Monthly Archives: September 2015

Baby Activities in Sonderborg: Part 2

Baby Stimulastik

As the title alludes to, stimulastik is a combination of stimulation of the baby senses with gymnastics. Occupational therapist Lotte Greve-Thomsen is the person behind this class offered either as an open group on Mondays at 9:45-10:45 or as a fixed group on Fridays.

We attended five Monday sessions so far. Each session starts with group exercises where the babies are moved up and down and left and right, stimulating the child’s sense of balance and orientation in space. This is followed by individual exercises at a number of stations set out around the room, such as different types of swings, a ball bath and other sensory items. The session then ends with group exercises to calm the children down.

At 90-105 DKK per session (depending on which payment solution you opt for), this was the most expensive class we attended. However, it is also probably the most different from the other (mostly) singing and music-oriented classes. It is also the class that the child potentially gets the most out of. The fact that you can pay as you go, however, means that you only pay for when you are there and can decide week by week.

Note: Since Lotte has moved away from Sonderborg, baby Stimulastik is now being offered by Line Lyneborg.

Baby Swimming

A while ago we wrote about baby swimming possibilities in the Sonderborg area. From these we ended up going to the class offered by Rinkenæs Swimming Club at the Gigthospital in Grasten. We went there as we were looking for somewhere with warm water and this was the first class that started.

As stated, there were 7 babies in the group. One new thing is taught in each session starting with floating on back and front at the first class, then proceeding to diving in different constellations. At 550 DKK (now 560 DKK) this is potentially the most expensive baby swimming class. However, our child really gained confidence in the water and went from being OK but concerned when in water prior to the course to very comfortable in water, splashing around happily. This also translated into happier bath times ;). So it was well worth it.

Baby Psalm Singing: Christianskirken

Before the summer holidays I went to baby psalm singing at Sct Marie Kirken. I enjoyed it so much that I thought of trying it again at Christianskirken. As with the other class it consists of mothers (mostly) and their babies, an organist, glockenspiels and cloths. However, there are also a number of differences.

The Baby psalm singing at Christianskirken is of a more mellow nature than that at Sct Marie Kirken. There is no talking between songs and we just follow what the organist and her two helpers do for 30 minutes. In contrast, at Sct Marie Kirken we sang and laughed and joked for 45 minutes. However, at Christianskirken we then get 1 hr afterwards with coffee and tea to talk and chat together, while at Sct Marie Kirken we brought our own drinks and had 15 minutes.

So the question would be: which would I pick? Well, first of all check which one has place as they are relatively similar. However, if you are spoiled for choice see what you are looking for most: something for the child? Then pick Sct Marie Kirken: Organist Pia has an amazing singing voice and the singing bit is longer. Somewhere where you as a parent can get some adult company? Then maybe pick Christianskirken: You get one hour of adult conversation here.

The picture in this post is used with permission from ErgoLeg.

Sønderborg’s new steakhouse: Barbie BBQ

Leave a reply

There is a new restaurant in Sønderborg and if you haven’t been yet – it’s worth trying it out.

Sønderborg has seen some interesting new food and beverage places pop up the last year or two but in my book this one might be the most interesting so far.

The restaurant is named Barbie (as in barbecue not Ken’s girlfriend) and the theme is “new American barbecue” which means slow roasted meat like pulled pork, pork belly, beef brisket and steaks with sides of mash & gravy, coleslaw and mac & cheese.

The decor of the place is very simple and basic. There is concrete floors and bare ceilings with simple wood furniture like something out of the hip meat packing district in Copenhagen.

But the building actually has a long history. It goes back to 1903 when it was built as the first Danish assembly hall in the then-German Sønderborg. In 1907 it became a restaurant/dancehall ‘Kaiserkrone’ that could seat 500 and host balls for 800 people. Once the German navy base closed down it became a cinema and more recently it has been the shop called Als Design Center (which still exists online). Now it is again a restaurant and this time it has room for 140 inside and 50 outside making it one of Sønderborg’s biggest restaurants.

The people behind the restaurant are no rookies in starting restaurants. Barbie is started by twin brothers Rasmus and Jakob Oubæk and Christian Brandt. Rasmus Oubæk has been nicknamed “The King of Bearnaise” and these guys run six popular restaurants in Copenhagen that get good reviews.

OK enough chatter – on to the food we had in Sønderborg…

We made a booking an hour before we arrived on Saturday evening and we could get a table without problems. Once we got there the place was busy but not completely full.

The menu is really short (4 snacks, 8 mains, 3 desserts) so it wasn’t too difficult to pick something. We ordered the ribeye steak and brisket sandwich, a pilsner and an elderflower drink.

We went there with our 7 month old son, so we were a bit worried that he would be noisy. But because of the bare walls and concrete floors the place was buzzing with noise from all the other tables so a squeal now and then from us did not get noticed.

The food arrived in no time and we dug in. The steak was good, juicy and tender and came with a big pot of bearnaise sauce. I enjoyed the sauce; Ann found it a bit too sweet.

The brisket sandwich came in two small homemade buns. The meat was really, really tender. This was served on a tray with baking paper and the coleslaw in a polystyrene cup. Thinking back this has a cheap, cafeteria feel to it but the food was good so we didn’t think about it at the time. The fries and coleslaw were good but nothing to rave about.

Our son got to try the two meats as well and he got a lot of enjoyment from the ribeye. The brisket was so tender that he could not manage to get much of it up to his mouth.

The beer I had was their pilsner on tap. However it did not taste like a pilsner at all – it was more like a wheat beer. I enjoyed it although I would think their bottled IPA goes better with this type of food. Ann loved the elderflower drink (and that’s her drink of choice…every.time. So that is praise indeed).

They also offered us a bottle of tap water and unlike any other restaurant in Sønderborg they do not charge for tap water.

Overall we really enjoyed it. We were in and out of there in hour which is good timing for us with the age of our kid. Without a kid we would have definitely stayed for longer. Due to the acoustics and the size of the place it is not a particularly romantic place, but I will definitely come back with a group of friends for a night of laughs, banter and good food.