1001 Passwords

Since the invention of internet banking I have been a huge fan. What a great way to make sure you stay on budget and besides, who really likes balancing their cheque book? I trust the bank to do that for me but I do like to keep a close eye...

It was so easy to get a bank account here - just walk in with your CPR number (equivalent of a SIN number) and voila! you have an account - free of charge. Well since I got my account back in late August, I have been trying to log into their e-banking system. My first attempt failed - I had received a user ID and password by mail but it refused to work. Called the bank and after a few failed attempts they asked me if I was using a PC and I said, no, a Mac. This was the reason it would not work. Their systems are set up to be used with a PC so I would need some kind of hardware to be able to use e-banking. A few days later I received something that reminds me of VPN token with a built in calculator. I tried to follow the instructions on-line and failed. Then school started and I forgot all about internet banking... going to the teller in person became part of the European experience.

So today, I braved the website and tried again. I failed. So I called the bank and asked for help. A nice english speaking gentleman told me that I should have received a user ID to go along with my ActiveCard (VPN-calculator looking thing). I didn't. I was using the original user ID and password that I received in the mail the first time around. So he gave me my new user ID and so I tried to log in again. I failed. He asked if I had received an updated password with my ActiveCard because the regular password would not work because it was meant for PCs. I hadn't. So he kindly offered to send me a new password in the mail and I should have it sometime next week.

I had a great old chuckle with him on the phone and thanked him for his help.

Here's hoping I get to log on next week!

On another note, now that I have figured out how to posts videos.... enjoy!

Kultur Natten

At last, we have internet. I was trying to figure out what's worse, waiting for Bell and hoping the tech shows up on the day they tell you or having to wait TWO whole weeks for the exact date and time which Telia (the Danish service provider) has scheduled the click of the switch...

We have moved into our new flat in Charlottenlund, we are about 10 km north of Copenhagen. The air is fresh and the sea is very close by. Looking forward to the beach days next summer.... but let's not get ahead of ourselves, winter has arrived. At least for me. I am in my full winter gear yet the locals are still out in their convertibles, wearing their fall coats which to me look like summer clothes, I even saw a woman in flip flops the other night. Yes, the sun is shining but it's only 3 degrees out!! People here seem to have a much higher tolerance for the cold. And I don't think they measure the windchill but riding my bike this morning I swear it was minus something...

The last few weeks we've been really busy trying to get organized - making lists of what we need for the apartment, making plans of what to paint, dreaming of all the cool danish designer furniture we could buy if we were rich and of course getting to know the new little town. The post office opens at 11am, and so do the shops. So no need to get up early around here. The funny thing is that they close at 5pm so you have only a few hours to get your errands done. All things are closed on Sundays except on the first Sunday of each month. The only shops that remain open 7 days a week are the bakery and the candy store. Yum!

Last Friday, we went out for Kultur Natten. It's an event similar to Doors Open Toronto where venues by the masses open their doors, provide entertainment and allow the public to roam through and experience what they have to offer. The shops also stay open really late so people can take advantage of late night shopping which I am sure comes in handy for those who are at work all day and can't get to the stores in time. It was neat to see so many people on the streets - we were approaching midnight and the loads of people that were out made it seem like it was the middle of a busy day. Highlights of the night were listening to the french chansons in the art gallery, visiting the Danish Radio building, stopping for the ice cream that is supposed to be one of the best in the nation and hearing traditional icelandic singing (see video below).