The first two months of being in Denmark have been very busy with administrative things such as getting new IDs and fishing licenses. Its also involved a lot of working in my new office and within the lab as I detailed in my last blog post. But like Julia I have started to settle into my new life in Denmark.
I have gone to grab a drink after work with colleagues at something called a Fredagsbar (Friday bar). This is an extremely Danish idea where after work in the same building you should be able to go and grab a cheap beer with your friends. It is very much like a pub at work and I have to admit I think is a tradition that should be adopted in other countries. Although I will say that in Denmark they often seem to not use cash or cards and utilize mobile pay which requires a Danish bank card so, if you are thinking of coming be sure you have a few friends to buy you a beer (sorry guys I will pay you back eventually). Other than socializing, I have gone to try my hand fishing a few times as Aarhus is a perfect place to easily get to the sea and cast out a line. I still have a lot to learn as I regularly catch less than the Danes fishing around me, but I have started getting better. To answer your question Julia, its very common in Denmark to ride a bike and they are plentiful around the university and the city as a whole. I have not yet joined this group as I am still getting to grips with the traffic moving on the other side of the road and realized I should learn to walk before I run (cycle). I will keep you updated on my cycling progress if you do with yours?
With regard to my research and work, I have been trying my best to learn as much as I can before the semester starts. I have been finishing courses I had started when in the UK, such as my visualize your science course that I mentioned in this previous post. I had to make an example poster you can see here!
Julia mentioned we have an InterCat retreat coming up in the middle of September, which will enable us all to meet in person for the first time (hopefully). It will be a great chance for me to learn some more about what the Leiden group does and finally meet Julia in person. We have to create a poster for this event and I wondered how making it was going for you Julia? We will be sure to make a post detailing how the retreat went and the types of things we did while there shortly after it happens!