Just for fun

Just me playing with my new camera.

Skamlingsbanken

We did quite a bit of sightseeing. We went to Rømø where you can take your car and drive around on the beach. To Ribe which is known for it's old cathedral. And finally Skamlingsbanken, the highest point in Southern Jutland and also a landmark in Danish-Preussian war of 1848 and 1864.

Sort sol

At this time of year thousands of starlings gather in the area before migrating to a warmer climate. At evening very large groups of starling search for an area to rest for the night. They swarm around for 10-20 minutes until they find the right place and then they are down. The flock will move almost like the northern light. The phenomenon is called Sort Sol or Black Sun. Ellen and I, like many many other people, went to see it. Unfortunately, it's difficult to predict where the really big groups will go down to rest so we didn't get to experience it right in front of us. But we did see it and we also saw many other groups right around us. It was quite fascinating to hear the rush of the wings and the chirping of the birds.

We weren't able to take a picture which made it justice, but you can find one here.

Interesting enough we had to cross the German border to see it. But that wasn't any hazzle. We just drove through this city. Entered in one country and excited in another. No passport control or whatever. I do realise it is consequence of the Schengen agreement on how to conduct control at EU's external borders. But it puts the current strict immigration laws in perspective.

Wadden Sea

Ellen and I just returned from a weekend in Southern Jutland. Friday I was invited to the annual meeting of the association of public prosecutors so we combined it with a weekend for two. The first day we went to Tønder which is two miles from the German border. The area is known for the Wadden Sea -marsh land and tidal pools. There are lots and lots of birds. One of the most fascinating views was a group of birds which flew over our heads. They looked brown. Then they turned to the left. And now they were white! The color depended on the angle you looked up at the wings.

Twister

Well, what can I say. They all had fun.

Out of boxes

We have always been so fortunate to inherit clothes from friends and family. Ellen keep it in big boxes in the closet. Twice a year before spring and in preperation for winter the boxes come out. It's time to the big try out to see what fits and must be taken out of the drawers. It was one of those times yesterday. Ellen and Rita spent all of the afternoon going through all of the clothes. Rita loved it and loved all the clothes. She didn't want to part with any of it. So now we have some seriously packed drawers.

MGP 2008

The annual song contest for kids took place last night. Rita was so full of excitement like the boys have been before her. She had it all planned out. They should have matresses on the floor, lots of candy and hygge. Erik made some serious attempts to stay aloof. But he was the one who had printed the scorecard so we all could put marks by our favorites.

The winner of the show came as a surprise to most of us. Ellen and I had a favorite which was a quite a bit rocky. There was plenty of guitar. The boys performing were older than Erik. So we knew it was an outsider. But we were certain we had spotted the favorite. Erik agreed. But what did we know. The winner a band which none of us had voted as number 1. Axel had it as no. 2. Rita as usual voted for all the girl bands.

I guess it was a lesson in how you as a parent can involve yourself in the doings and likings of your children but there is an age difference so it's not all you can appreciate with an adults eyes. Good to be aware of and important to respect.. (So much for the daily dosis of pocket philosophy:-)

Brand new home

Before

After

Well it may be an overstatement but we finally got so tired of our front yard. It seemed like no matter what we did we had grass growing all over the place. But now...look at it. This was the view we had when we came home from work to day. All that we are missing are some steps in front of the door. We will get that before the end of the week. I can't wait.

Amazing toy

While in KL I bought these small helicopters as a gift for the kids. They were amazingly cheap. What a toy.

In transit

This is somewhere over the Caucasion mountains. We had a 17 hour flight back to Denmark with a 4 hour lay over in Bangkok.

It has been a very imformative trip which has given lots to think about in regards to how to design a system of higher education. Coming from a public school system it has been very eye opening to see how higher education also can be handled as a commodity. I find it gives challenges in particular for the students seeking education and the governments if they want to maintain a high standard of education.

Low yat plaza

I have to lasting impressions of Kuala Lumpur: The evening rush hour traffic when everybody was in a hurry to get home to fix supper to sunset because of the ramadan and then Low yat plaza a 4 store shopping mall all with electronics. Both impressions involve a lot of people, congestion, noise and business unlike anything we are used to in Europe. The plaza was fun because you could find all kinds of electronic equipment. Prices were "liquid" so what ever you paid depended on your own bargaining power.

This picture doen't do it justice because each store had it's own music which blared out from small mp3 speakers.

Petronas towers

I guess it's a requirement to have a picture of the towers in a photo blog from Kuala Lumpur - especially since the towers neighboured my hotel. In fact the towers have a fascinating story since they were inspired by the Twin Towers in New York and are designed by the same architect.

The towers are covered with pewter which is abundant in Malaysia. It looks very good.

Putrajaya

I bought myself a new camera. I've played a bit with it and this is my first selfportrait (well almost - I had to figure out the right settings).

In the background is the auspices of the Kuala Lumpur prime minister in Putrajaya. Putrajaya is the administrative center of Malyasia. The city was founded in the best planned economy style i 1990 when the government bought 6000 hectars of forrest and began to develop the city. The area is rich in architecture and massive government buildings. There is a huge man made lake with 18 bridges across not one like another. Very impressive. The Malaysians like me are apparently crazy about bridges.

Malaysia has like Singapore the ambition to become an educational hub in Asia. It was my impression that the country has a greater challenge than their neighbor. The New Economic Policy and the English language proficiencies makes the country less adept to the necessary changes.

Dragon meal

I had the most amazing Chinese meal to day. It was served very elegantly with this dragon. On this plate was the most delicious deep fried shrimp rolls. At the conclusion of the meal we had ginger soup with a rice dumpling. The dumpling was filled with a black sesame paste. The dish was hot to taste, sweet and just vibrant from the sesame - a symphony in the mouth.

Malacca

Now I'm in Malaysia. It is very different from Singapore. It seems even warmer and more humid. The traffic is very heavy with lots and lots of motorcycles filling the streets. Almost all the motorcyclists wear a shirt on the front like this guy. It's no surprise that country and culture is different but it is immensely different. Our hotel is for example downtown like in Singapore - but in Singepore we had the overlook of wide avenues and high rises. Here our neighbor is a shanty town with rusty steel roofs and the quality of the hotels are the same.

1117

This is the view from the hotel I'm staying at. Singapore has been a surprising experience. I had expected a big densly build city like Hong Kong or New York but the city is lush green and open. we have visited 3 universities with very different corporate strategies. It is eye opening to see what kind of business education also can be. The NUS campus was gorgeous. Makes me long for the old days at college...may be we should find an appropriate study abroad programme? :-)

Bangkok

Early morning i Bangkok airport. It was a long flight but the airport was just amazing. Very open and welcoming. It was amazing to experience the tropic sunrise. It seemed like the sun was turned on like a in door lamp. It went so fast.