Kolding Calling

I was at the early stages of writing this post from the city of Kolding in rainy cold Denmark. Why was I in Europe? For a business trip — no more words necessary on that one. 😉 Being the “knitting obsessed” sort of person I am, I had contacted my co-worker’s wife (and now online friend) Jette, and excitedly commented on Randi’s blog too. I then posted a little thread in Ravelry’s Danish Knitters group about wanting to meet up with those in the area. Reminder to all: If there is something you desire, ask for it. You might be quite pleasantly surprised with the results! In my case, my wish was to meet up with other knitters, but let me start from the beginning…

Monday night’s flight itself from Boston was uneventful — except for the crying toddlers, one of which puked minutes before landing in Amsterdam on Tuesday morning. Because she was in my same row 2 seats over from me, I was a bit miffed until a co-worker reminded me “at least it was not before takeoff.” Chalk up that one for positive thinking. 🙂 There is one funny (as in ha-ha) observation about going to Europe for work. A person’s passport is stamped only for the country first entered. In each trip I have taken to Denmark, I have always entered via Amsterdam. I think all those stamps make me look like a seedy, smoking, pervert. Why cannot I go through Paris, or Brussels, or London, or… or…? (siiiiiigh)

Anyway, Tuesday’s arrival at the office was fun because I finally met the folks that I communicate through e-mail, Sametime, and the occasional telephone call. After work, Mikkel took me over to see Helene at their house. Their baby boy had not arrived yet, so much anticipation was a bit pent up for us. Helene and I did a lot of hugging. We never thought we would see each other this soon! We snacked on cake that she made — reminded me of the ones my Mother would make. I also took many photos of their home. I love the architecture; the layout had a smooth flow throughout the house. We unpacked their purchased goodies from Target, and I showed them the blanket I made out of Lorna’s Laces Worsted in Purple Iris. Admittedly, I was so relieved that she liked the colors because she originally had thought the colorway was too dark in the photo I sent. The blanket still needed to be washed and its ends woven in, so I packed it back up to bring it back to the hotel.

We then left to eat dinner in the city of Vejle at the tappas restaurant “Las Tascas” (which was quite good and not bad on price either!). Unfortunately after dinner, I kept falling asleep in the car en route back to their house. 🙁 We grabbed my things and they dropped me off at the Kolding Fjord Hotel. It is a gorgeous place, and the best part? They have bathtubs!! For those not familiar with traveling in Europe Kolding, the hotels usually have only showers, and they have very narrow beds.

Wednesday during the day at work went by as a blur. There were more “meet and greets” with other teams; and some major testing for my current project. Wednesday night was another deal! I had an evening to remember at BC Garns. Maja the owner is a very generous LYSO who knows how to greet and treat her customers. I was made very welcome and everyone was incredible. One of my first items was to have everyone sign my little notebook with their name, blog, and Ravelry login. My plan is to get all the names listed here. Currently, I am a bit loopy on night-time cold medicine, so I am going to take a quick break for some sleep. However, stay tuned for the list of everyone that I met, along with the sock yarn I brought to the knitters, and the wonderful yarn I brought back. Plus, there is one other surprise… 😉

Good night for now! =:8