Author Archives: Ann

About Ann

I am a Maltese girl, who fell in love with a Dane in Prague. I just started a job close to Sonderborg, so we have both moved there (via London, where we lived for a while). I am excited about this new country and city, and look forward to learning and experiencing more in the area. Read more...

Restaurant Alsik

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Restaurant Alsik is the main restaurant at Hotel Alsik, open for lunch and dinner every day for hotel guests and visitors. Situated with great big windows overlooking the water it is very spacious with amazing views.

It has been a long time since we wrote anything here (kids…you know!) but I have now been to Hotel Alsik 3 times: for dinner with a friend, a lunch date with my husband and a family meal (with a 4 and 2 year old) and I have been impressed each time. It is really a restaurant that lends itself well for all such occassions: cosy atmosphere for the lunch date, relaxed atmosphere for the dinner with a friend, and quick and cheerful for the family meal. It’s amazing that one place can offer all this at once!

The food

The food offerring is very simple: a dozen or so dishes, all at 99 DKK. I am not convinced that all dishes deserve the same price tag (some definitely deserve more!), but it does make it really easy to select the one you like without focussing too much on price. Together with my companions I have tried a variety of dishes and would likely order each dish again, although my favourite is most likely my first one: the BBQ.

The service

Relaxed, unobtrusive but always present. You get free water, (warm) bread and butter, all of which are topped up if required. What’s not to like?

The atmosphere

As hinted above, the big windows and high ceilings make the restaurant really bright and airy. The acoustics are good too, which is important when we have our kids in tow as we don’t want to annoy other guests more than necessary. There are different types of seating too: typical restaurant tables, tables with armchairs, others next to the big windows with great views, and also some next to a fire place. Really something for most days where you want to have a bit of low-key celebratory dinner.

Will we be back? Absolutely!

Taking the Danish Indfødsretsprøve

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One of the requirements for getting Danish citizenship is passing a test on Danish culture, society and history aka indfødsretsprøve. Since this was the only requirement I had missing in order to be able to apply for Danish citizenship I decided to go for it in the November/December session.

The Test

The test consists of 40 multiple choice questions, of which you need to get 32 questions, ie 80%, right. The test is done twice a year – in May/June and in November/December – in exam centres all over Denmark. The test is paper based and printed in quite big letters – my test paper consisted of 10 sheets for the 40 questions. You are then asked to make a cross in the box next to the correct answer.

35 of the questions are based on the ‘teaching material’ published by the Udlændige, Integrations og Boligministeriet in 2015. This material is divided into 4 chapters: Danish history (and themes related to Danish culture), Danish Democracy, Danish Welfare State and Denmark and the World. The last 5 questions are based on ‘current issues’ i.e. happenings in the newspapers over the few weeks and months before the test.

Preparing for the Test

The most simple way you can prepare for the test is, of course, to read the 148 pages that make up this material. However, I found it difficult to get my head around how to prepare by reading this very information-dense material. So I went out to look for other resources.

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The main external resource I found for preparing for the test is the website indfodsretsprove.dk. After paying for the site you get access to different kinds of tests, depending on the membership type you go for. I opted for the standard pakke, mainly as I wanted longer than 7 day access but was not as interested in the ‘nice-to-have’ features of the complete pakke.

I found this website a good way of preparing. I particularly liked the tests where you can see which date regions you are not strong in and which pages of the book you need to re-read. There are also a couple of things that can be improved, such as the very systematic way most questions related to dates are set (which meant I could guess which date is correct without reading the question). Nevertheless, a good resource, not least because there isn’t much else out there.

I should also say that the test questions seemed to be harder (or more specific) than in the actual tests. More realistic questions (though less comprehensive resources) are listed below.

Other Resources

One resource I came across unexpectedly which had questions closer in difficulty to the actual test was an IQ test based on the indfødsretsprøve. Consisting of around 200 questions, it goes through most of the relevant areas the indfødsretsprove focuses on. Going through the questions now I can recognise a number of questions that were also in the actual test.

Of course, past tests are also a good resource. Most major Danish news outlets publish the test on their website after the actual test is done, encouraging readers to try it out. These are the tests on TV2’s website:

After the Test

Once the test is over the next step is finding out the result. The Sonderborg test centre sent me an sms the day after the test was done in the afternoon, letting me know whether I had passed or not. The certificate indicating that you had passed could then be collected from around 2 weeks later from their premises.

And that was it! With this final requirement in place I could now apply for Danish citizenship!

Brunch at Hotel Baltic

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Last year Hotel Baltic in Høruphav was reopened under Silje Brenna and Jonas Mikkelsen. The pair already run other restaurants, including the Michelin-star owning Hotel Frederiksminde in Præstø so we’ve been looking forward to trying it out. We finally managed a visit for Sunday brunch on Mother’s Day.

New item by Michael Carøe Fenech-Andersen / Google Photos

Sunday brunch at Hotel Baltic is served family-style in the bistro overlooking the harbour. We were first to arrive (a bit before opening time of 10:00) and were warmly welcomed in and shown to our table. On sitting down we were offered juice, tea and coffee (all included in the price).

Once the drinks were in place, the food started arriving. The food arrives at the table on shared platters. We first got a muesli and yoghurt bowl each. This was then followed by cold dishes such as cold cuts, cheeses, salmon and prawns, then hot dishes of liver pate and bacon as well as scrambled eggs and sausages. The final offering was pancakes.Throughout all this there was delicious homemade bread and butter, both of which were replenished as needed. I particularly loved the  prawns with lemon mayonnaise and, surprisingly (as I was very sceptical on seeing it) the scrambled eggs.

Reading those items you might think it doesn’t sound like it’s different to any other brunch in town. However, on tasting the food it is clear that the quality of the items is significantly better. This is also reflected in the fact that the source of the ingredients is told to you as the food is brought to the table. They are clearly proud of their suppliers, and they should be.

The brunch costs 245 DKK (or 125 DKK for children under 12), including tea, coffee and juice, which was a very fair price for the amount of food and the quality. The brunch is served on Sundays from 10:00-12:00 and you should plan to spend two hours there. If planning to go we would recommend you book or at least phone ahead as, although not full when we visited, the place is not that big. The staff was very friendly and attentive.

The bistro is kid-friendly but since the experience is cozy it can be a challenge combining the “slow-food” with energetic kids. We were lucky to have one kid sleeping and the other one happy for a run just outside in the grass for a while and a trip down to look at boats. If we didn’t have two small kids on our hands we would definitely try out the evening menu in the restaurant based on what we experienced for brunch. Maybe for our next kid-free evening!

Besøg Babyer: Babies Visiting Older People

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While last at the sundhedsplejerske I saw an advert for ‘besøgbabyer’. This is where parents and their babies visit people in nursing homes with the aim of spreading some smiles. I had always wanted to do this so I contacted Dybbøl Plejecentre and Mølleparken Plejecenter to see if they were interested. And they were!

Organising the visits was very easy. An email or a phone call and within a few days a date and time were set. I invited others from mother group Sonderborg to join me and then we just turned up on the day.

The visits were very pleasant, low intensity visits, where we sat and talked, passed on our babies to the older people to hold (My little one spent a very pleasant hour sitting on a former dagplejemor’s arms without a single complaint from him!) and generally had a pleasant time.

Want to organise your own visit?

If you are interested in doing similar I would suggest you contact:

Dybbøl Plejecenter: Gitte on 27 90 01 86 or gelu@sonderborg.dk

Mølleparkens Plejecenter: Hanne on 27903920

Or just ring up to the plejecenter you are interested in as I did and I’m sure they will be all up for it!

Both Plejecenters were also very interested in having regular visits so if this interests you be sure to suggest it.

Image is Russell Harrison Photography and shared under CC-share-alike.

Spices of Dansborg: Indian take-away food in Sønderborg

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Spices of Dansborg is a South Indian home delivery catering services. When Prakash and Krithika first moved to Denmark 3 years ago, they found it really hard to find good traditional South Indian food here. So they decided to do something about it.

The company was originally started in January 2017 in Copenhagen, but a job move for Prakash, the face of the company, to Sonderborg resulted in the company being re-established in Sonderborg earlier this year. The cooking is then done by Prakash’s wife, Krithika, and two other Indian ladies she met through their kids’ school: Prianka and Divya.

The company is mainly based on facebook. There you can find the menu from which you can select what you want and order via facebook chat on a quick call. Once you order delivery is free if you order for the Sonderborg are and for more than 200 DKK; if cost is less delivery costs start at 10 DKK. Orders should preferably be in 3 hours before delivery is required, except for parties, where a week notice is preferred.

Being big fans of good Indian food we decided to give it a try with friends, ordering a selection of dishes, from chicken biryani to panniyaram. The food arrived hot and on time and was all very well received, especially the paneer butter masala. Unfortunately they had no lamb when we ordered. So a pity that we haven’t tried it but it gives us the best excuse to order again (not that we need much encouragement).

The other photos in this post are from the Facebook page but this is our photo of how we got the food. (We didn’t care for presenting it nicely we just wanted to eat!)

New item by Michael Carøe Fenech-Andersen / Google Photos

So what can we say? Check out the menu items, speak to them on facebook or call them on 5010 1046 to discuss what you want, and just wait for the food to be delivered and dig in!

Det Sønderjyske Køkken

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Det Sønderjyske Køkken is a cafe located in Sonderborg’s tourist office on Perlegade. The cafe, owned by chefs Jesper Kock and Sune Axelsen, focuses on portraying food inspired by the local area.

The first thing that you notice on arriving is that premises in which the cafe is located are very big. The first time we visited soon after they opened I felt the place was too much like a school canteen. However, visiting again recently I was very happy with the changes; the booths on the side with sofas and the screens make for much cosier areas even if the room itself if huge. The big windows onto the walking street over one whole wall also means that the place is very light and airy (and especially good for Danish mothers leaving their prams outside as they can see their babies very easily).

The food menu itself is quite simple. It focuses mainly on vegetable dishes, with a few staples like Pariserbøf and Solæg. As is to be expected, cakes are also a focal point, inspired by the Sønderjyske Kaffebord.  The food I have tasted has all been very well made, and at decent prices.

Besides being a regular cafe they also focus on events either for the local community or to showcase local food e.g. they had Christmas food making workshops for children in December and I can see a Sønderjyske kaffebord event coming up in March.

Whether for a quick coffee, a relaxed lunch with friends, or a more full on event, if it is local produce and local recipes you are looking for, this is the place you should start at.

Baby Activities in Sønderborg: An update

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In 2015 we published a couple of posts regarding baby activities in Sønderborg. However end of 2017 a new addition arrived in our family so it is well worth seeing what has remained, what is new and what has changed.

Musical Activities

Babysalmesang is still a hit for me. These are sessions that happen in most churches in the Denmark (in Sønderborg they have it in both Christianskirken and Sct Marie Kirken, but also the smaller churches in smaller villages will offer this) aimed at babies at their parent. We sing, we move and we enjoy some musical time with our kids. It is not necessary that you are a member of the church (I am not Danish Protestant for one!) but if you don’t mind that the songs sung are religious it will all be good.

Besides Babysalmesang there is also Baby Rytmik at the music school. This is very similar to Babysalmesang, except that the song topic is not religious (and you need to pay, unlike babysalmesang).

The third musical activity is Baby Tju-Hej that happens in the libraries of Sonderborg Kommune. While the other activities are limited to a small number of parents (maximum 15), this is open to all kids up to 3 years old with no prior booking. It is more of a sing along performance rather than focussed parent-child time, but still highly enjoyable and we try to go to as many as we can.

From what I have seen these have not changed much from 2015.

Active Sessions

The active sessions available can be grouped into 2: Stimulastik/Baby Motorik and Baby Swimming. We had written more about Baby Swimming  in 2015 here and we are not aware of anything new. A friend has also told us that there are limited drop-in sessions at the warm water basin at the Nordals Idrætscenter on Mondays-Wednesdays so if a course is not for you you can try this out, especially if like us you have 2 kids you want to take.

With regards to Motorik sessions, the Stimulastik provider from 2015 has moved away from the area. Instead I am aware of 2 other providers in the area: Ergo-Liv and Massage by Friis. Both seem to offer a ‘course’ rather than open groups. Our son is still too young so have not experienced either. If you have do leave a comment about your experience. We plan to try one later in the year and will update you on the experience, though we haven’t decided on which.

Sessions for Parents/Creative Sessions

Sønderborghus has recently started sessions on the first Monday of the month. These sessions, called Baby Mandag, consist of a talk or activity for the parents, followed by a creative session for the parent+child. I wrote about our experience here.

So since 2015 it seems that the music sessions have remained, the active sessions have changed while parent/creative sessions have been added. Not bad for a town the size of Sonderborg!

Other than that a facebook group for mothers in Sønderborg that had been started in 2015 has been revived, so if you’re in town with a baby/young child in tow (or even none) you can check what we are up to on Mother Group Sonderborg.

Sønderborghus for Children

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Sønderborghus has really stepped up their offerings for children in the last few months, with regular activities available for children from birth to 13 year olds. With our (now 2!) kids in tow, we tried out the age appropriate activities for them.

Baby Mandag (0-2 years)

The first Monday of the month from 9:30-12:00 is baby Monday at Sønderborghus, aimed at parents on parental leave and their child. The first half is generally a talk or activity for the parents, while for the second half we moved into the workshop for a craft activity to do with your kid (it was footprint Christmas cards when I attended) and a chat with the others.

I really enjoyed the session I went to with my then 2 week old. During my first parental leave in 2015 I found I lacked open drop-in events for parent and child, where the interest of the parent and a chat with other parents with babies of different ages (as opposed to the age stratified mother groups) were available. Good to see an opportunity for this now.

Familielørdag (2-13 years)

We went to this event with our oldest child, who’s 3. Every Saturday the workshop in the basement is open for a drop-in creative session between 10:00-13:00. Every Saturday has a theme, which you can find on the Sønderborghus website; the day we went we did paintings with tape and acrylic paints. The creative session is pre-planned and all the materials already prepared for you to just drop in with your kid and have a go, with pointers and support from the staff if needed. Once a month a bigger event with a theme such as Carnival is held.

Again, a very enjoyable time was had. It is the perfect activity especially for a wet Saturday with not much else to do. We would urge you to support this initiative of Sonderborghus to offer something different for kids. If you want to know the specific offering for a session check out the website. Both sessions cost a very fair 30 DKK for the craft supplies. Do remember to take an apron or old clothes though, unlike us!

 

Floorball: For Women

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Sonderborg’s floorball club, the Vikings were advertising the setting up of a new team for women in the new year. The first training session was yesterday, so I decided to go along.

What is Floorball

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Floorball is a type of floor hockey, where two teams with sticks try to get a holey plastic ball into opposing goal nets. It is mostly popular in Scandinavia, having been developed in Sweden in the 1970s. I had never heard of it before moving here, but it seems to be a common sport played in schools, so most Danes know the basics.

First Training Sessions

The first training session was, I would say, a success. We were 22 women in ages from older teenagers to (according to Sonderborg Floorball Club) 61. The participants varied from what looked like quite experienced players to at least one person who had never seen a floorball stick before (me!). We first did some basic exercises, walking with a ball and passing a ball back and forth between us, before being divided into 4 teams and playing some short games between us.

Want to Join?

If you are over 15 (and a woman) and you’re looking for a sport (or something to do on a Monday evening!) I would encourage you to give floorball a try. The club has all the equipment needed, so all you need to do is turn up. Being a fairly new thing also means that there will be other people in the same boat as you and, hopefully, we can all get better (and fitter) together.

Training sessions: Mondays 19:00-20:00 at Kløvermarkhallen

If I had to say something about my experience, I quite enjoyed it and will definitely be back. It is, of course, very Danish, which means that there was barely an introduction, I still have no great idea how to hold the floorball stick (or how to select one) and no one told me their name (unless asked directly…a couple of times)! I hope that over time I will learn all this. But anyways, don’t let this scare you off! It’s all part and parcel of getting along with Danish people in Danish spaces. So it’s all good!

Other teams

Sønderborg Floorball Club has three other teams which are Youth 7-11, Youth 13-15 and a Senior Team for men. You can try and contact the club via the website if you are interested in one of these teams.

Review @ Cafe’en at Sønderborghus

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Sønderborghus is the one of the main music venues in town. But besides music, you can also find creative workshops, and a cafe/restaurant. The cafe has been closed for a while now, but finally it reopened last month: as a creperie. We went to check it out with some friends.

Having been in the cafe in its previous reincarnation, I like what the new owners have done with the decor. The theme is very much old school, mis-matched furniture with plenty of space to roam around. And if you want a relaxed atmosphere there is also a ‘games’ area, with low sofas and table, board games and magazines.

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The food options are, as you would expect, crepes: 5 savoury options and 4 sweet options. Between us we tried all of the savoury and 2 of the sweet options. They all went down really well, with the favourites being the chicken and the ham. The pancakes were the perfect balance between crepe and filling. They also looked really good on the plate and, especially if ordering a menu with 2 (or even 3!) pancakes, very filling.

The service was also really good. But, and this is the main downside, only when they get around to you! On the day we visited there was one person behind the counter taking orders and making the orders. With most people taking a menu, meaning 2 crepes each, and with only 2 crepe-making stations, the service was really slow. In fact, when we arrived we were told to wait 10 minutes to even give in our order (and it took longer than that).

It is clear that the cafe’s cooking setup is not really geared for the number of tables in the cafe, even if the cafe already has probably the minimum number of tables for the space before it feels really empty. And this was on a day when the cafe was less than half full! I shudder to think of the wait if the place was busier. Admittedly, they do mention that there could be some waiting time on their website.

Final verdict? Do visit! The food was absolutely amazing. Especially for the price. We’ll definitely return. But don’t go when tight on time or really hungry, as you should expect quite a wait for the food. We’ll definitely return.