Jensens UK Adventure

We're home!

2008-05-30T05:05:00.000-07:00

Well, in Seattle at any rate. It's 4:00 a.m. and the kids are wide awake (feels like noon, our time) so I'm on the hotel computer trying to pass the time until Bryce and Amy come with our car and we can head home. The main thing is, the kids were FANTASTIC on the plane. I now owe Jake a Power Rangers sword and Emma a Nintendo DS, but it's well worth it. They slept on the plane, played, watched movies...no temper tantrums at all. They've turned into good world travelers, I guess. I'm awfully tired of plane travel, though. Ready to be a homebody for a while.

It's so great, so weird, to be home, and I'm looking forward to being back in our house in a few short hours. More then!

6 Days and Counting

2008-05-23T03:14:00.000-07:00

We leave in 6 days. Emma's last day of school was yesterday, Jake's is today. Emma's friends are having a little going-away celebration at a nearby park today. We plan to visit London once more tomorrow and then Erik will spend the next four days with the kids while I pack. We won't see him for the next 5+ weeks, which is the longest any of has been away from him (oh, however will we survive...) He will have a quiet and peaceful month, however, enjoying our spacious flat and eating all his meals for free at Reed's. I can't quite figure out how Erik managed to weasel out of both cross-Atlantic plane trips with the children, though...

I am currently surrounded by luggage, clothing, toys and a scale (to make sure no bags go over 50 lbs...the newly implemented charge for an overweight bag is $100!) and despairing of ever fitting in the things we want to bring home. It will happen, though, just like I managed to pull it off 9 months ago coming here, and it will be such a relief. (To add to the muck, the basement of our house in Salem flooded this week, due to a broken water heater--mostly fixed now, but required a plumber to install a new water heater and flood-damage repair people to pull up and dry out the carpet.)

This year has been, well, an experience of a lifetime--I think I need some time and perspective to discover how I actually feel about it all. Living it is different than that frame of reference you get once you're not doing it anymore. So for those of you are are waiting for an Ireland update, I'll try to get to it sometime within the next two weeks. As for a post-trip wrap up, I'll post once more on this blog after we're home and settled. Until then, I'll stay immersed in wrapping up our life in the flat and concentrate on getting us home in one piece.

Holiday in Ireland

2008-05-11T01:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, Ireland! Ireland is by far my favorite country so far. Although much of it looks and feels like the Pacific Northwest (which I love), I think it was the culture and the people I enjoyed the most. It's not just a stereotype that they are friendly and fun, and let's face it, they have the best accent ever.

I just returned late last night and need a bit of time to process the trip, but I will post the highlights here later this week. We just got Laura off on her Sunday morning flight back to the states and we are tired but happy and relaxed--we had an amazing time and are already plotting a return trip to Ireland next August after she finished nursing school.

Our Return

2008-04-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

We've decided to come home a little early. Well, I guess it's me who's decided for the rest of us. I'm getting restless and since we don't have much planned for the next couple of months (no big family trips), Erik and I agreed that cutting the trip short is okay. Erik must work through July 4, but the kids and I plan to fly home on May 31. We're flying into Seattle so we can pick up our car from my brother and drive ourselves to Salem (Bryce, Amy and baby Dominic are coming along for a few days, so I'm excited to get some baby time in with the nephew I haven't seen since he was a newborn.) Our renters will have moved by then so we'll be able to plop right back into our house.

So yes, I'll be making another cross-world journey with two children, this time without any assistance from another adult. But I'm counting on the fact that Jake is a year older, perhaps a bit wiser, and hopefully easier to control. He's done well on our short plane trips so I think he'll understand what's expected. I don't believe for one minute that it will be easy--but I do want to go home so I'm willing to take my chances. I've got the experience of the last long flight behind me so I'm a bit more prepared this time.

In the end, I'll be beyond exhausted but I'll sleep in my own bed that night, and in the morning we'll have breakfast at Busick Court and the grandparents will spend time with the kids and I'll unpack and meet up with my friends and sit on my front porch swing with a cold beer, and life will be good.

Ireland!!!

2008-04-20T02:13:00.001-07:00

My cousin Laura is coming back to England during her May break from school, and we're going to Ireland (without kids)! I was hoping she would come back here so that she could see how much better and easier life is now, rather than the stress and chaos she lived through our first month here. And since we didn't take any trips out of the country last time around, it's time for an adventure. She's coming on May 2 and we'll head for Ireland on the 6th. We'll spend four days there, then fly back in time for Laura to catch her plane back home on the 11th. We'll rent a car and take a route along the southwest coastline, starting in Cork, going through Killarney, the Ring of Kerry penninsula, Dingle Penninsula, Limmerick, and ending in Shannon--and we're staying in hostels along the way. Should have lots of adventures to post when we return. I'm excited to have the opportunity, possibly my last trip before leaving the UK, so I'll need to make it count.

London Marathon

2008-04-13T01:02:00.000-07:00

Erik and the kids are watching the London Marathon in London today. I'm not sure if they show it on tv in the US, but if you are watching it, look for the Jensens!

Vacation in Valencia, Spain

2008-04-13T00:56:00.000-07:00

We had a really great time in Spain! It was great getting some sun and beach time. It was a bit different than our other trips in that we had a bunch of time to relax and hang out. I think we all needed it.

The kids loved chilling poolside at our villa.

We spent hours on the beach, enjoying the Mediterranean Ocean. Jake discovered the fun of being buried in the sand!

We visited Guadalest, the site of an old village and castle built on a mountain. Of Islamic origin, Guadalest was a military stronghold and was the site of several ancient castles, the remains of which can still be seen today. You get to the castle village by climbing the side of the hill and taking a tunnel through the mountain. The castle is perched above the village.

Left: Guadalest Castle, built on a mountain above the village.

Right: View from the top.

***

We also visited Santa Barbara Castle in Alicante City. It's one of the largest medieval fortresses in Europe and covers the complete summit of the Benacantil Mountain. Originally built by the Moors in the 10th century, the castle received its name from the conquest of King Alfonse the Wise that took place on 4th December 1248: Saint Barbara's day. Over the following centuries it was developed and extended leaving it with three main areas all dating from different eras.

Pictures of our visit:

Left and Right: Views of Alicante City.

For the history of the Alicante area, see http://www.alicante-spotlight.com/alicante/history.htm

View as we drove through the Valencia countryside.

The World of Shakespeare

2008-03-30T04:50:00.000-07:00

Kristin, Erik, the kids and I took an overnight trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon to visit Shakespeare's home country. We visited five Shakespeare properties in the area on a day pass. I was impressed with the setup of the houses we toured--they were authentic (as in, really really old) and were so different from the things we have seen since we've been in England (castle ruins, palaces, etc.). The architecture itself is absolutely charming...my favorite part of the trip was driving through all the cute villages full of these crooked Tudor buildings.

1. Shakespeare’s Birthplace (left)

2. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage – Before marrying W.S. in 1582, she lived in what is described as one of England’s most famous and beautiful Tudor cottages (right). The cottage was being re-thatched while we were there, which was really interesting to watch, but the cottage was covered with scaffolding so we didn't get a good picture. This one is of the cottage during the summer.

3. New Place/Nash’s House – W.S. lived here from 1597 until his death in 1616.

4. Hall’s Croft – Where Shakespeare’s eldest daughter lived with her famous doctor husband.

5. Mary Arden’s House – W.S.’s mother grew up on a Tudor farmhouse (right). We spent the most time here. We were able to see the Elizabethan way of life and interact with the daily domestic routine of a working farm. Great fun for the kids and adults, too.

The kids got to feed some 3-day old lambs on Mary Arden's farm. It poured rain most of the time, so we were unable to fully enjoy all the activities (the blur on the picture is a drop of rain!)

More pictures of Tudor villages:

Some of the 15th and 16th century Tudor villages we drove through (amazingly, people still live in these crooked old structures!)

Warwick, Warwickshire:

Warwick Castle, dating back to the 11th century (left.)

Tudor building, Warwick (right.)

We also made a very brief stop in Oxford on our way to Stratford-Upon-Avon:

We drove back down through the Cotswolds, famous for its rolling hills, sleepy villages and buildings made from the yellow Cotswold stone. We barely scratched the surface of this area, though. Too much time in the car with the kids and an overheating Volvo kept our tour of the area short.

Easter

2008-03-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

It snowed today! Not a lot, and it didn't stick, but it's just about the coldest it's ever been this winter. Not exactly what you want or need when it's almost April but we're toughing it out. Sad for Kristin, though, who's making her first visit overseas and having to bundle up like she was in Siberia. It's supposed to rain/storm/snow for the rest of the week. We took the train to London and visited the British Museum. Emma is sick though, so I came home with the kids while Erik and Kristin went on to the war museum.

My Rant

2008-03-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've been inspired since living here to become much more concientious about reusing bags when I go grocery shopping. I would say at least 75% of shoppers here use their own reusable bags. England plans to ban plastic bags from stores sometime in 2009. That's an amazing step to take, but I support it absolutely.

I've always thought reusing bags was a good idea, and I did try, halfheartedly, when I was in Salem. But I often felt like a freak if I showed up at Safeway with my own bags...Lifesource Natural Foods was about the only place where reusable bags felt normal. I think it's easier here because there are no courtesy clerks so you always do your own bagging--back home, it felt a bit awkward to hand over my motley collection of cloth and burlap bags to the teenage clerk to handle. But that's no excuse, and I think now I'm committed to continuing to reuse bags when I return, and I hope that the trend is catching on country-wide. It's just a matter of remembering to keep a collection of bags in the car and bring them into the store with me. I'm getting better at it.

Anyway, I'm not really a preaching sort of person, but this seems like a change we can all make. If they can do it here, in this country full of rich and spoiled people, we can do it anywhere. Cheers.

Post-Visitors

2008-03-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

John and Gretchen (Erik's parents) have come and gone, having spent 9 days here. I think they had a good time--lots of trips into London and time hanging out in hip and happening Esher. We had really bad weather (you may have heard about the storms on the news) so we were limited as far as taking day trips in the car. But they were troopers--John went into London every single day but the first and last day. He wants to see EVERYTHING when he travels and I think he made a pretty good dent in the list. Gretchen stayed behind a couple of days, one day with Jake while I went into London with John. It was really great to go do something outside of my routine during the week.

We are discovering something about Jake, which we already knew but are now seeing in full force: He is a kid who needs routine and stability, and who needs his MOM. This move hasn't been as easy on him as on Emma, who can simply fly wherever the winds of change take her without batting an eyelash. Routine is fine and dandy, but he did not take kindly to our life being interrupted by visitors. (Laura can attest to being treated in a standoff-ish manner for the first couple of weeks she was here...by the third week, I think Jake had finally incorporated her into the "family.") Even though he remembered John and Gretchen and remembering staying with them in Salem, he was not too thrilled to see them out of context. We did leave for our overnight trip, with him crying and clinging to my legs, begging me not to leave him. Unfortunately, I was under-whelmed with sympathy and happily took off for the coast. Of course, once I was out of the picture, Jake was perfectly fine with them for the rest of the weekend.

Trip to Dorset

Erik and I drove down to Dorset County on the south coast. It rained a lot, but we managed to mosey around the countryside toughing it out because we're Oregonians (turns out, the weather was the precursor to the massive storms and flooding England had a couple of days later...) We visited Corfe Castle, which, I have to say, is a pretty amazing set of ruins (and we've seens LOTS of ruins.) Here's a brief version of its history (I'm not a history buff but even I thought it was really interesting):

In 978, before the present Castle was built, legend has it that King Edward the Martyr was murdered at Corfe by his stepmother who wanted to put her own son, Ethelred ‘the Unready’, on the throne. While stag hunting in the Purbeck forest, Edward paid a visit to Corfe, where Elfryda is said to have offered him a goblet of wine, then treacherously had him stabbed in the back while he drank it.
Corfe Castle was begun by William the Conqueror soon after his arrival in Britain in 1066. It was served by the surrounding community in return for the use of homes and land, as well as shelter in the Castle in times of trouble. Much of the Isle of Purbeck was a Royal Forest so the hunting of game without royal permission was punishable by death.
Corfe was one of King John’s favourite castles. Between 1199 and 1216 he added a great many defences. During his troubled reign the castle was often used as a prison, where many prisoners met their deaths. King John also turned Corfe Castle into a comfortable royal residence. There would have been a garden and a kitchen to grow and prepare food for the king’s table.
From the 14th to the 16th centuries, Corfe Castle was less important as a royal stronghold and often fell into disrepair. In 1572 Queen Elizabeth I sold it to her Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton, who converted it into a prestigious home, complete with fine furniture, tapestries and silk cushions. In 1635 Corfe Castle was bought by Sir John Bankes.
Following the death of her husband during the Civil War, Lady Mary Bankes successfully defended the castle during a seige in 1643. During a second seige in 1646 an act of betrayal by a member of her garrison led to capture by the parlimentarians. They deliberately demolished the castle resulting in the dramatic ruin you see today.Much of the missing stone can be found in the houses of Corfe Castle Village.

We stood on top of the hill in the middle of the ruins, a fine mist absolutely blanketing the land around us, the rain doming down sideways, and the wind cutting across the top of the hill. Picture a scene from a movie set some 1000 years ago, set on the moors of Scotland in winter, and that's what it reminded me of. It was really very cool.

___________________________________________________________________
So now I look forward to having Erik around for three whole weeks during his spring break. My life here has been in large part making sure everyone around me is settled and has what they need to go about their daily life, while not doing much for myself, personally. Erik works a huge number of hours and I have had a bit of a taste of what it would be like to be a single mom. It's fine and I know it won't last forever, but that being said, while he is off, I will take advantage of the freedom and visit London or take a day trip to some of the places on my list. My cousin Kristin will be here next week so we'll be able to do some fun stuff. And with our trip to Spain in another couple of weeks, I really can't complain about my rather uninspiring daily life between holidays. :-)

Visitors

2008-02-28T02:13:00.000-08:00

Kirsten (Erik's sister) has come and gone, on her way to Ireland with some co-worker friends to party up and down the country. She was only here for two full days but we had a great visit and it was fun to see somone from our "old" life. I'll post pictures once she's emailed some to me (Jake broke my camera!)

Our friend Brad is arriving tomorrow morning and staying through Monday. He'll then visit another friend in England and head off to France for some winery-related business and wine-tasting (wish I was going with him!) Erik and Brad are attending a soccer match in London on Saturday, something Erik's wanted to do since we got here.

John and Gretchen (Erik's parents) are arriving on Tuesday and staying for about 10 days. We don't have specific plans yet except that Erik and I get to go away for a night! We're going to visit Dorset County along the south coast, where rumor has the beaches are absolutely amazing. We will spend the night, without kids, in a B&B...I am so looking forward to a little time away. Below is a picture of the quay in Poole, where we'll be staying:

Upcoming Plans
After John and Gretchen leave, my cousin Kristin will arrive to stay for her spring break. Erik is off of work until the third week in April, so we'll have lots of free time (we'll just pull Emma out of school, as her break doesn't start until the first week in April.) Kristin has done a lot of research and has a list of of things she'd like to do, so we'll help her work through the list. Erik's co-worker has offered us his vacation home in Devon (on the southwest coast, also has beautiful beaches) during that week, so we plan to spend a couple of nights there.

April 2--we leave for Spain! We found cheap flights to Alicante, on the Mediterranean Ocean. We rented a villa for a week, with a small private pool (the kids are over the moon about that part.) If you want to see the villa, go here:

http://www.alicanteholidayvillas.com/alicante_holiday_rental_details.php?id=95&ref=512

It looks like there's a ton to do there: miles of great beaches, old castles, Roman ruins, archaeology, paleontology, hiking the mountains to waterfalls, markets, local pottery...I don't think we'll get to it all in a week. It rains there quite a bit in April so it won't be like some summer laying-in-the-sun vacation, but it will still be warmer than here, so I am happy. And anytime it is warm enough to use the pool, I will be sitting beside it with my sangria and a good book. :-)

So, if anyone wants to visit Spain in April, the villas are cheap and the food is good so come join us!

Things I Miss

2008-02-20T23:39:00.000-08:00

1. Saltine crackers (to go with my tomato soup)

2. Clothes dryer

3. The rain

4. Coffee beans and a grinder (it's mostly pre-ground packages at the store)

5. My front porch

6. All the house and yard projects (yes, it's true, I miss all that piled-up work)

7. Authentic Mexican food, good pizza, and Polish/Oktoberfest-type sausage

8. Childcare at the gym

9. Parks and rec programs for the kids that are casual and inexpensive

10. Having a stereo

11. Working!

12. My piano

13. Fruit and yogurt smoothies (no blender)

14. Cheap gas

15. Healthy snack alternatives for the kids (like Pirate's Booty or Barbara's Cheddar Bunnies)

16. Trader Joe's and bulk food shopping at Winco

17. Good NW microbrews

But:
We can fly to other European countries for as low as .01 pence on RyanAir.com.

We can hop a train into London and visit as many free museums as we can fit in.

We live in a flat I can clean in about an hour, tops.

Grocery home delivery is very common and almost free, so I can avoid going to the store most of the time.

The kids will remember this experience and we will all be so much more appreciative of our old life when we return!

The British Language

2008-02-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

British: “Just bear with me…”
American: Please hold… (as during a phone conversation with customer service)

British: “It won’t be a moment…”
American: It WILL be a moment…(as during a phone conversation with customer service)

British: To sort out
American: To take care of, to figure out

British: Straight away
American: Right now

British: Boot
American: Trunk (auto)

British: Lorry
American: Truck

British: Estate wagon
American: Station wagon

British: Slip road
American: Exit/Entrance ramp

British: Diversion
American: Detour

British: Give way
American: Yield

British: Roundabout
American: Traffic circle

British: Current account
American: Checking account

British: "Cheers"
American: Thanks, see you later, bye

British: "Brilliant”
American: Cool, great, wonderful

British: "Right" (Used a ton in casual conversation)
American: Okay/so

British: Chips
American: French fries

British: Crisp
American: Potato chip

British: Biscuit
American: Cookie

British: Bin
American: Garbage can

British: Hob
American: Stovetop

British: King-sized bed
American: Queen-sized bed (they don’t use the: “Queen” here for anything except in reference to the royal family)

British: Kit
American: Equipment, like the clothing and shoes required for Emma’s gym class

British: Loo
American: Toilet

British: Bangers and mash
American: Sausages and mashed potatoes

British: Naught, nil
American: Zero (game scores)

British: On holiday
American: On vacation

British: Pastie ("PAH-stee")
American: Pot pie. Baked flour crust with meat filling

British: Common top speed 90-95mph
American: Common top speed 70-80mph

British: Courgette
American: Zucchini

British: Swede
American: White turnip

British: Take away
American: Take out (fast food), to go – traditional American-type fast food is rare (I’ve only seen a few McD’s and Burger Kings in our travels and there are none within 10 miles of where we live.) Instead, there are places that serve fish-n-chips, Chinese, etc., which are take-out only, no sit-down.

British: Torch
American: Flashlight

British: En suite room
American: Master bedroom/bathroom

British: Rubber
American: Eraser

British: Wellies
American: Rubber boots

British: To nick
American: To steal

British: Cot
American: Crib

British: Nappies
American: Diapers

British: Sweets/pudding
American: Any kind of dessert

British: dodgy
American: iffy

British: cello-tape
American: "Scotch" tape

British: Biro
American: Ink pen

British: "Full stop"
American: "Period" (at end of sentence) or meaning "finally" as "We should fire him--full stop."

Erik's Leaving Us

2008-02-09T02:36:00.000-08:00

For Ireland, that is. He's spending a week cycling through the Shannon, Limmerick and Galway areas. His half-term break is one week earlier than the kids' break, so he thought he'd do something he couldn't do with the family. We want to go to Ireland, of course, but I don't want to cycle 50 miles a day in the middle of February. He loves it, though; he'll bring the clothes on his back, an extra pair of underwear, contact solution, and his wallet. I don't like to travel quite that lightly, especially with the kids. My idea of vacation is NOT washing out everyone's underwear each night.

In fact, when we travel someplace like Black Butte (which has a washing machine) or other places, like Denmark (where he needs to look presentable for the relatives), I find myself confirming that he plans to bring enough socks and underwear for the trip. Camping is one thing, and I have very low standards--wearing the same outfit for 3 days is absolutely fine, and in fact preferable. But my personal feeling is that having Jockey shorts hanging over the radiators and his wicking t-shirts dripping in the shower (and onto the floor) in our hotel room does not make me feel like I'm vacationing, especially as our vacations are few and far between. I think I'm a fairly low-maintenance person in general so I don't think I'm asking too much.

Erik will have a great time and can be as stinky and "rugged" as he wants without anyone commenting (except maybe the strangers he meets.) I will have a long week with the kids but absolutely cannot complain, as I get two weeks in July to travel in Ireland with Stacie and Kim. I'll get better weather and a longer vacation, too!

Erik flies back to London on Friday, where he will meet up with his sister Kirsten, who is also flying into the same airport from Ireland (where she is travelling a different part of Ireland with her friends from work.) I'm looking forward to having our first visitor, although it might be a bit strange as it has been just the four of us (five early on with Laura) for 6 months now. You do tend to turn a bit inward during an experience like this, at least initially. She's only here for two full days so I think we'll just visit London one day and tour Hampton Court Palace (Henry the Eighth's historic home, about 10 minutes away from us) the other day. Mostly she'll have time to see our local area, the nearby pubs, walking trails, etc. I'll post some pictures of our adventures next week.

January

2008-02-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

Back to school for everyone, which means back to the routines for me. We've been taking things easy in terms of weekend trips since our last big trip, mostly been doing hikes on the weekends and exploring the Surrey County area.

We took a trip to Winchester and Portsmouth on the south coast yesterday. Winchester is perhaps the most beautiful and historic town near us and is worth the trip for any visitors we have. Portsmouth has a big naval base and museum which was especially interesting for the male half of the family.

The kids and I toured Winchester Cathedral (I always think of the song "Winchester Cathedral" that you older folks might remember from 1966 by the group The New Vaudeville Band--the reason I know it is that my parents owned that record and my brother and I would dance around the living room to its groovy tunes when we were kids. I still remember every song with perfect clarity.) The cathedral is amazing, but it is full to the brim of dead people in tombs in the walls and underneath the stones at your feet. War heroes, ancient bishops and preists, and important political folk get to reside there for all eternity. (An excellent place to spend Halloween.) The town itself is lovely and I would love to spend some more time there this spring.

Left: Inside Winchester Cathedral--and this is only the first room!

Right: This the Great Hall, the only surviving parts of Winchester Castle, where King Arthur's Round Table allegedly rests.

Wolvesey Castle: Begun as a 12th-century Norman keep and bailey castle, the palace was the chief residence of the Bishops of Winchester. Situated next to Winchester Cathedral, its extensive ruins reflect their importance and wealth. The last great occasion at Wolvesey was on 25 July 1554, when Queen Mary and Philip of Spain held their wedding breakfast in the East Hall.

Unfortunately, this was closed for the winter so we did not get to see it.

Portsmouth is home to the world's oldest dry dock still in use and is home to three hugely important historic ships, HMS Victory, Nelson's famous flagship at the battle of Trafalgar, HMS Warrior the first ironclad warship and the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's warship that sank in the Solent just off of Southsea Castle. Portsmouth has declined as a military port in recent years but remains a major dockyard and base for the Royal Navy.

Jake and Erik toured a big ship; Emma and I went to a coffee shop. Erik bought an annual membership so I'm sure he plans to return.

It was a good trip--in fact, we decided to spend the night because we were having so much fun, but couldn't find a room at the inn. Next time, maybe.

December - Trip to Denmark and Germany, part 2

2008-02-04T04:58:00.001-08:00

Christmas Trip - Germany

After 5 days in Denmark, we rented a car and drove to Germany, where we spent 4 days in Schwerin, Mecklenburg, in eastern Germany. It's a beautiful part of the country, surrounded by forests and hundreds of lakes. Schwerin itself is a small but picturesque town with wonderful architecture. The landmark of the city is the Schwerin Castle, located on an island in the lake of Schweriner Sea. It was for centuries the residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg and today is the seat of the state parliament. More pictures of Schwerin below:

We found our dream fixer-upper while walking beyond the palace.

We took some day trips to a rebuilt dark ages village (more info to come), Güstrow, Wismar, and Berlin.

Güstrow

Wismar is a medieval town on the Baltic Coast of northern Germany.

Wismar at night

Wismar Market Square

We just did a quick trip into Berlin, hit the main square and decided, since it was cold and the kids were having a bad day, to do a 2 hour tour bus to all the main sights. I've never done one of those before, but I have to say it was the best choice for the circumstances.

December - Trip to Denmark and Germany

2008-02-04T02:12:00.000-08:00

This month finished up the winter term, giving Erik 3 weeks off and the kids 2 weeks off for the holidays. Emma's school did a Christmas play about the birth of baby Jesus (one of the major differences between public schools here and public schools in the U.S.) Actually, the younger children did the Christmas story play and the older kids (including Emma) did a play called Papa Panov, based on a short story by Leo Tolstoy in which lonely shoemaker Papa Panov’s generosity reflects the true spirit of Christmas. It was really quite good, and they sang some great songs. (Emma is really enjoying being in the school choir, by the way.)

Jake's preschool did a play as well, Oopsy Daisy Angel, I think it was called, about an angel who is very clumsy but ends up saving the day. Watching a bunch of 2-4 year olds on a stage is hilarious...one by one, they left the stage to sit in their moms' laps, or sat down to suck a thumb, or just goofed around. Jake was one of five snowflakes and he actually sang most of the songs and did most of the right moves. I will try to upload a clip of him here.

Christmas Trip - Denmark

We left on the 19th at 4:00 a.m. (painful) for the airport for our flight to Denmark. We arrived in Arhus later that morning, where Erik’s cousin Mette picked us up and drove us to her parents’ house in Randers. We stayed at the home of Lars and Gerta Sondergaard, who are relatives of Erik's mother. (Their daughters Mette and Anne visited Oregon last summer for Kirsten's wedding and stayed with us for a couple of days.) They were fabulous hosts and we were so happy to be able to spend Christmas with them. Anne and Mette were there for our entire visit and their sister Lene and her husband David came for a couple of days with her very cute one-year old son, Johann. Unfortunately, I got sick with my fifth cold while I was there, but they were very kind and entertained Erik and the kids while I recouperated. We ate some delicious meals, toured Randers, went ice-skating and just hung out in a very lazy fashion. It was great!

Anne loves to cook so Emma helped with some of the Christmas cooking and baking--most notably, Emma and Jake helped make traditional marzipan candies.

Right: Gerta, Jake and Anne.

Ice-skating at an outdoor rink in Randers. Emma was fabulous, after the first few falls.

Left: Emma and Jake on Christmas Eve. A Danish tradition is to dance and sing around the Christmas tree, which I think we'll start doing back at home!

Right: Jake playing with the Sondergaard girls' old collection of Monchichi dolls. (If you're my age, you'll remember: "Monchichis, Monchichis, oh so soft and cuddly...")

Lars was kind enough to let us borrow his car for a day trip up north to Skagen, the town at the northernmost tip of Denmark, where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea come together. The area is extremely picturesque, and distinguished by its low, yellow houses with red tile roofs nestled into the beach areas. (These are pictures I pulled off the internet to give you an idea, since I forgot my camera for this trip.) Very cute town--I loved all the cheerful yellow houses, and with beaches similar to Oregon, I think we all got a little homesick.

Left: Example of traditional house.

Right: Old military bunker on the beach.

I went into Arhus one afternoon with Mette and toured around a bit by myself while she spent time taking down her art show at a local gallery. (As an aside, Mette is currently living in London and attending an art school there, so we are able to visit with her occasionally. Here's her website if you'd like to see some of her work: http://www.mettejuul.dk/exhibitions.php.)

I hung out in downtown Arhus and also visited the Old Town open-air museum (http://www.dengamleby.dk/english.htm), which is a collection of 75 historical houses, gardens, exhibitions, houses, shops, and workshops demonstrating what it was like to live and work in a Danish market town as it was in the old days. It sounds kind of touristy, but believe me, it was really great (or maybe that's just the archaeologist inside me talking.) The bakeries sold traditional Danish treats, people in authentic clothing demonstrated trades, and the living history displays were really top-notch.

Just a small part of the Old Town set-up.

The dismal month of November

2007-12-13T08:58:00.001-08:00

It's gotten cold and rainy here, and I swear it's even darker and cloudier than Oregon. We've cut back on our big trips, instead visiting places like Kensington Palace and Hyde Park in London and taking kid-friendly outings. The newness of being here is wearing off, and real life must go on. There are no half-term breaks this month so we must carry on through December before our next big trip (to Denmark and Germany.)

Kensington Palace is on our Historic Palaces membership, so we drove into London to check it out. http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/stories/palacetimeline.aspx for those who are dying to know more. It's a typical palace museum, with a huge section devoted to Princess Diana (you can even sign a memorial book with a note about how much you love her....weird.) It's located in Hyde Park, though, which practically everyone has seen at one time or another in a movie or on tv. Lots of famous people live in the mansions along the outskirts of the park, although of course we didn't see any. The park itself is one of the largest green spaces in London, and it's history is long, beginning when Henry VIII acquired Hyde Park from the monks of Westminster Abbey in 1536 to use as his hunting grounds. There's a really great Peter Pan-themed playground there, which we couldn't tear the kids away from. But of course it was quite cold and windy, so we're looking forward to going back in warmer weather (it'll be on the list of tours for any visitors that come our way.)

Another really cool thing here in Surrey is the farm-park. It's usually a combination of a giant indoor play structure and acres of outside playgrounds mixed in with a working farm and petting zoos. We like Horton Park (http://www.hortonpark.co.uk/) and Bockett Farm Park (http://www.bockettsfarm.co.uk/) It's kind of like the pumpkin patch farm Halloween activities we have in Oregon, but year-round. It's a great opportunity for kids to go absolutely wild, and it doesn't break the bank. The first time I took the kids to Horton Park, we spent 5 hours there and I was bored out of my mind. I've since remembered to bring a book--because there are so many playgrounds and animal activities, they play and play and don't need any attention from me. I'm somewhat inspired to open something like it myself back in Salem, but of course I don't have any land, any business sense, or any money. :-)

October - Polish Trip, Part 2

2007-12-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

After Jaslo, we headed south for Zakopane, which is in a big valley near the Tatra Mountains. It is a popular center for mountaineering and skiing. It is also an historic home to the Gorales, a highlander ethnic group living in southern Poland and known for their traditional wooden houses (as opposed to most of Poland, which is filled with brick or cement homes.) Zakopane was a real surprise as I basically picked it out of the guide book at random, and it was our favorite part of the trip. Very charming town, could have been ultra touristy but felt authentic. We spent a couple of days in a nice two-bedroom hostel and just hung out with the kids. We hiked up to the mountain ski-resort area, enjoyed the downtown scenery, and ate an authentic Gorale meal (meaning, a huge platter of meats and potatoes, downed with a side of beer) on our last night. (I will also post a video of the traditional live music we heard on our last night, when I can fix the uploading difficulties I've been having.)

Traditional costumes.

Traditional wooden buildings.

Left: As we hiked up the mountain pass, down came a nun (followed later by some monks.) We were puzzled, but further up, we came across a beautiful monastery set in the middle of the woods. What a setting!

We took a bus back to Krakow, where we spent one more night before flying home. The weather had greatly improved, so we spent time in the square, which was a completely different experience than the week before: It was filled with people, people walking, talking, sitting at the outdoor seating of the bars and restaurants. There were street performers of all sorts (the kids were facinated by a fire-eating troupe.) At Emma's request, we took a horse and carriage ride around Krakow, a real treat, it turns out. It was a beautiful, clear night, and we were cozy under fleece blankets in a leather-trimmed carriage. (A funny side note is the group of extremely drunken young men who were everywhere in the square, wearing large colorful blankets with pictures of naked women and sports team emblems, yelling, chanting, singing and dropping to the ground for push-ups...Erik was finally able to ask someone about them. It turns out, they had recently finished their mandatory tour of duty in the Polish army so were celebrating by wreaking havoc in Krakow.)

We returned safely home, exhausted but glad we went.

October - Trip to Poland!

2007-12-13T08:56:00.001-08:00

10 days in Poland in the winter with two children - a bit ambitious for our first trip “abroad”, I think. We flew into Krakow about 8:00 p.m. and needed to reach our hostel in downtown Krakow, about 15 minutes away. After getting our luggage and translating some signs, we walked down to the train pick-up just as it was pulling out of the station. We then missed the next bus and though paying $50 for a taxi as ridiculous. Ended up waiting in the rain an hour for the next train in. We arrived at a completely deserted downtown Krakow station about 11:00 p.m., gathered our luggage and our children, and started the several block walk to our hostel. Luckily, we had the stroller with us so Jake was able to sleep through it all. Emma was such a great sport, pulling her little suitcase along the cobblestone roads in the pouring-down rain.

We finally found a building with the correct address but looking like something straight out of a horror movie. Turns out, Erik had previously made reservations over the internet at a local hostel, but received an email two days before we left saying they had overbooked so could we please stay at a sister hostel a few blocks away. He agreed and got the address. So, back to the dark and creepy-looking building….we entered, stood in a dingy hallway with flickering lights, trying to figure out what to do next, when we hear a shaky little voice piping up, “I really don’t like it here, can we please stay somewhere else? I’m scared.” The little trouper Emma had finally hit her breaking point. Erik finally figured out that this “hostel” was located three floors up so left us with the stuff to go up and figure it out.

He returned with this news: The hostel is actually just a bunk room, which was currently full of a group of women and they have no reservation under the Jensen name. It’s 12:30 a.m., we’re tired, stressed, hungry, but, speaking for myself and Emma, very grateful that we didn’t have to stay there. We walked several blocks back to the downtown square where we had seen several large hotels, real hotels. We were incredibly lucky to find that Hotel Polonia, a rather grand old hotel, had a room available at a reasonable rate. We trouped upstairs, only to discover that a “double room” actually means two twin beds pushed together. At this point, we’ve been through enough that I don’t even blink, just drag the bedspread onto the floor, throw a couple of pillows down and make a bed for Emma and Jake while Erik and I collapse onto the twin beds.

Not an auspicious start to our trip. The next day, it rained. All day. We managed to get out and explore the square (pictures to left and right). We ate at a milk bar (a traditional Polish cafeteria) and Emma and I browsed the market stalls. I was tempted by the Polish pottery, but in the end I knew I couldn't travel around with it so I only bought a couple of small things. We stayed another night at the hotel, and then left for Pulawy.

Right:Wawel Castle and Church in Krakow, in which the beginnings of the residence of Polish rulers on Wawel hill go back to an early Romanesque stone building from mid 11th century.

Left: Feeding pigeons in Krakow Square.

Left: Emma and Jake in a fairly cozy, private train car.

Right: Many Communist-era buildings across the land still exist. Not all are as dull a this one--often they are painted in a rainbow of colors.

We arrived in Pulawy to visit our friends Andrey and Ania, who we met two years ago when they came to Salem for a year on a teaching fellowship. They were wonderful hosts. They showed us around their mid-sized, charming town and surrounding castle ruins in the countryside. Oh, and the food! We ate so well there--Ania continued to produce plate after plate of delicious food--meats, cheeses, and dessert at every meal. We stayed two nights and left on a morning train for Jaslo, where we were going to attempt to visit some of my Polish relatives on the Konieczny family side. Andrey was a huge help, as he was our translator by phone with Tomek Cholewiak, our contact in Jaslo. He spoke no English, so through Andrey we were able to tell Tomek when to expect our arrival. He kindly offered to pick us up at the train station.

Left: Andrej, Ania and Hania

Right: Jensens (obviously)--isn't the scenery behind fantastic?

So, on with our trip: We had a bit of adventure getting to Jaslo--as in, we got on the wrong train during a transfer in a small town after leaving Pulawy, which was going the opposite direction. But before that, while we were waiting for our (wrong) train, I got a great picture of this (hopefully you can read the graffitti):

As I was taking the graffitti picture, this woman came walking by, homemade broom in one hand, cleaning supplies in the other, a scarf over her head, and those stout Polish ankles covered in bobby socks:

Continuing: So after we realized we were on the wrong train, we got off at the next stop in a random town where we spent some time paralyzed with indecision. We finally found a bus to Jaslo, but had the added complication of needing to call Andrey to ask him to contact Tomek so he could translate our new travel arrangements. But it worked out fine, we arrived in the late evening and were met by Tomek, with hugs and big smiles and virtually no spoken words, shortly after. I'm not sure how we communicated, but somehow we managed. He took us to a hotel, waited for us to check in, and then took us out to his house, where he lives with his mother and father, brother, sister-in-law, and niece. Not dirt poor, but not rich, either. I think they all lived together because of tradition but mostly because of money. Turns out, none of them knew any English (they learn Russian or German in school, it seems) so we made use of the Polish-English dictionary as best we could. Polish is not an easy language to read and pronounce, though, so we did a lot of writing Polish phrases down to get our point across. It was difficult, and stressful, but they were so nice, friendly and generous that we couldn't help enjoying ourselves (even though it felt like something out of the Twilight Zone!)

We arrived at the house about 8:30 pm to find the coffee table in the living room absolutely covered with foods: sliced meats and cheeses, bread, crackers, sausages, drinks, desserts...and they had already eaten, so it was all for us. We sat there, awkwardly, eating and drinking as the grandmother kept urging "Eat! Eat!" in Polish. We complied, in order not to be insulting. Most of the evening is a blur...we stayed for a couple of hours, Emma played with the shy 6-year old grand-daughter and Jake played with her toys. Tomek, as it turns out, is an almost identical replica of Uncle Paul, who would be his second cousin once removed or something along those lines. He even laughs and talks like Paul (except in Polish, of course.) It was very disconcerting. It shows how strong a gene line can be, across the generations and the oceans. They had some pictures in an album of when one of their older relatives, mabye the grandma's sister, came to visit Portland, Oregon--she was standing with my Grandma and Grandpa Zegar at Multnomah Falls--crazy. I wish we could have communicated better, but maybe someday we'll visit again, after we've had some Polish lessons.

Left: Some of the family and our picnic on the coffee table.

Right: Emma with Natalia (who eventually warmed up to Emma.

Left: Tomek in Poland.

Right: Paul in Oregon.

(Will someone email me a better picture of Paul? This is all I have.)

October - The Battle at Hastings Re-enactment

2007-12-13T08:54:00.001-08:00

The first weekend in October, we attended the famous reenactment of the Battle of Hastings, which took place in 1066 AD when the invading Normans defeated the English. This was an absolute hoot—people dressed up as knights, wenches, blacksmiths, demonstrations of ways of life during that time, a mock tent “village” with people living, sleeping and eating the way they would have 1000 years ago. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings)

The buildings behind it is Hastings Abbey, which was built after the battle to commemorate the victory.

Jake's Big Battle Scene!

So there are two fighting sides here: one side has round shields and one side, diamond-y shaped shields. Jake is on the round shield side, and you can’t see him at first, but he comes out after the rest of the kids (wearing a tan t-shirt) and joins the melee. If you track him through the crowd, you'll see he's just running around like a crazy man. He's eventually told by the man with the red sleeves: “You’re dead! You’re dead!”, meaning he should fall over and pretend he has been killed by the enemy. Jake refuses, and continues to wail away at anything that moves. Keep watching, and you will see him at the far end attack a spectator. The man in red then notices that Jake is the only diamond-shield left, so encourages the rest of the kids, all the “enemy,” to attack Jake. You can hear me screeching with laughter in the background (isn't it fun to hear yourself on a recording? I think to myself, that can't possibly be what I sound like, how can anyone stand to hear my voice? :-)

Another battle scene

UK Signs

2007-12-10T03:41:00.001-08:00

Laura and I got a big kick out of the graphic nature of some of the signs here. For some, it's not the wording so much as the pictures that depict what might happen to your person if you disobey. (I plan to add some more that I still need to take pictures of, so if you're really that interested, check back.)

Thoughts About England

2007-12-10T03:40:00.001-08:00

Random thoughts:

1. Already mentioned the odd restaurant hours--but grocery stores, even large chains, also have limited hours. For example, the Waitrose grocery store closest to us doesn't open until 8:30 a.m. and closes at 6:00 pm on Saturdays and 2:00 pm on Sundays. Now, I'm not opposed to limited hours so their employees don't have to work all the time, but I didn't realize how I took for granted that I could run to Safeway at 6:30 in the morning or 9:00 at night to grab a few things. Now I have to plan more carefully or go without more often.

2. The plus side? Grocery stores offer home delivery and a huge selection of items. I would never consider groceries delivered at home in the US, but here, a couple pounds delivery surcharge makes it well worth it to avoid spending $8.00 a gallon on gas and navigating the crowded roadways. Not to mention not having to drag whiny kids through the aisles.

3. Another plus? Along with handicapped parking spaces, stores have "child-friendly" parking spots. They are always close to the entrance and are extra big. Obviously, you have to have at least one kid with you to use them. It's pretty cool, though.

4. Cars can park wherever they want--on sidewalks, medians, even on the road itself. It is your own responsibility to drive around the parked car, usually by using the oncoming traffic lane. But do you wait for oncoming traffic to subside? No, no, my friends, you do not. You just cram your way through with mere centimeters to spare, and oncoming traffic moves over to the shoulder but doesn't slow down. And it's all done in a very polite, very British manner. There's no honking, no yelling, no raised fists. We all wave at each other as we barrell along, thanking each other for making extra room.

5. Forget being a pedestrian in this scenario. Just run away, because no one is looking out for you.

6. Interesting that hardly any people put up Christmas lights or decorations. Christmas is very mellow here as a holiday season...you can't even go shopping for two days after Christmas because everything, and I mean everything, is closed. They do, however, love their "Christmas Grotto", where you can visit Santa for anywhere from $20-$40 per child.

7. Everything in England is smaller--the appliances, cars, roads, shops, parking spaces. There's not a lot of open space, which you miss if you're from a state like Oregon. There's something something innately crowded about southeast England, which I find nerve-wracking.

8. British people are very polite, at least on the surface. I find that I often feel abrupt and abrasive in a peculiarly American way and I often find myself wondering what they're really thinking. There is a certain way of talking about things and of doing things which I don't seem to get--I get the feeling that flexibility and spontaneity are not highly valued. At the risk of sounding like an ethnocentric American, it seems to me that the culture of England does not embrace imagination or inventiveness. However, I do find Brits to be patient and kind during everyday life. No one drives rudely or carelessly, no one rushes to be first in line at a shop, in fact it seems like no one is ever in a rush. It's a refreshing change of pace.

9. Houses anywhere outside the inner London area have quaint little names, not numbered addresses. In my immediate neighborhood: Toad Hall, Park Cottage, Magpie Cottage, West End Hill, etc. However, once you find the street you are looking for, there is no way to know where the actual house is located because there is no numerical pattern to follow. It can be very frustrating, but generally you will ask for landmarks so you can narrow down the location...as in, Sandgate is two driveways before Claremont Avenue (coming from Cobham), right by the 40 mph speed sign and just after West End Lane.

Laura's Last Weekend - Dover Castle

2007-12-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

Laura really wanted to get to Ireland or France, but plane tickets, which can often be as cheap as $10 round trip (ryanair.com) from London to other European commnities, were not at all cheap so we needed to come up with a plan B. We decided to make the 1.5 hour drive to the coast to see the famous "White Cliffs of Dover" and tour Dover Castle. We arrived on Saturday and explored the town until we could check into our bed and breakfast.

Left: A view of one of the large ferries that makes the trip across the English Channel to France and back.

Right: The boardwalk lined with elegant old apartment buildings.

Laura and I thought we'd go out for one last night on the town--unfortunately, it was the first of many times that I would discover that restaurants in England do not operate during "normal" business hours. Generally speaking, you can't eat out at just any old time of the day--you won't find anything like an Applebee's or a Red Robin, something open all day and night. If you're going to eat out, you need to plan to eat breakfast from 7:30 to 9:00, lunch from 11:00 - 1:00, and restaurants don't open again for dinner until 6:00 p.m., earliest, and often only serve food for an hour or two, then switch to alcohol only. That may not sound like a big deal, but if you have kids and need to eat early, or you happen to be off-schedule in your meals, you're pretty much out of luck. So what does this mean? We couldn't find a place serving food when we were ready to eat at 8:00 p.m.--after walking the High Street for what felt like hours, we discovered that the entire town was absolutely bursting at the seams with young, rowdy, drunk college students. We found a random bar that was still serving food, spent an hour gawking at the "pick-up" scene, then called it a night. Talk about feeling old--I really did that night!

The next day, we spent several hours at Dover Castle, up on the cliffs overlooking the ocean and a site of historical importance. Portions of the castle were built during Roman times, added to after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and used throughout history up through World War II. Although I'm not a huge war history buff, it was really interesting to tour the "secret wartime tunnels" and the undergound hospital built into the cliffs and used during the way. If you are interested in reading more about it:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.14571

Left: A small portion of Dover Castle added in the 1700's.

Right: "Secret" wartime tunnels added to the cliffs during WWII.

View from Dover Castle.

Fourth Week of September

2007-12-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

Laura's time here is running out--she'll be leaving at the beginning of next week. We are still spending a lot of time figuring out logistics and the kids' schedules, running errands, and basically not having very much fun. Erik signed up for a phone line and internet service a month ago with BT (British Telecom)--we still haven't received any service and haven't heard a thing from them. They are impossible to contact via email so you have to phone them, but how do you do that when you don't have a phone line, I wonder...

The weather has been so beautiful that we decided to take a quick day trip while Emma is in school to see the oldest Roman wall remains in the UK.

Hadrian's Wall - Built by the Roman Empire in AD 122, 75 miles across the width of England. Roman Emporer Hadrian was experiencing military difficulties in Britain and from the peoples of various conquered lands across the Empire so he was keen to impose order. The construction of such an impressive wall was probably also a symbol of Roman power, both in occupied Britain and in Rome. (More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian)

Jakob had a fabulous time running the length of the wall and back. After walking for about half an hour, we reached the ancient amphitheater (right). As you can tell, the weather was perfect!

Third Week - Last week in September

2007-12-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

Another weekend, another trip. We're excited to be here and the weather has been so nice that we are going to take day trips as much as we can. We visited the southwest coast of England, a town called Brighton. It was a popular health resort during the 18th century and is now one of the most famous UK coastal cities.

Old hotels along the boardwalk

Brighton Pier (arcade and rides)

More boardwalk action

Royal Pavillion built by King George IV in 1815

More about Brighton if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We stopped in a town called Lewes on the way home--it's a classic example of a small English village, complete with its own ancient castle surrounded by English houses, pubs and shops. We had a great burger and pint at a pub after walking around taking in the sights.

Thomas Payne lived here

Lewe's Castle

Emma found this door to a "secret garden" behind the castle

Lots of cool narrow alleyways

Virginiai Wolf lived here in 1918

Second Week

2007-11-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

So, the house is coming together, Emma's loving school, we are feeling a tad bit more settled. There is a neighborhood just around the corner called the West End, with a large park, two ponds and lots of trails in a setting similar to Minto Brown Island (the paths are great for walks or for running, so I'm planning to make use of them.) We've discovered Garson's Farm, which is a 5 minute walk from our flat: http://www.garsons.co.uk/. It's a huge nursery/gift shop/cafe/pick-your-own veggies in the summer. We've got a great neighborhood pub, th Prince of Wales, and a community hall where we've enrolled Jake in preschool five days a week (the government pays in this country!)

I was very impressed by the type of houses in this area, and in all of England. Think of a cute Tudor house you see in Portland, but multiply it by the hundreds and connect them together. It's like that everywhere. Small, winding streets lined by flats, houses, stores and restaurants. There are only small portions of land that are natural, and even those are covered in public footpaths. There is no wilderness left here, which is something I'm sure I'll miss as time goes by. What I didn't expect, however, was that there are also CARS everywhere. You'd think people would walk more or take the bus or train, and plenty of them must, but there is still so much traffic, even in these small towns further away from London. I think we are still considered to be a suburb of sorts to London, but still. I pictured picturesque, quiet streets. I think we have to get much further from London for that. As it is, I spend a lot of time driving, Emma to school in the morning (no buses and it's about 2 ½ miles to her school), Emma home from school in the afternoon, over to the cheaper grocery store rather than the more expensive one nearby. You can understand how I hate it, given that I would watch from my front porch as she walked across the street to Grant School last year. And you can't just drive to school, you have to weave in and out and over and through and around a round-about or two, and eventually you can meander your way to wherever it is you want to go. The roads make no sense, but I guess that's what happens when you turn shepherd's paths into roads for cars. But luckily I can walk Jake to preschool, and I can walk into Esher, about a mile away, if I just want to go for coffee, to the library, or whatever. And did I mention that gas is about $8.00 a gallon here?

On Thursday, Laura, Jake and I visited the Hampton Court Palace (http://www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/) Amazing that this fantastic palace is located only 10 minutes away from my house! It was built in 1514, and King Henry the Eighth lived there. It is the largest Tudor structure in England and has 60 acres of river-side gardens and a 300 year old shrubbery maze. We couldn't get through even a third of the palace, but I bought another family membership, which also gets us into several other palaces, so we can visit often. They have lots of children's activities, scavenger hunts, and holiday activities like caroling and interpretive tours. I think it will become a sort of Children's Museum/OMSI type of place for us when we need something to do. So while those you with kids go to the library or the carousel park on a rainy afternoon, we'll be hanging at the palace of Henry VIII.

Westminster Abbey Trafalger Square
Saturday was our first trip into London. We took the train from Esher to Waterloo Station. We wanted to see it all, but because we had the kids, and a very crabby Jake, we rode some double-decker buses, quickly visited Trafalger Square and Westminster Abbey (amazing!!!) and then toured the Tower of London. (Also saw London Bridge, which looks like the bridge from Salem to West Salem, highly unimpressive.) The Tower of London was a ton of fun, as it is really a castle-like structure with lots of buildings inside, so there was a lot to see. They have interpreters walking around in costumes putting on interactive plays, which the kids loved (the one we participated in involved "stealing" the crown jewels from the tower and then capturing the bad guy.) We didn't get through everything there, either, so will have to visit again. The nice thing about being here for a year is that we don't have to rush to see it all. I do have to say, however, that I do not really love London. Hard to put my finger on it, because there are neat places to see, but it just didn't grab me. Good thing there are lots of other places to go.

Tower of London

First weekend

2007-11-03T11:50:00.001-07:00

Our first weekend trip: We drove to Stonehenge and the city of Bath on Sunday. Stonehenge, of course, very cool. Really quite unreal. We kept looking around going, wow, we're at Stonehenge? The place that's only on my computer screen-saver or on the History channel? How is this possible? I blame it on the jet-lag. Anyway, it's only about a 45 minute drive from us, so for those of you who want to visit, that's easily a morning trip. We purchased a membership to the English Heritage foundation, which will get us in for free to tons of places throughout the UK. It's well-worth the cost.

We wandered further into the countryside and made our way to Bath, where, obviously, the Roman baths were once located. It's a beautiful city, lots of Roman architecture, right on the river. We didn't spend much time there because the kids were getting tired and we had a long drive home.

We hit our first castle ruins on the way back. Cool stuff, but a bit creepy in the crypt with coffins of really old, really dead, people laying right out there.

Day 4 and 5

2007-11-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Emma started school on Thursday, two days after we arrived in the UK. We bought the required school uniform and book bag and sent her on her way. Erik's co-worker has a daughter in Emma's class, so she was eagerly awaiting Emma's arrival. According to her teachers, she has slipped right into her place and is doing wonderfully (except for not knowing cursive handwriting, which they apparently start teaching their children in preschool here…I don't think in the states they learn until 2nd or 3rd grade.) By Friday afternoon, Emma was already talking about 3 or 4 of her "best friends." Amazing how flexible children are. I don't have any friends at all yet!

On our fifth day here, we made a long drive to IKEA so that we could get some cheap stuff for the house, as everything here is ENTIRELY TOO EXPENSIVE. (Think of anything you can buy in America, and double (if you're lucky), triple or quadruple the price, depending on what it is, and that's what you have here. A McMenamin's-type burger and fries, close to $20 here. Beer, luckily, is about the same as the states, but I am sad to report that I haven't had anything I like as much as our northwest brews.) It was exhausting driving in the dark and we got horribly lost for about 30 minutes but we did get to see two foxes run in front of our car, not to mention broad swathes of neighborhoods and countryside that we shouldn't have seen had we been going the right direction but that nevertheless were cool.

Day 3

2007-11-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

Day 3

The flat came "furnished" but we needed to do some stocking up (linens, soap, food, dishes, etc.) and I felt like getting those things and making the apartment feel more homey would be a step in the right direction. (Unpacking was low on my list at this point.)

So the very next day, we decided that the most brilliant thing to do would be to get in our British Volvo and drive around on the wrong side of the road, in a place we've never been, while jet-lagged, to find whatever stores we could for the things we needed. Very long day, lots of miles, lots of turning around, lots of navigating the round-abouts…and on that note, if you know what a round-about is: They are everywhere here, instead of stoplights. So traffic never stops, it just zooms for mile upon mile, which doesn't give you much time to stop and think. So you get to a round-about, and it splits off in three or four or six or twelve different directions, and you need to be on top of your game to know which split to take. Laura has been an excellent navigator, reading the map while I drive. And I use drive in the loosest term. People don't drive here, they fly. No one brakes, no one moves over for pedestrians or bikes, and TRAFFIC NEVER STOPS. So if you don't know where you're going, you sometimes have to drive for miles before you can find a place to turn around. (I have, only once, driven around and around a round-about until we figured out which off-shoot we actually needed. I only recommend that when there's no traffic, though…) But driving has gotten much easier, and I pretty much don't have to think about which way to turn or which side to drive on any more.

Random kid pictures

Day 2

2007-11-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Day 1, continued:

We got to the flat, which was not really as I had imagined it from the pictures we were sent (the arrangement is different than I had pictured, and the ceilings are 20 feet high in every room, somehow the scale of things was not conveyed in the pictures.) We do have some great yard space for the kids to run around in. And all the bedrooms are quite large, so even with five of us here, we don't feel too squished. Two downfalls: a tiny, half-size fridge and no dryer. We hang dry everything on the radiators and on a drying rack. I guess I'm very American, because I find it to be a real pain in the behind! Also, their clothes-washing soap smells weird. Erik thinks I'm dumb, but Laura agrees. That is smells weird, not that I'm dumb. I'm noticing it less and less, but it really was disconcerting. So I'm on a quest to find something that smells normal, or at least doesn't smell at all. So far, no luck.

Anyway, it was overwhelming to be dropped off with our luggage in an apartment that wasn't really mine yet. I think we were too tired to comprehend much of anything. We rested for most of the day, put a few things away. The kids slept for close to 12 hours that night. I think it took me at least four nights to recover enough to function manageably.

The Jensens’ UK Adventure

2007-09-23T11:44:00.001-07:00

Week 1: September 11, 2007

Emma and Jake at the Vancouver airport

We made it to England, after the worst, most brutal 17 hours of my life (worse than the time I ran into my friend Danny's head with my tooth and it turned black and fell out, worse than when I went backpacking with Erik and my toenails fell out and it took 9 months for them to grow back, worse than my 36-hour labor with Emma.) It was Jake's fault, mostly, being an extremely active, stubborn, and pretty much uncontrollable 3-year old. Keeping in mind that we flew in September, during the school year, there were NO OTHER CHILDREN on our flights to out-misbehave mine. By the time we were into our third leg some 12 or 15 or 25 hours later on the flight from Montreal, Canada, to Heathrow, Jake was completely volatile and quite unstable.

At about 7 pm our time, the attendants decided it was time to darken the plane so that everyone could sleep (must have been midnight or thereabouts over the ocean where we were.) You can't make a child go to sleep when his inner clock is messed up, I've found. In fact, you can't keep your child from kicking the seat in front of him and yelling at the top of his lungs when he's absolutely giddy with sleep deprivation. We were yelled at by two passengers and a flight attendant...okay, perhaps not yelled at, but sternly scolded. As if I was just sitting there blindly allowing him to run rampant instead of desperately trying to rein him in with every toy, snack and Ipod song we had. One of those passengers was heard muttering under his breath that if he had children, which he never will, his children would never behave so poorly (Laura was seated in front of him and treated to this little tidbit of nastiness.) There was nothing Laura could do to help at this point, so I grabbed Jake bodily and held him tightly in my lap, whispering in a deadly undertone in his ear about how I would be so happy to deposit him in the airplane toilet if only he would fit…that sort of thing. I did not sleep a wink during our entire trip, as I diligently watched over Jake's every breath so that he would not disturb the other passengers' beauty sleep. Jake, on the other hand, fell asleep an hour before our plane landed in London. I'm sure you can see some irony in there.

But grumpy preschoolers, passengers and plane rides aside, we are here. (Emma, by the way, was outstandingly well-behaved.) Erik met us at 8:00 a.m., in his suit and tie, at the airport with a school van and one of his British co-teachers as driver. We piled in, all of us with our 12 pieces of luggage, and were driven with dizzying speed and recklessness, on the wrong side of the road no less, from London to our flat in Esher (maybe a 45 minute drive from London with no traffic.) I don't remember the ride, except that I was in a stinky van that was probably used to transport hundreds of sweaty, smelly teenage boys to and from their sporting events. Both Laura and I were dazed and exhausted.

Outside our new flat