30/6: Moving back to Denmark and visiting Dubai

Denne opdatering er skrevet på både engelsk og dansk, vi håber ikke det er alt for forvirrende.
This blog post is written in both English and Danish, we hope it is not too confusing to read.

At sige farvel til det liv vi har haft de seneste 3 år i Australien var utroligt hårdt for os allesammen.
Vi har været så heldige at have de mest fantastiske mennesker som en del af vores liv i Australien, og det har naturligvis gjort det desto mere hårdt at sige farvel.
Men, nu var tiden kommet til at komme videre, så dette er vores sidste blog vedrørende vores liv i Australien....ihvertfald for nu :-)
Saying goodbye to the life we have enjoyed so much the past 3 years and 3 months in Australia was indeed very tough on all of us.
We have been so fortunate that our life in Australia blessed us with the most wonderful people who were part of our lives; that made it even more difficult for us to say goodbye.
But it was time to move on….so here is our last blog from when we lived in Australia….well, for now at least :-)

Efter vi kom tilbage fra vores cruise den 28. marts boede vi de sidste par dage i Australien hos Stenhauers. Vi nød virkelig disse dage og hjalp Steinhauers lidt med deres forestående flytning til Wollongong, hvor de havde købt et dejligt hus. Wollongong ligger ca. 100km syd for Sydney, hvor Kellys familie bor, og derfor var de midt i deres flytteaktiviteter, da vi ankom.
After coming back from the cruise on March 28th, we stayed the last couple of days with family Steinhauers, enjoying the final days and helping them getting ready for their move to Wollongong. The Steinhauers bought a wonderful place down in the lovely city Wollongong, just 100km south from Sydney, and closer to Kelly’s family; therefore, they were in the middle of getting all sorted and everything ready for the movement to the south.

Vi håber ikke at de 5 ekstra vikinger var for stor en "belastning" for Jer, dagene var fantastiske.
And that in addition to have 5 Vikings living there, we do not hope we were too much of a burden to you guys. Our last days were so wonderful.

Vores dejlige venner arrangerede den mest fantastiske afskedsfest for os på en af vores favoritsteder, nemlig Terrey Hills Tavern, som ligger blot 5km fra St. Ives i retning mod kysten. Terrey Hills Tavern har en chauffør service, som både hentede os og kørte os hjem gratis, men det gjorde også at man kunne tage en ekstra øl :-)
Vi havde den skønneste sidste aften i Australien med Steinhauers (Kelly, Dan, Eli, Monet, Jackson og Dan’s forældre Cory og Bill), vores elskede nabo Nina, The Tanners (Gila, David, Genna og Oscar), og vores danske venner Ann Louise, William, Valdemar, Karoline og Alexander. Vores venner fra Melbourne, The Karadaglis, kunne desværre ikke komme grundet familiære omstændigheder.
Billederne taler for sig selv, så tusind tak til alle for at give os denne mindeværdige fest, I har alle en speciel plads i vores hjerter til evig tid.
Our lovely Friends gave us the most beautiful farewell present by throwing in a wonderful farewell party at one of our favorite places, the Terrey Hills Tavern, only about 5km towards the beaches from St. Ives. We were picked up by a driver from the Terrey Hills Tavern, and he also gave us a lift home. All for free of course, and on the other side, we probably got a bit more to drink since we had free chauffeur 😊
We had the most wonderful last night in Australia with The Steinhauers (Kelly, Dan, Eli, Monet, Jackson and Dan’s parents Cory and Bill), our lovely neighbour Nina, The Tanners (Gila, David, Genna and Oscar), and our Danish friends Ann Louise, William, Valdemar, Karoline and Alexander. Our friends from Melbourne, The Karadaglis, could unfortunately not join due to family circumstances.
Well, the pictures speak for themselves. Thanks to all of you by giving us such a remarkable memory we could bring home with us, you all have a very special place in our hearts, forever and ever.

Da vi skulle flyve kl. 6 om morgenen blev det en meget kort nat, og med vores tristhed over at skulle forlade Australien og vores venner, fik vi ikke meget søvn. Drengene ønskede bare at nyde deres sidste timer med deres venner, Eli og Jackson.
Knowing that we had to fly out at 6am the next morning, we already knew it was going to be a very short night, and with all our nervousness and sadness, none of us really got much sleep, the boys just wanted to enjoy their final hours with their best friends, Eli and Jackson. Well, very understandable!

Natten til 1. april var også natten, hvor vi skulle stille om til vintertid, og det var vores taxi chauffør åbenbart ikke helt med på, da han ringede til os kl. 2 om morgenen, arrgghh. Uanset, vi stod op kl. 3 og gjorde os klar og fik sagt "farvel" eller "på gensyn" til Steinhauers og tog så med taxien kl. 4.
Vi ankom meget tidligt til lufthavnen, og vores afgang kl. 6 var den første, da der ikke letter fly fra Sydney lufthavn mellem 23 og 6. Vi skulle flyve med en Airbus A380, det havde vi ikke prøvet før, og hold da op et kæmpe fly.
The night to the 1st of April was also the night where we had to change to wintertime, and apparently our taxi driver, Ben, was not really aware of that. He called us at 2am in the morning, what the .…, just shortening our sleep even more. Anyway, we got up at 3am finished up and said farewell or “see you soon again” to The Steinhauers before jumping into the taxi at 4am.
We came a bit early to the airport, very early actually, as the 6am flights are the first flights out of Sydney, since there are no air traffic in Sydney between 11pm and 6am, and we came well onboard the plane, an Airbus 380. Gee that’s a massive and impressive piece of metal.

Flyvetiden til Dubai var 15 timer, hvilket var vores længste tur indtil da, og vi fik heldigvis lidt søvn. Ja, der er masser af sand i Dubai.
The flight time to Dubai was around 15 hours, our longest flight until now, and we all managed to get a few hours sleep on the plane. And yes, Dubai has a lot of sand.

Vi ankom til Dubai lidt over kl. 2 om eftermiddagen og tog en taxi ind til vores lejlighed i Downtown Dubai, som vi havde lejet gennem Airbnb. Turen tilbage til Danmark kræver som minimum eet stop, og vi havde derfor besluttet os for at tage en lille miniferie i Dubai, hvor ingen af os havde været før.
Bygningen The Loft, hvor vores lejlighed var på 23. etage, lå lige overfor Burj Khalifa, Dubai storcenter og Dubai opera. Vores lejlighed havde udsigt mod Dubai storcenter, og de fantastiske Dubai Fountains.
We arrived in Dubai just after 2pm and took a cab to our Airbnb rental apartment in Downtown Dubai, a great location when staying in Dubai.
Going back to Denmark means that you need to stop at least once, and we therefore decided to spend a few days in Dubai, a place where none of us ever have been.
The apartment block where we stayed was just next to Burj Khalifa, Dubai mall and Dubai Opera, and our apartment, located on the 23rd floor, had a balcony towards the Dubai mall and the astonishing Dubai Fountains. The block was named The Loft and we lived in the left one.

Nedenfor ses udsigten fra vores lejlighed. Er det ikke flot?
And below is the view from our apartment. Isn't marvelous?

Vi var lidt trætte og havde lidt jetlag da vi ankom, og vi valgte at nyde området og slappe af. Aftensmaden var hjemmelavede sandwiches og vi kunne fra vores lejlighed se vandshowet fra The Fountains.
On the arrival date we just relaxed and enjoyed the nearby surroundings, trying to manage the little jetlag we all had, the time-zone difference between Dubai and Sydney was 6 hours. Dinner was simple homemade sandwiches and during the evening we enjoyed the amazing Fountains from the apartment.

Dagen efter, den 2. april, brugte vi det meste af tiden i Downtown Dubai, hvor vi nød storecenteret Dubai Mall, som arealmæssigt er verdens største og har 1200 butikker, hyggede os ved The Fountains og ikke mindst Burj Khalifa.
The second day, on the 2nd of April, we spend most of the day in Downtown Dubai enjoying the mall, the amazing fountains and surroundings - not the least Burj Khalifa. The Dubai Mall is the worlds largest mall measured by total area, and there are 1200 shops in the mall. Impressive, and crazy.

Vi købte faktisk 2 nye kufferter, da vores de gamle efterhånden var blevet ret medtaget. Denne gang købte vi så armerede, eller specielt forstærkede, kufferter, så må vi se hvor længe de holder.
Om aftenen spiste vi på en tyrkisk restaurant, The Bosporus Turkish Restaurant, som lå i nærheden.
We actually bought two new large suitcases as our old ones started to have a lot of wear and tear and damages after all of our travelling. This time we bought what they called armored suitcases, let’s see if they will last for a long time, we expect that.
We went out for a dinner in the evening and enjoyed many small dishes at The Bosporus Turkish Restaurant, a restaurant which was in walking distance from our apartment.

Vejret i Dubai her i starten af april var rigtig behageligt, vi havde omkring 30 grader om dagen og 20 om natten. Med andre ord, ingen problem med at vandre rundt.
The weather in Dubai at this time was very nice and enjoyable, around 30 degrees at day time and 20 degrees in the night time, so it was a pleasure to walk around after the dinner.

Og nedenfor fik vi lige nogle nærbilleder af The Fountains.
And we also got some closer pictures of the Fountains.

På 3. dagen havde vi bestilt en ørken safari tur, og vores chauffør Sohail var super venlig og gav nogle spændende ture i hans SUV ude i ørkenen. Børnene prøvede at køre nogle quad bikes og om aftenen nød vi et show, og vi fik nogle lokale retter at spise.
Som det kan ses, så måtte Leo jo lige vise, hvordan man surfer på sand, ha ha.
We had a trip booked for the third day, Dubai Desert Safari with evening show, and our chauffeur Sohail was really nice and gave us exiting time in his SUV. The boys also tried to drive around on quadbikes and we enjoyed a show in the evening with some local cuisine.
As you can see, Leo had to show the boys how to do proper surfing on sand, ha ha.

Vores 4. dag stod på Burj Khalifa, som er verdens højeste bygning på hele 828 meter. Vi var oppe på udsigtspunktet, som lå på 124 etage, 452 meter over havet. Der var langt ned til etage 23 med vores lejlighed.
On the forth day we went to Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world with its 828 metres, very impressive. We went to the view point on floor 124, 452 metres above the sea level, and even our apartment block looked so small from here.

Efter turen oppe i Burj Khalifa tog vi ind til storcentret og ind i Dubai Aquarium, hvor man jo "logisk" nok havde placeret et kæmpe akvarium i centret..
After the visit to Burj Khalifa we went to the mall and into the Dubai Aquarium, yes, they have located a large aquarium inside the mall.

Inde i storcentret fandt Esben ud af, at internettet var hurtigere end hjemme med vores fiber forbindelse, og vi målte faktisk 117Mbps download og 319Mbps download, vildt.
Esben mentioned that the wireless internet in the mall was quite fast, and yes, that was crazy speeds we measured. Come on, download speed of 117Mbps and upload speed of 319Mbps, that is even fast compared to many fibre optic connections…..and then in a mall!

Esben og Leo begyndte at få mavesmerter om aftenen, og vi tror vi fik noget at spise på vores safari tur, som vi ikke kunne tåle. Vi spiste på den tyrkiske restaurant den aften.
Esben and Leo started having stomach pain in the evening, not the best ending of the Dubai trip, and not the best outlook for the home trip, and we have a feeling that we ate something at the safari trip that was not suitable for our stomach. We went to eat at The Bosporus again in the evening, kind of the last meal in Dubai 😊

I Dubai skal man bare oplyse alt, vand, træer, stolper, ja alt.
In Dubai they have a tendency to illuminate just about everything, water, trees, poles, yes, everything.

I løbet af natten måtte Esben kaste op flere gange, og både Esben og Leo have tynd mave hele vejen hjem. Vi fløj igen med en Airbus A380 direkte til København, og det var en 7 timers tur. Vi landede i København 13:15, og med kun 2 timers tidszone forskel, så slap vi for jetlag.
Vi havde bestilt en stor taxa, da vi jo var 5 personer med 5 store kufferter, men vi ved ikke, hvilken del af vores engelsk de ikke forstod, men foran vores bygning stod en lille taxa med plads til 4. Så vi skulle sidde 4 personer på bagsædet, og Asger skulle sidde foran med en stor kuffert. Heldigvis var taxaturen meget billig, og vi kom frem i tide.
During the night Esben had to vomit multiple times and both Leo and Esben had diarrhea on the way back to Denmark ☹
Our flight back to Denmark was again with an Airbus A380, directly to Copenhagen, which was a 7-hour flight departing Dubai at 8.20am and arrived in Copenhagen at 1:15pm. There are 2 hours time-zone difference between Denmark and Dubai, so luckily no jetlag from this trip.
We booked a large cap from the reception in the apartment building, and we asked for a cab with place to 5 people AND large suitcases. Well, we don’t know which part of our English they do not understand, but a small cab for 4 people came and picked us up, arrgghh. We had to sit 4 people on the backseat and Asger had to sit with a big suitcase on the front seat, but off we went to the airport and we arrived in time. On the positive side, it was a very cheap taxi trip, he he.

Vi ankom til Danmark til tiden, men hold op det var koldt, kun ca. 8 grader, hvilket ikke passede til vores t-shirts. Ude foran stod Vibekes forældre og tog imod os, og hvilken fantastisk uventet overraskelse, som da gav noget gåsehud.
We arrived in Denmark on time, and oh, it was cold upon arrival, only around 8 degrees, and we came with t-shirts on. When we came out from the airport arrival zone, Vibeke’s parents, was standing waiting for us. Goosebumps all over, what a pleasant and lovely surprise, totally unexpected, and sooo welcomed.

Vibekes forældre var alligevel i København, og de havde lige besluttet sig for at møde os inden vi tog videre med tog mod Kolding. Vi købte billetter til Fredericia og ankom her nogle timer senere, og ja, togene i Danmark kører MEGET hurtigere end i Australien. Igen fik vi en så dejlig velkomst af vores familie, denne gang af Leo mor og hendes gode ven Gerhard, Vibekes søster Monica, hendes mand Rasmus og deres trillinger, Leos søster Tina, hendes kæreste Jan og Tinas datter Signe og endeligt Leos søster Susanne og hendes datter Malene. Hvilken dejlig velkomst.
Vibeke’s parents were in Copenhagen anyway and decided to meet us before we went towards Kolding with the train. After a little hour in the airport we bought our train tickets to Fredericia, a town near Kolding, said goodbye to Bjarne and Annamarie, and went on the train.
We arrived in Fredericia a couple of hours later (yes, trains are MUCH faster in Denmark compared to Australia), and again, completely unexpected, we were met by our families again: This time Leo mom and her good friend Gerhard, Vibekes sister Monica, her husband Rasmus and their triplets, Leos sister Tina, her boyfriend Jan and Tina’s daughter, and Leo’s other sister Susanne and her daughter. What an awesome welcome to get once again.

Det var stadig ret koldt og tilmed noget blæsende i Fredericia, så vi syntes det var en noget kold fornøjelse at komme hjem til. MEN, vi vil gerne lige bemærke, at solen virkeligt er kommet frem efter at vi er kommet hjem!
Familien havde sørget for lidt fornødenheder til os, da huset jo var tomt, hvilken dejlig varm tanke. Drengene tog noget varmere tøj på, og sprang ud i haven for at hoppe i trampolin, hvilket jo var længe siden de sidste havde prøvet efter vi solgte vores trampolin i St. Ives. Gyngen i vores store bøgetræ blev også testet godt af.
It was still very cold, and in addition to that is was very windy in Fredericia, phew, what a cold and chill experience getting to Denmark. BUT, the sun actually came out when we arrived, we just wanted to point that out!
When we came home, our family and friends arranged to have some basic food in the house knowing the house was completely empty, what a warm thought. The buys took some warmer clothes on and went out on the trampoline first thing, yes, it’s been a while since we sold our trampoline in St. Ives in December. The swing in our big beech tree was also heavily in use.

Vores lokale Brugs ligger kun et par minutter fra vores hus, og vores første morgenmad dagen efter bestod naturligvis af rundstykker og pålægschokolade. Jep, så er man hjemme i Danmark igen.
We only live two Minutes walk from our local supermarket, and our first breakfast in Denmark was a very traditional Danish breakfast with bread rolls and “pålægschokolade”, yes.
We are back home in Denmark.

Dette var faktisk vores næstesidste opdatering på denne blog. Vi er alle kommet godt hjem og vi oplevede den bedste og varmeste Farvel og Velkomst, som vi kun kunne drømme om. Vi er alle yderst taknemmelige for at have Jer alle i vores liv, og vi værdsætter dette meget højt.
Vores sidste opdatering kommer om nogle måneder, og den vil indeholde lidt reflektioner omkring det at komme hjem til Danmark igen efter 3 år i udlandet.
That was our second last blog post on this blog series, we all arrived well in Denmark, and we experienced the greatest, warmest and emotional Farewell as well as Welcome we could ever dream of. We are all truly grateful for having all of you in our lives, a gift we appreciate every day!
Our last post on this blog will be a post containing our reflections on coming back home after 3 years and how we all settled in. The blog post will come in a couple of months.