Chilling Locally

From Denmark II

With all the busy weekend getaways, I decided to hang local this weekend. Friday night the jacuzzi was filled and I read my book. Saturday was a frigid day with the wind chill factor. I had forgotten to wear my long johns, so after less than an hour of walking around the little town & in shops, my hands and feet were done. I went to a cafe in the marina (that advertised in the newspaper that it'd be open) for aebleskivers (think cookie-sized spherical pancakes w/ powdered sugar and jam) and glogg (warm spiced xmas wine), however the cafe was not open. Dejected, I returned to the holiday home for a lunch of fresh bread, cheese, dried fig, and apple slices. Yum.
To get myself out of the home one more time, I went on a mission to find a Julmarkt advertised in the paper. It was in a tiny 1-restaurant residential area (can't call it a town), and down a dirt road. I parked where there were a few girls in what resembled boy scout uniforms. There were trees & greens for sale outside, and in the shack was a bunch of xmas trinkets (junk). Being the only one in there, and a young girl scout watching my every move, it was necessary to buy something. After picking up some metal candle holders, the scout leader appeared & I asked her if the money supports the scouts. She volunteered that it goes towards a summer trip to a place on the border of Germany. Apparently 25,000 scouts go there for a summer convention/trip. Done.
Next mission was to find some driveway vegetables on the way home. I drove down a random side road and sure enough, found a stand & bought carrots. Two of them are for me (they are really big!), and the rest for my horse neighbors. They now graze on my side of the pasture 'cause I've been feeding them daily. They have enjoyed apples, carrots, pomegranite, and fig. They don't like cabbage nor leeks.
Saturday night involved more jacuzzi and reading.

Sunday I woke up and broke a record.... it was light when I woke up! I woke up at 9am and there was a little light coming in through the blinds. It's dark at 8:30am, and is now starting to get light at 9am. A bit of a difference since I arrived.
It was a lazy morning & got to chat w/ Jamie for a while. We will be re-united on Saturday, so that is very, very exciting!
Around noon I headed out for a drive North to Randers, where the shops would be open on a Sunday in preparation for xmas. I made a quick stop in town for cash. Turns out the Grena fire department was serving free rice pudding (it was good w/ cinnamon sugar & butter). So, to support I bought a fireman calendar... two younger fireman in their boxer briefs & fire hat standing in front of the big red truck). The rest of the pictures are normal fireman work. Then, I was on my drive.
Upon seeing a huge brick house/castle estate, I drove in the crowded parking lot. Last week at dinner, Irene & Jonna mentioned that I'd see this on the road & it was a worthy site to visit. It's called Gammel Estrup (Old Manor House I think). Really neat place to visit. Most of the house is available to walk through, as it was decorated in the 1600s & 1700s. They have the National Farming museum in one of the buildings as well. Neat old wagons, sleds, and tractors. It had beautiful estate grounds too. I spent the rest of the day there and never made it to Randers (totally fine by me).
Upon returning, made some carrot-ginger soup, started packing up my things, watched Kate & Leopold (on TV), and finished with a read in the jacuzzi. Quite a lovely day.

Thanks for following me on these travels! Unless there is something significant that occurs, I'll be signing off for this trip. There's a good chance that this blog will continue to get updated w/ my next trip that starts on Thursday (CA time), so check back in another week (or two!).