Christmas in Denmark
Trip Start
Aug 15, 2007
1
8
91
Trip End
Jun 01, 2012
Copenhagen, Denmark
Monday, December 24, 2007
We were all very excited to be able to spend Christmas with our dear friends... the Rosendahl family... Carsten, Christina, their wonderful son Mads Emil and their two lovely daughters, Mathilde and Emelina... I have used the words quaint and cozy to describe this idyllic place... even though they don't quite seem to do it justice... To describe it more appropriately would take one to imagine themselves stepping into a nostalgic painting...
When stepping out of the Rosendahl home one finds themselves with numerous options for adult desired serenity, or KID PLAYGROUND!!!... a welcomed luxury for parents and CHILDREN alike... within moments you can find yourself lazily walking the shoreline of the Baltic sea searching for shells and weathered rocks... looking out at the ghostly forms of fog muted ships passing through the strait between Denmark and Sweden, or KICKING SAND AT YOUR FELLOW WALKERS... PICKING UP EMPTY SHELLS AND SMASHING THEM ON THE ROCKS... RUNNING THE WATERS EDGE... BEING CHASED BY WAVES... WHILE FLICKING A BIT OF WATER AT YOUR FRIEND... Walking in another direction leaves one immersed in a beautiful pine and hardwoods forest blanketed with numerous varieties of vibrantly green colored mosses and small ponds bubbling with various waterfowl, or GRABBING A STICK TO RIP OPEN THE MOSS AND THROW IT AT YOUR BROTHER... MAKING A RUN FOR IT BEHIND A TREE, WHILE QUICKLY BREAKING BRANCHES OFF TO WHIP AT YOUR ONCOMING ATTACKER... AFTERWARDS, SNEAKING UP TO THE DUCKS IN THE POND AND SCARING THE LIVING HELL OUT OF THEM... Another option was to simply take a meandering stroll down the narrow road in front of their house... ending up in a small village scattered with traditional thatched roofed homes gently puffing smoke from their aged chimneys... or GO RUNNING DOWN THE ROAD WHILE KICKING ROCKS AND SCREAMING "YOU CAN'T CATCH ME" TO THE PERSON YOU HAD JUST SMACKED IN THE BUTT... MAKING ENOUGH NOISE TO BRING THE INHABITANTS OF THE HOMES TO THEIR WINDOWS... CURIOUSLY PEEKING OUT AT THE ENSUING CHAOS... If a danish and a cup of coffee was desired, it was found by following a simple dirt path at the end of their street... leading to an opening in the forest, complete with a reflection pond spilling out a small stream... flowing past the wooden wheels of an old mill... or RUNNING LIKE A MAD MAN DOWN THE PATH... GRABBING A STICK FOR A SWORD FIGHT... AFTERWARDS SMASHING THE ICE THAT HAD FORMED ON THE EDGE OF THE POND OVERNIGHT... WHILE SCARING THE DUCKS INTO TAKING REFUGE IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT POND... all of these settings were perfumed with the fresh and brisk smell of the sea... and the sounds of children playing...
The most desired and favored aspect of this setting was that we had 10 days to spend with close friends... whose special friendships are more rare and treasured than the setting in which they reside...
A little better than a decade ago, Debra and I sold most of our "stuff", paid off our bills and embarked on a journey around the world... we left the states via Chicago, IL and returned back in through Los Angeles, CA... 14 months later... While on this journey we met a young and adventurous couple at the Copenhagen Airport... on route to India... same as us... Christina and Carsten...
Two couples... two journeys... spending time together... sharing many hardships and joys along the way...
Our close bond has been forged through the many past experiences that we have shared together... and the continuation of these as we have become parents... expanding our friendships to and amongst our children...
A few of those common memories that have been shared are...
Landing in India together... splitting the cost of a taxi ride into New Delhi... with a one armed driver weaving around rickshaws , cows and throngs of people...
Pissed as hell... but eventually laughing at the man that threw shit on Christina's shoes... a marketing ploy to force her to spend money for him to clean it off...
Sitting on the rooftop of an Agra, India hotel... watching the colors of the Taj Mahal change with the setting of the sun... enjoying a cool lassi and lively conversation... while watching a group of monkeys travel their treetop highway on route to our oasis... abruptly being chased off by this gang of thugs, as they curled back their lips to reveal their formidable fangs... leaving our food behind for them to feast...
Sleeping in a hut on the edge of Kanha Tiger Reserve... trying hard to heed the warnings of not using the toilet in the evening... being the bushes or tall grass behind the hut... for fear of tiger attacks... It didn't help that we were told that a few villages go missing every year...
The bus ride from hell out of central India... a five hour span of blurry vision... rain showers coming through the broken windows... mud sputtering and spraying upwards from the holes in the flooring... the leprocy infected begger entering the bus... pushing his bandaged appendages closer and closer until given baksheesh... or food...
Inadvertently bumping into each other in Nepal, as they had just finished a Himalayan trek and we were about to begin ours... good food shared under banana palms... a row boat ride and a refreshing swim... and endless hours of conversation...
Hooking up for a relaxing spell in Bangkok, Thailand... processing the highs and lows of our journeys... while eating pineapples and Thai food...
Attending Carsten and Christina wedding and witnessing the exchanging of vows and rings in a rural Danish setting... eating, drinking and laughing into the evening... while sitting around a massive table at a historic Inn...
Enjoying the playful interaction between little Carsten and big Carsten's father...
Meeting C & C's young son Mads Emil for the first time on their journey to the States... laughing at his head strong behavior... realizing that those apples never seem to fall too far from the trees with which they come...
Canoeing in the Boundary Waters in Minnesota... catching frogs with the kids... and making smores after a hike in the hills overlooking Lake Superior...
Watching the kids play in the water and on the rocky shores of Lake Superior... in their birthday suits... a hardy little naked bunch...
Evening drives on the back roads of northern MN... in an effort to see a Moose crossing the road...
Seeing the five Rosendahl's strolling up at Helsingor's train station... as they picked us up to spend Christmas together...
Watching the children laugh, play and negotiate... while bridging the language barrier with contorted gestures, wide smiles and widely opened eyes...
Dancing around THE Griswald Family Christmas tree... while singing songs...
Early morning rolls and coffee... as the household slowly came alive...
Watching the looks in the eyes of the children as they opened their Christmas presents...
Emelina's subtle grunts and squeaks... as she emerged from her fresh air slumbers...
Toasting off a bottle of Aquavit and munching on pickled herring... and the lively conversations that ensued from this mysterious elixir...
Late night dips in the North Sea... and the quick dashes back to shore... to dry off and get dressed before hypothermia set in...
An evening at Tivoli Gardens... the pleasure of watching the children run, play, laugh and build closer bonds...
Donning Viking dress and swords at the Viking Museum in Roskilde...
Shopping the narrow streets of Helsingor... always on the lookout for another delicious Danish pastry...
Talking... laughing... cloudy skies... sharing... eating... Danish design
... biking... video games... train rides... boat rides...
eating... cleaning...
sword fights on the beach... ancient castles...
... making sand castles...
morning hair...Mathilde's beautiful artwork...
cheese and rye bread...
cobbled walkways...
thatched roofs...
slide show...
planning our next adventure together...
Comments
Lovely...
*Now stepping out of the painting and back to reality* Keep up the wonderful descriptive writing!