Attempted Death by Dumplings

This afternoon we were treated to a Chinese cooking class in our kitchen. Allison, a visiting scholar from China, arrived with all the ingredients and soon had us wrapping enough wontons and dumplings for a small terracotta army. Then we foolishly tried to eat them all, just so we could decide which we liked more. Seriously, my huge bowl of broth must have had 13 wontons in it, and I'm quite sure I ate an equal number of dumplings. And we still have 45 wontons and three tubs of dumplings left over. Somehow I think Tom won't miss me when I head to Door...

Homecoming!

Thanks to some strange routing, I ended up with an overnight in Brussels. I lived there as an exchange student and returned many years with students for spring break. The late-afternoon was pleasantly warm, and it felt so strange to be walking around without coat, backpack, or my tour group! Without time for even a stop at a museum, I headed to the Grand' Place to soak up the atmosphere and buy chocolate. Then a traditional mussels-and-frites dinner left me feeling bittersweet. So good to be back, yet so frustrating to have to leave again so soon...

Dream Fulfilled

When I became an exchange student to the Netherlands many years ago, my otherwise-reluctant mother commented that at least I would get a chance to see the tulip fields. By that spring, however, I was living in Brussels, and I missed the big event. Although I've returned to both countries many times in the intervening years, the timing was never right. So when I saw the dates for my conference in Copenhagen, I immediately decided to tack on a trip to Keukenhof. The long-awaited day was cold and wet and the blooms behind schedule, but I was with wonderful company from my exchange student days. When I commented that the gardens were more landscaped than I expected, Joy encouraged me to climb up a windmill for a view of fields striped with color. I was thrilled! Then we rushed to the tropical pavilion to enjoy orchids and WARMTH.

Conference Eats

Denmark is pricey, so we were fortunate to enjoy some great eats at the conference. Our first lunch was a contemporary DIY version of the tradition open-face sandwich. We received a plate of fixin's, such as cheese and fish, and helped ourselves to chunks of French bread and slabs of heavy Danish rye. (Not much of a bread-eater, I managed two small sandwiches and then ate the toppings on their own.) One evening we scored an invitation to the city hall, which is supposedly a very big deal, and were treated to their traditional pancakes. They claim it's a secret recipe, but imagine something closer to a folded crepe filled with fluff and topped with a peach jam and crushed pistachios. Yum! (I surveyed the Danes at the conference, and they all said it was their first-ever invite there.) Not to be outdone, the Louisiana Museum put on a lovely closing reception at its boat house: breathtaking water views, wine, endless hors-d'oeuvres, and a massive presentation of luscious berries and grapes. Hardly worth mentioning the chocolate for dessert. LOL!

Farther Afield

Sunday we took the train to a small town with a fantastic art museum named Louisiana, which I had visited during my sabbatical. It was a gorgeous day, so I focused on the sculpture gardens before moving inside to a fabulous exhibition of Tara Donovan. http://www.louisiana.dk/uk/Menu/Exhibitions/Tara+Donovan/LOUISIANA+CONTEMPORARY%3a+Tara+Donovan+%232 Lunch was a new twist on Danish open-faced sandwiches. Then we took another train across the bridge to Malmo, Sweden, just because we could. There I noticed that the outdoor cafes kindly provided fleece blankets to keep patrons warm. When we spotted purple, we stopped for a drink!

Tourists in Copenhagen

Ann and I arrived in Copenhagen on a Saturday morning, a couple days before our conference. Blue skies and a miniscule hotel room sent us outside to try to adjust our clocks. We walked to Christiana, something of a free state/hippie commune within the city limits. A large sign at the entrance listed rules, including no photography ("some of the stuff we do here is still illegal") and no running as it incites panic. The aroma in the air provided all the, uh, "clarification" we needed. By the end of our visit we were feeling pretty mellow, through no fault of our own, so we opted to finish the afternoon with a boat tour through the city's canals. Enjoy the pix!

Grudge Match

It was time. One month after a senseless gardening accident, I strapped on my massive safety goggles and hacked the @#$% out of the bush that tried to take out my eye. Er, I mean I pruned it. HEAVILY. And it felt good. There are no photos of my bloody, scrambled-egg eye to document the degree of my injury, but here is one of my cockeyed pupils right before I left for Europe. Just looking at it makes me want to go out and do more "trimming." And I thought I'd never garden again...