Bar Harbor

Efter 3 dage med vandreture (de første dog ikke så avancerede som den sidste dags tur op på Cadillac mountain!) havde jeg virkelig brug for at komme ned i byen og bare gå rundt helt efter mit eget hovede. Jeg ville gerne gå ud til den lille ø, Bar Island, hvor jeg troede der var en bro ud. Det var der så ikke! Man kan gå derud på sand når det er lavvande, og det var netop hvad der var da jeg kom. Så der startede jeg. Det så sådan her ud - man kan ikke rigtig forestille sig at der IKKE er passage, vel?

After 3 days of hiking (though the first days were not that difficult as the last day on Mt. Cadillac!) I really needed to go into town and just walk around as I felt like. I would like to walk out to the little island, Bar Island, and I thought there would be a bridge going out there. There wasn't! You could walk out there on a passage of sand at low tide, which was exactly the case when I arrived. So that was my first activity. It looked like this - it's hard to imagine this NOT being a passage, right?

Ovre på den lille ø blev jeg mødt af dette skilt som det første. Hvis jeg ikke kom tilbage i tide, ville jeg være fanget derovre i 9 timer!

Heldigvis var der tid til at gå op og nyde udsigten og derefter gå tilbage igen uden problemer.

At the tiny island, I was met by this sign as the first thing. In case I didn't go back in time, I would get caught at the island for 9 hours!

Fortunately, there was time to walk to the top of the island to see the view and then go back without problems. 

Det næste jeg gjorde (efter at have kigget i nogle turistbutikker som der var MANGE af!), var at gå ind i denne fine og ret store boghandel. Det var hyggeligt at kigge på mange bøger og ting derinde og bare bruge tid! 

Bagefter spiste jeg en dejlig is på vej videre. 

The next thing I did (after looking around in some of the PLENTY tourist shops!), was visiting this really nice and quite big book shop. It was so nice looking at all the books and stuff in there, just taking my time!

Afterwards, I had a lovely ice cream while continuing. 

Mit næste stop havde jeg også fundet på et kort, nemlig det fineste bibliotek! Jeg hyggede mig med at lade min telefon op og kigge i en masse flotte strikkebøger som jeg ikke havde set før. Nogle af dem ville jeg faktisk gerne have haft med hjem, men sådan fungerer det jo ikke rigtig.....

Prøv lige at se hvor fint der var!

My next stop was also something I found on a map - it was such a pretty library! I had the best time charging my phone while looking through a lot of beautiful knitting books that I'd never seen before. Some of them would have fit well in my private library, but of course they had to stay......

Just look at how pretty it was!

Bagefter gik jeg over gaden og kiggede i den smukke episkopale kirke med fine glasmalerier. 

Afterwards, I crossed the street and took a look in the beautiful Episcopal church with beatiful glass paintings. 

Mit sidste planlagte stop i byen var i denne her butik hvor jeg troede der var garn. Det var der teknisk set også, men bestemt ikke noget jeg ville bruge penge på. Til gengæld var der det smukkeste STOF! Alt det blå stof ovenpå bordet var udelukkede med blåbærmønster. Jeg tror der var ihvertfald 10 forskellige print! Helt vildt!

Så jeg købte noget derinde, selv om det ikke var garn.......

The last, planned stop in the city was this shop where I thought there would be yarn. Technically, they had yarn, but nothing that I would ever spend money buying. But then they had the most awesome FABRIC! All the blue fabrics on top of the table were with blueberry-pattern. I do think they had around 10 different prints! So crazy!

So I bought something in there, although it wasn't yarn.......

Min frokost var MEGET sund! En virkelig velsmagende vegansk salat. 

Derefter var min tid i byen ved at være slut, men jeg havde set det jeg ville og var klar til at komme tilbage. 

My lunch was SO healthy! A really yummy, vegan sallad. 

After that, my time around the town was running out, but I'd seen all I wanted and was ready to go back. 

Før jeg mødte bilen nåede jeg dog lige tilbage til vandet og passagen over til øen. Man skulle ikke tro det var det samme sted, vel?

Det var en meget dejlig dag der i Bar Harbor - en by som jeg ikke anede eksisterede for nogle uger siden!

Before I met up with the car, I had time to go back to the water and the passage to the island. You wouldn't believe this was the same place, right?

It was such a lovely day in Bar Harbor - a town I had no idea existed just a few weeks back!

Tillykke! / Congratulations!

Så fik USA ny præsident! Det føltes som et samlet lettelsens suk fra hele forsamlingen ved kongressen da de slap af med Trump. Vi andre her i Europa har jo bare set undrende til de sidste uger, hvor Trump nærmest brød ud i lys lue og så ud til at slippe sin sidste kontakt med virkeligheden....

Tillykke til USA med Joe Biden! Det bliver jo spændende, men først og fremmest en lidt mere stabil kurs. 

Jeg glæder mig til jeg engang kan komme til USA igen. At det er umuligt lige nu jo er Corona's skyld. Ikke præsidentens. At komme helt derover er bare ferie og total afslapning! 

And so the US had a new president! It felt like a big sigh of relief from everyone gathered at the Capitol when they got rid of Trump. We here in Europe have been watching in wonder these past weeks, when Trump sort of burst in flames and lost his last sense of reality.....

Congratulations to the US with Joe Biden! It will be exciting, but hopefully primarily there will be a more steady course. 

I'm looking forward to being able to go to the US again. It's Corona that made it impossible right now. Not the president. Going all the way over there is total vacation and relaxation!

Jeg skal så også lige huske at ønske mig selv tillykke. Eller noget. At fylde 50 betyder åbenbart at man får sit første brev fra Ældre Sagen med tilbud om at melde sig ind. 

Bare hvis man nu ikke allerede følte sig gammel nok.....

I also need to remember congratulating myself. Sort of. Turning 50 apparently means that you get your first letter from the organization for elderly people with an offer to become a member. 

Just in case I wasn't feeling old enough already.....

Et brev / A letter

I går, da jeg kom hjem var der kommet et brev! Fra USA! Fra Elk Horn! Yippee! 

Yesterday, when I got home, there was a letter! From USA! From Elk Horn! Yippee!

Indeni brevet lå denne t-shirt! (Som jeg har på på arbejde i dag.....)
Jeg har set programmerne om danskerne på prærien, og jeg elsker dem! Så derfor kom jeg altså til at købe en t-shirt, da de reklamerede for den på facebook.

Inside was this t-shirt! (That I'm wearing for work today.....)
I watched the programs about the Danes on the prairie, and I love them! So I happened to buy a t-shirt, when they started selling them on facebook.

Der var såmænd også reklame i. For vindmøllen. OG et postkort. Fra Tivoli-festen. Jeg ved ikke helt, om jeg skal fejre min nye t-shirt med en gang æbleskiver og medisterpølse, eller om jeg bare skal citere Mayor Stan: Tivoli sagt bagfra? I-lov-it!

The envelop held an add as well. For the windmill. AND a postcard. From the Tivoli-fest. I'm not quite sure if I have to celebrate my t-shirt eating æbleskiver and medisterpølse, or if I'm just going to quote Mayor Stan: Tivoli spoken backwards? I-lov-it!

Søndag i Troy / A Troy Sunday

Søndag lykkedes det endelig at komme videre fra Washington. Igen var det helt ud i den anden ende af lufthavnen, med et lillebitte fly, men jeg fik ikke sovet, som det ellers havde været planen lørdag! Jeg strikkede. Til en forandring. Bortset fra de sidste 5 minutter, hvor det bumpede så meget, at det føltes som en Tivoli-tur. (Man strikker jo heller ikke i rutsjebanen!)
Vi kørte lige omkring huset, men det var et kort visit. Efter uddeling af slik og blade, samt et hurtigt tøjskift, tog Sara og jeg til koncert med Albany symfoniorkester.

On Sunday, I finally succeeded in leaving Washington. Once more, it was the gate at the very end of the airport, and the plane was tiny, but I didn't sleep as I had planned if going on Saturday! I knitted. For a change. Apart from the very last 5 minutes when the ride turned so bumpy that it felt like one of those adventure-rides in a theme-park. (You wouldn't knit on one of those!)
We drove by the house for a short visit. After bringing in the Danish candy and all the magazines, and changing clothes, Sara and I went to a concert with Albany symphony-orchestra.

Det foregik i Troy's musikhus, der havde denne fine version af Uncle Sam stående udenfor. Han står overalt i byen i forskellige versioner, og denne her var meget flot!
Koncerten var fin. Vi sad på første række og nød musik af Ravel, Schuman og Faurë. Desuden var der et moderne stykke (faktisk en verdenspremiere!) af en amerikansk komponist. Det var moderne. Vi var taknemmelige for, at håret ikke var faldet af, for der var godt nok larm i det orkester! Men de klassiske stykker var rigtig gode.

The concert was in Troy's music hall. In front of the hall was this very pretty version of Uncle Sam. He is everywhere in town in different versions, and this one was really nice!
The concert was great. We were on the front row and enjoyed music by Ravel, Schuman and Faurë. And then there was a modern piece (actually a world premiere!) by an American composer. It was modern. We were very happy our hair didn't fall off, for this orchestra could really make some serious noise! But the classical pieces were really good.

Bagefter var vi på vinbar. Der var en menu med 3 slags vin og dertil købte vi brød, ost og pølse. Meget, meget lækkert og hyggeligt! (Og vi blev kørt hjem. Det var nok meget godt.....)

Afterwards we were on a wine-bar. There was a special menu with 3 kinds of wine with which we had bread, cheese and sausage. Very delicious and so nice! (And we had a ride home. Very fitting....)

Der var kommet en pakke til mig inden jeg landede. Det her er til et ganske særligt projekt. Dejlig, blød øko-uld. I skal nok høre senere, hvad det skal blive til. Foreløbig er der lige niecens bluse, et sjal, et tørklæde, et hundedækken og 2 par strømper der skal være færdige..... Og min julekjole! Og de to trøjer, der ligger i skammekrogen derhjemme!

A package had arrived for me before I landed. This is for a very special project. Nice, soft, eco-wool. I'll tell you what it's for later. First I need to finish the sweater for my niece, a shawl, a scarf, a dog-sweater and 2 pairs of socks..... And my dress for Christmas! And the 2 cardigans lying around at home, feeling quite abandoned.

Garn i USA 2 / Yarn in USA 2

I dag tager vi en rundtur i 3 mere af mine yndlings-internetbutikker.
Den første, jeg må nævne, er jo nok "Webs". En dejlig, stor butik, hvor du får op til 25% rabat, hvis du køber nok. (Kan vi ikke alle lide rabat?) De har masser af lækre garner, bl.a. mit yndlings-lyserøde.....
Ovenikøbet sender de gerne til Danmark, men du skal passe godt på tolden. Jeg siger det bare!
Dernæst vil jeg nævne "Yarnmarket". Hjemmesiden ser ikke vanvittigt spændende ud, men de har TOFUties garn, der er virkelig sjovt strømpegarn. Bomuld, uld, nylon og krabbeskaller! Man får nogle rigtig dejlige strømper, og inde på hjemmesiden har det enormt mange farver.
Derudover har de alle mulige lækre garner, hvis du ser dig for.... De sender kun til USA.
Sidst, men ikke mindst vil jeg nævne min yndlingsbutik.... Eat.Sleep.Knit. Uha, for en dejlig butik! Kun luksusgarn, men lige lidt billigere end i garnbutikkerne. Derinde har jeg især købt Madelinetosh Pashmina til min bluse (og lidt til lageret). Det værste ved den butik er faktisk, at du ikke bare får lækkert garn. De sender også ret hurtigt, og så er der ikke bare garn i pakken, men også slik OG skrabelodder! Man kan vinde enten garn eller penge på kontoen. Hvis ikke DET er afhængighedsskabende, så ved jeg snart ikke..... Jeg tror faktisk gerne, de sender til Danmark, men igen - pas på tolden! (Man kan nærmest blive ruineret.)

Today we will take a trip around 3 more of my favorite internet yarn shops.
First I would like to mention "Webs". A wonderful, big store that will even give you increasing discount up to 25%, depending on how much you buy. (Don't we all just love discounts?) They have a lot of yummy yarn, and also my favorite kind of pink..... They are even happy to mail to Denmark, but please consider the taxes.
Then I will mention "Yarnmarket". I don't find the webpage terribly exiting (just saying), but they have TOFUtsies yarn, which is a really fun kind of sock yarn, made from cotton, wool, nylon and crab shells! You will get some really lovely socks, and the shop carries all kinds of colors. If you look elsewhere, you will find some really yummy yarn. Unfortunately, they only ship to USA.
Last, but not least, you have to hear about my favorite shop, Eat.Sleep.Knit. I LOVE it! They only have luxurious stuff, but a little bit cheaper compared to the local yarn shops. I bought Madelinetosh Pashmina for my sweater in this shop (and a few skeins for the stash). The truly horrible thing about this shop is that your package will not only contain yarn and some candy, but also scratchcards for their lottery. You can win yarn or money on your store account. Well. If that's not the straight way into addiction, I really don't know what will do it for you.... I actually think they will ship for Denmark, but again - beware of taxes!

Garn i USA / Yarn in USA

Man må vel sige, at jeg efterhånden har opbygget mig en vis "køb-garn-i-USA"-kompetence, uden at sige for meget.... Derfor havde jeg tænkt, at i dag og i morgen skulle indeholde lidt fif, hvis du selv skal derover, eller kender nogen, der vil tage noget med hjem til dig....
Jeg synes selv, det er enormt hyggeligt at gå og snuse i garnbutikker og se, hvad de har, men det er også ufattelig nemt og superdejligt at bestille over net-butikker, og få det sendt til hotellet.
Hvis du nu vil finde fysiske butikker, er det allernemmeste at gå ind på Ravelry under "yarn", og derefter søge på en by nederst i venstre del af siden (under "local yarn shop directory"). Ikke bare får man adressen, men du kan endda se beliggenheden på et kort, OG går du ind på garnbutikkens Ravelry-side kan du endda se, hvad andre har købt. Som eksempel kan du se her, hvad folk har købt hos "Sommerfuglen" (under "recently stashed").
Hvad angår internet-butikker, vil jeg i dag starte med at nævne "Knitpicks". Genial butik, specielt fordi de har - ta-da! - Knitpicks strikkepinde! De er noget billigere end i DK og fås også i "skæve" størrelser. Jeg har købt strømpepinde-sæt og holder rigtig meget af dem på 6 inches. Ret god længde.
Nogle gange har de bogudsalg, hvilket er ganske udmærket. Garnet er også dejligt og rimeligt billigt, og så har de jo bare alt til garn-farvning, hvilket også får min varmeste anbefaling. Det er vildt sjovt, især strømpegarns-tæpperne!
Ud over at det er meget, meget hyggeligt, når der ligger en pakke og venter på hotellet, så er det altså også enormt nemt for dine venner, der evt. har lovet at købe noget til dig. De slipper for at fræse rundt og finde garnbutikker, og du ved ca. præcis, hvad du får.

You might agree that I have gained some experience shopping yarn in USA.... So I thought today and tomorrow would hold advice concerning shopping if you go there yourself or if some of your friends travel and are kind enough to offer bringing back some yarn for you.
Personally I really like looking around different yarn shops, seeing what's on the shelves, but it's also very nice, if you have a package waiting for you at the hotel.
If you like local yarn shops, the place to find them is to look at the "yarn" page on Ravelry. In the bottom left corner you will find a search option for "local yarn shops directory". This will not only give you the address, but even show you the exact location on a map! AND if you find the yarn-shop Ravelry page, you can see what other people bought in that particular yarn shop. As an example you can see here, what other people bought at "Sommerfuglen" (look under "recently stashed")
Talking about internet-shops, I will start by mentioning "Knitpicks". Great shop - especially since they sell (you'll never guess this!) Knitpicks needles! Somewhat cheaper compared to Denmark, and even in sizes not available in Denmark. I've bought a lot of double point needles, and I love the 6 inches needles most. Perfect length!
Quite often they have a book-sale with very cheap knitting patterns. The yarn is also nice and not too expensive, and they also have just everything for dyeing your own yarn, which is so much fun! I love the sock yarn blankets most....
Apart from the fact that it is very, very nice to have a package waiting for you at the hotel, it's also incredibly easy, if you have friends going to USA. They don't have to run around town finding the right shops, and you will know exactly what you ordered....