Outing

Stig, Henrik, Tanja, and Thomas, and of course myself piled into a couple of cars and drove to the other side of this island of Sjælland. That is where a lot of Danes have a summer cottage and we went to visit Henrik's and Stig's folks' summer places. Basically, throughout our time there we were either preparing food, horsing around, having a beer, sleeping, or going for a walk. Such an itinerary as that could not be beat. There were a couple of highlights among those events. One was mowing the lawn. It was just funny because while Tanja read a book, each of us had either a lawn mower, a rake, or a pair of scissors, and we were going around the yard with until the place looked like a golf green. After that we played a kind of soccer-golf game which was a lot of fun. Another highlight was on the first night when we went for a night walk to the beach. That was very relaxing and also memorable. Outside of those default things that we did, there were also a couple of highlights. We went to visit Stig's parents' place that was maybe a 15 minute drive away. We had an absolutely amazing meal of smørrebrød consisting of mackerel and these fish meatball things with all the toppings. The meal was interrupted occasionally by celebratory shots of a sweet Danish liqueur. After the meal, Stij's dad, Jorgen, took us on a walk to the beach. I really wasn't expecting anything much, but went we got there I was nearly blown away. The wind was so strong it was difficult to keep my eyes open. Also, the view was like a painting. The ocean was three or four different shades of blue. The weather was different in each direction. There were only a handful of people on the beach. Clothing was optional. The high winds made shimmering ripples of sand race along the beach, and the tall grass on the dunes waved as they passed. The air was warm, the water was cold. We lingered a bit and then walked for a ways along the beach with the wind at our face.After the beach, we returned to the house for coffee and dessert. The next day, before leaving, we went to a town called Rørvij where there was a wharf-side seafood eatery and a couple of ice cream places. After ordering the food, I walked outside and and then stopped in my tracks. Squinting for a bit, I confirmed that the guy standing near me was in fact Bernd from the boat concert. I approached him and he said "small country, eh?" I guess so.

I had a kind of fish burger that did not resemble a burger like those in the States. The fish was topped in the Danish tradition with tons of shredded lettuce and Remoulade. It was awesome. The fries were crisp, salty, and delicious. We got some ice cream and stood by the docks as a large-ish ferry came into port. The wind was relentless. As we walked back to the car, I noticed a sign that I still get a kick out of: Stop Her! heh heh

On the ride back to Copenhagen, I took a picture of some wind turbines and then I lay across the back seat and slept. When I awoke we were back in Valby, at Stig's place. As I write, it is the next day and I have several exciting things planned for these last couple of days before I leave this beautiful country (and go to yet another beautiful country).