Tag: Travel in Denmark

Completed Travel Journal

Dear Liza,

Now that I’m back home in Portland, I can sit down and do the finishing touches on my Danish travel journal.

I had fun drawing, painting, and inking scenes from our trip. I know photographs are more accurate, but I like being able to give my own take on things.

There are lots of flowers, of course. Denmark in summer is glorious with wild flowers!

There are maps, too, like this one of our three day road trip around the Southern Archipelago.

And this one, of the ferry service in and out of Svenborg, copied from a board by the ferry landing. There are also drawings of the wonderful play area by the Egeskov Castle. I love my bouncing stick people!

The sewing project for Liza that was on my mind and in my hands found its way into the journal.

And you can tell I am getting braver with my drawing when I make an attempt at Liza. I certainly don’t want to botch the picture. But a photo from Elbaek Skov inspired me.

I can’t yet do justice to the beauty of the place or the girl, but I can stretch my limits and get better.

And that closes the book, so to speak, on my Denmark travel journal. Where will I go next? Stay tuned!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Last Adventure in Denmark

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

Our stay in Denmark is coming to an end, but there are still adventures to be had.

Liza’s favorite walk, for example, is along a particular stretch of the Horsens fjord called Elbaek Skov. It has an unusual sort of forest that could only exist in the protected environment of a fjord.

The huge trees that grow at the very edge of the water lean way out, looking for open sunlight. And since the waves in the fjord are almost nonexistent, the trees are not damaged or eroded, but just keep leaning and growing.

Like so any of the beautiful places in Denmark, this area amazingly accessible. A small parking lot leads to a gravelled path, which runs parallel to the shore. Without the sound of crashing waves you would expect, the feeling of peace and tranquility seeps slowly into your bones and when you are done walking, you feel better than you did when you went in.

We walked until we were halfway tired (as my Dad would say), then headed back home for lunch and more chat.

I know I have to go home soon, but I am sure going to miss these lovely people and this pretty country.

Love,

Grandma Judy

To Aarhus

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

Except for Copenhagen, cities in Denmark are pretty small compared to those in the United Sates. Aarhus, just north of Horsens, (the little heart on this map) has a population of 295,000 and is the second biggest city in the country. But since it is also on the other side of the country from the capital, Aarhus also functions as a sort of regional federal office.

Screenshot

We saw this clearly at Dokk1, a combination civic building and library on the old harbor in Aarhus.

It has dozens of offices where folks go for citizenship, immigration, and other business with the government, which saves folks a several-hour long trip across to Copenhagen. And, since this sort of procedure can take a long time, there was a delightful cafe with lunches, fruit, drinks, and sweet treats.

Out on the wide, sunny terraces, creative play areas kept young ones from getting restless and provided me with one of my favorite soundtracks: the laughter of happy children.

The Library was not a silence-shrouded collection of books, but a lively, light-filled collection that shares space with Lego trays, art supply bins, and broad areas for playing “Book Ping Pong” and “Book Dominos”. All this works because of the Danish sensibility of group responsibility and looking out for others.

Nothing was being broken just to break it. No one was yelling just to be loud. This place belongs to everyone, so no one wants to spoil it. It was civilized and delightful.

We walked and looked until we were worn out, and then headed home.

Tomorrow is another day with more adventures!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Across the Lillebro

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

We have started our three day road trip across Denmark! There is so much to see.

We started our drive in the pouring rain, heading south from Horsens. We crossed over from the peninsula of Jylland to the island of Fyn over the Lillebro, or Little Bridge. As you can see, it is only little compared to the Storbro, or Big Bridge, which we will see later on our journey.

The weather went from rainy to blustery, with amazing clouds and a good stiff breeze.

We found the castle of Egeskov, which Auntie Olga calls “The Castle-iest Castle in Denmark.” She is so right! Surrounded by a lake-like moat, lovely gardens, a maze, and lots of land, it has been named Europe’s best preserved Renaissance water castle. It has stood here since 1554 and is currently owned by the latest in a long line of sons, Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, but operated by the Danish government as a historic landmark.

Inside are generations of historic dresses, furnishings, weapons, and portraits. There are toys and kitchen tools displayed in the attic. It is a huge amount of stuff. Imagine if your house still had your great great grandma’s dishes, and all the rest of her stuff. Plus your stuff. Oy.

There is also a said-to-be- haunted doll in the attic which no one moved for a few hundred years, for fear the castle will fall down if they did. They all seem to be over it now, but the doll is still there.

Out in the grounds, we wandered the rose garden, maze, and water garden.

Everything was a photo opportunity! So I took lots. I love watching Uncle David explain things to Liza. Most of what I learned about the mechanical world came from my dad, so I value this sort of learning.

But there is MORE to Egeskov, and that will need to wait for tomorrow.

zlove,

Grandma Judy

Wild Flowers, Rune Stones, and Deer

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

For our second day in Horsens, we headed out of town to Jelling. Of course, there is always a snag, and David’s Tesla needed charging, so we had a layover.

Liza and I enjoyed the massive wild flower field by the service station, and had a fine time identifying and photographing them. With the rain and long summer days, flowers grow really well here, even when no one takes care of them.

At Jelling, we met Auntie Olga’s friend Dennis. He is from Russia and getting used to life in Denmark, too.

The rune stones are rough, stout stones about seven feet high, carved all over with symbols. They were placed here, between two burial mounds, by the Danish King in the year 965 A.D.

This one, which shows a very stylized Jesus on the cross, was carved to show that King Harold Bluetooth (yes, really) had converted to Christianity. It is called Denmark’s Baptism certificate.

In case you were wondering, Harold’s initials, written in Danish runes (ancient letters) is the symbol we now use for Bluetooth wireless technology. Bluetooth was invented by a Dutch engineer while working in Sweden, so I guess it makes some sort of sense? Cool, anyway.

Scientists have discovered that the stone were originally painted!! Over a thousand years the paint has worn away, but tiny traces remain, and a replica of one of the stones has been created with what they think the original colors were. I was stunned. With the color, they look almost Mayan.

After some delicious ice cream, we said good-bye to Dennis and headed to our last stop of the day, the Deer Park outside of Vejle, south of Horsens. The deer were very gentle, of course, but not always cooperative.

One little girl followed the small group around with a handful of grass and kept offering it. She may have a long term strategy, but while we were there, the deer weren’t having it.

By this time, we were all pooped and drove ‘home’ for a well-deserved lay down.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Family and Cookies in Horsens

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

We have found the rest of the family!! Or rather, they found us, at the Billund Airport. There was lots of hugs, and Liza kept picking me up… like, off the ground! This is something her Dad David did when he got tall enough, so I guess I should have expected it.

Liza is tall, after all.

We went for lunch and talked about everything, then drove to Horsens and got tucked into our Air B and B, which is a delightful traditional Danish house just a few blocks from David and Olga’s place. It is made of brick which has been plastered over, so the white walls have a soft texture that is soft and comfy.

Hygge is the Danish word for cozy and comfortable. This place is hygge. We napped for a bit to catch up in sleep lost from the boat parade in Leiden, then
went to David and Olga’s.

Cheese, wine, fruit and crackers gave us energy to move on with our day.

Liza wanted to learn to make Snickerdoodle cookies, so there was a trip to Meny, a market nearby, and then Bilka, further away, when cream of tartar became problematic. It has a different name, of course! It took Google lens, a translation app and process of elimination, but Liza and I got it figured out.

Since this was a teaching- baking session, I gave an instruction, demonstrated, and walked away. Liza is a thorough creamer and careful measurer. All was well.

While the cookie dough chilled, we headed for the little beach at Alro.

All sorts of adventures were available!

Back home, we baked the cookies, and found just one flaw: the chemical composition of cream of tartar in Denmark is more concentrated, so the cookies had an odd, but not awful, lemony aftertaste. Rest assured, we will make them again while I am in town, adjusting the amount to get it just right.

Dinner was at Bones, a Danish clone of Bob’s Big Boy, an Americana themed steak and burgers place. The portions are enormous and we ate until we popped!

Then back to the apartment for a well deserved, well fed, happy sleep.

Tomorrow would be another day!

Love,

Grandma Judy