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.

Happy to Report the Adventure Has Begun: Seattle - Iceland - Denmark

Thursday I awoke to a brilliant blue sky. If weather is any indication of the success of a day's endeavors, ours were surely blessed.

Before heading to the airport, we took a walk through Carkeek Park to get a last look at the Pacific Northwest in full spring splendor.The deciduous Big Leaf Maples on the bluff have leafed out and salmon berry flowers are blooming. At Carkeek, canes arch over the paths making tunnels that dapple light below and break the green with spots of bright pink. The Olympics and Rainier even came out to say goodbye, their snowcaps reflecting brightly in the spring sunshine. All in all it was a good day to be in the pnw.

After a hearty breakfast, a momentary panic of lost shoes, and packing, bagging and taping my backpack within an inch of its life, Max and I headed to the airport.

The packing process 1, 2 and 3

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The flights were happily uneventful, one plane was comfortable, one was not, turbulence is scarier now than when I was a kid (I learned flying into an Iceland rain storm).

It's worth noting a vital travel tip here. Learn, remember and plan for what I will call your "last straw". A "last straw" is a some variable that you absolutely need to be going right for you to be a functioning adult. Mine is hunger for example. I can deal with acute exhaustion, small spaces, even crying babies to an extent but if I have to deal with those AND an empty stomach I turn into a blathering baby myself. I become less rational, quicker to anger, and much less compassionate for other people that's for dang sure. So the tip is to learn what your "last straw" is and plan for it as much as possible, especially while traveling.

Twelve hours after leaving sunny Seattle I landed in sunny Copenhagen. Wandering through the airport to the one door the terminal I opened it and found a hall lined with dozens of quiet, expectant people waving small Danish flags. I stopped, worried I had accidentally exited the door that the Queen was about to come through, but saw that their eyes had already slid past me to others exiting. These were just people waiting for their loved ones and waving the flag is a general celebratory thing to do like flags on the fourth of July but for any celebration.

I also noticed right away that everyone, e v e r y o n e looks amazing. Completely put together, indescribably posh and relaxed in the national ability to put together a coherent outfit. I had a similar shock arriving in Croatia I remembered too late; choosing a travel outfit for optimum comfort, looking like Carmen San Diego's more practical cousin Janet North Seattle.

After a bit of a communication kerfuffle I found the way to my friends April and Rowan in the apartment on D- where we are staying with their high school exchange student Sofie and her boyfriend Emil. We are right in the middle of the city a few blocks down from the old town. The largest street in Copenhagen is nearby and thick with bikes, busses and cars. Right on the other side of the road is the old town, buildings in bright colors, close on either side of small, cobblestone streets. The apartment we are staying in is small and comfortable with tall windows that look over a large long courtyard the size of a soccer field. Sofie says the Nazis used these buildings during part of WWII and they were bombed pretty extensively because of it. They were then rebuilt and now house dozens of families. Now they have a twelve year waiting list because of their central location, she and Emil managed to get on the list when it was only three years long.

Today is April's birthday and this morning we were awoken by Rowan, Sofie, and Emil singing happy birthday and festively waving Danish flags. In the kitchen they had prepared a picture perfect breakfast of parfaits, danishes, bread and tea. It was lovely, a wonderful first breakfast away from home, I felt incredibly welcomed.

Later, the five of us walked along one of the urban lakes to one of the tallest buildings in Copenhagen. The general style of the city is to have long row buildings, side by side the length of the street, 5-6 stories tall with neat windows in rows. The buildings circle an inner courtyard, service area or parking lot usually. The skyscraper is slowly making its way into Copenhagen though, and we visited one the Emil works in, going up to the view deck on the 18th floor for a 360 degree view of the city. With another sunshiney day and a light breeze we could see all the way to Sweden!

Copenhagen is very green with lots of old parks, ponds and lakes supporting animal life, on the walk we saw many water birds nesting in the reeds along the shore including a pair of swans. Mocking birds, doves, pigeons and crows swoop through the courtyard constantly for such an urban area. From the roof we could see different collections of neighborhoods grouped by architectural style, organized by streets all in bright colors and often sporting tiny roof balconies with people enjoying the Saturday sunshine.

Later this afternoon April and I went for a walk in a park nearby and came home to a surprise birthday party with most of Sofie's family. With big smiles they serenaded April with a sonorous Danish birthday song before we tucked into two delicious cakes. April's 24th birthday has been full of surprises and friendly faces for sure.

Sofie is able to make helpful things and people appear out of nowhere and proved it again by borrowing April, Rowan and I bicycles for our stay. Her big gifts to April were tickets for the four of us to go to a dance performance tonight across town. At dusk we unlocked our steeds and prepared to commute like the Danes do. There are more bikes Copenhagen than cars, bike infrastructure and support is just as large and important as any other infrastructure, this is known in the design world as BIKE CITY, so riding bikes and riding them well is important for us to manage. Unfortunately, the three out of towners are not so experienced and had bikes made for ladies at least a few inches taller than ourselves which made us look a bit like baby horses riding bikes made for giraffes. We wobbled up to speed tried not to disrupt normal traffic too much.

Biking through Copenhagen at night after the show was lovely if a little daunting. The evening was quintessentially springy- crisp after a warm day. There was very little car traffic and we rode home through the calm city. Tomorrow we are driving into the country to visit Sofie's parent's and see a bit more of the country outside Copenhagen . I am excited and sleepy. Goodnight!