A Day In The Danish Countryside: Karise, Denmark

Hello All!

Sunday got on the road mid morning to go to the countryside to visit Sofie's parents who live in a small town called Karise South of Copenhagen.The drive was about an hour long; the city giving way to the suburbs giving way to the outer towns, then once pulling off the freeway to tiny villages about a mile apart. Spring is a few weeks behind home, so the flowering trees are in full splendor while none of the deciduous trees have leafed out yet. The villages all have a small white or orange church with a tower facing west, a few buildings, some with thatched roofs and half-timbered walls sagging with age. The roads off the freeway are tiny and winding, only wide enough for one car at a time. It's very flat, with a few small hills here and there. The miniature horse is a fashionable pet in the area we noticed when passing fenced in front yards with shaggy mini-horses scratching themselves against trees.

Sofie's parents welcomed us with open arms into their beautiful home. It had once been a factory and after years of renovation is a lovely and large house. Sofie's mom Dorte made us a traditional Danish Dish called "Shooting Stars" that was a piece of buttered toast with lettuce, cod, flounder, shrimp, lemon, mayo, and caviar on top arranged very artistically. 

Then another dish of pate and mushrooms on toast and meatballs. It was all stellar food and we took a walk to work some of it off before dessert.

First we drove to a Vemmetofte Castle nearby where Sofie used to work. It once belonged to the Royal family of Denmark but has since been converted into extremely upscale and expensive apartments. The tenants the occasionally have the Queen of Denmark over for tea or lunch. Sofie met her a few times and said she was very polite and smokes like a chimney.
We couldn't go into the castle but walked the grounds and garden, Sofie's mom pointed out edible plants growing wild we could nibble on but we were all still too stuffed to have more than a taste.

Then to the beach where Sofie's mom has been jumping into the frigid northern waters once a week all winter. "Why do you do it?" we asked

"Because I am a VIKING!" she exclaimed. I like this woman.

The beach was sunny and warm with calm, ice blue water. It was so clear in places that it reminded me of the Adriatic but colder and with swans serenely searching for food.

On the other side of the small bay is a large almost perfectly round boulder reposing on the beach all by itself with no indication of when it arrived or how it got there. There is a story that a Swedish troll was angry at the Danes and threw the giant rock at Denmark. Luckily no one was injured in the attack.

By then we had made just enough room in our stomachs for dessert and returned to the house to partake in a light, fluffy lemon dessert somewhere between jello and whipped cream. Paired with tea it was the perfect way to end our afternoon in the countryside. I had wanted to see more of Denmark than just inner Copenhagen and I am very grateful for the lovely experience we had. Outside the city was startlingly quiet at first, with fresh breezes and long views across green fields and pastures. It's terribly peaceful, a model for any pastoral painting.

It shouldn't be a surprise to find out that we all passed out on the way home. Sofie chatted with her father in the front while April, Ro and I became slack faced sleep monsters in the back almost as soon as we bucked in.