tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18903765007114399822024-03-13T03:30:45.887+01:00Aalborg CallingZsolt Varga - Aalborg, DenmarkVarga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-64821828467449213592010-04-19T21:55:00.013+02:002010-04-23T15:40:14.697+02:00Alligators,babies and volcanoes<span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Back to the USA</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This blog has, somewhat predictably, turned into a quarterly newsletter, which at least ensures that there is always something to write about. This time it is that we have just returned from a <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/podolin/Wisconsin2010#">three-week holiday in the US</a>. We spent most of the time in Madison, Wisconsin, hanging out with Ane’s family, although for the first time since Tristan was born, Ane and I also had a private mini-break.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We drove up to the Door Peninsula by Lake Michigan, while Tristan was keeping his grandma on her toes in Madison. Door County is one of the top US holiday destinations, celebrated for its lake scenery, cherry orchards and nature reserves. Visiting it in April ensured that we avoided the tourists (who in the summer can totally clog up the whole place), </span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">resulting in lower prices and plenty of accommodation to choose from, but it also meant that the weather was still quite cold and nature showed hardly any sign of the approaching spring. (After all, there is a reason why no one goes there this time of the year.)<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S8y3FPnJ9YI/AAAAAAAAIOg/BhRP-GVTB3U/s1600/IMGP1381.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S8y3FPnJ9YI/AAAAAAAAIOg/BhRP-GVTB3U/s400/IMGP1381.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461941748811560322" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Just before we left, we woke up to two inches of snow, which is by no means unusual around there. Luckily, we also had a fantastic five-day trip to Texas, together with the whole family, with plenty of sunshine and warm weather. We were mostly in Houston, with trips to the Gulf of Mexico at Galveston and to La Grange in south central Texas. Another highlight was Brazos Bend State Park with its many wild alligators. Pictures from that trip<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/podolin/Texas2010#"> here.</a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S8y3EsIZdZI/AAAAAAAAIOY/SkdE70sVB0c/s400/IMGP0948.jpg" /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Caught by the volcano </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The holiday was extended by a three-day involuntary stay in Amsterdam, due to the havoc caused by the Icelandic volcano. We happened to be on one of the last planes from the US to Northern Europe that still got permission to land on Thursday morning, but our connecting flight to Denmark was already canceled.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S8y3DjIegDI/AAAAAAAAIOI/zifwd-TaWzQ/s400/IMGP1666.jpg" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Unlike many fellow travelers, we spent our exile in relative comfort. We were wise enough to book a hotel room early on (when they still talked about the possibility of flying home the same day) and spent two days sightseeing in Amsterdam (which is by no means the worst place to be stranded in). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S8y3EK6GZqI/AAAAAAAAIOQ/oDGHExvvQYY/s400/IMGP1676.jpg" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The negative consequences were mostly psychological: in situations like this it is the insecurity that really gets you. Not knowing when we can return home, not being able to assert control over our own life or even to make the most basic plans is a truly frightening experience. It reminded me of how it must feel to be a refugee. (With the considerable difference that refugees often don’t speak languages, have neither money nor travel insurance, or a realistic hope of ever getting home again). Luckily Tristan coped extremely well with the whole thing, in spite of some slight initial confusion (he was convinced that we were in Chicago). Early on he decided that this all was just an integral part of the holiday, inflected upon him by his parents, and was as cheerful and well-tempered as ever. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S8y3F_hVUnI/AAAAAAAAIOo/zjjlkygcwHM/s1600/IMGP1712.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S8y3F_hVUnI/AAAAAAAAIOo/zjjlkygcwHM/s400/IMGP1712.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461941761672041074" border="0" /></a> </div><p face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then on Saturday morning, just when the true scope of the whole misery started to sink in and it became clear that no happy ending was in sight, we met a Danish man who was looking for people to share a rental car with. We were very easy to convince and a few hours later were on the way home. As it turned out, we got one of the last rental cars that had the permission to be taken to Denmark... I don’t think I ever was so happy to see the ‘Welcome to Denmark’ sign as on Saturday night. On the way home we talked about how interesting it will be to follow the crises on TV from a new perspective, but it turned out that our interest quickly diminished.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now , two days later, </span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">it only very occasionally strikes me that we could still sitting somewhere in Holland in total insecurity, growing more and more frustrated, angry and desperate, and not smelling all that great any more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But the experience has taught us some valuable lessons about what to pack in the hand luggage (mostly in my case, as Ane packed extra clothes for Tristan and herself, having</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">learned from a previous flight cancellation experience). It also made me think of another thing. </span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ane and I have so far been to the USA five times together, and only once did the trip go smoothly, without cancellations, rebooking, serious delays or volcanic eruption. I can’t help thinking that this might all have a deeper meaning. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">News from the baby front</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";" lang="EN-US"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;" class="Apple-style-span" >I have left the most important news till last: we are expecting our second child! Ane is due on 24 September, and just like last time, we decided not to find out the gender. Tristan is getting more and more interested and talks about the baby in Ane’s belly. He thinks it is going to be a girl, and I have the same feeling. Last time I was quite sure that we were getting a son, but I’m not sure that alone makes me an expert.<br /></span></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S9GjJQqBOBI/AAAAAAAAISo/aVThk_FjnEw/s1600/Gyerek+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S9GjJQqBOBI/AAAAAAAAISo/aVThk_FjnEw/s400/Gyerek+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463327202462480402" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/S810uapnXVI/AAAAAAAAIPM/OjD4aFLp9d8/s1600/Gyerek.jpg"></a><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";" lang="EN-US"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;" class="Apple-style-span" >So far all has gone really well, although it is still hard for us to comprehend that soon we will be a family of four. The next imminent challenge is to come up with a suitable name, which was a very difficult process the first time around. Now it feels like we have already used up the only name we both liked, but there must be more. Otherwise we will have to learn to like some of the other millions of names.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-9455312984025432972009-12-16T18:20:00.007+01:002009-12-16T21:24:07.717+01:00Tristan 2.0<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Last night we celebrated Tristan's second birthday. Or, to be more precise, last night as well, since we already had a test run with some friends last Saturday. And he will have at least one more mini-party, when his Hungarian grandmother gets hold of him in a few days' time.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SylBgTltxZI/AAAAAAAAF78/wxdRv9zyEhA/s1600-h/IMGP4729.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SylBgTltxZI/AAAAAAAAF78/wxdRv9zyEhA/s400/IMGP4729.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415932050159814034" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykZEadLwBI/AAAAAAAAF7s/lwD8ETMZ8Ks/s1600-h/IMGP4781.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykZEadLwBI/AAAAAAAAF7s/lwD8ETMZ8Ks/s400/IMGP4781.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415887590501629970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">For some peculiar reason this year's theme turned out to be '<span style="font-style: italic;">tractor'</span>: it featured both on the classy invitation card designed by our friend Orsi and on some of the birthday cakes. (I was wondering whether Tristan's obsession with tractors had anything to do with it). But the biggest hit was undoubtedly a personalized, hand crafted children's Bible made by Orsi. </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykZEqxrEtI/AAAAAAAAF70/KMNRAARU7ZA/s1600-h/tristan-kort-12-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykZEqxrEtI/AAAAAAAAF70/KMNRAARU7ZA/s400/tristan-kort-12-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415887594882536146" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykYc2nGY0I/AAAAAAAAF7k/h5ES2h6legw/s1600-h/IMGP4744.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykYc2nGY0I/AAAAAAAAF7k/h5ES2h6legw/s400/IMGP4744.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415886910864646978" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykYbybMdVI/AAAAAAAAF7U/qR9CRmvdmjg/s1600-h/IMGP4753.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykYbybMdVI/AAAAAAAAF7U/qR9CRmvdmjg/s400/IMGP4753.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415886892561102162" border="0" /></a>During last night's party it suddenly began snowing, and by the time the guests were leaving, enough snow had fallen to hold a mini snowball-fight in pajamas outside our building. As it is rather unusual to have snow so early in the year in Denmark, we took it as another special present for Tristan.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykYbVQofyI/AAAAAAAAF7M/xQB_bsJs8fc/s1600-h/IMGP4796.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykYbVQofyI/AAAAAAAAF7M/xQB_bsJs8fc/s400/IMGP4796.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415886884732174114" border="0" /></a>Otherwise we are all doing well. Tristan's speech has developed tremendously in recent weeks. He is fully bilingual (with Danish dominating). He has about a hundred active words in Hungarian and perhaps twice as many in Danish. Lately he also started producing combinations of 3-4 words, although two-word combinations are still the norm. He's experimenting more and more with his languages, mixing them in all sorts of creative ways, which is of course so much fun to hear. Some samples can be seen <a href="http://youtube.com/podolin">here</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykYcTNMD5I/AAAAAAAAF7c/nTFA6EbmnAQ/s1600-h/IMGP4742.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SykYcTNMD5I/AAAAAAAAF7c/nTFA6EbmnAQ/s400/IMGP4742.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415886901360725906" border="0" /></a>Since my blogging lately has been rather sporadic, I guess this is also a kind of Christmas post. Right now we are busy packing, because tomorrow we're off to Hungary to spend Christmas with my mum. But we're already back in Denmark on Boxing Day to spend a few days with Anes family. So from here, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.<br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g-TkGp1_P9o&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g-TkGp1_P9o&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /></div><br /></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-59118941820035843302009-07-29T22:38:00.015+02:002009-07-30T17:36:08.998+02:00Summer updateI think it is really time for an update, as quite a lot has happened since my last post almost three months ago. Back in May we held the semi-traditional Camphill Blair Drummond reunion for friends we used to work together with in Scotland many years ago. In spite of months of tedious preparations, this time only Jiyeon turned up in the end.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SiBIaWjDzjI/AAAAAAAADrI/znTxiUS62Vw/s1600-h/Jiyeon+i+Kunsten+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SiBIaWjDzjI/AAAAAAAADrI/znTxiUS62Vw/s400/Jiyeon+i+Kunsten+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341348775627836978" border="0" /></a> But we had a lot of fun nevertheless, hanging out in <a href="http://www.kunsten.dk/">Kunsten</a>, the local art gallery,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SiBIa_mTA8I/AAAAAAAADrQ/VpApwqeD66s/s1600-h/Jiyeon+i+Kunsten+6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SiBIa_mTA8I/AAAAAAAADrQ/VpApwqeD66s/s400/Jiyeon+i+Kunsten+6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341348786647270338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SiBIbDN_ATI/AAAAAAAADrY/bT20oExW7eE/s1600-h/Jiyeon+i+Kunsten+10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SiBIbDN_ATI/AAAAAAAADrY/bT20oExW7eE/s400/Jiyeon+i+Kunsten+10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341348787619037490" border="0" /></a>meeting up with Katrine, another old friend from Scotland in Århus.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SnGZQDxbGII/AAAAAAAAEKU/k6-_VutzoMA/s1600-h/Girls+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SnGZQDxbGII/AAAAAAAAEKU/k6-_VutzoMA/s400/Girls+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364237132344531074" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After Jiyeon left, l got really busy in order to conclude the first two years of my PhD contract in time. I literally managed it the last hour, so I got permission and funding to continue with Part B. This means another two years of job security and a handsome pay rise. Ane got promoted at the social work office where she works. From 1 August she becomes an internal adviser, supporting and training her colleagues, many of whom are quite new on the job. This is a new position, tailor-made for her. The change also means that she no longer will have direct contact with service users, which should make her working life a little less stressful - at least in theory.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SnGVKuqr7BI/AAAAAAAAEKE/jaK7fZ4bfpI/s1600-h/IMGP1790.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SnGVKuqr7BI/AAAAAAAAEKE/jaK7fZ4bfpI/s400/IMGP1790.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364232642733272082" border="0" /></a>As for Tristan, he is developing at a breakneck pace. He is still as inquisitive as a cat, and soaks up all impressions like a sponge. We really need to be careful what we show him, as he immediately tries out everything from changing light bulbs to watering plants or driving the car. Since May he has a day carer we all are very happy with. He simply loves being together with her and the three other kids she looks after, and also we feel very confident that he is in very good hands. Besides, his new place is just a few steps away from both where Ane works and from the railway station, which is very convenient for us.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SnGVK-TJntI/AAAAAAAAEKM/ARDBJy94iVQ/s1600-h/IMGP1800.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SnGVK-TJntI/AAAAAAAAEKM/ARDBJy94iVQ/s400/IMGP1800.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364232646929522386" border="0" /></a>Tristan can now say about 6-10 words. His vocabulary includes <span style="font-style: italic;">dad</span> (both in Hungarian and Danish), <span style="font-style: italic;">car</span> (also in both languages), <span style="font-style: italic;">mum</span> (in Hungarian) and various greetings. His favorite word is <span style="font-style: italic;">mere</span> ('more' in Danish), which is accompanied with heavy gesturing when he wants to get hold of something. His verbal comprehension is also excellent in both languages, although, curiously, still excludes all terms for <span style="font-style: italic;">no</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">don't</span>. He is simply crazy about animals, and totally fearless when together with them, as seen in this video. He also has a keen interest in motorbikes, which he definitely hasn't inherited from me.<br /></div><br /><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/V7L1PmPQV_0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></object><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><object height="385" width="640"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/V7L1PmPQV_0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="640"></embed></object><br /><br />As usual, so far our summer has largely consisted of the usual mixture of various family functions and visits. This time also my mother made it here and helped out with looking after Tristan while his carer was on holiday. Ane has been working in June and July, apart from a week's holiday which we spent at the Danish east coast. But on the 8th August we're going abroad for a week. Originally we were planning to re-visit Scotland after almost 8 years, but we figured that Tristan wouldn't get much out of long hikes in the highlands (possibly in torrential rain) and extended car-trips. So Scotland will have to wait another year. Instead, we chose Malta, as a (hopefully) ideal place for both Tristan and his parents. He will enjoy the sea and the sand, and there are plenty of picturesque historical sights for us to visit, not to mention the Mediterranean kitchen we both are quite fond of. The apparent downside is that the place is really short of trees - but we'll just have to put up with that. We rented a three-room, 70-square meter bungalow in the celebrated "Danish village " (aka. the <a href="http://www.mhc.com.mt/2008/pages/home.asp"><span style="font-style: italic;">Mellieha Holiday Center</span></a>) in Mellieha. I'll write about how we found it all in my next entry.<br /></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-13287680291652372862009-04-12T18:06:00.017+02:002009-04-12T19:44:53.036+02:00Eastertime in Hungary<div align="justify">Who says traveling with small kids is no fun? We're on a two-week Easter-break in Hungary and Tristan is enjoying every moment of it. First we stayed four nights in Budapest, at the <a href="http://www.hotelcentral-basilica.hu/page/page.html"><em>Central Basilika Hotel</em> </a>(which is hereby warmly recommended to families with children). Central it was, and also extremely clean, comfortable and very children-friendly. But perhaps the greatest feature was its breakfast selection, with a good mix of the usual international fare and traditional Hungarian dishes (including cakes with poppy seeds) which I personally sampled extensively every morning. The hotel is situated in <em>Szent István Square</em>, right next to the Basilica, the largest church in the city.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323843301987024450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SeIXRrbHfkI/AAAAAAAADiA/OoAYKOx5iDw/s400/Bazilika.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="justify">From the hotel, most of the sights were in easy walking distance, including the great Budapest Zoo, where we spent most of our first full day. It is much greener than the average European zoo, very much like a first-class botanical gardens, and the architecture of same of the buildings is also rather bspectacular. For the first time Tristan showed sustained interest for animals, especially the pet goats. These, on the other hand, were mostly interested in eating as much of my shoes as possible. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">These also happen to be the days when Tristan has really taken to being at the playground. We found a great one in <em>Szabadság tér</em> (Freedom Square), right in front of the headquarters of the Hungarian State Television. It has almost every toy one can wish for, and in contrast to most playgrounds in Aalborg, also small kids are catered for. Tristans culinary interest in the sand and gravel was matched only by my interest in the poppy seed cakes but, when finally full, he also spent time on the large wooden train set and on the swing. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323843316594989106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SeIXSh17WDI/AAAAAAAADig/18vXYyLtfh4/s400/swing.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323843304803459314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SeIXR16m4PI/AAAAAAAADiI/baukfW28DSE/s400/Sandbox.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="justify">Apart from animals and playgrounds, the thing that brings Tristan the greatest satisfaction these days is stairs - the more and longer the better. He can spend unlimited lengths of time walking up and down them, like here in front of "our" church. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323843309800667922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SeIXSIiCOxI/AAAAAAAADiQ/ZHR20u6xxa8/s400/stairs.jpg" border="0" /></div><p align="justify">The rest of the time we mostly spent hanging out in one of the many parks, or on <em>Margit sziget</em> (Margaret Island), the green heart of the city. The only real cultural activity was a trip to the National Museum to see the excellent <a href="http://www.mnm.hu/en/kiall/Exhibition.php?ID=22639">Press Photo Hungary exhibition </a>(also highly recommended). As for eating out, Budapest offers a great selection of good and moderately priced restaurants. We mostly went for the Indian theme, first in the very cosy family-run <em><a href="http://kashmiretterem.hu/hu/gallery/1">Kashmir</a></em>, then in the somewhat peculiar (= esotheric), but equally excellent <em><a href="http://www.govinda.hu/">Govinda</a></em> with its all vegetarian menu.</p><p align="justify">But what has really made it very special so far is the weather. Temperatures in the mid-20s (and that is <em>not</em> Fahrenheit), almost uninterrupted sunshine and hardly any wind. I don't remember it ever being so hot so early in the year in Hungary. In fact the sun is so strong that one really needs sunglasses - either one's own or, even better, a borrowed pair.</p><p align="justify"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323843314193275730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SeIXSY5UG1I/AAAAAAAADiY/lYB0Zq3EK04/s400/sunglasses.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="justify">After a somewhat exhausting and stuffy train ride, we are now in Nyíregyháza, at my mum's place, getting ready to celebrate her 60th birthday tomorrow. In spite of not having seen each other since October, Tristan and her hit it off right away, which gives Ane and I a bit of a well-deserved rest. </p>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-14520963031706719882009-03-31T15:47:00.012+02:002009-03-31T20:06:54.958+02:00Spring update<div style="text-align: justify;">I've been a rather inactive blogger lately. Nothing really serious, only a tight deadline for a paper at university and a language attrition workshop in Groningen, Holland. I managed to combine the latter with a short but very nice trip to Veldhoven to see Marlien, my old friend and former collague from Scotland. We spent a great evening together eating pizza, looking at old Camphill pictures and trying to recall the names of long-forgotten residents and co-workers. In short, it was just like in the good old days in her flat in Main Street in Doune.<br /></div><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SdJYyRYhwKI/AAAAAAAADgc/1nAeS4f7onY/s1600-h/100_3498.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SdJYyRYhwKI/AAAAAAAADgc/1nAeS4f7onY/s400/100_3498.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319411730560958626" border="0" /></a><br />Oh yes, and latelt I've been spending quite a lot of my precious free time on tidying up in my hand-scribbled notes, piles of documents and various computer files which until recently constituted the rather chaotic outcome of five-years worth of genealogy research. This process resulted in a new, flashy website which can be visited <a href="http://www.myheritage.com/site-58773251/zsolt-varga%27s-family-page">here</a>. I really feel I could go on about the pleasures of family history research but I'd better leave that for another time; there are more important things to report.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SdJVjk6TvKI/AAAAAAAADgU/O2pEaQv4uUY/s1600-h/Street+3+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SdJVjk6TvKI/AAAAAAAADgU/O2pEaQv4uUY/s400/Street+3+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319408179569999010" border="0" /></a>Tristan has been through another explosive phase of development since my last entry. He can now walk with a lot of confidence, crawl up practically any piece of furniture and is very close to saying things one can actually recognize as words. Unfortunately his regular carer got ill in the beginning of January and is unlikely to return to work, so we have now been waiting for three months for the local authority to allocate a new place for him. In the meantime Tristan has been attending a so-called 'guest house' for kids in a similar situation. This has been an unqualified success: the place has the capacity to accommodate up to 20 children, and it seems like the bigger the crowd the better for Tristan. He simply loves being there and can't wait to get out of his push-chair in the morning. Our only concern is the constant change of attendants which prevents him from forming longer-lasting attachments to other children. So we do hope the authorities will soon get their act together and come up with a new permanent place for him.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SdJVjR3ff7I/AAAAAAAADgE/PoX1zxU8nyo/s1600-h/S%C3%B8ren+%26+Tristan+2+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SdJVjR3ff7I/AAAAAAAADgE/PoX1zxU8nyo/s400/S%C3%B8ren+%26+Tristan+2+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319408174457913266" border="0" /></a>What else is new? Just a few days after Inge's departure we also had the pleasure of entertaining Søren, Ane's stepdad as a guest. Somehow Tristan feels particularly attached to him and it is rather touching to watch the two together lost in conversation.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SdJVjgJ9QrI/AAAAAAAADgM/vlYPNPr9ttQ/s1600-h/S%C3%B8ren+%26+Tristan+3+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SdJVjgJ9QrI/AAAAAAAADgM/vlYPNPr9ttQ/s400/S%C3%B8ren+%26+Tristan+3+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319408178293457586" border="0" /></a>And finally, in a few days' time we are off to Hungary to spend a few days in Budapest and then to celebrate my mum's 60th birthday together with the rest of the family. She hasn't seen Tristan since the middle of October, so his presence is likely to become the greatest present of them all. I'll write about how it went in my next entry.<br /></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-32594730889370983172009-02-10T10:50:00.005+01:002009-02-10T12:17:16.266+01:00The great amber-hunt<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:hyphenationzone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:3.0cm 2.0cm 3.0cm 2.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabel - Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">We have Ane’s mum Inge visiting at the moment. Tristan and I went to pick her up at the airport last Thursday, and I took a few shots while we were waiting. Here are two of them.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFVEDmlJ-I/AAAAAAAADUU/n-9n4_mjV3c/s1600-h/Lufthavn+4+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFVEDmlJ-I/AAAAAAAADUU/n-9n4_mjV3c/s400/Lufthavn+4+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301111764566747106" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFVDxpv-uI/AAAAAAAADUM/_CUTUKk4fMM/s1600-h/Lufthavn+3+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFVDxpv-uI/AAAAAAAADUM/_CUTUKk4fMM/s400/Lufthavn+3+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301111759748201186" border="0" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">Gomorra</span><br /></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">It is amazing what a difference the presence of a grandmother can suddenly make in one’s life. I can make dinner or wash up without a 20-pound child hanging around my neck, the laundry gets hanged up in the basement before it dries inside the washing machine and it is even possibly to steal away for half an hour to check emails or write a blog entry. Inge even offered to do a bit of baby sitting so that Ane and I could get to the cinema - only the second time since Tristan was born. We saw <span style="font-style: italic;">Gomorra</span>, the Italian Mafia / Camorra movie everyone's talking about and which harvested all the major prizes at the European Film Awards a few weeks ago. The film was great; really harsh and completely lacking the cheesy gangster romantics and glamor <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">that Hollywood</st1:city></st1:place> normally throws over the subject. It really shows you the vast devastation across the whole society that this type of criminality can cause. I particularly liked the cinematography: hand-held cameras, lots of focus-shifts, really dark scenes among the desolate semi-ruins of the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Naples</st1:place></st1:city> housing estate, which is really made to look like the worst place to live on earth (which it probably is).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFVDQ3_01I/AAAAAAAADUE/4SckUWdTHzM/s1600-h/00002469_gomorra_plakat-dk_205.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 149px; height: 205px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFVDQ3_01I/AAAAAAAADUE/4SckUWdTHzM/s400/00002469_gomorra_plakat-dk_205.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301111750949589842" border="0" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">Winter, at last</span><br /></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Yesterday we had the first (and possibly last) real winter day of the season. When we woke up, the town was covered in an inch of snow, and later it turn out to be the most beautiful day with sunshine, only temporarily disrupted by liberal scattering of picturesque clouds. Inge and I took the opportunity to drive to Lyngså on the east coast to look for amber on the beach.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUihlKvwI/AAAAAAAADTk/iWpYL-D4HYw/s1600-h/IMGP9600.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUihlKvwI/AAAAAAAADTk/iWpYL-D4HYw/s400/IMGP9600.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301111188498333442" border="0" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">Amber </span><br /></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Finding amber is not easy. It requires patience, luck, and, according to a common Danish belief, a special sense that one acquires only by starting out as a child. Some would even claim that being a great amber-hunter runs in the family – but I’d rather not get into that. Since the likelihood of finding amber on the housing estate in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hungary</st1:place></st1:country-region> where I grew up was extremely slim, I will probably never make it in the amber-hunting trade. My record so far is nothing to brag about: over the years I think I’ve found about five pieces in all – although two of them were rather large, earning me 10 minutes fame and admiration in the family.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUi2sFbUI/AAAAAAAADTs/leL8meEXyBQ/s1600-h/IMGP9647.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUi2sFbUI/AAAAAAAADTs/leL8meEXyBQ/s400/IMGP9647.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301111194164489538" border="0" /></a> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">To be honest, finding amber is not something that gets me going. I just don’t see the fun in strolling along the beach at a snail’s pace, bent forward, steering at the sand and poking it from time to time with a stick (see below). For me the point of being by the sea is actually watching the waves, the sky, the dunes, the birds, and, possibly, the female sunbathers (who were regrettably very scarce this February morning).<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUiKWuf7I/AAAAAAAADTc/cng6ncbWX5o/s1600-h/IMGP9688.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUiKWuf7I/AAAAAAAADTc/cng6ncbWX5o/s400/IMGP9688.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301111182263746482" border="0" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUjGINRrI/AAAAAAAADT0/gYuqct_H9Z0/s1600-h/IMGP9614.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUjGINRrI/AAAAAAAADT0/gYuqct_H9Z0/s400/IMGP9614.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301111198308976306" border="0" /></a> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Apart from luck, patience, that special sense and possibly the genetic component, it also helps if there is actually amber on the beach. This is most likely after a proper storm, when the waves throw up pieces of various sizes onto the beach. As the weather had been rather dull earlier, we didn’t find anything apart from a relatively small piece. A rather meager harvest after a day’s work, you might say – but the sun, the sea, the silence and the total luck of people made it absolutely worthwhile – in spite of the lacking topless sunbathers.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUjaDKw6I/AAAAAAAADT8/q-f_o4Kh4eo/s1600-h/IMGP9691.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SZFUjaDKw6I/AAAAAAAADT8/q-f_o4Kh4eo/s400/IMGP9691.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301111203656549282" border="0" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">More pictures <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/podolin/LyngsaaFebruary2009#">here</a>.<br /></p>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-5408225497973850232009-01-18T16:13:00.006+01:002009-01-18T16:35:38.220+01:00Quiet days<div style="text-align: justify;">A few quiet, uneventful days, at last. Our <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/podolin/ChristmasInAmerica#">holiday in the States</a> is now a distant (but very nice) memory, as we have long readjusted to our daily life in Denmark. The weather here is also back to its usual dullness that is characteristic of this time of year. We haven’t experienced any of those winter storms that from time to time hit the west coast with ferocious force, flooding low-lying areas and causing general havoc. So far this winter has just been wet, gray and windy. How we sometimes long for the deep snow of Wisconsin! At least the days are getting perceivably longer.<br /><br />The greatest recent news is that Tristan has learned to walk! He took his first real steps in Madison. For some reason in the beginning he felt most sure walking barefoot, holding something in his hand But these restrictions don’t apply any more, and now he can even change direction and turn around without falling – most of the time.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyAcykbQhsNX9LPp0568Myerx95xKttkne5wLEzGnCctM7GWXtrfGxd6bKA0mcnoAF6WJYlR_pHVHJ6tplUbA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Having mastered this advanced form of locomotion, he is now clearly getting ready to speak. In his babbling I can distinguish the distinct intonation patterns of his two languages. We really wonder what his first word will be. An interesting question in this respect is whether what we normally consider first words are really words or perhaps something else? Many linguists would say that these are in reality not words but mini-sentences or “holistic utterances”. This is because they seem to have a wide range of partially related meanings, only some of which are covered by the same word in the adult word. Thus the “word” <span style="font-style: italic;">apple </span>may mean anything from ‘<span style="font-style: italic;">give me the apple</span>’ to ‘<span style="font-style: italic;">I want to give the apple to daddy</span>’ to ‘<span style="font-style: italic;">it looks like an apple</span>’. (In the last sense, of course it can be applied to oranges, tennis balls and a myriad other things.) The other reason why we can’t really talk about words is that these utterances typically have the intonation patterns of short sentences. For example, <span style="font-style: italic;">apple</span>, when applied in the sense ‘<span style="font-style: italic;">where is the apple?</span>’, would have the rising-falling prosody of English questions.<br /><br />Anyway, Tristan is not quite at this stage yet, although in some sense he already has a single “word”: <span style="font-style: italic;">mamama</span>. It meets two of the three criteria typically applied to first words: it has a fairly clear and stable meaning: ‘<span style="font-style: italic;">give it to me NOW</span>; <span style="font-style: italic;">'I want it bad and I can’t wait' </span>('it' being mostly, but not exclusively food) and a very stable pronunciation. Only the third criterion is lacking: it doesn’t sound like anything with a similar meaning in Danish or Hungarian. But I’m sure he will soon be more explicit than that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SXNLZlcQzeI/AAAAAAAADGU/knoEQAAfQH4/s1600-h/IMGP9221.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SXNLZlcQzeI/AAAAAAAADGU/knoEQAAfQH4/s400/IMGP9221.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292656890009931234" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SXNLaP7SxAI/AAAAAAAADGc/aneuuXW5HDY/s1600-h/IMGP9245.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SXNLaP7SxAI/AAAAAAAADGc/aneuuXW5HDY/s400/IMGP9245.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292656901414372354" border="0" /></a><br />Anyway, what else is new since my last post? Tristan had his second haircut yesterday and it did not go quite as smoothly as the first time. I think the procedure of being installed in a high chair and having a comparative stranger fiddle around his ear reminded him too much of his recent traumatic visits to the ear specialist. But after some crying the result was excellent, and he looks quite cheeky with his new, trimmed looks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SXNLaY2tfJI/AAAAAAAADGk/2JGYjtHrhwk/s1600-h/IMGP9265.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SXNLaY2tfJI/AAAAAAAADGk/2JGYjtHrhwk/s400/IMGP9265.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292656903811071122" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SXNHrs5gxiI/AAAAAAAADGM/0LxF2tESMZo/s1600-h/IMGP9275.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SXNHrs5gxiI/AAAAAAAADGM/0LxF2tESMZo/s400/IMGP9275.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292652803202795042" border="0" /></a></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-45148380044632772412008-12-26T23:11:00.007+01:002008-12-27T17:03:08.797+01:00White Christmas<div style="text-align: justify;">Back to Madison, Wisconsin. It feels as if it was only a few weeks ago that we were here <a href="http://podolin.blogspot.com/2008/07/visiting-madison.html">last</a>, but the total changeover of the landscape reminds us that this is not the case. We get another chance to enjoy the legendary extreme climate of the American midwest. On earlier occasion we experienced an extreme heat wave in October, last time we tried tornadoes, spectacular summer storms and flash floods, and this time we are wading through real deep snow - when it is not too cold to venture outside.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXge354SI/AAAAAAAAC-I/mAmDpYjrbJE/s1600-h/IMGP8807+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXge354SI/AAAAAAAAC-I/mAmDpYjrbJE/s400/IMGP8807+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284225953344119074" border="0" /></a>Madison is on track to match last year's record 101.4-inch snow accumulation. So far there have been 31 inches this season, and 10.3 of that fell on Friday 19 December, the day we arrived. Luckily, the authorities were well prepared, so there were no major hick ups, although schools had to be closed because of the arctic cold.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXhOBNlII/AAAAAAAAC-Y/owlowxKTP78/s1600-h/IMGP8831+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXhOBNlII/AAAAAAAAC-Y/owlowxKTP78/s400/IMGP8831+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284225965999625346" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXgk9S4kI/AAAAAAAAC-Q/II_6NJXlxNM/s1600-h/IMGP8817+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXgk9S4kI/AAAAAAAAC-Q/II_6NJXlxNM/s400/IMGP8817+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284225954977342018" border="0" /></a><br />The low temperatures only allowed us once to take the kids sledging. It was a moderate success. Tristan did not seem to mind it too much, and may even have enjoyed it - in any case, he had the same laconic expression as last time in the zoo. His twin cousins, however, were much less impressed. But they will get a chance to get used to it, as there is new snow on the way.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXfgv2bVI/AAAAAAAAC-A/F9UXvYJHoqs/s1600-h/IMGP8851+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXfgv2bVI/AAAAAAAAC-A/F9UXvYJHoqs/s400/IMGP8851+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284225936667340114" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXhZbPduI/AAAAAAAAC-g/ei712ltSgrI/s1600-h/Three+in+the+snow+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SVVXhZbPduI/AAAAAAAAC-g/ei712ltSgrI/s400/Three+in+the+snow+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284225969061590754" border="0" /></a></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-6769288807239248532008-12-15T09:01:00.011+01:002008-12-15T16:39:47.866+01:00One<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:hyphenationzone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:3.0cm 2.0cm 3.0cm 2.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabel - Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:100%;">Isn’t it unbelievable that it was already a year ago that Ane and I sat there in the hospital and looked at this little creature for the first time? He was totally helpless as he was dragged through the initial health checks - and now, as I write this, he’s crawling around in the sitting room at an astonishing pace, playing with the new toys he got at yesterday’s birthday party.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYSCRSEfhI/AAAAAAAAC0k/dlLhh7d0X7Q/s1600-h/Billede+041+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYSCRSEfhI/AAAAAAAAC0k/dlLhh7d0X7Q/s320/Billede+041+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279927443346718226" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:100%;">It is truly amazing how far has come in a year. He can’t quite walk yet, but took his first few independent steps during the party yesterday. Unfortunately I just happened to be out of the room. He can’t speak yet, either (it usually takes a bit longer when one has to master two languages) but his communication skills are excellent. He can express just about everything he wants to by pointing, hitting, biting and uttering various vocal calls. He has also started to attach words to their referents (he can point at a number of objects when we call out their names) but somehow he got the meaning of ‘no’ totally wrong. In other words, he is developing a very definite mind of his own.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:100%;">In the middle of October he began in day care, which has been a mixed blessing so far. Socially it is definitely a success: Tristan adjusted quickly to the new setting and is happy to be there, apart from a 30-second ritual protest every morning when he gets dropped off. But unfortunately his attendance has been quite erratic, due to a series of various illnesses from the flu to ear infection. Hope his immune system will benefit from these in the long run.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:100%;">Apart from looking at dogs and feeding birds, Tristan’s main interest is being together with other kids, especially his twin cousins Cecilie and Isabell who are only three weeks younger than him. He is also quite keen on books, although that interest is mostly gastronomical.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:100%;">With his two extended trips abroad Tristan is already a very experienced traveller. Right now he’s getting ready for his third long journey; in a couple of day’s time we’re off to <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Wisconsin</st1:place></st1:state> to celebrate Christmas with Ane’s “American” family. So this blog will go dark for a short while – but before that here are a few pictures from Tristan’s very first birthday party:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQgD6ajJI/AAAAAAAACz0/LeWwZUdOhxY/s1600-h/IMGP8516+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQgD6ajJI/AAAAAAAACz0/LeWwZUdOhxY/s400/IMGP8516+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279925756130659474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYRDIYCKRI/AAAAAAAAC0c/tnCTOJOYMrE/s1600-h/IMGP8552+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYRDIYCKRI/AAAAAAAAC0c/tnCTOJOYMrE/s400/IMGP8552+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279926358624053522" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQezLck-I/AAAAAAAACzs/w14ljFxYlag/s1600-h/IMGP8535+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQezLck-I/AAAAAAAACzs/w14ljFxYlag/s400/IMGP8535+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279925734458823650" border="0" /></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There were no fewer than three different types of birthday cakes: the official one by Ane (</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >first picture</span><span style="font-size:100%;">), a super <span style="font-style: italic;">brunsviger</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">kagemand</span> ('cakeman')</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> by Kristine (</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >second picture</span><span style="font-size:100%;">), and the famous Hungarian </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Dobos torta</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> by Orsi.<br /></span></div><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPhupz2yI/AAAAAAAACzE/Hb0QBRaQkrw/s1600-h/IMGP8511+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPhupz2yI/AAAAAAAACzE/Hb0QBRaQkrw/s400/IMGP8511+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279924685271980834" border="0" /></a>Of course Tristan took a very active part in the preparations and tasted everything, raw, half-baked and ready.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQhcJUNsI/AAAAAAAAC0M/8ZIlZaBDAwk/s1600-h/IMGP8523+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQhcJUNsI/AAAAAAAAC0M/8ZIlZaBDAwk/s400/IMGP8523+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279925779815478978" border="0" /></a>All in all we were 15 people, so we couldn't fit at one table. Here is the larger of the two tables.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQgklBciI/AAAAAAAACz8/fXuHQlsZMnY/s1600-h/IMGP8589+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 270px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQgklBciI/AAAAAAAACz8/fXuHQlsZMnY/s400/IMGP8589+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279925764899303970" border="0" /></a><br />Unfortunately only one of Tristan's three grandma's, Ing-Britt could be present, but she made a good job of trying to substitute for the others. Nevertheless, we were missing Inge and Ilona a lot, not to mention all other friends and family members abroad.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPiyMD4oI/AAAAAAAACzk/ghl9Wi7mtiQ/s1600-h/IMGP8550+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPiyMD4oI/AAAAAAAACzk/ghl9Wi7mtiQ/s400/IMGP8550+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279924703400813186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPipPGi8I/AAAAAAAACzc/CiGAZNOYWvQ/s1600-h/IMGP8551+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPipPGi8I/AAAAAAAACzc/CiGAZNOYWvQ/s400/IMGP8551+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279924700997651394" border="0" /></a>It looks good - but let me TASTE IT!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPiXzs0bI/AAAAAAAACzU/aLkn54P7Vlk/s1600-h/IMGP8539+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPiXzs0bI/AAAAAAAACzU/aLkn54P7Vlk/s400/IMGP8539+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279924696319316402" border="0" /></a>Orsi and Tristan - and, most important of all, Orsi's camera.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQg1R8Z6I/AAAAAAAAC0E/Zv36ZBs4CGw/s1600-h/IMGP8576+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYQg1R8Z6I/AAAAAAAAC0E/Zv36ZBs4CGw/s400/IMGP8576+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279925769382684578" border="0" /></a>Checking out the presents.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYRCy2FvzI/AAAAAAAAC0U/w7wI5v37QCI/s1600-h/Meile+%26+Orsi+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYRCy2FvzI/AAAAAAAAC0U/w7wI5v37QCI/s400/Meile+%26+Orsi+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279926352844537650" border="0" /></a>Not only the kids had fun - Meile and Orsi in party mode.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPhxAAhjI/AAAAAAAACzM/TUBTPBHbTkU/s1600-h/IMGP8579+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SUYPhxAAhjI/AAAAAAAACzM/TUBTPBHbTkU/s400/IMGP8579+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279924685901956658" border="0" /></a>Getting tired of opening all those boxes.<br /><br />Finally, on behalf of the three of us, thank you to all for the many presents, cards and e-mails. They really made it a very special day.</span><br /></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-28321666156074010852008-12-02T08:54:00.021+01:002008-12-02T13:07:41.359+01:00In the Zoo<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:hyphenationzone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:3.0cm 2.0cm 3.0cm 2.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabel - Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Georgia;">Last Sunday we took Tristan to the local Zoo for the first time. It was an interesting experience for us from the point of view of child development. He got very quiet and contemplative, not showing any overt sign of interest or excitement, though he clearly soaked every impression in.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTyF8-0vVI/AAAAAAAACtw/rPYyPRlreO0/s1600-h/IMGP8132+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTyF8-0vVI/AAAAAAAACtw/rPYyPRlreO0/s320/IMGP8132+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275107247640591698" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left; font-family: lucida grande;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:hyphenationzone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:3.0cm 2.0cm 3.0cm 2.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabel - Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Georgia;">The thing with small kids is that one can never be sure what catches their attention. This time all the animals were in top form. Anna, the huge orangutan (picture) was doing her bits about a yard from us, the baby chimps were playing like crazy, the penguins were feeding noisily, but the only thing that got Tristan really agitated was a plain domestic cat walking by.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTyGbrSTYI/AAAAAAAACuI/WcfXnHUhpFE/s1600-h/Untitled.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTyGbrSTYI/AAAAAAAACuI/WcfXnHUhpFE/s320/Untitled.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275107255880142210" border="0" /></a><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:hyphenationzone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:3.0cm 2.0cm 3.0cm 2.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabel - Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Georgia;">Another example of the same thing is from Saturday, when we went to a toy shop to get some new toys for Tristan. After what to me felt like several hours of careful searching we selected three pieces of the best and most educational pieces ever produced. On the way out, as kind of an afterthought, Ane threw a cheap plastic toy mobile phone into our cart. Well, try and guess which one of the four toys has enjoyed Tristan's undivided attention ever since we got home?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" ><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Georgia;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <u1:worddocument> <u1:view>Normal<u1:zoom>0<u1:hyphenationzone>21<u1:punctuationkerning/> <u1:validateagainstschemas/> <u1:saveifxmlinvalid>false<u1:ignoremixedcontent>false<u1:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false<u1:compatibility> <u1:breakwrappedtables/> <u1:snaptogridincell/> <u1:wraptextwithpunct/> <u1:useasianbreakrules/> <u1:dontgrowautofit/> <u1:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</u1:browserlevel> </u1:compatibility> </u1:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> </u1:ignoremixedcontent> </u1:saveifxmlinvalid> </u1:hyphenationzone> </u1:zoom> </u1:view> </u1:worddocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <u2:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </u2:latentstyles> </xml><![endif]-->Back to the zoo: we also visited the petting zoo, where Tristan very nearly managed to tear off a baby goat's ear. He does the same to me from time to time (although, strangely, never to Ane) and it is really not much fun for the victim. At least the poor goat didn't wear glasses.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u3:p></u3:p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTyGByh4SI/AAAAAAAACuA/rgEEaASzLSA/s1600-h/IMGP8144.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTyGByh4SI/AAAAAAAACuA/rgEEaASzLSA/s320/IMGP8144.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275107248931201314" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTyF9mVyzI/AAAAAAAACt4/Mz1pvBNAUwQ/s1600-h/IMGP8143+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTyF9mVyzI/AAAAAAAACt4/Mz1pvBNAUwQ/s320/IMGP8143+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275107247806335794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:hyphenationzone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:3.0cm 2.0cm 3.0cm 2.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabel - Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Georgia;">We finished the trip in the cafeteria. Much good can be said about Aalborg Zoo. It was the world's first ecological zoo, the animals have reasonably decent living conditions, their educational displays are first class - but the food is simply appalling. The worst kind of junk, without a trace of anything green and healthy. This did not trouble Tristan, though who really enjoyed eating Ane's French fries with a BIG fork.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTzxjxhHGI/AAAAAAAACuQ/mIHO8v2GeL0/s1600-h/IMGP8163+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/STTzxjxhHGI/AAAAAAAACuQ/mIHO8v2GeL0/s320/IMGP8163+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275109096299764834" border="0" /></a>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-84906670509363998952008-11-17T09:59:00.006+01:002008-11-17T10:14:44.495+01:00Tristan at 11 months<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SSEy9OqcprI/AAAAAAAACqo/iSagGFEII9Y/s1600-h/11+months+today+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SSEy9OqcprI/AAAAAAAACqo/iSagGFEII9Y/s320/11+months+today+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269549066489734834" border="0" /></a><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:hyphenationzone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:3.0cm 2.0cm 3.0cm 2.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabel - Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span> <p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">I’ve been keeping a low profile for a while, due to illness, travel and general autumn inactivity. In the meantime our life has become rather more hectic, as Ane returned to work and Tristan began his career in day care over a month ago. We were lucky to find a suitable place for him relatively close by. It’s a smallish one of its kind: apart from Tristan there are only two other kids (both older than him). Jette, his child-minder is employed by <st1:place st="on">Aalborg</st1:place> municipality, which gives a bit of extra security compared to private care. For example, when she’s off sick, the authorities arrange for an alternative placement. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Tristan had a relatively smooth start, but then launched into the usual succession of flu-like illnesses. Therefore he stayed home for several days, during which he got sufficiently unused to the whole idea of not being home with mum or dad all the time. Apart from the slight disappointment it caused, he’s doing very well. His latest favourite pastimes are pointing at various objects, studying photographs of family members and feeding birds in the nearby park. Since the latter interest he shares with several other kids in the neighbourhood, an average duck in our park must have a calorie intake significantly higher than that of a smaller African village.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SSEzVkq2QEI/AAAAAAAACqw/pJ7yTmn46gk/s1600-h/11+months+today+2+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SSEzVkq2QEI/AAAAAAAACqw/pJ7yTmn46gk/s320/11+months+today+2+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269549484713852994" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tristan is also getting better and better at understanding words (still relying heavily on context) and his vocalization is ever more expressive and varied. He is very happy to be with other kids, especially his twin cousins. Eating is another favourite activity. After a short spell of being rather fussy, his appetite is back to normal. He eats just about everything, and is very interested in new tastes. Ane and I simply can’t understand where he got that from. As for his physical development, he is now very steady on his feet but does not seem to be particularly keen on standing without support or walking. It looks as if for the time being he were satisfied with the means of locomotion he already masters. They certainly get him to most places he wants to (and to some we think he shouldn’t get to). </span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SSE0LmwN4UI/AAAAAAAACq4/sM_OziaHhVQ/s1600-h/IMGP7955+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SSE0LmwN4UI/AAAAAAAACq4/sM_OziaHhVQ/s320/IMGP7955+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269550412986179906" border="0" /></a>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-51624646304908648962008-09-23T11:54:00.012+02:002008-09-23T20:00:39.188+02:00Århus University - the first 80 years<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi92RbqcJI/AAAAAAAACeo/oWx2_IZexPQ/s1600-h/Egyetem+logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi92RbqcJI/AAAAAAAACeo/oWx2_IZexPQ/s400/Egyetem+logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249154105790328978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">Århus University, where I work, celebrates its 80th birthday this months. Back in the 1920s several Danish towns in Jutland were competing for the right to host the country's second university. Århus triumphed, and in September 1928 the first 64 students began their studies under the guidance of 5 permanent lecturers.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">The first year conditions were somewhat rough. The university had no buildings yet, so teaching took place in rented rooms, and the budget was a very modest 33000 DKK, provided by the town council.</span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Later the city of Århus and the Danish government agreed that the state would be financing the administration of the university, while the municipality was responsible for raising funds for building expenses. </span><br /></div><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">The building of the university campus began in the 1930's, and to a large extent was financed by private donations. The uniform yellow brick buildings, designed by the local architects Kay Fisker, C.F. Møller and Povl Stegmann, are gathered in and around the picturesque University Park. The hills, ponds and old trees of the park provide a very atmospheric backdrop to academic work. (Click on the pictures for larger size.)<br /></p><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNjRmJID25I/AAAAAAAACgY/U4xCR-XPGpY/s1600-h/University+from+the+air.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNjRmJID25I/AAAAAAAACgY/U4xCR-XPGpY/s320/University+from+the+air.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249175818915273618" border="0" /></a></div><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">Currently the university has 35 000 students and 8500 staff, and its annual budget is 4,5 milliard DKK. Among its students were Queen Margrethe II, who studied political science and archaeology, and her son, crown prince Frederik, who got his MA here in political science.</p><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">I work at the Linguistics department in one of the old buildings at the northern edge of the park:</p><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-UtonX5I/AAAAAAAACe4/5gnr_NknhYk/s1600-h/Building+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-UtonX5I/AAAAAAAACe4/5gnr_NknhYk/s400/Building+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249154628756922258" border="0" /></a></p><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">Our department in the evening:</p><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-U6UKD1I/AAAAAAAACfA/tV7edZZRNkA/s1600-h/Lin_Corridor+1+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-U6UKD1I/AAAAAAAACfA/tV7edZZRNkA/s400/Lin_Corridor+1+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249154632160776018" border="0" /></a></div><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">My office, which I share with a young Polish linguist. My desk is the one in the foreground:<br /></p><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-VDoWbiI/AAAAAAAACfI/Gv77wKazt6o/s1600-h/Office+1+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-VDoWbiI/AAAAAAAACfI/Gv77wKazt6o/s400/Office+1+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249154634661391906" border="0" /></a></div><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">My 'roommate' Kamila:</p><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-dHaEU5I/AAAAAAAACfY/1CA-klDWUNM/s1600-h/Kami+1+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-dHaEU5I/AAAAAAAACfY/1CA-klDWUNM/s400/Kami+1+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249154773114180498" border="0" /></a></div><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">The university's central building, with the Main Hall. Our building is right behind, on the right:</p><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-TybyE7I/AAAAAAAACew/RRdm0svCWY8/s1600-h/800px-Aarhus_Universitet_-_hovedbygnings_bagside.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-TybyE7I/AAAAAAAACew/RRdm0svCWY8/s400/800px-Aarhus_Universitet_-_hovedbygnings_bagside.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249154612865405874" border="0" /></a></div><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">The Main Hall:<br /></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNkugZL_KII/AAAAAAAAChY/lUnkPeo7-hI/s1600-h/Aula+1+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNkugZL_KII/AAAAAAAAChY/lUnkPeo7-hI/s320/Aula+1+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249277974728878210" border="0" /></a><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">The view from my window, overlooking the University Park:</p><p style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-VVhClwI/AAAAAAAACfQ/pIR2XzkQqaw/s1600-h/View+from+office.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNi-VVhClwI/AAAAAAAACfQ/pIR2XzkQqaw/s400/View+from+office.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249154639462569730" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >In the first picture: the University's logo. For further details on the history of Århus University see </span><a style="font-family: georgia; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.au.dk/en/history.htm">here</a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >.</span><br /></p>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-35438031954209529322008-09-18T20:05:00.007+02:002008-09-18T20:42:30.897+02:00The haircut<div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">Another milestone passed: Tristan had his first haircut today! It was done at home, by Karen Inger, a hairdresser in our extended family. Tristan didn't seem to mind it at all, or rather, he failed to notice that something extraordinary was going on. He might have thought that people were simply fiddling with his hair, as usual. Anyway, here is the result:<br /><br />Before:</div><div style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ97X0_LI/AAAAAAAACao/kH7fr7eOMug/s1600-h/Tristan+haircut_before.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ97X0_LI/AAAAAAAACao/kH7fr7eOMug/s400/Tristan+haircut_before.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247425805028752562" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">During:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ-frK0RI/AAAAAAAACaw/kGt0HcgTRvE/s1600-h/Tristan+haircut_during+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ-frK0RI/AAAAAAAACaw/kGt0HcgTRvE/s400/Tristan+haircut_during+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247425814773551378" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ-qSCWmI/AAAAAAAACa4/0PSatTVuEUU/s1600-h/Tristan+haircut_during+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ-qSCWmI/AAAAAAAACa4/0PSatTVuEUU/s400/Tristan+haircut_during+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247425817620929122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">Are we soon done here?</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ_BmJacI/AAAAAAAACbA/OkmnSCeg0To/s1600-h/Tristan+haircut_soon+done+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ_BmJacI/AAAAAAAACbA/OkmnSCeg0To/s400/Tristan+haircut_soon+done+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247425823879293378" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">Does it REALLY have to take so long?</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ_RqIpOI/AAAAAAAACbI/2HDXXDjW7zo/s1600-h/Tristan+haircut_soon+done+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKZ_RqIpOI/AAAAAAAACbI/2HDXXDjW7zo/s400/Tristan+haircut_soon+done+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247425828190987490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">Is that really me?</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKdLE9s53I/AAAAAAAACbQ/v5aM0WVLZnU/s1600-h/Tristan+haircut_after+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKdLE9s53I/AAAAAAAACbQ/v5aM0WVLZnU/s400/Tristan+haircut_after+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247429329476708210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">Hm, it's not so bad, after all...</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKdLS98mNI/AAAAAAAACbY/fRBFGwfDQ0g/s1600-h/Tristan+haircut_after+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKdLS98mNI/AAAAAAAACbY/fRBFGwfDQ0g/s400/Tristan+haircut_after+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247429333235833042" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">Well done, Karen Inger!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKdLuAPyBI/AAAAAAAACbg/tQhCHNOPg2U/s1600-h/Tristan+haircut_after+3_clap.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SNKdLuAPyBI/AAAAAAAACbg/tQhCHNOPg2U/s400/Tristan+haircut_after+3_clap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247429340493236242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">Otherwise Tristan turned 9 months old this week. Since the last update he has learned to clap (and has been practising it very enthusiastically, see the last picture), got his fifth tooth out, and become much steadier on his feet. His vocalizing is also getting more and more varied and expressive, slowly getting ready for that first word his parents can't wait to hear.</span><br /></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-62847489101584610062008-09-03T10:37:00.012+02:002008-09-03T22:39:33.699+02:00Fatherhood redefined<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:hyphenationzone>21</w:HyphenationZone> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:3.0cm 2.0cm 3.0cm 2.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabel - Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SL5OI5_-Y4I/AAAAAAAACI8/6HdUN-tBQFU/s1600-h/Icelandic+children+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SL5OI5_-Y4I/AAAAAAAACI8/6HdUN-tBQFU/s320/Icelandic+children+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241712931220906882" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:georgia;">Soon it becomes easier to be a father in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Denmark</st1:place></st1:country-region> - at least if the parliament passes a law proposal by the largest opposition party, the Social Democrats. The law would fundamentally change the Danish child care system, mainly by earmarking a 12-week chunk of the 32-week parental leave for the father. In the present system (see my <a href="http://podolin.blogspot.com/2008/08/childcare-in-denmark.html">earlier entry</a>), parents can divide the 32 weeks between them, but statistics show that only a tiny minority of men actually use this opportunity. On average Danish fathers take only 3, 4 weeks parental leave, while the mother stays home for 42, 3 weeks. Social democrats and their parliamentary allies, The Radicals hope that the new system would trigger far-reaching demographic, social and cultural changes in society, as was the case in <st1:country-region st="on">Norway</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Iceland</st1:place></st1:country-region> after similar legislation came into force.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SL5OQS5mp8I/AAAAAAAACJE/Dxh0xElMGrI/s1600-h/iceland_flag.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SL5OQS5mp8I/AAAAAAAACJE/Dxh0xElMGrI/s320/iceland_flag.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241713058164156354" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >The Icelandic system</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">As the first country in the world, <st1:country-region st="on">Norway</st1:country-region> introduced the special paternal leave back in 1993, and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Iceland</st1:place></st1:country-region> followed steps in 2002. The latter system divides the 9 months parental leave into three equal parts, reserving 3 months for the mother and 3 months for the father, while the remaining 3 months can be used by either parent. The expectations toward the new system were fourfold: (1) to better integrate fathers into the life of their families, (2) to increase birth rates, (3), to improve the economic status of Icelandic families, and (4) to provide more equal opportunities for women on the labor market.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Daddy with a feeding bottle</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The new law soon turned out to be an unqualified success. Already in the first year 82% of fathers took leave for the full 3 months reserved for them, and by last year the figure hit the 90 % mark. This has clearly had a positive influence on family dynamics. Fathers who took parental leave become much better integrated in their family, and take greater responsibility later on, for instance when their children are sick. Another positive outcome is the dramatic, 30% fall in the number of divorces in young families. This may have to do with the fact that 83% of fathers on parental leave reported a stronger emotional attachment to their children, and many feel that they understand their partner much better than before. Apparently, the key to these positive effects is whether fathers get a chance to spend a longer period (at least 2 months) alone with their children, without the mother looking over their shoulders.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SL5OWcpL2LI/AAAAAAAACJM/x8c5z9vUsME/s1600-h/Icelandic+children+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SL5OWcpL2LI/AAAAAAAACJM/x8c5z9vUsME/s320/Icelandic+children+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241713163858860210" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >New baby boom</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family:georgia;">As for the second area, the new legislation has resulted in a spectacular increase in birthrates which exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. In 6 years, the number of birth per woman increased from 1.8 to 2.1. With that figure </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: georgia;" st="on">Iceland</st1:country-region><span style="font-family:georgia;">, together with </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: georgia;" st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region><span style="font-family:georgia;">, can boast about the highest birth rates in </span><st1:place style="font-family: georgia;" st="on">Europe</st1:place><span style="font-family:georgia;">. Clearly, women are much more motivated to give birth to child number two and three, when the father was involved in the care of the first child. This finding is also strongly supported by an independent Danish study, which forecasts a 20 % increase in childbirths if the new system is introduced in </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: georgia;" st="on"><st1:place st="on">Denmark</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family:georgia;">. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Women on the job</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:georgia;">The positive changes are also obvious where gender equality on the Icelandic job market is concerned. Employers no longer have the incitement to favour men over women, since men and women are equally likely to take parental leave at some point in their lives. Finally, the new law has also improved family finances. In the old system the economic compensation of parents was too low (often below the minimal wage). At present parents who are active on the labour market are paid 80% of their average salaries during the leave and the payments come from a specific fund, financed through an insurance levy. The unemployed or those on low income receive a minimum payment. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >The modern father</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:georgia;">And as if this was not enough, the new system seems to have triggered subtle but far-reaching changes in the way Icelanders look at gender roles and the traditional family model. More and more young men define themselves as a father before all else, and proud young men pushing prams have become an essential ingredient of the townscape all over the country. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </div><p style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Any hope for Danish fathers?</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:georgia;">However, those young Danish men who become fathers in these weeks shouldn’t start clearing their desks yet. The law proposal meets considerable resistance among the governing liberal and conservative parties, who think that such a radical intervention into family life would go against the principal of personal choice. They also point to several unresolved issues around the financing of the proposed system. On the other hand, the law is warmly supported by the main employer organisations and the media, as well as the majority of voters, which might well force the government to reconsider its resistance.</span><br /></span></p><p face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a style="font-family: georgia;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SL5OcmDBwxI/AAAAAAAACJU/o9acyHT9-3I/s1600-h/Icelandic+children+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SL5OcmDBwxI/AAAAAAAACJU/o9acyHT9-3I/s320/Icelandic+children+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241713269462385426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Pictures: Icelandic children by </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;" href="http://users.cybercity.dk/%7Ebse5809/">Hiroshi Ichikawa</a>, <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Icelandic flag: from the Internet</span><br /></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-1748384590536015482008-08-30T19:17:00.011+02:002008-09-18T22:42:42.713+02:00Tristan's new room<div style="text-align: justify;">This will mostly be of interest for those closest to us - and those who know our flat. After several weeks of hesitation we finally made up our mind and moved out our old bedroom, turning it into Tristan's room. It took the most of Friday afternoon and some of this morning, and Tristan took a very active part in the process, in particular in assembling his new bookshelf / room divider:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLmG_xGeeRI/AAAAAAAACE0/iBkQnqu9ktE/s1600-h/Tristan+at+work.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLmG_xGeeRI/AAAAAAAACE0/iBkQnqu9ktE/s320/Tristan+at+work.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240368071492663570" border="0" /></a>All three of us are rather pleased with the results, and last night Tristan slept alone for the first time in his "new room". He slept very well, which made us think that he may not have liked my snoring quite as much as I had thought. Anyway, for now the room looks like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLmCXwmRTlI/AAAAAAAACEk/wcZdSY2GO50/s1600-h/Tristan%27s+room.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLmCXwmRTlI/AAAAAAAACEk/wcZdSY2GO50/s320/Tristan%27s+room.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240362986116304466" border="0" /></a>Of course, this triggered a whole lot of changes in the rest of the flat. The middle room (a.k.a. <span style="font-style: italic;">'The Study'</span>) now doubles as the parents' bedroom, and that too turned out to be a good decision. It means we're making much better use of the available space without losing the functionality of the room:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLmD8L3lAOI/AAAAAAAACEs/7atMGOfDZHM/s1600-h/New+bedroom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLmD8L3lAOI/AAAAAAAACEs/7atMGOfDZHM/s320/New+bedroom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240364711423574242" border="0" /></a>Finally, from now on guests will be offered accommodation in the sitting room, on a newish (and very red) sofa which we inherited from my friend Paula, who's returned to her native Finland after many years in Denmark. We've tested the new sofa, and found it more comfortable than the old one - so we're ready for the first guest. (The old white sofa will go soon.)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLmINHtGMGI/AAAAAAAACE8/KWyNJms9CUk/s1600-h/Sitting+room.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLmINHtGMGI/AAAAAAAACE8/KWyNJms9CUk/s320/Sitting+room.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240369400410157154" border="0" /></a>On other fronts, Tristan now has four teeth, and in the course of the last three days has learned to stand up by pulling on anything available. Unfortunately he is not steady enough on his feet, so we are facing a nerve wracking few weeks with plenty of bruises. Will keep you posted.<br /></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-41054643323245122822008-08-26T20:29:00.011+02:002008-08-26T22:40:22.088+02:00Childcare in Denmark<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLRMAvSLpPI/AAAAAAAACEQ/YwRIXW9M-tQ/s1600-h/On+holiday+in+Blokhus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLRMAvSLpPI/AAAAAAAACEQ/YwRIXW9M-tQ/s320/On+holiday+in+Blokhus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238895842115167474" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:georgia;">Since Tristan was born, we often get asked how the Danish welfare system works with regard to parental leave, benefits and suchlike. Therefore we thought it might be interesting for some of you to read a short overview.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Home with baby</span><br /><o:p></o:p></span> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>To begin with parental leave, pregnant women may take leave four weeks prior to giving birth. After the child is born, the mother is entitled to 14 weeks maternity leave (the first two weeks of which is obligatory), and the father is entitled to 2 weeks paternity leave during the first 14 weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>After this initial 14-week period, the parents are entitled to an additional 32 weeks leave, which they can freely divide between them. For example, both of them can take 16 weeks off (either at the same time or consecutively), or one of them (usually the mother) may stay home for the whole period. In reality the latter is most often the case; according to statistics an average Danish father only takes 3,4 weeks of paternity leave, while a mother spends 42, 3 weeks home with her baby. There is growing consensus in society that something ought to be done about this disparity, perhaps by forcing fathers to take a more active role in childcare – more on that in my next entry. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>Back to parental leave, parents may save an 8-to-13-week period for later, but not later than the child’s 9<sup>th</sup> birthday. Conditions for adoption and multiple (i.e. twin) births are similar. In other words, getting twins do not entitle one to longer leave. In short:<o:p></o:p></span><br /></p><ul style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><li>4 weeks leave for the mother before giving birth<span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></li><li><span style="" lang="EN-GB">2 weeks leave for the father after birth (during the first 14 weeks)</span><br /></li><li>14 weeks leave for the mother after birth<span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></li><li><span style="" lang="EN-GB">32 weeks leave that can be divided between the parents<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">All in all, a parent can be home with the baby for almost a year. During this period she is entitled to parental benefits, currently 3515 DKK per week before tax. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The system as described so far only covers the minimal entitlements, as prescribed by the law. Many employers offer better conditions to their employees. These typically mean longer leave and/or full pay for some of the period. Ane, for example could already take leave 8 weeks before Tristan was due, and received her full salary instead of parental benefits for the first 24 weeks.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLRMnyBUywI/AAAAAAAACEY/jfp3yVLgIEU/s1600-h/On+the+beach.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SLRMnyBUywI/AAAAAAAACEY/jfp3yVLgIEU/s320/On+the+beach.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238896512864668418" border="0" /></a></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Baby in care</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">What this all adds up to is that most children in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Denmark</st1:place></st1:country-region> begin in some form of childcare between the ages of 6 months and 1 year. This may sound alarmingly early for someone from <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hungary</st1:place></st1:country-region>, where it is not uncommon for mothers to stay home for three years. On the other hand, for an American it may appear extremely generous. In any case, the system seems to work. The cultural expectation is that women should take a job and build a carrier, and about 72 % of all Danish women do so. Yet Danish birth rates are among the highest in the western world: 1.8 children per woman, compared to the EU average of 1.5.<br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Who cares?</span><br /><span style="" lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The three most typical forms of childcare are (1) day nurseries, (2) private or communal day care, and (3) employing a nanny. Day care is usually run by a single child-minder who looks after 3-4 children in her own home. She is normally in a contractual relationship with the local authorities, who also inspect whether her home meet fire- and health and safety regulations. Nurseries and day care are costly affairs, and some families therefore opt to employ a nanny, typically a young girl in her late teens or early twenties. Nannies normally don’t live with the family, but work there only during the week.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify; font-family: georgia;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">As for Tristan, he has been registered for three nurseries in the neighbourhood, and we are quite excited about where he will get a place when Ane returns to work on 1 November.<o:p> </o:p></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-84957198046809818922008-08-15T12:21:00.022+02:002008-09-18T22:43:33.851+02:00Tristan 8 months<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SKXkbHO7f4I/AAAAAAAACDQ/apL5kK3l6sI/s1600-h/8+months+today+cropped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SKXkbHO7f4I/AAAAAAAACDQ/apL5kK3l6sI/s320/8+months+today+cropped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234841296337338242" border="0" /></a>Tristan turned 8 months today, and we thought it'd be an excellent opportunity for an update on how he is doing. At the last check about two weeks ago, he weighed about 10 kg, which is no wonder considering his mighty appetite. He eats four "real" meals a day now, plus three times breast milk. He has two teeth in his lower jaw, and at least two more well on the way. On the whole, his development in most areas seem to be slightly ahead of average, especially where motor and cognitive skills are concerned. He can track partially hidden objects, and is quite good at both judging distance and picking up things. A couple of weeks ago he began to imitate sounds and movements more consciously, in particular when someone waves at him.<br />Apart from these, he can also:<br /><br /></div><ul><li>sit without support</li><li style="text-align: justify;">crawl (kind of), covering considerable distances and overcoming various obstacles along the way</li><li>support his own weight when standing upright with help</li><li>drink from a cup with help</li><li>feed himself finger food<br /></li><li>respond to his name</li><li>respond to 'no', mainly by doing even more of what he shouldn't</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SKXgKbtxmWI/AAAAAAAACC4/C4LIYX4ZEP8/s1600-h/Mash+1+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SKXgKbtxmWI/AAAAAAAACC4/C4LIYX4ZEP8/s320/Mash+1+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234836611731134818" border="0" /></a>As for his language development, it appears to be about average, which is what we find in most bilingual babies. For some time now he has been producing those sweet consonant chains (<span style="font-style: italic;">ba-ba-ba, da-da-da</span>) typical of this age, and is increasingly able to express his emotions through "speech". He takes more interest and pleasure in listening to people, watching their mouths move, and clearly takes notice when Ane or I speak English instead of our respective mother tongue.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SKXfsOCPleI/AAAAAAAACCw/3OOOKNPOevw/s1600-h/8+months+today+3+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SKXfsOCPleI/AAAAAAAACCw/3OOOKNPOevw/s320/8+months+today+3+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234836092662814178" border="0" /></a>Tristan has been a very happy child right from the start. He´s almost constantly in a good mood, and very glad to be together with other people. Lately, though, he has started to get somewhat anxious with strangers - a very normal reaction which is likely to get stronger in the next period. The only problem right now is his somewhat erratic sleeping pattern. He goes to bed between 7 and 8 pm, and falls asleep without problem after a short bedtime ritual, but then wakes up several times during the night. Of course it is rather demanding of us. It can also be that we just had it way too easy in the beginning, when he'd only be up a couple of times during the night, and only to feed.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">All pictures from today. See also the attached videos.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SKXiuEciDnI/AAAAAAAACDI/ewCFFJx36z8/s1600-h/Swing+2+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SKXiuEciDnI/AAAAAAAACDI/ewCFFJx36z8/s320/Swing+2+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234839422983343730" border="0" /></a></div>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-92223990049435844012008-08-07T13:52:00.011+02:002008-08-07T15:07:09.565+02:00The final days of Mårup church<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJroOQrjslI/AAAAAAAAB9M/IZ7BaPMdzew/s1600-h/IMGP5178.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJroOQrjslI/AAAAAAAAB9M/IZ7BaPMdzew/s320/IMGP5178.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231749248837726802" border="0" /></a>Yesterday evening my friend <a href="http://lyst-orsi.blogspot.com/2008/08/maarup-kirke.html">Orsi</a> and I said farewell to the old medieval church at Mårup, north west of Aalborg. The church, one of my favourite places in Denmark, has been threatened by coastal erosion for centuries, and now it stands right at the edge of the steep cliffs.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">When the simple Romanesque church was built between 1200 and 1250 AD, it stood over two kilometers from the sea. Even in the late 1700s, when it was modified and strengthened against shifting sand, the distance was over 45o meters. But by the beginning of the last century, the locals had to realize that the days of the church might soon be over. Consequently, they built a new, nondescript church in the nearby village. Since 1928 Mårup church has only been used occasionally, mostly for concerts and similar cultural events. The last service was held here on Easter Monday this year. In 1998 the church was emptied, and most of its furniture taken to the National Museum. In the meantime, the erosion process accelerated, and now it is only matter of months, if not weeks, before the whole structures tumbles down into the waves below. The picturesque old churchyard is largely gone, although the mass grave of 226 British seamen, who died in December 1808 when their ship <span style="font-style: italic;">The Crescent</span> sank, is still there. So is the ship's huge anchor that marks the grave.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrktkm36rI/AAAAAAAAB9E/azQmDz5lKEw/s1600-h/IMGP5175+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrktkm36rI/AAAAAAAAB9E/azQmDz5lKEw/s320/IMGP5175+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231745388716223154" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrkkMCuXmI/AAAAAAAAB88/hyC8_Ijj9Rk/s1600-h/IMGP5182.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrkkMCuXmI/AAAAAAAAB88/hyC8_Ijj9Rk/s320/IMGP5182.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231745227503328866" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrkMJ-gifI/AAAAAAAAB80/VlAz__8tkJg/s1600-h/Maarup+Kirke+20.12.06.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrkMJ-gifI/AAAAAAAAB80/VlAz__8tkJg/s320/Maarup+Kirke+20.12.06.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231744814631913970" border="0" /></a>The fate of Mårup church has been the subject of fierce debate in the past decades. The three alternatives that emerged from these discussions were (1) securing the coastline, thus saving the building, (2) relocating the church to another part of the country, possibly to an open-air museum, and (3) letting nature take its course. For a while it seemed like the last (and cheapest) option would be chosen, but in the very last moment the authorities decided to carefully remove the building and store its material until funding and location is secured for a future rebuilding. However, that will be a totally different church, far from the windswept, raggedly beautiful coastline that makes it such a great place to visit. As the deconstruction of Mårup church begins right after the current holiday season, this perhaps most exotic of Danish churches can only be seen for a few weeks.<br /></div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrjF7GWmVI/AAAAAAAAB8k/swaRdKGR3pg/s1600-h/IMGP5171+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrjF7GWmVI/AAAAAAAAB8k/swaRdKGR3pg/s320/IMGP5171+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231743608047442258" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrylzEqr8I/AAAAAAAAB9U/DCBNuHL0ohI/s1600-h/IMGP5193.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SJrylzEqr8I/AAAAAAAAB9U/DCBNuHL0ohI/s320/IMGP5193.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231760648323116994" border="0" /></a>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-84783201451433621352008-07-25T22:42:00.001+02:002008-11-13T13:07:12.867+01:00The Christening<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIo7RdOJmTI/AAAAAAAAByQ/HTI6KiEoErQ/s1600-h/%C3%98stre+anleg+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIo7RdOJmTI/AAAAAAAAByQ/HTI6KiEoErQ/s320/%C3%98stre+anleg+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227055488604674354" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-GB">On Sunday 20 July we had Tristan christened in the local St. Markus Lutheran church, with Ane’s three sisters acting as godmothers.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">At over 7 months of age, Tristan was quite a bit beyond the usual baptism age. It was partly because we wanted to ensure that Ane’s “American” family could take part, partly because we were not quite sure whether we want him christened at all. In the end, we did what the majority of parents in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Denmark</st1:place></st1:country-region> do, and decided that a bit of holy water would do no harm – at least not on the head. The positive aspect of waiting so long was that Tristan was able to participate very actively, mainly by grabbing everything that came within range, including the priest’s robe and all his equipment. He also managed to confuse him to the point of losing his thread and starting randomly to repeat parts of the ritual. Luckily, he had much less trouble with the other child to be baptized that day, as she practically slept through the whole thing.<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIpBLk8O8AI/AAAAAAAABzE/6Wf4NWnIz-A/s1600-h/DSC_1408+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIpBLk8O8AI/AAAAAAAABzE/6Wf4NWnIz-A/s320/DSC_1408+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227061984667561986" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Of course, a christening is also a good excuse to get together with family and friends, and Tristan’s was no exception. The party, attended by about 60 guests, was held at a local community centre that we rented for the occasion. Everything was home-made (apart from the wine), and fairly low-key, with Ane in charge of the menu (and more or less everything else), while I took the role of the man behind a great woman who made it all possible (that is, playing with Tristan while Ane was slaving away in the kitchen). We received invaluable help from several people, first of all from Ane’s friend Pernille, who took full command of the kitchen during proceedings. In the end it all added up to a great day with a lot of fun, as evidenced by the pictures at the side. Tristan got an unbelievable amount of present, including a truckload of Lego bricks. If so far he mainly showed early signs for a great carrier as an optician (by grabbing everyone’s glasses), his interest is now bound to turn towards architecture. Or Lego-retailing.</span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIo8wcPTsvI/AAAAAAAAByo/XbjQY1xB2xc/s1600-h/IMGP4681.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIo8wcPTsvI/AAAAAAAAByo/XbjQY1xB2xc/s320/IMGP4681.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227057120428667634" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-style: italic;">See also our friend Orsi’s account of the event at: </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> </span><a href="http://www.lyst-orsi.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">http://www.lyst-orsi.blogspot.com/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-80187863525246735202008-07-25T22:29:00.001+02:002008-11-13T13:07:12.920+01:00Nyíregyháza<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:georgia;" lang="EN-GB">Between 29 June and 9 July we were in Nyíregyháza, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Hungary</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It was Tristan's second long journey, and he coped with flying just as well as he did on the way to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Madison</st1:place></st1:city> (in spite of significant delays we experienced, courtesy of Sterling Airlines). We do hope that he will remain easy to travel with after he has learned to walk. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:georgia;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">The main purpose of the trip was to present Tristan to his Hungarian family and friends, and as such, it was a total success – even though the short time only permitted us to see about half the people we would have liked to. The trip was timed to coincide with my paternal grandmother’s 80<sup>th</sup> birthday. She considered Tristan to be the best possible present, and the two spent long hours entertaining each other.<br /></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIo5QSs-kaI/AAAAAAAAByI/duiTMZDAhfU/s1600-h/Nagymama.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIo5QSs-kaI/AAAAAAAAByI/duiTMZDAhfU/s320/Nagymama.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227053269578060194" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:georgia;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB">Because of the many social commitments and busy schedule, the whole trip didn’t really feel like a holiday at all. In fact, the only non-family related event was my participation in the christening of my friend Zoli’s daughter Gréta, in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Miskolc</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:georgia;" >For me personally, it was a very special feeling to be back in my hometown with my son; to walk with him the streets where I grew up, among the buildings that already stood there when I was his age. It felt like a closure and a new beginning at the same time, a start of a new phase in the ever-changing relationships with my roots - and in my life I can’t wait for the time when he will be old enough to take it all in, to listen to my stories and to form his own relationship to the place his father comes from.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="" lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890376500711439982.post-81981244342584398372008-07-25T20:41:00.004+02:002008-11-13T13:07:14.983+01:00Visiting Madison<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIy_0icsaNI/AAAAAAAAB5U/wqJWlZLztzU/s1600-h/IMGP2406.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227764176791562450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIy_0icsaNI/AAAAAAAAB5U/wqJWlZLztzU/s320/IMGP2406.JPG" border="0" /></a> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></p><span lang="EN-GB" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Between 15 May and 16 June we were visiting Ane’s family (her mum Inge, stepdad Søren, and two sisters Alexandra and Natasha) in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Madison</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">Wisconsin</st1:state></st1:place>. <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"></o:p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">One of the north-central states, </span><st1:state style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on">Wisconsin</st1:state><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"> is situated between Lake Michigan to the east and the upper </span><st1:place style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on">Mississippi River</st1:place><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"> to the west. The area, originally inhabited by Sauk, Ojibwa, and Menominee Indians, was settled by German, Scandinavian and Polish immigrants. Between 1634 and 1763 the region was under French control, and subsequently acquired by </span><st1:country-region style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on">Britain</st1:country-region><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"> and, in 1783, the </span><st1:country-region style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on"><st1:place st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">. In 1848 it became the 30th member state of the </span><st1:place style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">. These days it is commonly known as the </span><st1:placename style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on">Cheese</st1:placename> <st1:placetype style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on">State</st1:placetype><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">, or, perhaps more favourably, the Dairy Land of </span><st1:country-region style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">; it is first in the nation in the production of milk, cheese, and butter. Its landscape is not entirely unlike the south of </span><st1:place style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on">Scandinavia</st1:place><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">, with rolling hills, pastures and arable land dotted with red farmhouses. Many place names hold witness to the Scandinavian and German heritage (</span><i style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Little Norway, Oslo, Rheinelander</i><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">), and even though language shift to English was completed long ago, one often encounters signs in Norwegian or Swedish, such as in the little hamlet of Mount Horeb (<span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">below</span>).</span><br /></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIo_p4NF3kI/AAAAAAAABy0/K_ZSdTJ2sy4/s1600-h/IMGP1439.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227060306211364418" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIo_p4NF3kI/AAAAAAAABy0/K_ZSdTJ2sy4/s320/IMGP1439.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIoifVfjceI/AAAAAAAAByA/-MglpW8uNbs/s1600-h/IMGP1439.JPG"></a> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span><st1:city style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)" st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span lang="EN-GB">Madison</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-GB" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">, the state capital, is one of the friendliest and most European-like of the American cities, complete with a comprehensive bicycle path network, good public transportation, and a lot of alternative shops and slow-food restaurants. Add to it the beautiful location (on a narrow isthmus between two large lakes), the low crime rate and relative prosperity, and it is no wonder that Madison is widely considered one of the best places to live in the US. Somewhat uniquely, the town, or rather its site, was selected as the capital of <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Wisconsin</st1:place></st1:state> before a single house was built there, thanks to the somewhat dubious lobbying activities of the local landowner J. D. Doty.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><o:p></o:p>Central to the life of present-day <st1:city st="on">Madison</st1:city> is the main campus of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Wisconsin</st1:placename></st1:place>. Founded in 1849, it is one of the largest state universities, with an enrolment of about 160.000 students. The <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Madison</st1:place></st1:city> campus is also one of the world’s greatest research centres, and it is there Søren works as Professor of Human Oncology and of Medical Physics. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>North and west of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Madison</st1:place></st1:city> agricultural land gradually gives place to more wooded landscape, with northern evergreen–hardwood forest and larger lakes. Most of <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Wisconsin</st1:place></st1:state> is genuine ice age landscape, created during the recent Wisconsin Glacial Stage, and consisting at places of rough, boulder-strewn moraines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><span lang="EN-GB" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Back to our trip: we had had no idea how Tristan would cope with the challenges of transatlantic travel, but in the end everything went fine. He apparently found it all extremely entertaining, and spent his time playing, sleeping, and charming the stewardesses and fellow passengers. Jetlag was not a problem, either, with the result that he was more or less following his usual rhythm, while Ane and I lay sleepless in the middle of the first few nights.</span><o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p>Although we spent most of our time in <st1:city st="on">Madison</st1:city>, enjoying Søren and Inge’s hospitality, there was time for a bit of walking in the Devil’s <st1:place st="on">Lake</st1:place> state park, drinking beer at the Memorial Union Terrace, and for participating in the famous annual Brat Fest. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIy-NDSMs9I/AAAAAAAAB40/h1jXAUouZPc/s1600-h/IMGP1399.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227762398899516370" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aaIgB3ECq0U/SIy-NDSMs9I/AAAAAAAAB40/h1jXAUouZPc/s320/IMGP1399.JPG" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-GB">Another highlight of the trip was our friend Jiyeon’s visit from <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chicago.</st1:place></st1:city> We managed to invite her just before she was heading off to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region> for a year to rejoin the Camphill movement. We could also test her impressive knowledge of Norwegian, all self-taught.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-GB">We also had our fair share of the <st1:place st="on">Midwest</st1:place>’s extreme weather, with torrential rains, tornadoes and impressive thunderstorms. Several weather records were broken during our visit, and we were fortunate enough to witness it all. We also witnessed Tristan passing several significant developmental milestones while in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Madison</st1:place></st1:city>. He learned to turn from his stomach to his back (the movement in the other direction he had mastered for months), and began to stand with support. It was also great to watch him bond with his grandparents and aunts, and playing outside when the weather permitted it. If he continues to develop at the present rate, he will be running around when we next visit <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Madison</st1:place></st1:city> at Christmas.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic">See also: slide show beside</span><br /><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Varga Zsolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06514887316900870621noreply@blogger.com1