22 March - Old Sites with New Eyes

From Denmark III

As many of you know, Jamie was able to visit Denmark for a long weekend. On Thursday night I picked him up from the Billund airport after his long flight w/ a connection in London.

Friday after a half-day of work, we met up at my fave lunch shop (Smag) for their Vegetar Sandwich. It’s different each time you order it, however it has been known to include some combination of the following hummus, pesto, beet hummus, sundried tomatoes, cheese, marinated veggies, cabbage, pears, or even potato. Somehow it’s always delish & bursting w/ flavors.
We took an afternoon walk just north of town at the lighthouse on the North Sea trail (along the Kattegat body of water, not the North Sea). It was a sunny, beautiful and quiet walk on the grassy slope between the farms and pebble beach. The only people we passed were three old men sitting on a bench behind some small old boat ramp buildings. When we walked up one of them struggled to contain his rambuncous chocolate lab on the leash, but once we showed some welcoming, he let the furry torpedo go. Good fun. Did some laundry, and hit up my fave restaurant which was good, but not fantastic. The spa night was fantastic & Jamie was pleasantly surprised by all the anemities (pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room) and the danish design in the pool area.

Saturday was a full agenda. Afterall, you must plan the Saturday mornings very precisely if one cares to see a town that doesn’t resemble a ghost town. The people are only in town when the shops are open, which are only 10-5pm weekdays and 9:30-1pm on Saturdays. So, we did Ebeltoft and Silkeborg towns during their happen’in morning/noon. We bought some bread, cheese from the cheese truck, some fig from a natural foods store and had a picnic (w/ wine) next to a waterway in Silkeborg. Quite lovely, despite the cold temperature. Next stop was AQUA, a well-designed fresh water aquarium where the ponds are surrounding the circuluar building. The walls are of glass so you can walk the perimeter of the building and look out at the different ponds. Some of the fish (Sturgeon) were as large as the reef sharks in australia. The Carpe were sizable too. Beyond fish, they had waterbugs, ducks, rats, raccoon, minx, beaver, and nurtia rat (more beaver-like than rat-like). The aquariums and tourist attractions in Denmark are very hands-on for kids. Not only that, but many exhibits are dedicated to how we (humans) are affecting the eco-system… albeit fish & farm fertizlier, or trash and rivers. It’s no wonder the Danes are more eco-conscience here, the learning starts at incredibly young ages at these “fun” exhibits. We ended the evening w/ appetizers and tea in a Silkeborg corner bar. Nothing fancy.

Sunday we started off in Ebeltoft exploring the Fregatten Jylland (a Danish navy war ship from the late 1800s, also known as the worlds longest wooden ship). It used more than 400 men during battles to operate the 2 stories of cannons, double anchors, and propellor pull. The ship has 4 stories total and was jaw-dropping how long and big it really was. It was used later (after some refurbishment) to transport the royal family to celebrations in Iceland). It is now out of the water, on supports, strictly for the museum.

While visiting the ship, a televised event was being filmed next to the ship. The main Danish TV station choose Ebeltoft as the town to use in a “fat losing” event. The citizens of Ebeltoft have signed up to lose X amount of tons in the next 12 weeks. During Sunday’s filmed event, we saw the hordes in running clothes getting weighed in groups on a large platform, and eating snacks. Of the 2 hours we spent there, we never saw them do the running part.
They did motivate us to start the forest walk. We did the Mols Bjerge trails which have the landscape of deciduous forest, pine forest, and cow grazing pastures. It’s very hilly too, with dirt roads to get to the trailheads. Many of the pine forests are pine farms, so every once in a while, you arrive at a couple acres that have been clear cut, with large logs piled in a corner. Much of the logs are then aged and used for firewood. I’m sure some of it is used for the furniture as well.
The chilly wind was starting to blow now, but we braved the walk out to Kalo Slot and had it to ourselves. I’ve written about it in a previous blog. Jamie was pretty stoked that there were walls still left standing. We huddled next to one and had a cup of wine while watching a flock of blackbirds hone their flying skills. They were squawking, flapping, and gliding in circles around the castle yard hill with periodic rests on the castle. Eerie.

Monday started my “back to reality” work day while Jamie took a self-guided tour walk around Grenaa. On the way to the airport (through the rain, hail and snow) in the evening, we stopped by a house of a newly-hired VP at Terma (he is American, his wife is Danish). They moved from the US > England > Denmark. His wife is very involved and interested in helping people relocate & settle into Denmark. We stopped by to talk to her over crackers and cheese. They had a beautiful house decorated in a Danish style, 3 kids & a fluffy golden retriever. It was great to chat with her and get a different perspective.

Jamie is home safely now, and I’m tying up the loose ends at work, and starting to pack-up the hotel room. There are no plans to return to DK anytime soon. The earliest could be October. My cumulative days available to work in Denmark have run out w/ my company, so there is a bit of legal work involved before I return to Denmark. However, there is a slight chance I will be visiting Norway sometime this summer, so I will have my fingers crossed for that trip!

Thanks everyone for “following”!