Last night Kim and I went to the show Velvet at the Sydney Opera House.

It was a combination of circus, burlesque and boogie nights (70's music) in one show.




The show had great music with Marcia Hines and Brendan Maclean and the performers were great. I think everyones favourite was the guy with the hula hoops.

I don't know for sure which ones are Claus and which ones are Rene.

This post is mostly about Claus when he was at his top as one of Denmarks top tennis players.

I have kept scans of all the newspaper clippings from when he was winning a lot of tournaments.





























































In the mid 90's he started to get pretty sick and although he still tried to play tennis it was never at the same level again. Eventually he more or less gave up. His illness took to great a hold of him. These are some of the 'darkest' photos I have of him while he was struggling with his schizophrenia and were taken shortly before I moved to Australia.





He lost contact with most of his friends and was very dependent on my mum and dad as well as other support programs in place.







I prefer to remember him as he was before he passed away.


















This poem reminds me of him.

The morning after I killed myself, I woke up.

I made myself breakfast in bed. I added salt and pepper to my eggs and used my toast for a cheese and bacon sandwich. I squeezed a grapefruit into a juice glass. I scraped the ashes from the frying pan and rinsed the butter off the counter. I washed the dishes and folded the towels.
The morning after I killed myself, I fell in love. Not with the boy down the street or the middle school principal. Not with the everyday jogger or the grocer who always left the avocados out of the bag. I fell in love with my mother and the way she sat on the floor of my room holding each rock from my collection in her palms until they grew dark with sweat. I fell in love with my father down at the river as he placed my note into a bottle and sent it into the current. With my brother who once believed in unicorns but who now sat in his desk at school trying desperately to believe I still existed.

The morning after I killed myself, I walked the dog. I watched the way her tail twitched when a bird flew by or how her pace quickened at the sight of a cat. I saw the empty space in her eyes when she reached a stick and turned around to greet me so we could play catch but saw nothing but sky in my place. I stood by as strangers stroked her muzzle and she wilted beneath their touch like she did once for mine.

The morning after I killed myself, I went back to the neighbors’ yard where I left my footprints in concrete as a two year old and examined how they were already fading. I picked a few daylilies and pulled a few weeds and watched the elderly woman through her window as she read the paper with the news of my death. I saw her husband spit tobacco into the kitchen sink and bring her her daily medication.

The morning after I killed myself, I watched the sun come up. Each orange tree opened like a hand and the kid down the street pointed out a single red cloud to his mother.

The morning after I killed myself, I went back to that body in the morgue and tried to talk some sense into her. I told her about the avocados and the stepping stones, the river and her parents. I told her about the sunsets and the dog and the beach.

The morning after I killed myself, I tried to unkill myself, but couldn’t finish what I started.

—Meggie Royer

Here are some more photos from my childhood in no particular order.

The first ones from a New Years eve where we got a bit silly with the hats. These were taken at a New Years even in Kenya and before my brother got really sick, so probably around 1989/90.



And here is Claus.



And my mum.




I was really good at shooting when I was a kid and won lots of championships. This photo is one of the few things I have from that time.


This is Claus and I with our dog.



Not sure which ones of these is Claus and which is me.




















This was taken just christmas day in the back yard of my grandma's (Mormor) house. We got the skis as a christmas present. All the fields behind her house belonged to my mothers brother Flemming.



I think this may be my brother. For the first time I've noticed the photo in the background. It looks like this may be a photo of my mum with her two sisters and brother and what could be her dad Raimer in the middle.















This would most likely be the new years eve where we were trapped by the snow 1978/79. We were supposed to have celebrated with the family but couldn't even get out of the house. Delicious with a glass of milk and a pie.






We didn't have a lawn in the back yard. Instead we had pebbles...lots of fun shoveling them.







This I think is a christmas eve dinner at my grandmas (mormor) place. My mum on the left and my uncle Flemming in the middle. Not sure who the person standing up in. It could be my grandmas brother. Possibly from around 1976/77


I think it is my great grandpa (Raimer) in the middle row number two from the left. The title of the photo says that it is Christoffer (??) in the top left corner. Looking at the age of the boys this would have been taken in the 1920's.


Claus dancing aeound the christmas tree and my mum and grandma (Bedstemor/Farmor).


From left to Right. My grandma (On my dads side/Bedstemor/farmor), Knud Aage (My uncle/dads brother), My mum (in the foreground), My grandad (in the background), Irene (my auntie/dads sister), Grete and I assume the baby is Vinnie which means that it is likely that my mum was pregnant with Claus (born in July).






















This was taken at my grandparents place and after my brother got sick. He was really suffering at this point.






This is one of the happiest family photos I have and the only one I have a print of.



Going for a walk at Marielyst with Lott and Willy some of our german friends. Claus in the foreground and my dad on the right. I think you can just spot me in yellow pants in the background.



I think this is at Lotte and Willy's summer house.






Not sure if this is Claus or myself being babtised. It is my grand mother being god mother.











This was taken outside our summer house in Marielyst.



My brother number 2 from the top right on his school photo.



Claus at daycare number 4 from the top left.



Me at day care top left.

Here is some more old photos of my mum. This time with here brother and sisters.

This first one if probably one of the oldest. You can tell that the photo was shot in black and white and that the negative was later coloured (badly). It would be my mum in the middle with her two sisters Eli (the oldest on the right) and Yrsa.




This is my mum in the middle with what I assume is cousins.





I think it is my grandmother (Karen) holding my mum.


Here is the same as the first photo, but this time without the colour.



My mum and her sisters playing in the courtyard of their farm


My mum with her older sisters.


Eli, Yrsa, Sonja and Flemming Kragh.


Having her photo taken as a little girl.


Upset about having her photo taken?
























My mum with her younger brother Flemming.


As a liitle girl


My mum in school.





From left to right...Eli, Yrsa my mum (Sonja) and Flemming.


As a young girls/woman...possibly from her Konfirmation.



My mum as a girl scout (no 4 from the left).


It is Flemming in the middle and my mum on the right.

When I was a kid we would every summer travel to Southern Europe with our caravan.

Usually travelling through Swizerland or Austria ending up in Italy (Either Lido di Jesolo or the Italian Riviera). Underway we would visit old friends of my mum and dad from the time they were working in Italy.

Here are some photos from that time.









I just noticed the burn scar on my arm on the above photo. I think this is one of the few childhood photos where you can really see it.




















This was out caravan while travelling.








This is our caravan with the tent up in the middle.

This weekend we took the kids for a walk with some friends from Maroubra to Lurline Bay.

It is a nice little pleasant walk that is easy for the kids.




They loved jumping between the boulders.




...and exploring the small rock pools.







Because of the recent storms the beach was full of Blue bottles, so no playing in the sand this time around.





They are nasty little creatures that will sting you badly if you touch them.




This surfer was being very careful in his bare feet.

Earlier this month it was Lucas birthday.

We didn't have a kids party for him, but we did celebrate with the family.







We gave him a new bike for his birthday...he was stunned and didn't know what to think of it, but he loves riding it now.

Last weekend there was a Lego exhibition in the city.

We caught the train in to St James station and walked from there.





It was a fairly small exhibition with my favourite being the pirate ship with all the details of the lower decks.












There was also some Ninjago and Star wars.










And a lot of other pieces.

Rather than keeping all the kids artwork I instead take photos of it.

Here is some of the latest additions.

After Christmas Eve we went a couple of days to Jervis Bay. Jervis Bay is about 3-4 hours drive south of Sydney and is not part of New South Wales, but belongs to ACT (Australian Capital Territory, Canberra). Hyams beach at Jervis has got a reputation of having the whitest sand in the world.

The house we had rented was right on the beach so it was easy to go for a swim. Unfortunately the water was quite cold, so Kim and I instead opted for a trip to the local golf course.

In the morning we went fishing and although we did catch a few fish they were all too small to keep. The most annoying was that we kept catching stingrays.





Click here to download video of fishing at Jervis Bay #1
Click here to download video of fishing at Jervis Bay #2


I know that the area has got a lot of Port Jackson sharks and on the beaches we found a lot of shark eggs.

In the evenings we played Mah Jong and 21. I decided to stay out of the Mah Jong game until I've got a better grasp of how it is played (some of the numbers on the bricks are in Chinese and it therefore took too long time to compute and I felt it was a disadvantage). I had a lucky night in 21 and won $20.
Click here to see more photos from Jervis Bay

The Australians celebrate Christmas on the 25th December where we in Denmark celebrate it on the 24th in the evening. I still like to celebrate on the 24th and it is the day of the year where I most miss family (and the only day of the year where I miss the cold in Denmark).


Most of my friends were either out of town or have kids and therefore not very mobile on this evening so this year I decided that it should just be Kim and myself.

I cooked the traditional Christmas dinner with duck and ris-a-la-mande and we had a very nice evening.

In the morning next day we went over to Kims family for lunch and there was a lot of people and kids there. Again this year I took on the duty of being Santa's local ambassador and hand out presents to the children...all good fun.

Last weekend Andy, May and myself went climbing at Mt keira near woolongong south of Sydney.

May had never really done any outdoor climbing before and Keira is a good place to go and try your first lead climb.

The weather forecast didn't look promising but we decided to go there anyway as in our experience the forecasts are never very accurate here. Besides it said that there was a chance of one or two showers in the afternoon.

As soon as we arrived to the cliffs in the morning we started feeling the first few drops. The rocks were still dry so we decided to put up an easy route anyway.



Once we finished it was raining more steadily and the rocks started getting slippery. There was a climb in the corner that was still dry so we decided to quickly also do this. And afterwards we put up a top rope on a climb that also still was dry.

Before we got onto it it was raining heavily and there was a storm with lots of lightening approaching.

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Click here to download video

After a couple of not very motivated (and wet) attempts on the climb I volunteered to clean up the climb. As I approached the top the water was coming down like from a waterfall and by the time I had cleaned up the anchors I was drenched (and yes...my pants were very wet).

Climbing wise a really disappointing day...but we still had fun.

This week I am in Tokyo for work visiting a couple of partners and also giving them some training on some of our internal solutions that they would like to sell.

I love visiting Tokyo...it is like Disney land and everything is just so slightly different. Like for instance the toilets have all the buttons on the side. Yesterday I saw one with a volume control and a "flush noise" button. I couldn't help pressing it...and yes the toilet did make very realistic sounding flushing sounds. I am unsure under what circumstances the sounds can be useful...another mystery that I may be able to solve one day.
In the hotel I also tried all the other buttons and it is kind of cool with all the sprinkling water (heated to body temperature), but I still haven't found the button for the 'but' dryer.

Click here to see video of Tokyo Square in Shibuya

We visited one of our partners customer service centre and that was like watching a movie. They had big wall-to-wall screen showing that status of all the various sites, latest news tv, weather forecasts...or anything else that could be relevant to them running their operations. The walls were liquid crystal walls and by the flick of a button they could make the whole wall transparent and the next minute they would have the latest status projected onto the walls instead...unfortunately they wouldn't allow me to take a photo.



Masaru and I also went to a whale restaurant in Shibuya...we tried Whale Sashimi, Whale Tempura, Whale Skin, Whale Bacon, Whale tongue, Whale Beef and Whale soup (I only ate it for Scientific Purposes). It was all very delicious and the Whale Sashimi (raw whale meat) was definitely my favourite.






For lunch today I had a really nice baby clam soup...very unusual and very nice.

In general food is really nice and there are some unusual places that specialise in their small niche markets...for instance the lunch place that specialises in 'Lemon Detox lunches'. Compared to the food in Sydney this is a magnitude better.


The hotel I stay at is in Shibuya which is the area in Tokyo that is very famous with all the lights and screens...it is a very hip area where all the teenagers are wearing the latest fashion and have funny hair. My room is a lot bigger than the one I stayed in last time I was in Tokyo...in this one you can actually walk around the bed and it has got all the features you would normally expect from a western hotel room. And they serve a really nice bacon for breakfast...I bet it is Danish bacon.



We also took the peak hour train in the morning...man those trains are fast and they are packed so tight that it is impossible to move let alone raise your arms.

Being in Tokyo also means very long working hours. People here start working around 9am in the morning and seldom leave work until after 9pm. It is still the musical chairs with meeting rooms, the deadly silence in the offices, hot working environments etc.

One evening we went out with our partners...which was a big introduction to japanese customs. We went out for a late dinner after work a big group of us and when they have dinner then a lot of drinks were served. This was a chinese restaurant so we were drinking some chinese type of wine that tasted like bitter Kahlua. After dinner we went to this drinking place which was really weird (and slightly uncomfortable but interesting). They pay an entry fee of around 3000 Yen ($30 AUD) and you then get to sit down with a girl that serves you drinks and who you can have conversation with (and conversation only).
You cannot choose the girl and I guess this is the modern form of the Geisha...and a cheaper way of talking about your problems at work or with your wife than visiting a psychologist.

I really like visiting Tokyo...but I don't think I could live there (too controlled). It is really interesting to visit especially in a working capacity as you see all the funny differences in lifestyle, work, objects and opinions. Most of the time it is a really good laugh...like when one of the guys asked if he could take a picture of me because he told his wife that he was working with a foreigner that looks like Tom Cruise (I told him that Tom is a full head shorter then I am).

We had an earthquake while I was there. The whole building started swaying from side to side...I was looking at the Japanese guys are they were calm so I thought that there was no reason to panic. Apparently it happens all the time there.

Click here to see more photos from Tokyo

Here is some more photos from the trip.

Before my trip to Tokyo and before Christmas we decided to go to the Hunter Valley to stock up on good wines (We buy them now cheap and drink them in 5-10 years time when they would be really expensive).

Hunter Valley is about 2 hours drive North of Sydney and it had got about 200 Vinyards you can visit for wine tasting and then buy the wines straight from the cellar.

We went there with a couple of Kims friends and Kim and I bought a couple of cases of wine together.



Everything in the Valley was nice ang green due to a lot of rain in the area lately.


Click here to see more photos from Hunter Valley

When Kim left Epicor she got a gift certificate to go Kayaking at Woy Woy, so this weekend we headed up there together with Mike and his wife Helen.



Both Kim and I have done some kayaking before but it was a new experience for Helen. We paddled up through some of the inland waters in Brisbane Waters near Woy Woy and afterwards we stopped at the fisherman's wharf for some really nice seafood.

One of the things about living in Australia is that you are exposed to a lot of creepy crawly stuff. In the urban jungle you don't really notice, but once you come a bit closer to nature then you cannot avoid seeing some of the insects etc. This is especially true when we go climbing. The last couple of weeks Andy and I have been exposed to a couple more creeps than we usually see.

The last couple of weeks Andy and I have been climbing in the Sydney area. Last weekend we went up to Berowra again and had a generally pleasant day had it not been for the brown snake.

On the last climb of the day we decided to try this climb that none of us had done before, but because of the protection we decided to top rope it. In the guide book the description reads:

Savage Cabbage 8m 19
Up thin crack then tricky moves left to main crack. Follow this (take care with pro) to new lower off. Often dirty and sometimes inhabited by a (friendly) brown snake.

This was warning enough and as a safety precaution we checked the holes at the bottom of the climb and didn't see anything suspicious. He started climbing and about 2 metres up he stuck his had into one of the pockets. He then decided to take a peek to see if there was anything in there and very quickly pulled his stand out shouting "Fu...a snake". Fortunately he hadn't been bitten or I would have had to call him a helicopter....again.

Wikipedia says the following about the snake:
Brown snakes are easily alarmed and may bite if approached closely, handled or threatened. The Eastern brown snake is the most toxic member of the genus and is the second most toxic land snake in the world.

I don't think we'll be jumping onto that climb anytime soon.

This weekend we decided instead to go to Narrabeen slaps as we hadn't been there for a while and it is easily accessible (15 minutes drive from home). It is a nice selection of semi difficult slabs along the Wakehurst parkway (almost rain forest).

Generally when climbing in Sydney you see many webs from the funnel webs and I also saw at least one at Narrabeen. And, when we go to other climbing areas then there are always multiple holes in the rocks where you can see the funnel shaped webs. I happen to hate spiders and always fear that I will poke my fingers into a funnel web. I have only seen a live (I think) funnel web once and that was in Nowra on the bottom of a pond of water (people generally check their swimming pools for funnel webs before swimming as they can stay below the surface for ages), I saw a tiny scorpion on the floor of the cooking area in Nowra on the same trip.

Wikipedia says:
Although they are rather small, they should not be handled without taking substantial precautions, because their fangs have been known to penetrate fingernails and soft shoes, resulting in dangerous bites. Funnel-webs are probably one of the three most dangerous spiders in the world and are regarded by some to be the most dangerous.

While Andy was belaying me he saw a redback spider crawl across the rope back and squashed it under his feet. He told me he had to stomp on it several times before it died.

Wikipedia says:
The redback spider is a potentially dangerous spider native to Australia. It resembles a Black widow spider. Redbacks, along with funnel-web spiders, are the most dangerous spiders in Australia. Most Australians dislike the redback spider, thanks in part to the frequency with which it is encountered in the environs of human habitations.

Also, the crag is generally infested with mosquitoes, ticks and on this day we also had the pleasure of a big fat Tiger Leech which had had a feast on Andy's big toe so it started bleeding heavily as we left the crag (but the leech lived to see another day). We saw it earlier on Andy's sandals but flicked it off...only later did we discover that it had been sucking blood from him.

Kim finished her job at Epicor this Monday and we therefore decided to go somewhere for an extended weekend before she starts any new adventures.

Our first choice was to to go Samoa, but because of school holidays the hotels and flights were booked the days we wanted to go. Instead we settled on going to Brampton Island in the Whitsundays about 2000km North of Sydney.

It was a long flight up there, first to Brisbane, then on to Mackay and from there continue with a small light aircraft to Brampton Island itself.


Here is a photo of the island from the aircraft.



Click here to see a video of Brampton Island from the aircraft.

The island is beautiful and there is only one resort on the island accomodating a maximum of 200 guests. Because of all the flights to get there it means that it is a perfect couples destination as there were no kids making noise there (according to Kenneth kids families won't go unless it is a direct flight).

The Island has got a number of really nice remote beaches that are empty and where one can get up to all sorts of mischief. There is also a small 6 hole par 3 golf course as well as archery range, spa and a couple of different pools etc.

Our intention for the weekend wasn't really to be very active, but really to just relax and have a nice time together.

On the first day we walked around the whole island (8km) and went for a swim along the way at a beach on the other side of the island that we had all to ourselves. We managed to get a bit of a sunburn both of us so the next day we stayed in the shade.




On one of the other days we got a picnic pamper and found another beach where we could relax, swim and enjoy ourselves without anyone else around. The water was crystal clear and we could see fish and stingrays swimming around in it and although we had bought our snorkeling gear we never got around to using it.

Here is a photo of Kim on the beach.




And...click here to see a video of Kim in the water.

Both of us had a very memorable time on the beaches.

Most of the other guests were just spending their time in the resort itself and when it was too hot to go anywhere we also spent the time in the resort relaxing in the shade sipping cocktails.



The only thing that was a bit disappointing was that the resort had all these nice catamarans and sailboards that were free to use, but because of lack of experience of the people working on the resort they wouldn't let anyone sail them if there was any wind whatsoever (really...what's the point!?!?).



In the evening there was various forms of entertainment. Especially this one man band was really good, but most of the other entertainment was pretty average as the staff to be honest had little to no clue whatsoever.


Click here to see more photos from Brampton Island

This Sunday we went to the fish market in Sydney with one of Kims colleagues from Singapore (who also happens to be Danish) and his Singaporean girlfriend for Lunch.

The Seafood at the fish market is very fresh and nice. You can go to all these small seafood stalls and buy various seafood such as various types of Sashimi, Sushi, Lobster, Abalone, Scallops, Calamari and Balmain bugs. Kim and I shared a large seafood basket with different types of seafood as well as a small box of Sashimi.




Afterwards we took Michael to The Coast Golf Club while Caroline went to do some retail therapy in Paddington.




We only played 8 holes as we had to leave at 5pm to be at Kims sister at 6pm for her youngest sisters birthday.

I took a really cool and funny video of Kim almost making par on one of the holes.

Click here to download the video of Kim

In early September I again went a week to Holland. The purpose of the trip this time was a combination of team building, create common processes and training. The company is working on getting everyone ECM (Electronic Content Management) certified.




Since I just got back from Holland a couple of months ago I decided to just quickly fly in Sunday afternoon and then return Saturday morning.

I really don't like flying through London Heathrow airport. They always loose my luggage there and every time it takes 1-3 days before it eventually arrives.
My flight was delayed so as I expected I missed my flight to Amsterdam. I asked them to book me onto the next available flight where my luggage also would have a chance to make it.
When the flight boarded I checked with the staff to make sure that my luggage had made it...it hadn't :-(
As I had plenty of time I decided it would be better for me to de-board the flight and then try and catch the next flight hoping that my luggage then would make it...which I then confirmed it did when I boarded.

Heathrow is the only airport in the world where I consistently have this problem. They need at least 3 hours between the flight to have a chance of transferring the luggage. Next time I'll check what options I have to fly through Frankfurt instead.

Click here to see more photos from: Holland

Last weekend we made an overnight trip to the Hunter Valley a couple of hours drive north of Sydney.

The main reason was to see the lights in the Hunter Valley Garden (see separate post), but also to go and taste some wine and generally have a good time.

Pretty soon after we arrived the girls were distracted by the chocolate and cheese places.






We did however go to a couple of places for wine tasting.







We also had some really nice food up there. I was especially impressed by a really nice gnocchi salad I had....it was yummi.


Outside it was really hot...like 39 degrees in the shade. There were a couple of horses relaxing under a couple of trees.



We decided an alternative approach of checking into our hotel and jump in the pool to cool off.

In the evening we went to the light show and on the following day we just did a number of wineries before heading back to Sydney.

On the weekend we did some ten pin bowling with the family.



Kim had managed to secure some cheap tickets so it was great to play against the family.

We had one lane for the kids (with rails) and one lane for the adults.






I had a bad start and was behind much of the game, but my luck eventually caught up and I started playing a good game.




Afterwards we had a bit of a play in the games arcade





Aiden was absolutely terrified of the big scary bear (I can see why).



The kids also tried to figure out what this machine was for:



I love some of the old 50's style decor.

It is summer and Lucas and Aiden is enjoying a bit of water play in the back yard on warm days.

This Sunday we had Aiden and Lucas baptised in the local church in Maroubra. Lucky that both Aiden and Lucas behaved throughout the 2 hour long service.

The rocks at Malua Bay were quite spectacular and dramatic. A couple of times I ventured down to try my luck with some photos around sunset (grey every day)...I really suck at this style and constantly got my tripod soaked.

These were the two best results.

Having the beach so close was great. I went for a run every morning before breakfast.



We also had a lot of fun playing at the beach with the kids.















And everyone was just really enjoying the time there.

On news years day we had a very nice dinner at an Indian restaurant (I was soooo full afterwards).

The restaurant also had lice indian music as entertainment.

On New Years eve there was a fair on and we let the kids have a couple of rides.






They also had a visit to one of the fire engines.



I actually did a ride as well, which is the most awesome one I have seen in years...but because of the scare factor it is censored from this site.

Chong brought his little tinny along and him and Kims dad went fishing every second day.

I went along one morning out in the open water.



I caught a small flathead (and a puffer fish) which was too small to keep.

At the beach not far from the house there was a playground. It was great to let the kids play together.

Aiden was obviously keen on going on the swing.






But also the other kids had a go.