving.
We took photos of the evening and sent them via an e-mail to my sister Sue who was here for Christmas with us three years ago. By then, it was 11:30 p.m., and it was time to head for home. It had been a Christmas just like the others I’ve shared with them for 20 years except for one difference--Arne wasn’t there to share it with us.
Saturday, Dec. 25
Arne and I always celebrated a private Christmas just for the two of us on the morning of Dec. 25 each year. It wasn’t a Danish celebration, nor was it American. We would sleep until we awoke naturally after the late celebrations the night before. Then Arne would prepare a special breakfast while I would arrange the presents and light the candles. Arvind’s centerpiece would b e on the table as we ate. We would have scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, smoked mackerel or herring, pickled herring, a variety of cheeses, and other treats. Afterwards, we would move to the libing area and take photos of each of us with our presents. Mine were usually in one of the two fabric-covered chairs, and I would squat beside it as Arne took the picture. Arne’s were often on the end of the sofa or on the leather chair, and I would take his photo. With Arvind’s centerpiece now on the coffee table, we would take turns opening gifts. Arne would squeeze and shake each one and had an uncommonly good ability to guess what each was. I always wanted each one to be a surprise to him. We would thank and kiss each other after each gift. Typically, there would be 12-20 gifts each--things thoughtfully bought that would fulfill a genuine need or interest--clothes, kitchen items, calendars, books, etc. It took 2-3 hours or more to open them all with all the playing around thanking and kissing each other. As soon as the last gifts was opened, we would take photos again of each of us beside a stack of our gifts for the year. Then we would try on the clothing items to see if they fit and how they looked on us. Arne was always assuring me that I could exchange his gifts if I wanted something else, but I always kept them. It was typically mid-afternoon by this point, so Arne would make coffee for us and we would eat my homemade Danish Christmas butter cookies (Finskbroed, klejner, and pepper nuts) along with special treats like stollen and chocolates.
We always got phone calls from friends on Christmas Day. Dieter usually called from Munich. Ruedi called from Bern. Margaret called from The Hague or later from England. And Arne would often run a bath and sit for a long time in it. I know he spent this time thinking a out the people in his life--especially the ones who had died during the past year.
This morning, I remembered Arne and our Christmas Days together as I lighted the candle on Arvind’s centerpiece. But I didn’t prepare a breakfast. Instead, I waited for Evy and Arvind to pick me up at 11:00. We drove into the countryside to see their new camping ground. They have a caravan (small camping trailer) as a summer house and had to move it to a new campground at the end of the season last year. They’ve now been given the number of the sites at the new campground they may choose among. We saw each of the four possible sites. All are fine, but two were especially nice--one that is terraced down to a small lake and one that is larger and more flat. They will probably get the one on the lake.
On the way back to town, Evy and Arvind dropped me off at the cemetery. I returned to Arne’s grave site for a visit, then I returned to Nurse Grethe’s where I napped and read in the afternoon.
Morten, Grethe’s brother who has visited me in Texas, and Helle, his wife, had Grethe and me over for dinner. It was a typical First Christmas Day table beautifully set with lots of choices for making smoerreboed (Danish open-faced sandwiches). We had pickled herring with onions, pickled herring in curry sauce, boiled shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted pork with crispy skin, frikadeller (meatballs), with red beets, pate with mushrooms and ried bacon, chicken salad, rolled sausages, etc. We drank beer and aquavit with the meal. Later, we had Irish coffee with chocolates and cookies. During the evening we talked about various topics--Morten’s experience driving a tractor trailer to Belgium to set up a booth at a convention, current films, famous American painters, the falling value of the dollar, etc.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Days before Christmas in Denmark
Monday, Dec. 20
I'm in Copenhagen and it is snowing. The trip here was rather uneventful, but it did take 1 hour 10 minutes to get my luggage. Thatøs too long to wait!
I was greeted by Evy and Arvind, Arne's sister and brother-in-law, with a HUGE bouquet of roses and carnations with one yellow rose in the middle to represent Texas. It was to celebrate my becoming Professor Emeritus over the weekend.
I'm not feeling any major sadness related to my visit. There was no angst over Arneøs absence. Of course, I miss him, and thought about how he would usually be waiting at the airport for me with my winter coat. And driving into town remindedme of what a loss it is to no longer live here months at a time to explore and enjoy the city. But there have been no tears. I definitely have the feeling of visiting a place from my past; its no longer a city where I live. There is a sadness related to acknowledging that, but there are no tears.´
The snow had just started falling as the plane arrived at 2:30 p.m. It´s now 9:00 p.m., and the lawn and cars are covered with a nice layer of white. I teased Grethe that we should go out walking it it, but she, unfortunately, has a cold.
Grethe made Danish meatballs with potatoes and white sauce mixed with cooked green cabbage (a Christmas season dish here) for dinner. It was delicious. Then we had hot tea and ginger cookies for dessert.
I´m tired, but taking a late night flight like I did is the best way to come here. As usual, I got 4-5 hours of restless sleep on the flight, but that sleep ended about noon Danish time versus 5:00 a.m. Danish time for flights leaving the U.S. in mid-afternoon. I had fewer hours from when I awoke, therefore, to stay awake until bedtime.
Tuesday, Dec. 21
There was enough snow to make everything barely white for today. It was so nice seeing it on the trees--especially on the ones at the Christmas tree lots.
'
I got my things from Gretheøs storage unit and was glad to find 3 winter shirts and a sweater among them. I can dress fairly decently while I am here. I don´t have gloves or a scarf, however, and tomorrow it should stay near freeezing combined with strong winds we didnøt have today.
Today was a trip down memory lane. I went downtown. At some point I saw something that triggered the memory that Arne and I had been right there this time last year. The rest of the day, I couldn´t get away from similar memories. We were at that rack lowing for a gift for Arneøs neice last year. We were looking at the decorations in this window last year. We were together in this reading room at the library last year. Etc. His death seems to long ago, but the times we were sharing together seem so recent.
I viewed the Christmas tables at Royal Copenhagen. All of them this year were done by local florists who are known for their artistic creations. The designs were better than the ones last year (when the Queen did them all), but here are fewer tables this year and the designs are more fastastic (and, therefore, less practical). Two of the tables were covered with moss with the china and silver placed on the moss. One had a tablecloth made of cedar greenery. The best, most practical one, was probably the design and setting by Tage Andersen who is considered the outstanding florist in town by most people.
Monika and Dora invited me to tea at 3:00. They are both retirees fromWHO now. Their lives are sobusy, however, that it is hard for them to realize that thery are free. They had a 90th birthday party for Dora´s father in Switzerland last month. And they leave for four weeks in the Seychelles right after New Year´s. Sometime next year they may be coming to Texas for the wedding of Dora´s son who lives in HOuston. They served handmade chocolates from Dorøs sisterøs shop in Gstaad, and I wondered it it is the same shop there that made the chocolates that Claudeøs mother gave Arne and me when we visited her years ago.
Wednesday, Dec. 22
I spent the morning wrapping gifts. My sister Sue had sent some pre-Christmas gifts I was supposed to deliver to Arne´s family, so I also wrapped most of the other gifts I brought.
It was Arne´s sister´s birthday today, and I was invited to lunch. We made smørrebrød, Danish open-faced sandwiches. Among our choices of toppings were gravlox (smoked salmon with dill) with sweet mustard, homemade pickled herringwith onion slices, shrimp with mayonnaise, boiled eggs with anchovies, fish balls (like meatballs, but made with fish) with remoulade sauce, homemade headcheese with mustard, beef patties with caramelized onions, and rolled loaf and salami cold cuts. There was both brown rye and white bread and both lard and butter for sealing the bread. Afterwards we had cappucinos with apple pudding and abnout 5 kinds of homemade Danish Christmas butter cookies. I gave Evy an 8x10 photo of Arne as a gift. From Sue, she got a blue Christmas shirt. Arvind, Evy´s husband, sent me home with a homemade Christmas centerpiece--a country cottage scene with a house,pond, trees, and a snow landscape in a basket lined with greeery. There is a candle holder and a large candle in the centerpiece. He only makes 4 per year--one for each of their children and one for Arne and me. This year, the last one was for Nurse Grethe and me.
I went to Tivoli Gardens after leaving the party at 4:30. It´s such a magical place at Christmas. The entire park is now open at Christmas (after years of slowly expanding into more and more of it). Small houses are set along all the lanes to serve as a Christmas market selling all kinds of food, drinks, and goods. The rides are operating. Lights are inthe trees. A bigt snowscape has been set up in front of the restaurant in the Arabic-looking building, an ice skating rink is over one of the lakes, and a fire, smoke, water, laser, and sound show occurs inthe big lake every hour for about 10 minutes. The main attraction is a large hall filled with animated sets like those department stores used to have. These, however, are on a grand, two-story scale, and all the characters are nisser (elves). They are ice fishing, ice skating, skiing, making gifts for Christmas, mountain climbing, etc. The best exhibit this year allows visitors to peek into an inn where some are drinking at a bar, others are eating at a table, and still others are in front of a fireplace.
Grethe and I ate curried chicken and rice for dinner, and we watched the movie "Gosford Park" on TV. We found a message from Jean in Texas on the answering machine.
My calendar is getting full. I don´t have a free date until Dec. 30. I´m really enjoying seeing everyone and being here.
A year ago tonight, Arne and I were at a surprise party for Evy at Vagabondo´s on Vesterbrogade. I can recall certain details of that night. I try to avoid thinking of specifics like that, because it serves no purpose but to make me sad. I´m afraid, however, that I cannot avoid such memories during the next few days. A year ago seems so far away while feeling so close.
Note: Please excuse any typing errors. As at most cybercafes, the space key is worn out on this computer and words sometimes get left run together. Also, some keys are in different places causing you to see a Danish letter where there should have been an apostrophe or something else.
Happy Holidays to everyone.
Monday, Dec. 20
I'm in Copenhagen and it is snowing. The trip here was rather uneventful, but it did take 1 hour 10 minutes to get my luggage. Thatøs too long to wait!
I was greeted by Evy and Arvind, Arne's sister and brother-in-law, with a HUGE bouquet of roses and carnations with one yellow rose in the middle to represent Texas. It was to celebrate my becoming Professor Emeritus over the weekend.
I'm not feeling any major sadness related to my visit. There was no angst over Arneøs absence. Of course, I miss him, and thought about how he would usually be waiting at the airport for me with my winter coat. And driving into town remindedme of what a loss it is to no longer live here months at a time to explore and enjoy the city. But there have been no tears. I definitely have the feeling of visiting a place from my past; its no longer a city where I live. There is a sadness related to acknowledging that, but there are no tears.´
The snow had just started falling as the plane arrived at 2:30 p.m. It´s now 9:00 p.m., and the lawn and cars are covered with a nice layer of white. I teased Grethe that we should go out walking it it, but she, unfortunately, has a cold.
Grethe made Danish meatballs with potatoes and white sauce mixed with cooked green cabbage (a Christmas season dish here) for dinner. It was delicious. Then we had hot tea and ginger cookies for dessert.
I´m tired, but taking a late night flight like I did is the best way to come here. As usual, I got 4-5 hours of restless sleep on the flight, but that sleep ended about noon Danish time versus 5:00 a.m. Danish time for flights leaving the U.S. in mid-afternoon. I had fewer hours from when I awoke, therefore, to stay awake until bedtime.
Tuesday, Dec. 21
There was enough snow to make everything barely white for today. It was so nice seeing it on the trees--especially on the ones at the Christmas tree lots.
'
I got my things from Gretheøs storage unit and was glad to find 3 winter shirts and a sweater among them. I can dress fairly decently while I am here. I don´t have gloves or a scarf, however, and tomorrow it should stay near freeezing combined with strong winds we didnøt have today.
Today was a trip down memory lane. I went downtown. At some point I saw something that triggered the memory that Arne and I had been right there this time last year. The rest of the day, I couldn´t get away from similar memories. We were at that rack lowing for a gift for Arneøs neice last year. We were looking at the decorations in this window last year. We were together in this reading room at the library last year. Etc. His death seems to long ago, but the times we were sharing together seem so recent.
I viewed the Christmas tables at Royal Copenhagen. All of them this year were done by local florists who are known for their artistic creations. The designs were better than the ones last year (when the Queen did them all), but here are fewer tables this year and the designs are more fastastic (and, therefore, less practical). Two of the tables were covered with moss with the china and silver placed on the moss. One had a tablecloth made of cedar greenery. The best, most practical one, was probably the design and setting by Tage Andersen who is considered the outstanding florist in town by most people.
Monika and Dora invited me to tea at 3:00. They are both retirees fromWHO now. Their lives are sobusy, however, that it is hard for them to realize that thery are free. They had a 90th birthday party for Dora´s father in Switzerland last month. And they leave for four weeks in the Seychelles right after New Year´s. Sometime next year they may be coming to Texas for the wedding of Dora´s son who lives in HOuston. They served handmade chocolates from Dorøs sisterøs shop in Gstaad, and I wondered it it is the same shop there that made the chocolates that Claudeøs mother gave Arne and me when we visited her years ago.
Wednesday, Dec. 22
I spent the morning wrapping gifts. My sister Sue had sent some pre-Christmas gifts I was supposed to deliver to Arne´s family, so I also wrapped most of the other gifts I brought.
It was Arne´s sister´s birthday today, and I was invited to lunch. We made smørrebrød, Danish open-faced sandwiches. Among our choices of toppings were gravlox (smoked salmon with dill) with sweet mustard, homemade pickled herringwith onion slices, shrimp with mayonnaise, boiled eggs with anchovies, fish balls (like meatballs, but made with fish) with remoulade sauce, homemade headcheese with mustard, beef patties with caramelized onions, and rolled loaf and salami cold cuts. There was both brown rye and white bread and both lard and butter for sealing the bread. Afterwards we had cappucinos with apple pudding and abnout 5 kinds of homemade Danish Christmas butter cookies. I gave Evy an 8x10 photo of Arne as a gift. From Sue, she got a blue Christmas shirt. Arvind, Evy´s husband, sent me home with a homemade Christmas centerpiece--a country cottage scene with a house,pond, trees, and a snow landscape in a basket lined with greeery. There is a candle holder and a large candle in the centerpiece. He only makes 4 per year--one for each of their children and one for Arne and me. This year, the last one was for Nurse Grethe and me.
I went to Tivoli Gardens after leaving the party at 4:30. It´s such a magical place at Christmas. The entire park is now open at Christmas (after years of slowly expanding into more and more of it). Small houses are set along all the lanes to serve as a Christmas market selling all kinds of food, drinks, and goods. The rides are operating. Lights are inthe trees. A bigt snowscape has been set up in front of the restaurant in the Arabic-looking building, an ice skating rink is over one of the lakes, and a fire, smoke, water, laser, and sound show occurs inthe big lake every hour for about 10 minutes. The main attraction is a large hall filled with animated sets like those department stores used to have. These, however, are on a grand, two-story scale, and all the characters are nisser (elves). They are ice fishing, ice skating, skiing, making gifts for Christmas, mountain climbing, etc. The best exhibit this year allows visitors to peek into an inn where some are drinking at a bar, others are eating at a table, and still others are in front of a fireplace.
Grethe and I ate curried chicken and rice for dinner, and we watched the movie "Gosford Park" on TV. We found a message from Jean in Texas on the answering machine.
My calendar is getting full. I don´t have a free date until Dec. 30. I´m really enjoying seeing everyone and being here.
A year ago tonight, Arne and I were at a surprise party for Evy at Vagabondo´s on Vesterbrogade. I can recall certain details of that night. I try to avoid thinking of specifics like that, because it serves no purpose but to make me sad. I´m afraid, however, that I cannot avoid such memories during the next few days. A year ago seems so far away while feeling so close.
Note: Please excuse any typing errors. As at most cybercafes, the space key is worn out on this computer and words sometimes get left run together. Also, some keys are in different places causing you to see a Danish letter where there should have been an apostrophe or something else.
Happy Holidays to everyone.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
2005 Around the World V Itinerary
Note: I will be in Copenhagen during Christmas and will fly my last segment of Around the World IV (SK 501 Lv. 7:15 Arr. 8:20) from there to London on the morning of Jan. 5, 2005.
Jan. 5, 2005
London (HRW) to São Paulo (GRU) 5884 Miles
RG 8757 Lv. 22:00 Arr. 5:40 (Jan. 6) 10h40min Seat 16B
Mar 11, 2005
São Paulo (GRU) to Mexico City (MEX) 4623 Miles
RG 8670 Lv. 10:30 Arr. 16:40 10h10min Seat 22C
Note: Because of a lack of Star Alliance carriers flying the route, I will travel overland to get to San Antonio from Mexico City arriving in San Antonio within 2-6 days. 698 Miles
Aug. 18, 2005
San Antonio (SAT) to Denver (DEN) 795 Miles
UA 6759 Lv. 12:25 Arr. 13:35 1h10min
Denver (DEN) to San Francisco (SFO) 965 Miles
UA 353 Lv. 14:30 Arr. 15:38 2h28min
Aug. 21, 2005
San Francisco (SFO) to Seoul (ICN) 5652 Miles
SQ 15 Lv. 14:10 Arr. 18:45 (Aug. 22) 12h36min
Aug. 27, 2005
Seoul (ICN) to Bangkok (BKK) 2274 Miles
OZ 341 Lv. 17:20 Arr. 21:10 5h50min
Sept. 2, 2005
Bangkok (BKK) to Yangoon (RGN) 362 Miles
TG 305 Lv. 18:00 Arr. 18:45 1h15min
Sept. 25, 2005
Yangoon (RGN) to Bangkok (BKK) 362 Miles
TG 304 Lv. 10:05 Arr. 11:45 1h10min
Bangkok (BKK) to Mumbai (BOM) 1871 Miles
TG 317 Lv. 18:00 Arr. 20:55 4h25min
Dec. 19, 2005 (Night of Dec. 18!)
Mumbai (BOM) to Frankfurt (FRA) 4085 Miles
LH 757 Lv. 3:25 Arr. 7:40 8h45min
Frankfurt (FRA) to Copenhagen (CPH) 422 Miles
SK 950 Lv. 9:50 Arr. 11:15 1h25min
Jan. 5, 2006
Copenhagen (CPH) to London (LHR) 609 Miles
SK 501 Lv. 7:15 Arr. 8:20 2h5min
Total Miles: 28,602 (27,904 via airlines/698 overland)
Note: I will be in Copenhagen during Christmas and will fly my last segment of Around the World IV (SK 501 Lv. 7:15 Arr. 8:20) from there to London on the morning of Jan. 5, 2005.
Jan. 5, 2005
London (HRW) to São Paulo (GRU) 5884 Miles
RG 8757 Lv. 22:00 Arr. 5:40 (Jan. 6) 10h40min Seat 16B
Mar 11, 2005
São Paulo (GRU) to Mexico City (MEX) 4623 Miles
RG 8670 Lv. 10:30 Arr. 16:40 10h10min Seat 22C
Note: Because of a lack of Star Alliance carriers flying the route, I will travel overland to get to San Antonio from Mexico City arriving in San Antonio within 2-6 days. 698 Miles
Aug. 18, 2005
San Antonio (SAT) to Denver (DEN) 795 Miles
UA 6759 Lv. 12:25 Arr. 13:35 1h10min
Denver (DEN) to San Francisco (SFO) 965 Miles
UA 353 Lv. 14:30 Arr. 15:38 2h28min
Aug. 21, 2005
San Francisco (SFO) to Seoul (ICN) 5652 Miles
SQ 15 Lv. 14:10 Arr. 18:45 (Aug. 22) 12h36min
Aug. 27, 2005
Seoul (ICN) to Bangkok (BKK) 2274 Miles
OZ 341 Lv. 17:20 Arr. 21:10 5h50min
Sept. 2, 2005
Bangkok (BKK) to Yangoon (RGN) 362 Miles
TG 305 Lv. 18:00 Arr. 18:45 1h15min
Sept. 25, 2005
Yangoon (RGN) to Bangkok (BKK) 362 Miles
TG 304 Lv. 10:05 Arr. 11:45 1h10min
Bangkok (BKK) to Mumbai (BOM) 1871 Miles
TG 317 Lv. 18:00 Arr. 20:55 4h25min
Dec. 19, 2005 (Night of Dec. 18!)
Mumbai (BOM) to Frankfurt (FRA) 4085 Miles
LH 757 Lv. 3:25 Arr. 7:40 8h45min
Frankfurt (FRA) to Copenhagen (CPH) 422 Miles
SK 950 Lv. 9:50 Arr. 11:15 1h25min
Jan. 5, 2006
Copenhagen (CPH) to London (LHR) 609 Miles
SK 501 Lv. 7:15 Arr. 8:20 2h5min
Total Miles: 28,602 (27,904 via airlines/698 overland)
Friday, August 27, 2004
I have been back in San Antonio for the past 6 weeks trying to continue with my life. I have tried to contact everyone I know. Some of the e-mails have come back, and I have gotten word from others that my e-mails have gone into their SPAM folders for some reason. If you haven't heard from me, you might look into your SPAM folder to see if my e-mail got redirected that way. Since I know people have missed my communications and that some have had trouble trying to reach me to see how things are going, I will post my address and phone number here:
Randell L. Drum
8655 Datapoint Dr. # 101
San Antonio, TX 78229
210-692-1875
To give a general round-up of what has been happening:
1. A ceremony was held in Copenhagen at WHO on June 21 to celebrate Arne's life. His remains were buried in Plot 1041 at Solbjerg Park Kirkegaard on Roskildevej in Copenhagen on Tuesday, June 22. It was announced at the ceremony for Arne that the newly remodeled reception hall at the WHO Euro headquarters there will have a plaque honoring Arne and naming the hall after him.
2. I returned to Texas on July 18. Because Arne and I had just moved into the apartment here two weeks before we left, I have had many chores to do since getting back. I've installed service for both the Internet and the telephone, I bought a washer and dryer and installed them, I've continued to unpack things, I have installed some shelving to create more storage space, etc.
3. I've been seeing lots of films (at least two a week) to help keep my mind occupied. All the films I have seen have been either foreign or independent productions. My sister who lives here has gone with me to most of them. She has also made sure that I am not alone too many days at a time.
4. I have joined the committee for planning the San Antonio International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival for next April. We are making progress on that goal, and it gives me something else to do that keeps my mind busy at times.
5. I have been looking up old friends and meeting new ones. I found two friends here I used to know and had not seen for a few years. And a friend helped me meet someone new. I'm beginning to have a small social circle, although I don't feel like doing much yet.
6. I can feel that I am still depressed. I really have difficulty forcing myself to do anything--from working around the condo to simply making a phone call to someone I need to call. The nice aspect of that is that I feel okay being depressed. My mind still turns to thoughts of Arne 30-40 times a day, and at least once or twice a day the sense of loss during those thoughts turns me to tears. I don't know how long that will continue, but I have no control over it.
7. I did get away for 5 days to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico in mid-August with my friend Wes from Corpus. We walked a lot and talked a lot; it was good to be with someone and to be occupied. But the loneliness seemed even greater after the 9 days we were together ended and he returned home.
8. I got word from the university a few weeks ago that the Board of Regents voted to grant me professor emeritus status. It will be conferred at the commencement ceremony on Dec. 18 in Corpus Christi.
9. As of right now, I am planning to stay around San Antonio for most of the rest of the year. I will make short trips to northeast Texas to see my family and to Corpus Christi to see friends, but I won't be traveling as I have done in the past. I do, however, plan to go back to Denmark on Dec. 19 and to start another around-the-world trip in January from Europe. I think I will go to South America for about 2 1/2 months (southern Brazil, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Paraguay). Most of the territory will be new to me. There will be a long pause in Texas from mid-March until October when I will continue the trip by going to Asia. That will give me a chance to see if I can enjoy traveling extensively now or not. Before, I never felt very lonely, because there was always a daily e-mail from Arne and I could write and ask him to call me wherever I stayed.
Please call or write if there are things I haven't mentioned that you want to know. I don't want to print my e-mail address because of SPAM, but anyone interested in writing me should have either the old university address or my Yahoo address. Both are working addresses, so write to either.
Randell L. Drum
8655 Datapoint Dr. # 101
San Antonio, TX 78229
210-692-1875
To give a general round-up of what has been happening:
1. A ceremony was held in Copenhagen at WHO on June 21 to celebrate Arne's life. His remains were buried in Plot 1041 at Solbjerg Park Kirkegaard on Roskildevej in Copenhagen on Tuesday, June 22. It was announced at the ceremony for Arne that the newly remodeled reception hall at the WHO Euro headquarters there will have a plaque honoring Arne and naming the hall after him.
2. I returned to Texas on July 18. Because Arne and I had just moved into the apartment here two weeks before we left, I have had many chores to do since getting back. I've installed service for both the Internet and the telephone, I bought a washer and dryer and installed them, I've continued to unpack things, I have installed some shelving to create more storage space, etc.
3. I've been seeing lots of films (at least two a week) to help keep my mind occupied. All the films I have seen have been either foreign or independent productions. My sister who lives here has gone with me to most of them. She has also made sure that I am not alone too many days at a time.
4. I have joined the committee for planning the San Antonio International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival for next April. We are making progress on that goal, and it gives me something else to do that keeps my mind busy at times.
5. I have been looking up old friends and meeting new ones. I found two friends here I used to know and had not seen for a few years. And a friend helped me meet someone new. I'm beginning to have a small social circle, although I don't feel like doing much yet.
6. I can feel that I am still depressed. I really have difficulty forcing myself to do anything--from working around the condo to simply making a phone call to someone I need to call. The nice aspect of that is that I feel okay being depressed. My mind still turns to thoughts of Arne 30-40 times a day, and at least once or twice a day the sense of loss during those thoughts turns me to tears. I don't know how long that will continue, but I have no control over it.
7. I did get away for 5 days to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico in mid-August with my friend Wes from Corpus. We walked a lot and talked a lot; it was good to be with someone and to be occupied. But the loneliness seemed even greater after the 9 days we were together ended and he returned home.
8. I got word from the university a few weeks ago that the Board of Regents voted to grant me professor emeritus status. It will be conferred at the commencement ceremony on Dec. 18 in Corpus Christi.
9. As of right now, I am planning to stay around San Antonio for most of the rest of the year. I will make short trips to northeast Texas to see my family and to Corpus Christi to see friends, but I won't be traveling as I have done in the past. I do, however, plan to go back to Denmark on Dec. 19 and to start another around-the-world trip in January from Europe. I think I will go to South America for about 2 1/2 months (southern Brazil, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Paraguay). Most of the territory will be new to me. There will be a long pause in Texas from mid-March until October when I will continue the trip by going to Asia. That will give me a chance to see if I can enjoy traveling extensively now or not. Before, I never felt very lonely, because there was always a daily e-mail from Arne and I could write and ask him to call me wherever I stayed.
Please call or write if there are things I haven't mentioned that you want to know. I don't want to print my e-mail address because of SPAM, but anyone interested in writing me should have either the old university address or my Yahoo address. Both are working addresses, so write to either.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Around the World IV Ends in Sadness
Some readers of this blog may not be in my address book. For those of you who aren't, I will post three e-mail messages that I have sent this past week. Together, they explain it all. Maybe there will be an Around the World V someday, but for now ATW IV is ending with a quick trip from Calgary to Copenhagen.
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 10:41:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Randell Drum"
Subject: Sad News about Our Sweet Arne
Hello,
I am sorry to send this as a general e-mail to
"everyone," especially since not all of you know Arne.
But I have only limited time on the computer and this
is the only way I have to get the news to those who
need to know and who care.
Our sweet Arne had a massive stroke on Sunday night in
Calgary. We were in our hotel room and had been there
several hours. Arne had been reading, and I had been
writing in my journal. I saw him get up to get a
drink of water and sit back down. A moment later, I
heard a mumble. When I looked his way, he had no
control over the left side of his body. I immediately
called an ambulance. In the meantime, I comforted him
and kept him awake.
He is in Foothills Hospital which is a University of
Calgary research hospital and is known as the best
facility in Canada for treatment of stroke victims.
Because I got him to the hospital so quickly, they
allowed me to sign him up for a new experimental
treatment that goes beyond the normal treatment. They
used the drug tPA. They gave it to him intraveinously.
The experimental part is that they also did an
angioplasty where they inserted a needle from the
groin that went through a vein directly to the clot in
the brain and released tPA directly there to try to
dissolve the clot. As I understand it, they also used
a pulse through the angioplasty to try to break up the
clot. They worked on Arne 4 hours with this
treatment.
When the doctor came back, I could tell he was
pessimistic with what they had seen. He drew a
diagram showing that one of the two main branch
arteries in the brain had been blocked so that no blood
to get to that half of the brain. Their efforts had
resulted in limited opening of the blockage. Blood
was going through some vessels a little furter into a
portion of that side of the brain, but it was only a
small portion. He said we would be hopeful and would
know in the morning whether it might work.
Arne was assigned a single nurse to be with him
constantly. She took measures of vital signs every
hour on the hour.
By the next morning, a new CAT scan showed that Arne
was suffering from massive hemmoraging (spelling) due
to his blood pressure and the blood thinner. The
doctor told me at that time that our sweet Arne will
not live.
They continued to provide a single nurse the rest of
that day. Arne gradually withdrew during the day. He
went from being able to mumble some words in the
morning to not being able to talk. He went from being
able to open his eyes to not being able to do so. But
through the whole day yesterday, Arne could hear and
understand everything I told him. I told him what had
happened. And I told him that the treatment didn't
work and that he is not going to live. He was unable
to cry or to talk, but he was able to squeeze my had
and rub my arm. Since that time, Arne has worked hard
to show his concern for me, and I appreciate that
greatly.
While Arne was alert and could understand everything I
said and respond with his hand, I told him I was going
to read a list of names from our address books. I
told him if he would like me to tell them good-bye for
him to tap me on the hand. Many of you reading this
e-mail were on this list. Of course, everyone who was
got a tap. And Arne was quite assertive in tapping
and rubbing back and forth on my hand for those people
who have been the closest to him. I'm sure you know
how Arne felt about those of you he knew, but I hope
to tell you in the future about this tapping ceremony
to say good-bye.
I'm slowly losing my sweet Arne. Every time I am gone
from the room for a period of time and come back, I
can see that there is less response. I'm staying
with him almost constantly, however. I have only left
the room to make a few phone calls and to talk to the
social worker. I stay with Arne and I talk to him,
sing to him, rub him, kiss him, suction his throat,
swab his mouth with a moist sponge, put Chapstick on
his lips, etc.
Everyone here at the hospital has been fantastic.
They have shown great respect and appreciation for our
relationship. They all know through me what a special
man Arne is.
The doctors have said it is a matter of hours or days
in terms of Arne living. I will stay here with him
constantly. I slept on a cot next to his bed and
we held hands all night last night. Today, he is
still a little responsive to my handholding, especially
when I am singing to him. But the doctor says he will
eventually go into a coma-like state. He is on a
continuous morphine drip.
A social worker is helping me. If we can solve all
problems, my plans are to take Arne to Denmark after
his death. I will try to get a chance to be back at a
computer to update you occasionally.
In the meantime, I know that many of you are shocked
about this news and are crying. Arne is one of the
most-loved men I have ever known. As I am always
teasing him, "Everyone loves Arne!" While he is still
alive, I hope you will think about the pleasant
memories you have of him and that you will hope for a
peaceful final period of time that he is with us.
Again, I am sorry to send such sad news this way. I
am with Arne and making sure he is fine. And the
people here at the hospital are going out of their way
to make sure that I am fine, too.
My love to all of you.
Randy
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 21:45:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Randell Drum"
Subject: Good-bye to our sweet Arne
Hello Everyone,
Well, it is time to give you the sad news. We lost
our sweet Arne today, June 10, at 15:12 (3:12 p.m.)
Mountain Daylight Time (4:12 p.m. in Texas and 23:12
in Denmark).
The passing of Arne was a sad occasion, but I want to
let you know that it could not have been better than
it was. Two visitors were in the room--a nurse who
treated Arne the first night after the surgery who had
been by to see us several times and was there today on
her day off from work and a young man from the Gay and
Lesbian Community Services Organization in Calgary who
had been helping me gather some information. Neither
had been expected, but their arrival provided support
during this sad time.
When the nurse Cindy arrived, we had no idea that the
end was near. We expected it might be another day.
But Arne started slowing down in his breathing, and
the amount of urine released decreased. Cindy said
she thought it might mean that the end was near. It
has been a long week for Arne, and there was no need
to prolong it. So I decided, while I had Cindy's
support available, I would encourage Arne to relax and
go.
We had had a good day earlier. The Danish Consul had
brought Arne a Danish songbook, and I had been reading
and singing Danish songs to him. Although he was
past responding to anything physically, I got the
impression from slight changes in his breathing that
he was understanding what I was saying. I think those songs, some of which
spoke of returning to Denmark and others which spoke
of leaving others behind, may have set the stage for
what happened in the afternoon.
I used relaxation techniques to encourage Arne to
imagine the two of us in the Deer Park north of
Copenhagen--a beautiful, peaceful place where we have
gone walking many times. I talked him through the
stages of our arriving there, entering the park, passing the horse carriages at the entrance,
passing the amusement area, going down a broad pathway
together.... Then I told him to notice a side path ahead. As we got there, I told him to imagine himself
turning to go down a side path while I continued by
myself on the main path. I told him it was something
we needed to do even though we didn't want to do it. Of course the procedure was more
complex and it was mixed with explanations of love and
necessities related to saying good-bye. Then I started telling him to relax over
and over again as my voice became stiller and stiller.
Interspersed were other expressions both in English
and Danish about my love for him. Finally, I said in
Danish, "Min rose jey aldrig vil miste"--literatally translated as "My rose I will never lose" and translated in a more direct way, "My rose I will always remember."
Arne took a deep gasp and
didn't breathe again.
I am fine. I am the guest of Jonas and Lisa Albeck
who operate the Royal Danish Consulate here in
Calgary. When I arrived at their home, Jonas brought
out the offical flag of Denmark and the two of us
raised it to the top and then lowered it to half staff
in honor of Arne. We had dinner and then as the sun
was ready to go down we took down the flag.
Because I am staying with Jonas and Lisa for the next
day or two, it's best if people only call me in an
emergency situation. I want to hear from you, but it
is best to do it right now by e-mail or to wait a day
or two until I move into a hotel with my own phone for
you to call. But if there is a special need to
contact me here, the phone number is (403) 251-5052.
The phone will be answered as "Royal Danish
Consulate."
I am making arrangements to have Arne's body cremated.
That process should be completed by Monday or
Tuesday. I hope to try to arrange a flight to
Copenhagen on either Tuesday or Wednesday. After I am
there, plans will be made for celebrating Arne's life
with some kind of service.
I know there have been many e-mails sent to me. I
have not been able to read them yet, because I have
had only limited access to a computer. But I cherish the idea of having received them
and plan to read them when I have time and keep them for re-reading as time passes. Right now, I must spend my
time planning for taking Arne home to Denmark.
If anyone has a special story about Arne, I would like
to know it. Please feel free to send stories to me
via e-mail.
I'm so sorry for this sad news, but we all knew that I
had to send it someday soon after he had his stroke on
Sunday. I have had twenty wonderful years with the
man I consider to be the most fantastic in the world.
I would have preferred more, but I am so fortunate to
have had these twenty.
Best wishes to all of you. I will send more
information later.
Randy
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 21:37:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Randell Drum"
Subject: Adjustment to Arne's Death
Hello Everyone,
I am sorry to keep sending these group e-mails, but
everything seems to be overwhealming these days.
Please read no further if you are not interested in
more information about Arne's death and my plans.
Thanks to all of you who have written in response the
the e-mails about Arne being admitted to the hospital
and later dying. I wish I could respond to each
e-mail at the present time, but I can't. I have
limited access to the computer. But I have saved each
of the e-mails into a folder so that I can access them
again and again in the future. It feels so good to
read so many kind comments about Arne. I knew that
Arne was loved by everyone, but knowing it and reading
about it is not the same. Your messages have made me
feel so good.
Arne's body is at the crematorium today. Sometime
this afternoon or tomorrow it will be cremated. Late
Monday, I will receive his remains in a travel box
along with the paperwork for transporting him. I have
made a reservation to leave here on Tuesday morning at
10:00. I will have to go through Asia to get to
Copenhagen to use my present ticket. Since I have
nothing else better to be doing, I have decided to do
so. I will fly
Calgary-Vancouver-Tokyo-Bangkok-Copenhagen. Each
stopover will be 2 hours or less, and I will arrive in
Copenhagen at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday if all connections
go well.
I am still staying at the Royal Danish Consulate in
Calgary. I am not sure how long I will be here, but
Jonas and Lisa have been such kind people. Some of
you have commented about how nice they must be to take
in a total stranger, and you are right. They are also
interesting people. Lisa grew up in a Danish
community in Argentina and rode a horse to school as a
child. You would think she would be old--right? But
she is a beautiful young woman with blonde hair. She
just lived in a very rural area. Jonas was born in
Denmark but is now a Canadian citizen and works in the
oil business (in buying and selling). They are great
conversationalists and such nice, easy-going people.
Even Jonas' daughter from Regina has written me to
console me, so you know that they must be nice people
to have raised such a child. I have invited them to
San Antonio and hope they will come to visit when I am
back there.
I am adjusting to the loss of Arne. I could feel I
was in shock for the first 26 hours and just felt
rather distantly numb. That's the body's way of
protecting me, I guess. Now I have moved to a stage
where my stomach is a little uneasy and I am feeling
sadness about my loss. I'm starting to notice the
sadness that music can cause, and I'm dwelling more on
memories of Arne that represent times that can never
be again. I have kept details journal entries of my
thoughts and of what has been happening since Arne had
his stroke. Later, I will forward these entries to
anyone who is interested in reading them.
Thanks for all of your support. It means a lot to
know that I have so many wonderful friends from around
the world. Of course, I know that it has been Arne
who has effected most of you so much. That is why we
all love him so much and are missing him.
I hope to be in contact invidividually with all of you
someday. First, I must get to Copenhagen and take
care of arrangements there. As I wrote earlier, I
would love to hear any stories you have about Arne,
especially ones about things he has said and done that
I may not know myself.
Best wishes to all of you and thanks again for your
greetings and concern for both Arne and me.
Randy
If anyone has read this blog and wants to communicate with me, please call me at 210-692-1875.
Some readers of this blog may not be in my address book. For those of you who aren't, I will post three e-mail messages that I have sent this past week. Together, they explain it all. Maybe there will be an Around the World V someday, but for now ATW IV is ending with a quick trip from Calgary to Copenhagen.
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 10:41:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Randell Drum"
Subject: Sad News about Our Sweet Arne
Hello,
I am sorry to send this as a general e-mail to
"everyone," especially since not all of you know Arne.
But I have only limited time on the computer and this
is the only way I have to get the news to those who
need to know and who care.
Our sweet Arne had a massive stroke on Sunday night in
Calgary. We were in our hotel room and had been there
several hours. Arne had been reading, and I had been
writing in my journal. I saw him get up to get a
drink of water and sit back down. A moment later, I
heard a mumble. When I looked his way, he had no
control over the left side of his body. I immediately
called an ambulance. In the meantime, I comforted him
and kept him awake.
He is in Foothills Hospital which is a University of
Calgary research hospital and is known as the best
facility in Canada for treatment of stroke victims.
Because I got him to the hospital so quickly, they
allowed me to sign him up for a new experimental
treatment that goes beyond the normal treatment. They
used the drug tPA. They gave it to him intraveinously.
The experimental part is that they also did an
angioplasty where they inserted a needle from the
groin that went through a vein directly to the clot in
the brain and released tPA directly there to try to
dissolve the clot. As I understand it, they also used
a pulse through the angioplasty to try to break up the
clot. They worked on Arne 4 hours with this
treatment.
When the doctor came back, I could tell he was
pessimistic with what they had seen. He drew a
diagram showing that one of the two main branch
arteries in the brain had been blocked so that no blood
to get to that half of the brain. Their efforts had
resulted in limited opening of the blockage. Blood
was going through some vessels a little furter into a
portion of that side of the brain, but it was only a
small portion. He said we would be hopeful and would
know in the morning whether it might work.
Arne was assigned a single nurse to be with him
constantly. She took measures of vital signs every
hour on the hour.
By the next morning, a new CAT scan showed that Arne
was suffering from massive hemmoraging (spelling) due
to his blood pressure and the blood thinner. The
doctor told me at that time that our sweet Arne will
not live.
They continued to provide a single nurse the rest of
that day. Arne gradually withdrew during the day. He
went from being able to mumble some words in the
morning to not being able to talk. He went from being
able to open his eyes to not being able to do so. But
through the whole day yesterday, Arne could hear and
understand everything I told him. I told him what had
happened. And I told him that the treatment didn't
work and that he is not going to live. He was unable
to cry or to talk, but he was able to squeeze my had
and rub my arm. Since that time, Arne has worked hard
to show his concern for me, and I appreciate that
greatly.
While Arne was alert and could understand everything I
said and respond with his hand, I told him I was going
to read a list of names from our address books. I
told him if he would like me to tell them good-bye for
him to tap me on the hand. Many of you reading this
e-mail were on this list. Of course, everyone who was
got a tap. And Arne was quite assertive in tapping
and rubbing back and forth on my hand for those people
who have been the closest to him. I'm sure you know
how Arne felt about those of you he knew, but I hope
to tell you in the future about this tapping ceremony
to say good-bye.
I'm slowly losing my sweet Arne. Every time I am gone
from the room for a period of time and come back, I
can see that there is less response. I'm staying
with him almost constantly, however. I have only left
the room to make a few phone calls and to talk to the
social worker. I stay with Arne and I talk to him,
sing to him, rub him, kiss him, suction his throat,
swab his mouth with a moist sponge, put Chapstick on
his lips, etc.
Everyone here at the hospital has been fantastic.
They have shown great respect and appreciation for our
relationship. They all know through me what a special
man Arne is.
The doctors have said it is a matter of hours or days
in terms of Arne living. I will stay here with him
constantly. I slept on a cot next to his bed and
we held hands all night last night. Today, he is
still a little responsive to my handholding, especially
when I am singing to him. But the doctor says he will
eventually go into a coma-like state. He is on a
continuous morphine drip.
A social worker is helping me. If we can solve all
problems, my plans are to take Arne to Denmark after
his death. I will try to get a chance to be back at a
computer to update you occasionally.
In the meantime, I know that many of you are shocked
about this news and are crying. Arne is one of the
most-loved men I have ever known. As I am always
teasing him, "Everyone loves Arne!" While he is still
alive, I hope you will think about the pleasant
memories you have of him and that you will hope for a
peaceful final period of time that he is with us.
Again, I am sorry to send such sad news this way. I
am with Arne and making sure he is fine. And the
people here at the hospital are going out of their way
to make sure that I am fine, too.
My love to all of you.
Randy
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 21:45:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Randell Drum"
Subject: Good-bye to our sweet Arne
Hello Everyone,
Well, it is time to give you the sad news. We lost
our sweet Arne today, June 10, at 15:12 (3:12 p.m.)
Mountain Daylight Time (4:12 p.m. in Texas and 23:12
in Denmark).
The passing of Arne was a sad occasion, but I want to
let you know that it could not have been better than
it was. Two visitors were in the room--a nurse who
treated Arne the first night after the surgery who had
been by to see us several times and was there today on
her day off from work and a young man from the Gay and
Lesbian Community Services Organization in Calgary who
had been helping me gather some information. Neither
had been expected, but their arrival provided support
during this sad time.
When the nurse Cindy arrived, we had no idea that the
end was near. We expected it might be another day.
But Arne started slowing down in his breathing, and
the amount of urine released decreased. Cindy said
she thought it might mean that the end was near. It
has been a long week for Arne, and there was no need
to prolong it. So I decided, while I had Cindy's
support available, I would encourage Arne to relax and
go.
We had had a good day earlier. The Danish Consul had
brought Arne a Danish songbook, and I had been reading
and singing Danish songs to him. Although he was
past responding to anything physically, I got the
impression from slight changes in his breathing that
he was understanding what I was saying. I think those songs, some of which
spoke of returning to Denmark and others which spoke
of leaving others behind, may have set the stage for
what happened in the afternoon.
I used relaxation techniques to encourage Arne to
imagine the two of us in the Deer Park north of
Copenhagen--a beautiful, peaceful place where we have
gone walking many times. I talked him through the
stages of our arriving there, entering the park, passing the horse carriages at the entrance,
passing the amusement area, going down a broad pathway
together.... Then I told him to notice a side path ahead. As we got there, I told him to imagine himself
turning to go down a side path while I continued by
myself on the main path. I told him it was something
we needed to do even though we didn't want to do it. Of course the procedure was more
complex and it was mixed with explanations of love and
necessities related to saying good-bye. Then I started telling him to relax over
and over again as my voice became stiller and stiller.
Interspersed were other expressions both in English
and Danish about my love for him. Finally, I said in
Danish, "Min rose jey aldrig vil miste"--literatally translated as "My rose I will never lose" and translated in a more direct way, "My rose I will always remember."
Arne took a deep gasp and
didn't breathe again.
I am fine. I am the guest of Jonas and Lisa Albeck
who operate the Royal Danish Consulate here in
Calgary. When I arrived at their home, Jonas brought
out the offical flag of Denmark and the two of us
raised it to the top and then lowered it to half staff
in honor of Arne. We had dinner and then as the sun
was ready to go down we took down the flag.
Because I am staying with Jonas and Lisa for the next
day or two, it's best if people only call me in an
emergency situation. I want to hear from you, but it
is best to do it right now by e-mail or to wait a day
or two until I move into a hotel with my own phone for
you to call. But if there is a special need to
contact me here, the phone number is (403) 251-5052.
The phone will be answered as "Royal Danish
Consulate."
I am making arrangements to have Arne's body cremated.
That process should be completed by Monday or
Tuesday. I hope to try to arrange a flight to
Copenhagen on either Tuesday or Wednesday. After I am
there, plans will be made for celebrating Arne's life
with some kind of service.
I know there have been many e-mails sent to me. I
have not been able to read them yet, because I have
had only limited access to a computer. But I cherish the idea of having received them
and plan to read them when I have time and keep them for re-reading as time passes. Right now, I must spend my
time planning for taking Arne home to Denmark.
If anyone has a special story about Arne, I would like
to know it. Please feel free to send stories to me
via e-mail.
I'm so sorry for this sad news, but we all knew that I
had to send it someday soon after he had his stroke on
Sunday. I have had twenty wonderful years with the
man I consider to be the most fantastic in the world.
I would have preferred more, but I am so fortunate to
have had these twenty.
Best wishes to all of you. I will send more
information later.
Randy
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 21:37:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Randell Drum"
Subject: Adjustment to Arne's Death
Hello Everyone,
I am sorry to keep sending these group e-mails, but
everything seems to be overwhealming these days.
Please read no further if you are not interested in
more information about Arne's death and my plans.
Thanks to all of you who have written in response the
the e-mails about Arne being admitted to the hospital
and later dying. I wish I could respond to each
e-mail at the present time, but I can't. I have
limited access to the computer. But I have saved each
of the e-mails into a folder so that I can access them
again and again in the future. It feels so good to
read so many kind comments about Arne. I knew that
Arne was loved by everyone, but knowing it and reading
about it is not the same. Your messages have made me
feel so good.
Arne's body is at the crematorium today. Sometime
this afternoon or tomorrow it will be cremated. Late
Monday, I will receive his remains in a travel box
along with the paperwork for transporting him. I have
made a reservation to leave here on Tuesday morning at
10:00. I will have to go through Asia to get to
Copenhagen to use my present ticket. Since I have
nothing else better to be doing, I have decided to do
so. I will fly
Calgary-Vancouver-Tokyo-Bangkok-Copenhagen. Each
stopover will be 2 hours or less, and I will arrive in
Copenhagen at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday if all connections
go well.
I am still staying at the Royal Danish Consulate in
Calgary. I am not sure how long I will be here, but
Jonas and Lisa have been such kind people. Some of
you have commented about how nice they must be to take
in a total stranger, and you are right. They are also
interesting people. Lisa grew up in a Danish
community in Argentina and rode a horse to school as a
child. You would think she would be old--right? But
she is a beautiful young woman with blonde hair. She
just lived in a very rural area. Jonas was born in
Denmark but is now a Canadian citizen and works in the
oil business (in buying and selling). They are great
conversationalists and such nice, easy-going people.
Even Jonas' daughter from Regina has written me to
console me, so you know that they must be nice people
to have raised such a child. I have invited them to
San Antonio and hope they will come to visit when I am
back there.
I am adjusting to the loss of Arne. I could feel I
was in shock for the first 26 hours and just felt
rather distantly numb. That's the body's way of
protecting me, I guess. Now I have moved to a stage
where my stomach is a little uneasy and I am feeling
sadness about my loss. I'm starting to notice the
sadness that music can cause, and I'm dwelling more on
memories of Arne that represent times that can never
be again. I have kept details journal entries of my
thoughts and of what has been happening since Arne had
his stroke. Later, I will forward these entries to
anyone who is interested in reading them.
Thanks for all of your support. It means a lot to
know that I have so many wonderful friends from around
the world. Of course, I know that it has been Arne
who has effected most of you so much. That is why we
all love him so much and are missing him.
I hope to be in contact invidividually with all of you
someday. First, I must get to Copenhagen and take
care of arrangements there. As I wrote earlier, I
would love to hear any stories you have about Arne,
especially ones about things he has said and done that
I may not know myself.
Best wishes to all of you and thanks again for your
greetings and concern for both Arne and me.
Randy
If anyone has read this blog and wants to communicate with me, please call me at 210-692-1875.
Friday, June 04, 2004
I don't know how much time I will have on the computer. Arne and I are fine. Everywhere here in the Rockies, they charge $1 for only 10 minutes of useage. I'll have to stop when I run out of time here.
May 31, San Antonio
United flights are delayed by weather. Added to that, there was a LONG line of people checking in for United with only two agents manning the desks. We were both sent for detailed checking at security. My theory is that it is an automatic process for people using a passport as I.D. So after 1 hour 15 minutes of standing in lines and being checked, we were within the gate area to await our delayed flight.
The good news for us is that our flight from Denver to Calgary is a continuation of the flight from San Antonio to Denver. Even though our departure here is delayed by an hour, we don't have to worry about missing a connection. We do, however, move back a row for the second segment. Guess we'll have to dplane for some reason. It's a relief to know we will make it to Calgary tonight. There had been only 45 minutes between flights, so our hour delay would have done us in if our flights didn't share the same number.
June 1, Calgary
We were lucky travelers yesterday. When our plane arrived in Denver, they announced that all floights had departed and that transfer passengers would be given DISCOUNT tickets for hotels and put on hold. They said there were no flights the next day either. Thank goodness our plane was continuing to our desstination.
Fortunately, the rental car desk was still open when we arrived. We got our car and were in our room at the hotel at 1:35 a.m. (2:35 Texas time) and slept until 8:00 a.m.
The continental breakfast was toast with jam, coffee and juice. It was okay, but simpier than most places offer. It fulfilled our needs. Arne ate six pieces of toast ("It's full of air like American bread.") and dropped a big dollop of marmelade on his one pair of long pants (other than a zip-off leg pair).
Today's mini-crisis dealt with banking. My credit card I use for cash withdrawals wouldn't work at the first two bank ATMs that we tried. Both said to contact my bank. I went inside at the second bank for advice. They told me to try CIBC or Royal Bank which are VISA banks. At CIBC, which was across the street, it worked. I'm uneasy about whether it is going to work in the future when I need it to in other countries.
We're in Banff. The setting is as drammatic and as beautify as we had expected from photos. Our room has a fantastic view of two lines of snowcapped peaks along the sides of the Bow River. IT's only a 15-minute walk from our lodge to athe famous Banff Springs Hotel, and downtown is just over the bridge from us. Today we explored both town and the famous hotel, and we hiked part of the Spray Loop Trail.
The Banff Springs hotel is huge and beautiful. It looks like a park hotel, and Arne says, it could easily be a European castle. It has huge alabaster light fixtures, sone walls with tall, curving staircases, huge lounges with massive arched windows facing the river and the mountains, 8 different restaurants and lots of exclusive shops, etc. We spent almost an hour wandering through the public areas enjoying the architecture, the views, the live pianist playing jazz, etc.
We are very tired tonight. We got little sleep last night, and we've walked a lot today. We ate Chinese food early and we are back in the hotel. It's 6:45, and we will go to bed soon.
Oh, yes, when I called our lodge for a reservations, they encouraged me to take room with one double bed and a shared bath on the hall. When we got here, they upgraded us to a room with two beds and with a bath. Now I'm wondering if that was planned from the beginning as a way to get me to have a better room without having to pay so much during their off season.
Wednesday, June 2, Banff
We made breakfast in our room--multigrain bagels, cream cheese, and respberry jam. Now, we are hikikng up Tunnel Mountain Trail. It's one of the steepest, and Arne is VERY slow on it; he's really out of shape these days. We've paused at a nice lookout so he can rest and I can write in the journal. It's sunny and cool.
____
We finished the hike up and down in 2 hours 15 minutes (30 minutes less than the guidebook said it would take). There were great views of Banff and of the valley south of Banff. Arne huffed and puffed most of the way up, but he made it.
We're sitting on an outdoor patio now listening to a free jazz concert at the Banff Center. IT's contemporary jazz which I tend not to like. But this is more like jazzy new age with a melody to it. It's rather interesting. The band has 7 young people ranging from "normal" to rather strange looking. The base player has a slept-in hair look with extra long strands dropping down on either side of his face. The unusual instrument among the group is a banjo. I'm not sure I[ve ever seen a banjo in anything jazzy other than Dixieland jazz before. The group was composed of students, and they recognized the composer of all the pieces they had played afterwards. He's apparently a composer-in-residence at the center.
____
We're now walking the Sundance Canyon Trail. When I told Arne that it would be mostly flat, his quick response was, "Thanks God for that." We've stopped to sit on a bench beside the river. All around us are snowcapped peaks. And a long kayak with two persons is slowly going by. The idyllic scene is broken by the fract that one of the kayakers is talking on her mobile phone.
____
We made it to Sundance Canyon. The trail was paved and climbed very little. We saw two people in wheelchairs on it. At the end, it wasn't the canyon which pleased Arne. Instead, he was happy to find a toilet! He said he had been wondering if he would have to do NO. 2 in the bushes. Afterwards he was talking about how you could figure the depth of the toilet if you knew the speed of what was dropped.
We're both tired now. We may hike to see a waterfall this evening, but it's time to rest for a while. We still have to walk the 3.2 km back tot he car.
Thursday, June 3, Lake Louise
We're sitting beside Lake Louise with its famous hotel, Chateau Lake Louise, behind us. It's a warm, sunny day. The lake is an unbelievably beautiful bright blue. There are canoes out on it, and the view we have is toward a mountain still covered in thick layers of white, white snow. Tall green pinte trees taper up the hillsides toward the tree line which is only a little ways above us.
We drove the Bow River Parkway from Banff to here this morning. IT's a scenic back-country road. We stopped to hide at Johnston Canyon--a 5.4 km round trip hike through the canyon with wiaterfalls at two pints. It's a narrow canyon, so they have had to build catwalks out over the river along much of the route. It had beautiful scenes and exciting views. Arne enjoyed the ground squirrels which would playfully approach him along the way.
The Lake Louise area is more remote than Banff. It's really just a small touist village and a hotel. We have a room at the Canadian Alpine Villagte, one of the top 3-4 hostels in the world. Ours is a private room with a loft and two beds. We share a bath with one other room. There's a kitchen, a sauna, and other nice faciltiies included with athe price.
After checking in and before coming to Lake Louise, we drove up a twisting road to Lake Moraine. It, too, is drammatic. Most of it is still covered in ice. Both the water and the ice have a beautiful turquoise color. We hiked about 2/3 of the way down the side of the lake before resting and then returning.
Lake Moraine has a bear problem. Arne has been concerned about bears since we began our trip here, so he was very wary on our hike today. But none were seen. He keeps teasing me that my yellow jacket will attract them because it will remind them of honey.
Friday, June 4, Near Jasper
We've been traveling all day toward Jasper making all the recommended stops. We've seen waterfalls, canyons, mountain lookouts, and glaciers. We took a short side trip down Highway 11 where we saw deer and a black bear up close. Back on the Jasper road, we saw a rabbit and a ram. It's been a good day. I'll write more about it when I get a chance to be on the computer again. We head back to Calgary on Sunday, and I may not be on the computer until we are there.
May 31, San Antonio
United flights are delayed by weather. Added to that, there was a LONG line of people checking in for United with only two agents manning the desks. We were both sent for detailed checking at security. My theory is that it is an automatic process for people using a passport as I.D. So after 1 hour 15 minutes of standing in lines and being checked, we were within the gate area to await our delayed flight.
The good news for us is that our flight from Denver to Calgary is a continuation of the flight from San Antonio to Denver. Even though our departure here is delayed by an hour, we don't have to worry about missing a connection. We do, however, move back a row for the second segment. Guess we'll have to dplane for some reason. It's a relief to know we will make it to Calgary tonight. There had been only 45 minutes between flights, so our hour delay would have done us in if our flights didn't share the same number.
June 1, Calgary
We were lucky travelers yesterday. When our plane arrived in Denver, they announced that all floights had departed and that transfer passengers would be given DISCOUNT tickets for hotels and put on hold. They said there were no flights the next day either. Thank goodness our plane was continuing to our desstination.
Fortunately, the rental car desk was still open when we arrived. We got our car and were in our room at the hotel at 1:35 a.m. (2:35 Texas time) and slept until 8:00 a.m.
The continental breakfast was toast with jam, coffee and juice. It was okay, but simpier than most places offer. It fulfilled our needs. Arne ate six pieces of toast ("It's full of air like American bread.") and dropped a big dollop of marmelade on his one pair of long pants (other than a zip-off leg pair).
Today's mini-crisis dealt with banking. My credit card I use for cash withdrawals wouldn't work at the first two bank ATMs that we tried. Both said to contact my bank. I went inside at the second bank for advice. They told me to try CIBC or Royal Bank which are VISA banks. At CIBC, which was across the street, it worked. I'm uneasy about whether it is going to work in the future when I need it to in other countries.
We're in Banff. The setting is as drammatic and as beautify as we had expected from photos. Our room has a fantastic view of two lines of snowcapped peaks along the sides of the Bow River. IT's only a 15-minute walk from our lodge to athe famous Banff Springs Hotel, and downtown is just over the bridge from us. Today we explored both town and the famous hotel, and we hiked part of the Spray Loop Trail.
The Banff Springs hotel is huge and beautiful. It looks like a park hotel, and Arne says, it could easily be a European castle. It has huge alabaster light fixtures, sone walls with tall, curving staircases, huge lounges with massive arched windows facing the river and the mountains, 8 different restaurants and lots of exclusive shops, etc. We spent almost an hour wandering through the public areas enjoying the architecture, the views, the live pianist playing jazz, etc.
We are very tired tonight. We got little sleep last night, and we've walked a lot today. We ate Chinese food early and we are back in the hotel. It's 6:45, and we will go to bed soon.
Oh, yes, when I called our lodge for a reservations, they encouraged me to take room with one double bed and a shared bath on the hall. When we got here, they upgraded us to a room with two beds and with a bath. Now I'm wondering if that was planned from the beginning as a way to get me to have a better room without having to pay so much during their off season.
Wednesday, June 2, Banff
We made breakfast in our room--multigrain bagels, cream cheese, and respberry jam. Now, we are hikikng up Tunnel Mountain Trail. It's one of the steepest, and Arne is VERY slow on it; he's really out of shape these days. We've paused at a nice lookout so he can rest and I can write in the journal. It's sunny and cool.
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We finished the hike up and down in 2 hours 15 minutes (30 minutes less than the guidebook said it would take). There were great views of Banff and of the valley south of Banff. Arne huffed and puffed most of the way up, but he made it.
We're sitting on an outdoor patio now listening to a free jazz concert at the Banff Center. IT's contemporary jazz which I tend not to like. But this is more like jazzy new age with a melody to it. It's rather interesting. The band has 7 young people ranging from "normal" to rather strange looking. The base player has a slept-in hair look with extra long strands dropping down on either side of his face. The unusual instrument among the group is a banjo. I'm not sure I[ve ever seen a banjo in anything jazzy other than Dixieland jazz before. The group was composed of students, and they recognized the composer of all the pieces they had played afterwards. He's apparently a composer-in-residence at the center.
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We're now walking the Sundance Canyon Trail. When I told Arne that it would be mostly flat, his quick response was, "Thanks God for that." We've stopped to sit on a bench beside the river. All around us are snowcapped peaks. And a long kayak with two persons is slowly going by. The idyllic scene is broken by the fract that one of the kayakers is talking on her mobile phone.
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We made it to Sundance Canyon. The trail was paved and climbed very little. We saw two people in wheelchairs on it. At the end, it wasn't the canyon which pleased Arne. Instead, he was happy to find a toilet! He said he had been wondering if he would have to do NO. 2 in the bushes. Afterwards he was talking about how you could figure the depth of the toilet if you knew the speed of what was dropped.
We're both tired now. We may hike to see a waterfall this evening, but it's time to rest for a while. We still have to walk the 3.2 km back tot he car.
Thursday, June 3, Lake Louise
We're sitting beside Lake Louise with its famous hotel, Chateau Lake Louise, behind us. It's a warm, sunny day. The lake is an unbelievably beautiful bright blue. There are canoes out on it, and the view we have is toward a mountain still covered in thick layers of white, white snow. Tall green pinte trees taper up the hillsides toward the tree line which is only a little ways above us.
We drove the Bow River Parkway from Banff to here this morning. IT's a scenic back-country road. We stopped to hide at Johnston Canyon--a 5.4 km round trip hike through the canyon with wiaterfalls at two pints. It's a narrow canyon, so they have had to build catwalks out over the river along much of the route. It had beautiful scenes and exciting views. Arne enjoyed the ground squirrels which would playfully approach him along the way.
The Lake Louise area is more remote than Banff. It's really just a small touist village and a hotel. We have a room at the Canadian Alpine Villagte, one of the top 3-4 hostels in the world. Ours is a private room with a loft and two beds. We share a bath with one other room. There's a kitchen, a sauna, and other nice faciltiies included with athe price.
After checking in and before coming to Lake Louise, we drove up a twisting road to Lake Moraine. It, too, is drammatic. Most of it is still covered in ice. Both the water and the ice have a beautiful turquoise color. We hiked about 2/3 of the way down the side of the lake before resting and then returning.
Lake Moraine has a bear problem. Arne has been concerned about bears since we began our trip here, so he was very wary on our hike today. But none were seen. He keeps teasing me that my yellow jacket will attract them because it will remind them of honey.
Friday, June 4, Near Jasper
We've been traveling all day toward Jasper making all the recommended stops. We've seen waterfalls, canyons, mountain lookouts, and glaciers. We took a short side trip down Highway 11 where we saw deer and a black bear up close. Back on the Jasper road, we saw a rabbit and a ram. It's been a good day. I'll write more about it when I get a chance to be on the computer again. We head back to Calgary on Sunday, and I may not be on the computer until we are there.
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