I have decided that over the next few days I will create entries that give you a sense of what each day living and playing fodbold (again…I am getting accustomed to referring to soccer as fodbold so that people here don’t look at me funny when I talk about it. Also, I think it sounds cool! ha) in Denmark is like. I would say that I don’t have a typical daily schedule that I follow or anything. It is more what I choose to fill my day with- apart from the mandatory practice every night. I am also going to create a time chart to follow like they would typically write it here in Denmark so you can get a little taste of a small part of the culture/language.

Thursday October 1, 2009

  • kl 6.00 Alarm goes off. Unfortunately I stayed up way too late chatting with some friends online and I really did not want to roll out of my warm bed. Every morning I wake up to the wind howling and it sounds like the weather should be pretty nasty outside. I have my usual bowl of either oats, almonds, banana and milk or my musli with berry yogurt. Then, I start the layering process so that I don’t freeze on my bike ride to the gym.
  • kl 6.25 I leave my apartment with the lights on my bike turned on because it is still dark outside (there is a 500 dkk, which is equal to $100 USD, fine if you get caught at certain hours without lights). The ride to the gym is fairly easy with the wind at my bike pushing me along. It only takes me 5 minutes max to reach the gym.
  • kl 6.30 I meet my teammate Portia at the gym next door to the clubhouse to lift weights, stretch, and spin on the bike.
  • kl. 7.30 Leave the gym and head across the street to Fortuna where I unlock all the doors and set out the clothes for the girls and boys when they come to get ready for training. Portia and I go out to the field, set up the training session, talk about life, and wait for the eleven 12-year-old girls to wipe the sleep from their eyes and join us for practice.
  • kl 8.00 Portia and I run the girls through a training session focused on their technique. Today we worked on footwork, little touches on the ball, and passing. Today was the first day out of the past 5 weeks where we had to add punishment into practice. We found ourselves having to repeat the same instructions over and over way too many times. Every time they didn’t listen they had a little bit of running to do. The strategy seemed to work well :).
  • kl 9.15 Girls head back to school for the day and Portia, Julie (another teammate), and I hang out talking in the locker room for a while (all in English mind you- Portia doesn’t speak Danish and Julie has really good english so it works well). Julie and Me Julie and Me before the game last night
  • kl 10.00 I head out to the field to do some speed work and to get some touches on the ball. Since I am finally feeling healthy enough to do extra work I decide to take advantage of the sunshine  in the morning. I run through some ladder work (the agility ladders that you put on the ground and do different exercises in and out of the rungs), do some L-drills and dribble through cones. It felt good to get my legs moving after lifting this morning.
  • kl 11.00 Get on my bike and head home.
  • kl 12.00 After getting ready for the day and realizing, wow I’ve already done a lot today, I have to go into the city to go to the bank. Yesterday was my first official payday and seeing that I had zero dkk (the abbreviation for danish kroner) it was a must that I stopped in. I also had to figure out how to activate my debit card that I got in the mail because all the instructions are in Danish. The people at the bank were really helpful and I was on my way in no time at all.

**I need to add a little note about banks here in Denmark. It is a bit different of an experience than going to a bank back in the States. The bank that I go to here is a very inviting place. When you walk in you have to take a number and wait until it pops up on a reader board to approach the counter. When you are waiting, you don’t stand in line. Instead, there are tons of comfy chairs to sit in, a complimentary coffee machine with a variety of drinks that it dispenses, computers to use if need be, and lots to look at. I am looking forward to the next time I have to go back. Maybe I will go everyday to get free coffee (I am laughing as I write this because it is something my dad would say!). **

  • kl 12.30-18.30 I have free to do whatever I like. Today I made my way to one of my favorite places called Cafe Ciffy. Since it was payday I decided to indulge a little and get the delicious Laks (salmon) Sandwhich and a warm drink called Colombine, which combines Hot Cocoa (varm kako) and coffee…so I guess like a mocha but o so much better! The cafe is a very old cozy bar like place with wood beams lining the ceiling and also old wood beams extending down to the floor supporting much of the upstairs section. There is an old grand piano at the entrance and numerous tables to sit at downstairs as well as a bar. There are stairs off to the side which take you to the second floor where you find tables following the layout in the shape of a large rectangle. The middle of the rectangle is open, therefore allowing you to look down over the main floor. Three old looking chandeliers hang down in the open space creating a very antique feeling to the cafe. I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture so you could see what I am trying to explain. Oh well. I plan on staying here for a bit  just relaxing, reading, and writing. We’ll see where the rest of the day takes me. More to come at the end of the night.
  • kl 18.30-20.00 Time to train. The majority of practice took place under the lights since it likes to get dark here so early. I had a blast at practice tonight and had ZERO pain!!! Woohoo!!! Afterwards I enjoyed a massage from the physio therapist to help loosen up the hip more.
  • kl 20:30 Dinner in the clubhouse. Each Thursday a parent of one of the players from the club makes dinner for the first and second teams and whoever else wants to eat I guess. Tonight we had chicken pot pie Danish style (I’m not sure what that means ha, just felt like writing it). It only cost 10dkk so about $2 for a hot home-cooked meal. I always look forward to Thursday!
  • kl 21.00 I get on my bike for one last time today…in the pouring down rain…and pedal my way home. I arrive to my place in about 5 minutes soaking wet, a bit cold, but feeling good.

I would have to go with Thursday as being my favorite day of the week. Maybe it is because I feel like I get a lot done or just the fact that I am around a lot of different people throughout the day.