Bikes and snow

It's SNOWING!!!
This Wellingtonian is very excited by the white stuff. It has snowed where I am living a total of ONE time in my life, so this is a major novelty! Out came the camera of course….

If you count 6 windows in from the right on the top floor of the closest block - that window and the door is out flat!

View from our window

There is no change in the number of cyclists on the road. There is no such thing as bad weather here, just bad clothing choices, apparently!

Speaking of bikes, on Sunday we took a bus, then another bus, then walked a while because we mistranslated to the bus driver and got off the bus too soon, and finally got to a little residential house owned by a little old fella who has a tiny shed attached to his garage where he refurbishes old bikes then sells them on the Danish equivalent of Trade me.

He didn’t speak a word of English, so, using gestures and google translate on the phone, we spent a bit of time with him, negotiating the purchase of a bike for Barry. We had already sussed one for me, through a polish friend of a Taiwanese friend of Barry’s, who is doing the same course as him.

When Barry wanted to go for a test drive, it was indicated that I was to stay as ‘collateral’. So I did. I ended up taking a ride with the man to the petrol station where I got money out to pay for the bike, and then back to his house to get the tyres pumped as they felt unsafe to Baz and he needed to check it was just a bit of air needed. The man (no idea what his name was) kept rambling to me in Danish then laughing so of course I laughed too. It was all very jovial.
So in the end it was all good, we made the purchase and the old fella was kind enough to take us both and the bike into town from where Barry rode back to our place in just 13 minutes.

We also bought a bike for me from said friend of friend. Mine is not quite as flash as Barry's, but definitely cuter with a basket, a purple paint job, and strawberry seat cover. It only cost me DKK300 (about NZ$60) though will probably cost us that again to replace the chain, and fix it up a bit.

There are loads of shops full of bike stuff here. Everyone seems to ride bikes. There are dedicated cycle lanes which also host mopeds and are a trap for newcomers like us as they look just like footpaths so are easy to wander onto. We’ve had a few bells rung at us so far! In fact the Danes we have met are super friendly and lovely people, until you stand in their way whether they are on bikes, mopeds or in a car. The other day Barry stopped to adjust his scarf when a car chose that moment to use the park he was standing in front of – never mind that there were a loads of other empty parks around. The driver decided it was that park and Barry was in the way, and was going to get run over if he didn’t move right then!
I think its because they pay 150% tax on their cars.

Barry in the student hall. I set up here every day to do my work.