Back in the DK!!

I (I should say we, meaning Eva and her boyfriend Peter) arrived back in Copenhagen yesterday in the late afternoon.  I am now with my friend Sofie whom I worked with in Florida.  She lives in the south of Sealand in Vordingborg.  It took a little over an hour to get here by train.  Since I have arrived I feel as if I have been treated like royalty by her family.  They have a beautiful farm!!  They have owned it for 8 years and built the house on it and did all the landscaping themselves!!  It is like a park with all the flowers and the vegetable garden and rock landscapes.  Her parents don't speak much English and Sofie has been an excellent translator :)  Once Sofie picked me up we came back to her parent's home and caught up, the weather is Denmark has been fantastic today!!  The sun is out and very warm.  Her parent's had prepared a delicious lunch.  It seems to be very traditional for open sandwiches to eat at lunch.  I really like the nut/rye bread that is customary here.  Then you have your choice of meats and vegetables to add and it is quite tasty.  Then Sofie and I just sat outside and caught up.  It is so great to see her and it has been over a year since she left Florida and we had lots to talk about.  Then later we ate dinner in the garden.  Her parents had prepared a delicious dinner that was more like a feast fit for a king!!  Since I have been in Denmark I have been eating so much due to the generous hospitality of everyone!! After dinner Sofie and I went for a short bike ride around the neighborhood.  They live in a very beautiful area and there are trails that lead all the way down to the water.  Because they are so far south (nearly at the bottom) the water is not that far away!  There is a beautiful forest area that borders their property and a sweet little river and lake nearby.  Very pretty!!

I had a wonderful time in Sweden!!  Henrik and Harriett were so gracious and kind!  It was great to be among Eva's family.  Her older sister, Sheila and Eva's niece, Laura accompanied us.  Sheila actually picked us up in Copenhagen and drove us out to Sweden.  It was so nice to be with their family and made me miss my own. 

One of the days we went to and island called Ven which could only be reached by ferry.  It was sort of like Vashon but even smaller!  More like a village filled mainly by farms but it was so pretty with the 360 degree view of the water!!  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves walking around and taking in the sights!!  It is known as the Paradise Island of Sweden.  The ferry to the island was much smaller than what we are used to in the Pacific Northwest.  It held mostly foot passengers and could probably hold 8 cars max.  Most people had to sit outside for the ferry crossing which was about 30 mins.  Thankfully it was warm out.

Yesterday we spent some time in Malmo, Sweden.  A very cool small city.  I absolutely love the old historic buildings in Europe!!  We went to the castle in Malmo which was very cool.  As far as castles go it really doesn't compare to the ones I saw in England but who's comparing, right!?  But they had an exhibit that showed the history of Sweden with artifacts dating back to 800 B.C.  The exhibit sort of showed the timeline from the Stone age to 1800's which is around the time the castle was built.  The castle was last used as a jail in the 1800's and they had a section that portrayed the stories and lives of the different inmates and prisoners.  Crazy what life was like back in those days!! You could get arrested for being homeless!   There was also an art exhibition and we were lucky enough to stumble upon it.  It was an exhibit portraying Nelson Mandela.  Very very cool!  What an amazing man and I feel so fortunate to have been able to experience this exhibit!!  It was the first time it was being shown outside of South Africa.  There was a mock jail cell that showed you where he had spent 18 yrs!!  How that man didn't lose his mind is beyond me!!  Another section was a short wall with several phones lined up.  Each phone was a conversation re-enacting a letter that he had written with dialogue.  The prison was so strict that most of his letters never got sent but to hear his use of words and sense of expression was really amazing and awe-inspiring.  A very moving experience about a truly truly amazing man!!

I also got to see Flyinge which is a famous stallion stable that houses some of the best know stallions in Sweden.  It was a beautiful equestrian facility and the buildings were very old, dating back to the 1800's.  The property was beautifully manicured and there were several riding arenas.  So so pretty!!

Henrik and Harriet were wonderful and I feel so fortunate to have been treated like the guest of honor!  Harriett prepared an amazing dinner for us every evening and one night Henrik was the BBQ master!!  Right now I am feeling so lucky to have so many people treat me so wonderful!  It is great to be taken under their wing and shown such a great time!!  Every now and again I have to pinch myself that this is all real!

I am very tired and it's late!!  Traveling is work but I feel that I have to write every several days so as to not forget to leave anything out!!  I like writing when things are a little more fresh in my mind.  I am back in Copenhagen in 2 days and will catch you all up on what I have been up to in south Sealand.


That's all for now...