Par-tay!

Tessie was invited to attend a birthday party for one of her day care "classmates" who had recently turned three. It was held at a party facility in South Pasadena that we can wholeheartedly recommend. We rode the Gold Line train down to Mission station and walked a short way to the party.

Amy's Playground has all sorts of toys and fun things for the kids to do. (So does her day care, though. It's not like all the kids do there is just lift weights in the yard and create an underground economy by furtively trading juice boxes.) Tessie spent lots of time in a little play house, cooking pretend meals and serving me pretend coffee, and doing small repairs:

Before long, most of the kids arrived, and the place became pandemonium. It was fun to see Tessie interact with all the friends she tells us about over dinner. The change of venue from the day care also gave them the opportunity to try new things, and there was none of the structure of the day care day. It was two hours of pure self-directed fun.

There was a bouncer, among plenty of other ways to burn off extra energy:

Then, disaster struck. After requesting a chocolate cupcake, Tessie received a pink one. It landed on her plate, and she exploded into tears:

The server was made aware of the error, and a chocolate cupcake was delivered:

Tessie began to realize that the situation might work to her advantage. She now had a chocolate cupcake in hand, and a pink one in reserve:

So, after dispatching the chocolate cupcake, she decided that maybe pink wasn't so bad after all:

Then the trauma was forgotten, and it was time to go back to playing. Here she is sliding down a long chute at the end of a play tunnel:

To prove to us that she had a wonderful time, Tessie followed up her afternoon with a lengthy nap once we got home.

Hallowe'en!

To Tessie's great relief, Hallowe'en did eventually arrive. The anticipation built up in her so much that every evening for the last week she stated, repeatedly, "I want to go to Hallowe'en!"

Well, Hallowe'en came to her, and she made the most of it. Her day care had a costume parade and sent her home with a bag of treats, but the majority of her trick-or-treating was done closer to home, in the downtown business district of the Undisclosed Location.

Dressed as a Pumpkin Fairy, she charmed most of the local merchants out of candy as she walked through town. Here she is getting her first-ever Hallowe'en treat:

That was followed by many more, and then it was time for the costume parade, as all the local children followed behind one of the city's fire trucks on a short walk from downtown to Memorial Park. Memorial Park was the site of the costume contest, and Tessie entered in the 0-2 age group. Alas, she didn't win, but surely this was due to the preferential treatment given by the judges to those toddlers wearing homemade costumes. Tessie's was not made by an immediate relative, and we can only hope that the nimble-fingered Chinese adolescents who did create it aren't offended by the judges' blatant disregard for their efforts. (Hey, Judges: you try churning out hundreds of identical "Pumpkin Fairy" costumes in one sixteen-hour shift before discounting the effort!) From there we returned home so Tessie could make one last stop before bed. We took her across the street to our neighbors to trick-or-treat one last time. Tessie's request sounded more like "twinkle-twinkle" than "trick-or-treat," but it had the desired effect and several pieces of chocolate landed in her plastic jack-o-lantern bucket.

Pumpkin Festival

Now that we're all caught up after our European extravaganza, it's time to get back to writing about our more mundane activities near home.



One of the ways in which we in southern California become aware of the approach of autumn is through the appearance on the calendar of pumpkin-related activities. (What, you think we see leaves change color or something? Palm trees are green year-round, my friends.) Last weekend we attended the Kidspace Pumpkin Festival near the museum grounds by the Rose Bowl.



Kidspace is a children's museum, and the pumpkin festival is an annual event for children. We went last year, but this time Tessie was big enough to enjoy more of the activities. I think she even managed to find the stage act, a clown trio singing inane songs, to be condescending. She did enjoy the pumpkin patch:

She also enjoyed the bounce houses, and she's seen here atop the slide with an unknown acquaintance:

But the highlight of her day was her first-ever pony ride:

She was simply beaming atop her mount as they circled under the tent. Look at that posture, by the way. It seems we have an equestrienne in the making. This can't be good.

Homeward bound

Our last morning in Copenhagen began as the previous ones had: with the complimentary hotel breakfast. Since this was to be our last breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, we spent a little extra time enjoying the art on display.

Both inside and outside the restaurant were works by local artist Keld Moseholm at varying scales. This one was my favorite:



We had one last thing to do before leaving for the airport: buy diapers. We wanted to have enough on hand to cover our upcoming flights, and felt that the half-dozen or so might not cut it, so out I went, while Tessie's Mom did the last of the packing.

Tessie wears a size-4 diaper, and I must have visited at least half a dozen stores, from corner markets (sample dialog - Me: "I'm sorry, I don't speak Danish..." South-Asian immigrant store clerk: "That's O.K.; neither do I.") to the big Danish grocery chains REMA 1000 and Super Best. I walked for miles (really!), finding plenty of sizes 3 & 5, but not a single size 4.

My perambulations, stressful and unproductive as they were, still gave me an opportunity to wander the city and take in the sights one last time. I really learned to like Copenhagen in the short time we were there. It's a well-organized city with a vibrant core, highly efficient public transit, beautiful architecture, friendly people... there's a whole lot to like, just no size 4 diapers. That, and it's as expensive as all get-out.

I did get to see a few more unique sights while walking, like a Porsche 928 converted into a pick-up truck, and this sign over the Rådhuspladsen, which seems to be Tessie's personal motto: For diapers, I had to hit my last resort: 7-11. 18 DKk for three - that's over a buck each! Not for nothing does Copenhagen place seventh on Forbes' list of the "World's Most Expensive Cities."

Necessities acquired, I hurried back to the hotel, and we hit the streets for our short walk to the train station.


We boarded our train for the short ride to the airport, then had plenty of time to kill after checking in. Luckily, there was an O'Leary's Bar in the airport, and even more luckily, there was an open table. O'Leary's is - of all things - a Swedish chain of bars emulating Boston sports bars. Needless to say, I felt right at home amid the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins and Patriots memorabilia lining the walls. I took Tessie to a wall of Red Sox photos, and we named all the greats: Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, and that steroid freak from a few years ago. Tessie recognized Wally the Green Monster without any prompting.
So that was it. Our time in Copenhagen was done, and we were ready to go home. We boarded our plane for the long, long, looong trip back.

Leg #9: Copenhagen to Seattle. Yikes, this is a long flight. Tessie hadn't had much opportunity to tire herself out that day, so by the time we got strapped in she was raring to go, and totally unwilling to sit still. We had three seats in a row this time, so she was between us, and we tried to take turns entertaining her. All she seemed interested in, though, was running loose in the cabin, and we couldn't allow that, of course.

We walked up and down the aisles a few times, and hung out in the galley at the rear of the plane, trying to stay out of the way of the flight crew. I noticed a sleeping bag back there just like the one Tessie had been offered on the flight out; this time, it was being used to keep bread warm. [Airline: SAS. Freebie: a rattle and a (mercifully small) stuffed tiger.]

Leg #10: Seattle to Los Angeles. Finally, the home stretch. I think by this point we were so tired we are completely unable to remember any details of the flight, other than that Tessie slept through it. [Airline: Alaska. Freebie: none.]

We landed, collected our luggage and our car, and drove home to find everything as we left it, which is, of course, the best way to end any trip.

Tessie still talks about her cousins and wants to visit them again, and she asks to see the videos from the trip almost every day. She understands that Slovakia is far away: "It's too far to walk - we have to go on an airplane!" she says, and it helps that when she asks "What [are] Andrejka and Zuzka doing?" we can honestly answer that they are probably sleeping.

Trains, Bikes and Pirate Ships

For our last day of sightseeing together, Tessie and I had a goal: to find a playground, preferably one with both swings and slides.

Armed with the tourist office map we'd picked up the day before, we boarded a train at the Hovedbanegården. After realizing we were on the right train but headed in the wrong direction, we disembarked. Oops. Fortunately, the trains come at closely spaced intervals, so we didn't have to wait for long to catch the right train, going the right way.

The playground I'd selected - based solely on its accessibility by train - was still a goodly walk away from the station, and I'd left the stroller behind again, but the morning air was cool and Tessie was excited and happy to be on an adventure. We walked through a residential neighborhood of brick apartment buildings and small shops before arriving at the playground at the corner of Gammelvagt & Sankt Pauls Gade.

There were a couple dozen children already playing when we arrived, and not nearly as many adults as I would have expected. In Copenhagen, I guess it's still considered safe to send children out to play unattended.

Much to my relief, there were swings and slides. There were also a massive sandbox, toy trucks and cars, playground balls, and, for reasons unexplained, hockey sticks. Lastly, there was this thing:

No, it's not as dangerous as it looks: it seems the weight of three children is too much for the one pedaler to move, so when fully loaded, the thing doesn't move a bit. I don't know if that's a design flaw or a design feature.

(I thought Tessie had light skin and hair. Guess I was wrong.)

Eventually, Tessie got her fill of the swings and slides, and her shoes also got their fill of sand, so off we went, detouring through the lovely Kastellet Park, to our next destination, the Danish Resistance Museum.

Yes, I was going to take Tessie to a museum of artifacts documenting the Nazi occupation of Denmark during World War II. I had a plan: I figured, since this museum is a branch of the Nationalmuseet, there were likely to be more of those spiffy free strollers to be had, so she could snack outside, then nap in the stroller while I toured the museum at my leisure.

No strollers.

Not only were no strollers provided, they weren't even allowed, so at least I didn't have to feel dumb for not bringing ours. We gave it a go anyway.

The museum is small and arranged chronologically in a square plan around a central courtyard. Past the admission desk, the entry hall sets the stage by providing historical context, then the visitor proceeds counter-clockwise around the courtyard through exhibits detailing the war years in Denmark. The museum's plan subtly reflects the course of the war: while the courtyard is always in view, the natural light becomes more scarce in the sections depicting the depths of the war. So daylight is in abundance in the sections devoted to before and after the war, but the galleries become dimmer after Danish capitulation, darkest during the period of Nazi reprisals known as "The Terror," and finally brighten again as the end of the war approaches.

Tessie was in no mood for history museums, however, so we didn't make it too far before she began to get restless. I did my best to skim the exhibits while keeping her under control, but it became clear that she just wasn't going to cooperate. Well, it was a lot to ask.

So back out into the fresh air we went, and were instantly confronted with - what else? - a pølser cart. So we got one to share and started walking south, back toward the city center.

Our route took us through the grounds of the Amalienborg Palace, the winter home of the Danish Royal Family. We arrived in time to catch the tail end of a guard change, and we sat down to watch the new guard pace her way across the forecourt of the palace a few times. (Not as stoic as the Palace Guards in London, this one liked to wink and smile at Tessie. The assault rifle she carried made me think twice about starting a conversation.)

Pølser consumed, we continued southward until we reached Sankt Annæ Plads, which seemed to be Copenhagen's embassy district. There, in front of the Swedish embassy, were swings and a slide. These had gone unmentioned by the attendant at the tourist office, and were much closer to downtown than any of the options she provided. Oh well. Tessie enjoyed them just the same, but it began to sprinkle, so we picked up our pace and headed for the subway station at Kongens Nytorv.

It was too early to call it a day, so I decided to visit one last location, and treat Tessie to another train ride. Because a multitude of train lines passed through that station, but we could only use a subset of them, I explained to Tessie that we were looking for specific trains identified by letter. The letters we needed were C, E or H, so I told her to look for the "camel," "elephant" or "horse" trains. She read the letters off the incoming trains, passing on the "apple" and "dolphin" trains, and shouting "Horsey!" when the H train pulled in.

The flaw in this plan became apparent immediately when she boarded the train to find nary a horse in sight. It seems I had created some unrealistic expectations, and tears of disappointment were narrowly avoided. (The other passengers may or may not have been amused by my horsey noises.)

Back to the brewery! This time, we'd actually go inside the new Carlsberg Visitors Center, which replaced the old brewery tour Tessie's Mom and I took nine years earlier, but first we had to get past this guy:
He's an "artist," you see, and this was a "protest." One of his associates explained that they were protesting Carlsberg's lack of generosity to struggling artists. By way of making their point, those boxes below the protester are all tagged as gifts to the causes Carslberg does support, such as the Copenhagen Zoo and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Hmmm. Way to undermine your argument, guys. It seems they're upset not about Carlsberg's level of giving, just that it isn't directly aimed at them.

Anyway, we passed the laboratory where Carlsberg isolated its proprietary strain of yeast, with the statue of founder J. C. Jacobsen out front...

...and made it to the entrance, complete with more elephants. The gift shop missed a serious marketing opportunity, by the way: no elephants at all. I had been hoping to get Tessie a t-shirt with the symbol of the brewery on it, but had no such luck; nor were there any stuffed animals, posters or anything else in any way pachyderm-related.

What to my surprise should I see upon entering? A stroller. A free stroller; all I had to provide was a phone number to sign it out.

Let's recap:
Satellite of the Nationalmuseet = no strollers.
Brewery = complimentary stroller.
(If only I'd known... )The new visitors' center is less a brewery tour and more a glorification of market penetration and brand expansion. Timelines chart ever-increasing production numbers and document new breweries on six continents. The emphasis seems to be on quantity over quality, but there are also exhibits on the history and science of brewing, and on Carlsberg's role in the community. The mash tuns we saw on our earlier visit are still there,
as are the horses (or at least their descendants):

Tessie fell asleep in the stroller pretty quickly, since she hadn't yet had much of a nap by that time, so she missed the horses, and most of the rest of the tour, but she woke up in time for the bar:

That's my girl. Having overwhelmed their visitors with the whole global domination thing, the fine folks at Carlsberg offer samples at the end of the tour to remind you that, yes, they produce a darn tasty beer, not just a popular one.

Actually, they produce a wide variety of beers, and eight were available on tap at the bar. Only two drink tickets are included in the price of admission, so a decision needed to be made. Fortunately, the bartender was knowledgable (and spoke impeccable English), so I was able to tell him what I like and he offered suggestions. If only I could remember what they were...

Tessie was near exhaustion at this point, so she slept as I carried her back to the train station for our ride back to the hotel. When we arrived, though, the sight of Tessie's Mom revived her and she was ready to go back down to the pool, where we frolicked as a whole family for about an hour.

Soon it was dinner time, and, with that being our last night in Copenhagen, we decided to spend it at Tivoli Gardens, the amusement park and pleasure garden in the center of Copenhagen.

We dined at the same restaurant we'd been to before, but its menu had changed drastically; operating under the same name, Valhal, it was now a Viking-themed burger joint, not a Viking-themed full-service restaurant. It was also amazingly expensive. (A mediocre cheeseburger should not be ~US$20.00.)

While we ate, it began to rain. Hard. And, cleverly, we'd left our rain gear at the hotel. So we finished our meals and ran between the drops to find shelter where we could hear the bands that were still playing.

When the music stopped, the other flaw in our timing became apparent: most of the rides suitable for Tessie had already closed. We wandered the park searching for something one of us could accompany her on, finally settling on a pirate ship ride. So Tessie did get to enjoy one ride at Tivoli before we called it a night and went back to the hotel. Next time, we'll spend a whole day there.