Let The Truth Be Told...

Before I reflect on the Berenz Girl’s European Adventure, I would like to give our dedicated blog-followers some insight into Kevin’s blogging rules and behaviors to help you all understand why you have rarely heard from the Senior Director:

1.       All entries have to be in chronological order.  If I can’t keep up with Kevin, there is no possibility for me to enhance this piece of work  (I was given a deadline for this entry because he is ready for his next post!!!)

2.       Creativity and exaggeration are a must.  Kevin has passed judgment on my lack of creativity by reading over my shoulder saying, “You are going to write about that?”

3.       Check for spelling and grammatical errors and then do it once again for safe-keeping.  Kevin believes he is going to win a Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography so he is ultra sensitive to these types of errors.  I must ensure their aren’t no errors in my entrys J. 

4.       Jokes, jokes and more jokes.   Kevin thinks that every day is April Fool’s thus he likes to add humor to each entry to see what you all “fall for.”  In his next entry, I am sure he is going to tell you all of these blog rules are rubbish and that I died of “natural causes” just like Amy Winehouse. 

Now, on to my “boring” post that I am writing at this very moment to ensure I can have an entry before his next post!!!  HeheheheheheJ

My mom, Jane (sister) and Jobina (my bro’s better half), had a full packed schedule which took them to London, Paris, Rome and then back to London.   It was Jane and Jobina’s first trip to Europe and it was fun to experience everything with the first-timers.  True to Berenz style, the trip was mainly based around food and drink.  We introduced them to Lebanese food and it was my mom’s first time eating Indian.  Jobina had the best drink in her life at Neal’s Yard in London and my mom discovered Pimms’s No 1.  It’s a gin-based liquor containing quinine and a secret mixture of herbs and it was created in 1823.  It is one of the two staple drinks at Wimbledon and the Henley Royal regatta.   It’s typically served with Lemonade over ice with diced lemons, limes, oranges, strawberries, cucumbers and crushed mint.    This drink is a must for any of our future visitors!!!  My sister is pregnant so when we were taking in the cocktails, she was chewing on candy gummies… which we agreed tasted better than the ones made in the US.    Between all the girls, they took approximately 100 pictures of food and drinks.  Now the test will be if they can remember each meal when they share the pics with the rest of the fam.   

The one meal, I know we will not forget was our dinner in Paris on Saturday night.   After a long day of walking and sightseeing, we were ready to eat so I led them to the Boulevard St-Michel area based on a guidebook recommendation.  It was describe as an area with many shops, cafes, restaurants and cinemas.   When we arrived, it was a nightmare because it was a tourist trap!!!  It was one restaurant after the next and it went on for blocks.  They all looked the same and they each had individuals on the street trying to leer us in.  None of us wanted to make the decision because we didn’t want to get blamed for the bad meal.  After much indecision, we forced my mom to pick and to no surprise it was horrible.  As a result, we had an “after-party” and ended up in a convenience store buying cheese, crackers, wine and gummy bears, which we consumed on the river walk along the Seine. 

Then the girls ventured onto Italy and ate their way through Rome.  Their favorite tourist spot was the Coliseum and Jobina made history by wearing her pajamas to the Vatican.  I am not sure what the Pope would have said if she had run into him!!!  Back in London, the girls fell in love with the markets, TK Maxx (same as TJ Maxx), pub life, Ottolenghi bakery goods, cider beer, Pimm’s, and English mustard.  Last Friday night, we had a fabulous experience going to the theatre to see The Lion King.  We all thought it was even better than Wicked.  I highly recommend it for anybody who has a chance to see it.  

Even though we got to see and experience all these wonderful things together, one of my highlights was seeing my sister baby bump and feeling the baby kick.  It was such an incredible feeling and I am just so excited to meet “Little Tommy” (this is only a inside joke). 

They all made it back safe to Fondy and now Kevin and I are going to Tallinn, Estonia this weekend.  Upon our return next week, we welcome Susie and Patrick King, our good Minneapolis buddies.   So much to look forward to…

Until Next Time,

The Senior Director

Fondy Takes Europe

The Fondy Ladies have come and gone,
They bid farewell on Monday at dawn.

They began in London to Paris and Rome,
And back to London before heading home.

They walked miles a day at a hearty pace,
as seen from the exhaustion upon their face.

They sampled the local fare at every chance,
but it was all the desserts that made them dance.

I leave you with this short form of non prose,
as Ann will blog of their travels and woes.

Stay tuned for pictures and words from the Senior Director.................

London Riots and Shocking Revelation

Hi Everyone,

While I was watching BBC news in my hotel room in Warsaw yesterday morning trying to catch the latest updates on the riot situation in London, I witnessed something unbelievably disturbing.  If you look at the picture above, focus in on the light-pole in the background with the yellow box.  If you squint very carefully, you will be just as terrifyingly surprised to see what I did.  Carrying a red bag for what I assume could only be looting purposes, Ann apparently took her loneliness to the streets.  While I was away slaving for our family and assuming that Ann was at home preparing for our visitors, I come to find out that she was adding to the lawlessness in London.  Ironically, I was probably the first person in history to ever take refuge in Poland when the threat of violence broke out.

In all seriousness, it is incredibly sad what has happened this week in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and other cities in England.  It has been completely senseless and simply just an excuse for thugs to destroy their neighborhoods and steal from others.  If you have seen any interviews with some of these idiots, they are proclaiming that they want their money back from the government while they have never actually paid taxes.  Sadly, the police do not have the authority to give anyone the beating that they deserve for fear of lawsuits.  Anyway, we have been safe and not directly affected and thanks to everyone that has sent us emails this week asking about us.

On the very bright side, the Fondy contingent touched down safely at Heathrow this morning.  We are looking forward to a week and a half of fun.

Cheers
Kevin    

Copenhagen - The Smorgasbord of Canals, Cycling, and Cannabis

Hej(Hello in Danish),

It is a big week here in England.  The umbilical chord that has been stretched from Fondy to London is going to get a little reprieve.  Cathy, Jane +1, and Jobina land on Thursday for 12 days of adventure.  Ann is all smiles from head to toe.  It is Jane and Jobina's first trip abroad as well, so we can't wait to see their excitement.  I have to make a quick trip to Warsaw, Poland tomorrow to Wednesday night for work, but I shall be back for the arrival on Thursday!!!

Ann and I spent this last weekend in Copenhagen.  We have heard incredible things from many people, so it has been on our short list.  It is definitely a unique city.  It is known as one of the most environmentally friendly cities(perplexing since there is trash everywhere) as well as boasting that almost 40% of its population commutes to work or school by bicycle.  I have never in my life seen so many bikes.  It is awesome.  They advertise that there are over 2000 free bikes as well throughout the city, but good luck finding one.  We searched everywhere we went.  Finally, on Sunday, with like 2 hours before we had to go to the airport, we finally found 2 of these elusive bikes.  We were all excited and go to get on them, and the damn things didn't even have chains on them.  So much for biking in Copenhagen!!!  There is a pic of Ann below in one of the many seas of bikes.  The city's origin is as a harbour town as well, so they built these amazing canals and island communities in the 17th century to create commerce.  It is also rich with naval history since the Danes have always prided themselves as a seafaring people.  Just a quick side story here.  We were on this tour on Saturday and there was a navy destroyer anchored in their main harbour.  We came to find out that this modern warfare destroyer was the pride of their navy when it was built.  Well, soon after its commissioning, it accidentally fired a missile into a village in Northern Denmark and did some serious damage.  Consequently, the ship was decommissioned and the captain sought early retirement!!!  Anyway, Copenhagen is also a memorial to Hans Christian Anderson, the poet who penned "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling" among many others.  One of the most talked about attractions is actually a statue of a mermaid on one of the islands in the harbor.  We took a great boat tour on Saturday that took us by the mermaid, and I will have to say that it was one of the most anticlimactic experiences that I had.  The boat tour was incredible though and certainly one of our highlights.  There was one island that housed most of the Danish Navy's facilities until 1993, places where they used to build their subs and torpedoes, and the buildings have now been converted into offices and homes.  It was really cool to see.  Their main canal into the city center is called Nyhavn, or New Harbour, and it was dug by prisoners in the 17th century.  It is lined by these wonderfully colorful buildings that were mostly bars and brothels for the sailors when they came into port.  They are now restaurants and shops that line the canal.      

I have to dedicate a whole paragraph to the food and drink because it was amazing.  The Scandinavians and Danes specifically love brunch.  I never realised this, but the word "Smorgasbord" is a Scandinavian expression.  On Sunday, we went to a very traditional Danish restaurant in Nyhavn called Cap Horn for Brunch.  The meal consisted of a pancake(more crepe), a bowl of yougurt and muesli with syrup, a piece of passion fruit and pineapple, smoked salmon on salad with an herb creme cheese, and also a small bowl of eggs with chorizo sausage topped with 2 slices of bacon.  It was delicious.  On Saturday morning, we went to a great little sidewalk cafe called Europa which had a similar ensemble of food.  After touring all morning, we found a little floating restaurant on one of the canals and had a fantastic lunch.  We started with a fresh spring salad of lettuce, tomatoe, watermelon and feta.  What a great combination.  We then has a piece of fresh cod and potatoes.  It was by far the best cod that I have ever had.  Most importantly, Copenhagen is home to Carlsberg beer, so that was a great complement to all of our meals.  After we had walked and toured ourselves out on Saturday afternoon, we found this awesome cocktail bar called Saloon 39 or now El Floridita.  It was inspired from the original El Floridita in Havana, Ernest Hemingway's favorite bar.  They also serve his favorite drinks there, mainly daiquiris.  If you are thinking of the fruity concoction that we now call a daiquiri, you could not be further from the truth.  These things were powerful, which made sense since Hemingway loved Absinthe.  Saturday night, we found a quaint little restaurant off of the beaten path called Fru Heiberg.  I had muscles and they were extraordinary.  To top off our culinary adventure, Copenhagen is known for their hotdog street vendors.  We were able to find room for one before we left for the airport on Sunday.  It was well worth the wait and about the only reasonably priced thing in Copenhagen;)

As you can see from the title, I have addressed everything but the marijuana.  So, there is an area in Copenhagen called Christiania.  It is also known as Freetown Christiania, a self-proclaimed commune of hippies.  It was established in 1971 after a group of hippies took over a former military installation.  They built a community of about 1000 people and have never left.  Apparently, there has been a lot of controversy through the years about legal enforcement, but for the most part, the city and state has let it continue to exist without much regulation.  These hippies are completely free to smoke and sell hash and weed all day long.  You can go back into this area and tour, and this is how they make most of their money from selling anything from shirts with their flag on it, to anything hemp, and they probably have one of the best bong selections that I have ever seen.  Most lucratively speaking though, you can buy any type of hash or weed imaginable.  They just have these tables set up and bricks of hash laying out to be cut.  It is a very surreal experience.  The whole place just reeked of pot, as it should since most people that we walked past were smoking huge blunts.  It is very hard to describe.  If you have a chance, you should google it.  They did strictly enforce no cameras, so that is the one thing that they were adamant about, but you can see some pictures on google images of some of the unique shacks and elaborate graffiti.

Well, I suppose those were the main highlights from the weekend.  It was another great trip and another reminder of how incredibly lucky we are to be seeing the world.  I will be here in London next weekend holding down the fort while the girls head to Paris and Rome.  As always, we will keep you posted with our activities and pics.

Farvel
Kevin and Ann