Our first home in Aarhus

Soon after our arrival we quickly realized that without our ‘CPR number’ we were pretty much left to live like tourists: impossible to buy a phone, to open a bank account, to get an apartment, etc. This CPR number is technically a social security number that’s really an identification number. And naturally, it’s not just that simple to get that number! You need proof of a work contract (that’s what C has), or of enough funds to live (that would be C’s salary for the two of us for now), even for a European citizen like

Q. So we both waited for that

number for a while, as it comes in the mail in a week or two...

In the meantime we were fortunate that a professor two doors down the hall from Chrysa’s supervisor had a place he could rent us for a few weeks. He actually bought a house but hasn’t been able to sell his old one yet. So we are staying in the new one, which is a turn-of-the-20th-century house with large square-footage (about 1100 sq.ft.), hardwood floors (pretty standard here), a fine picturesque decor (see the column and the old fireplace), sunny all day long, a gigantic kitchen, and only 2 minutes from the lab. The house has a name on its outside: ‘BLAAKAER’, which we were told by our friend the owner means ‘blue pond’. Probably the family name of whoever built it.

We just still can’t believe the good fortune that brought us to this cozy place, only two days after leaving Strasbourg on a short notice, and only about four days after having landed from the tropics... To live here we did not need a CPR number, we did not need to give a deposit, and we have even had a delay to pay our rent! It’s good to have friends and friends who have friends! And we just keep loving Danish people more and more for their kindness and their diligence in helping us out.

Next, we are looking forward to receiving our 30 boxes that we shipped from Lafayette, Colorado. After all this time, it’s gonna be like Christmas all over again!