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
Dear Liza 