What are you doing this summer, Sommer?

Omnibus has asked a number of AU staff and students whose surname is Sommer (which means “summer” in Danish) to describe their plans for the summer holiday.

 

Marianne Sommer,
administrative officer, Department of Chemistry

»I’m not quite sure what we’ll be doing yet. But I expect we’ll be spending some time in the woods and on the beach. I’ll be spending my holiday with my two girls, aged 14 and 16. We might go to Ajstrup beach, do some paddling and find some interesting stones on the beach. And we might go shopping in Aarhus. Relaxing and recharging our batteries. That’s what summer means to me. Getting some vitamins into my body. And reading good books. I read English detective stories. Jeffery Deaver, for instance. He’s written a series in which all the cases are solved in the head of a detective suffering from multiple disabilities. I’m also going to start reading Oscar Wilde – I’ve been interested in him ever since seeing the film “The Picture of Dorian Grey”. I’m going to a special event at Café Hack to hear more about the author, the book, and the Danish National Opera’s production of Wilde’s book.«

 

Nikolaj Sommer,
a 6th-semester student of Media Studies

»I’m going to Tuscany for two weeks with my girlfriend and her family. And to Bornholm for a week in a holiday home with my own family. I usually go to the Roskilde Festival, but for practical reasons I’ll be going to the Skanderborg Festival this year instead. In the past I’ve also spent a lot of time at impulsive barbecue parties in people’s gardens, but this year I’m going to be working at Europcar as well. Renting out cars might not be the most relevant type of job for my course, but supplementing my grant in this way does mean that I can earn enough money to stay afloat financially.«

 

Dion Sommer,
professor, Department of Psychology

»We’re going to our holiday home in Italy, and we’re going to spend some time at home. There’s plenty to do in the garden! I’m also going on a gourmet/culture trip to Berlin with my wife, my youngest daughter and son-in-law. And I’m going to do some sailing in our boat – an old-fashioned Norwegian yacht. We like to sail out into Aarhus Bay from the Studstrup Marina and catch some mackerel. For me summer means doing interesting things that don’t involve work, and this is a conscious decision because it makes returning to work more fun. I read a lot of books – detective stories and historical fiction, for instance. Preferably in English because they’re cheaper and the language is sharper. I’ve just read “The Prague Cemetery” by Eco. I can read anything by him. He’s Italian of course, and I just love his ornate, intricate style. He’s entirely different from le Carré, who I like too. But you can clearly sense that le Carré is British: cool and straight.«

 

Hans Sommer,
acting project manager, AU Studies Administration

»I’m going to the US for a month on an 8,000-kilometre road trip with a friend of mine. After a couple of days in LA we’re heading straight for Las Vegas. We haven’t decided on our route after that, but our goal is Seattle. I’ve been in touch with an absolutely charming woman called Lenore to ask her for a few tips about how to get off the beaten track. She’s a translator for Arts, and she put me onto Stacey, who also works at AU. Stacey told me about some of the less well known national parks, and she’s going home for the summer too. She’s invited us to pop in for coffee at her family’s summer cottage somewhere in Oregon, so we’ll definitely be stopping off there. While we’re in Seattle I’m going to insist that we drive the three hours to a small town in Canada called Hope. This is because I’m a film geek, and Hope is where the first First Blood film starring Rambo was shot. Finally, we’ll be taking Highway 1 down the coast to San Francisco.«

 

Margit Sommer,
PA for the management at the Department of Economics and Business

»We aren’t very good at making plans, so we don’t actually know yet. The only thing I’m certain about is that we’re having a christening for my grandson – he’s going to be christened Albert on 21 July, which is the first weekend of my holiday. We might go abroad after the party. Perhaps to France. When it comes to summer holidays, we like to improvise. For me summer means relaxing, seeing something different instead of looking at your own garden, having a good time and enjoying some good food.«

 

And what about you, Vinter?

Omnibus has also asked Hanne Vinter (whose surname means “winter” in Danish) about her summer plans.

 

Hanne Vinter,
PhD student, Department of Clinical Medicine

»We’re staying at home this year. We haven’t made any plans yet. But I expect we’ll be visiting the family. And spending some time in the garden. We have two children who are 10 months and six years old, which puts a bit of a limit on how much we can do. That’s also why it’s so great to have a garden where they can play. I love the garden. I always feel more cheerful when the weather is fine and I can spend more time outdoors. Being outdoors makes life a bit easier for us all.«

 

Photos: Lise Balsby