Denmark

Several months ago, Andrew was on a work trip in San Antonio.  He was done with his work day and was spending time at the River Walk.  He called me and said, "This is so neat and you never get to have adventures like this by yourself.  I think you should go to Denmark and visit Jayne."  What?  Seriously?  Before he had time to change his mind, I worked out some dates with Jayne and booked a ticket.  :)

Jayne is one of my dearest friends and moved to Denmark over a year ago.  I've missed her like crazy.  I was SOOOO excited to spend time with her AND visit a new part of the world.  The trip exceeded all my expectations.

It didn't get off to a good start, however.  As soon as I walked into the airport, I found out that my flights were delayed and would need to be rerouted.  This is commonplace for Andrew and me.  I didn't expect anything different. But that didn't make it any easier to hear.

The upside?

I got to fly into Newark and see the NYC skyline for the first time.

 Awesome!

I even got a peek at Lady Liberty...

with my 40x zoom through the girl's window across the plane.  :)

Unfortunately, I was supposed to arrive in Denmark mid-morning on Friday, but instead didn't get in until 5 pm.  Boo.  I was REALLY upset that the airlines had stolen one of my vacation days.  But my pleas to their employees were in vain.  I decided I might as well make the most of my extended layover in the Amsterdam airport.

There are worse places to be stranded.  

They had a cute little museum

 with works of some of the Dutch masters.

They also had lots of cushy couches to take naps, a library,

 and a live foot spa where you can let the fishes eat the dead skin off your feet.

I wasn't brave enough to try it, but thought it looked cool.

In exchange for making me lose half a day of my vacation,

my airline treated me to lunch.

Thank you, KLM.

I ordered a water with my lunch.

Well, apparently they don't give out ice water in Europe.

I got this cool glass bottle instead.

 I made sure to get dessert, too.

Delicious!

After six hours in the airport, I finally got on a flight

and caught my first glimpse of Denmark.

I was so excited!

I love all the red tile roofs.
Can you see the white church on the right hand side?
Very typical Danish.

So, so good to see Jayne!!
Hooray!

The first item on our list:

exploring downtown Aalborg.

They had cute shops with colorful wares.

It was our lucky day because generally all the shops are closed up by 5:30.

But it was a festival night, so the streets were hopping.

Lots of fun people watching.

Including these folks in wooden masks,

this unicycling fire juggler,

and a group of kids dancing.

(B would have fit in well.)

Other sights:

Lots and lots and lots of bikes.

Aalborg is right on the fjord, so we saw some cool boats, too.

 Loved these cobblestone streets.

And they ended in this charming little nook of yellow buildings.

We eventually made our way to a little cafe where we stalked

the other customers until someone finished at their outdoor table

so we could take it as soon as they would done.

Then we went home and I hit the sack.
Six hour time difference.
Enough said.

On Saturday, we took a little road trip up to the coast.

 First stop:  Saeby (pronounced say-boo) to see the church there.

 There it is at the end of the lane.

The oldest parts of this church were built in the 1400's.

Four.teen.hun.dreds.  Whoa.

 Many of the Danish churches have ships hanging from the ceilings.

A shout out to their sailing heritage.

This one also had pretty frescoes on the ceiling.

Next, we visited The Sunken Church, near Skagen (pronounced scane).

 Because of shifting sand dunes, all that's left above
ground is the church tower.

We climbed up a teeny tiny spiral staircase and

caught this view of the coastline.

Then we were off to the northernmost point in continental Europe,

just north of Skagen.

 Love that beautiful sea scape.

 

We had gorgeous weather.

Perfect for dipping our toes in the water.

This is the place where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea collide.

Awesome!

And, as a HUGE bonus for me,

we got to see a baby seal sunning itself on the beach.

Are. you. kidding. me???

Dream come true.

After enjoying a delicious seafood dinner,

we headed home, driving down the other coast.

 A bit of history that I learned...
During WWII, Germany took over Denmark and built bunkers
(like the one above) all along the coastline to attack their enemies.
The Danes have left these bunkers in place as a reminder of what
they went through during the war.  We stopped at a bunker museum
in Hirtshals.  It was getting dark, so we didn't get to see much.

They also have this beautiful lighthouse at Hirtshals.

And, that was the first half of my amazing whirlwind vacation.  And this post is really long.  So, I'll save the rest for another day.