Sønerborg - Where Denmark meets Germany

  Sønerborg, Denmark
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

                                                                                                                  
Lars's half Aunty & Uncle own and run one of Denmark's top Cabaret Theatres in place called Sønerborg, just on the tip of Germany's border. With the close family connections, we were invited to come down to attend a night performance of their yearly summer sell out production 'Sønerborg Rebut'. A small group of 6 actors showcasing around 20 humorous short skits, all written by Lars uncle, a famous cabaret scriptwriter. So a trip down the other end of Denmark, staying in a hotel with dinner and a buffet break (oh heaven!), attending this performance, and not paying for anything...now that was my kind of trip!! The only hitch in the works in coming to see the show - shame I wouldn't be able to understand anything!! mmmmmm
 
Well Wednesday 11th July rolled around and after a group breaky at our apartment of Æble og Rosiner Pankager (Apple and Raisin pancakes...pretty delish!), we headed off for the 3-4 hour trip from the tip of Denmark to the very end......but please note for those who may ever take that scenic trip, fast driving was in play, so normally it would be 5ish hours. 
After a few 'Tis' stops (pee stops) to break up the journey, a name I found continually humorous (and still do when the kids at the club say 'Wait, I need to go for a tis!), and a few hours of shut eye, we came into Sønerborg. Again another pretty city to put on the list for Denmark's top spots and the city that Lars I was told was born. As you enter Sønerborg, you are greeted with a huge water channel that cuts the city into two, with yachts and pirate like ships cruising up and down making their way to and from the Bridge which is like the gateway not only for cars to enter the inner city, but also for boats to Germany waters.....or as some like to put it booze heaven.
Over the bridge, we went to the Hotel and took the chance to get some lunch and sightsee around. To start with, conveniently right across from our hotel, was the Sønerborg Palace, built sometime in the early centuries overlooking the water, where a prince was forced to live and was under house arrest for a serous crime. If I had to be on house arrest, this was I suppose an 'agreeable' option: water views, home cooked meals, satin seats, yeah pretty cosy I think. Walking onwards by the harbour, it felt very 'old world sea town' like. Timber ships like that of the Endeavour were anchored along the cobbled roadway, with cute two storey cottages & cafes painted Ikea yellow and grey meandering alongside. One thing that I noticed was the architecture and shaping of the houses and buildings in Sønerborg was very different to what I have seen in Denmark thus far. A lot of tall, flat buildings with a roof not like that of a typical house, more like a hat, nicely moulded and curved over the house. Apparently due to German influence. With Germany being so close, back in the early days there were a lot of Germans living there and so a lot of the town reflects both cultures.
Continuing along the water you could see the old docks and small boats that were commonly known as the ´Booze boats' 10 years ago, taking people over the German border to buy cheap grog (yeah if you want cheap drinks, Germany was and still is the hotspot), and sail back again...a little more merrier.
 
With a bit of an appetite, we had lunch at the university overlooking the water. Now for lunch from the Danish I could read, I understood (well thought) that you fill up your plate from the salad buffet and pay a set price for the plate. So off I went like a kid in a lolly store, and stacked my plate up. Now when I say stacked, I mean stacked. Yeah unfortunately when I am in the presence of a buffet, I do make the most of my money. Past trips to Sizzler, has formed my all you can eat buffet ways, so there I was walking over to the counter to pay with my mountain high plate of tucker. I quickly noticed the others I was with, seem to go light on their takings and with the buffet closing it wasn't like I could quickly hide my plate and start again, or do a Mr Bean and start shoving half my food into the vases or under the tables. I can only think what Lars Dad was thinking when my plate was weighed!! Yeah so much for my bloody Danish, yeah you paid for the plate's weight of food. So like someone weighing themselves at a Weight watchers meeting, nervously watching the weight number go up and down, hoping that it will come out low, I was a tad embarrassed when it came out that my freaking plate of food equalled the total price of the other threes lunch! Ohhhh, thanks sizzler!

After lunch, we walked back to the hotel along the water once again. On the way, you wouldn't believe how many swans we saw. I later learned the swan is the National Bird of Denmark. Yeah I also thought that was a little odd, having seen quite a few in Australia. I always thought a national bird was one that was uniquely found and linked to the country but then again who would have thought you would find a Tasmanian Devil over here in a zoo. (Well it was a wedding present to Mary apparently).



So as the day was closing to an end and the night's entertainment was drawing closer, we all got ready for dinner and the Sønerborg Rebut, to which rumour had it that a famous Duke was also attending. Oh la la, if I can't meet Mary, a Duke would do!! Dinner was a communal buffet of about 100 people at least. Long tables of 20 lined a huge conference room with bread rolls and smoked herring plates placed across them. The buffet was simple and not the most vegetarian friendly but did the job. Whilst we were eating I kept looking around the room for his Excellency, the Duke but no body guards or red carpet in sight. Eeew! And my disappointment continued on,  once we did actually spot him and his wife entering the Auditorium, he was just an average looking man actually and as Lars mentioned to me, his publicly notorise nose was probably is the most interesting thing about him.
 
In the Auditorium, we sat down and while the lights dimmed I just hoped that the Danish Vocab I knew now would pay off in this Danish only speaking performance. Welllllll it didn't, ask me what they said and I wouldn't have the foggiest BUT it was extremely entertaining! While I had no blooming idea what they were saying, fake laughing when the rest of the audience laughed, heheh, it was on the other hand very dramatic in the way they brought across each skit. Dancing, singing, huge props, waterguns being squirted on the audience, it was great! And what was even better was having the chance to go backstage to meet the stars after the show. Yeah again, couldn't say much but just the fact we where there, enough said hey...(stupid star struck fan I know!)
 
The next day, it was time to head home..but not without BREAKY! Now only my sis, Mads could probably understand this, but a buffet breakfast can always make or break a hotel experience. I think it all began when I was like 10 years old, where mum, Mads and my grandparents went to Goofys Kitchen in LA, USA. With Minnie Mouse holding my hand, I was just in awe of how many things one place could fit on a buffet for breakfast...20 cereals, 7 types of toast, pancakes, killer doughnuts, pastries, fruit, eggs, meats, jams, you name it they had it. Soooo as you can tell breakfast is definitely my favourite meal of the day, and being the first buffet in Europe I was going to try, I was very keen to get started. Now unfortunately (to me) the Danish love their savoury mornmad (breakfast): rundstukker (fresh bread rolls), sliced cheese and sliced meats, so half the buffet was taken with this 'favourite'.... But my mmmmm, was taken away by the fact they have the best muesli over here, full of nuts and dried fruits. Fresh fruit is quite limited, together with if you want scrambled eggs and toast.....they have no toasters, toast isn't a big thing in Denmark I have found. (What I would kill to have fresh hot piece of toast with vegemite mmmm.) But they do have unlimited Nutella and Choc milk for the chocoholics, and I discovered to my delight these delicious home made German Fruit Rolls that are like fruit toast smack full of hazelnuts and almonds, so having one with honey was heaven. I could have went up a few more times for more, but unfortunately Lars's family aren't a 'buffet go & make the most of your dollar' type family, so my rounds were kept limited. But at least the handbag came in handy to take a few more of those rolls for the trip home  (Please note: I am not as breaky psycho as I may sound)


Leaving Sønerborg, we stopped at a historic landmark called Dybbelmølle. This was where a very large battle took place in the 1800's between Germany and Denmark. The windmill and flagpole that you can see in the picture, together with a museum memorate this sacred spot.
At first I thought it was a bit odd that the country memorates a battle..where they didn't win, but then they lost quite a lot of soldiers and forms an important mark in Denmark's history. Just watch out tourists for that fence rimming the museum's...a bit too war-like....seriously could take someone's eye out!


5 minutes from there ¨continuing on in the car, I noticed two tall black towers, very much like the two towers in the Lord of the Rings, standing randomly in the middle of a green field. Asking what they were, Ula started telling me the story taking place in the 2nd world war of a young couple who were expecting their first child. Unfortunately with the country at war, the young man was called away to fight. It broke his heart to leave his pregnant sweetheart and maybe missing the chance to be there when se gave birth. Before he went he made one request to his wife. That if he was away when she gave birth that she would organise a tall tower to be built to mark the birth so upon his return he could see from afar that he a was a father. When the war was over and he did make the long return home, he smile in glee when he came upon the last leg of the journey. From a distance he could see he was a father. Not only did his love give birth and have a tower built, there were two towers. He was a father of twins. (Nice plot for a movie don't you think??)



We continued out trip home, and we had to kind of put the pedal to the metal as Lars had to get back to work later that afternoon. And wasn't that expression taken literally! I have never been so scared in my life. Once we got onto the 3 lane highways it was 60km......  80km..... 100km..... 130km (hey we can only go up to 12okm, help!)...150km, my hand grip on the seat belt gets tighter and tighter, then you see a car up front, slow down I thought, slow down, ok the car is now 20m away slow down! My adrenaline would have bounced off the radar as we stop 10cm from the bumper of the other car in front, only braking 5m out! Oohh, thank god for good breaks cause I swear we were dead. Now once of that would be enough but it happened all throughout the trip home..high speed, until a car was just in front and then the breaks at the last possible second, ooh all I could think about was Princess Diana and when the next Tis stop was! And what made it scarier was that that's how Bent drives normally on open road, like a Grandpre speed racer! It was a wonder on the way down I never noticed anything, but I was sleeping between stops so I never noticed the fact my face was pulled back from the wind with my hair blowing a gale (hehhe, ok maybe up beating that a bit) but hey for those adrenaline junkies out there, just get in the car with this guy. And the ironic thing is he is the most unlikely person to be speeding like that. A highly ranked teacher, with a proper and gentle manner, who would ever have thought there was a Van Diesel inside when it came to driving.....so from there on I am just going to hopefully stick to the suburban streets with Bent.
 
 
The Insiders Report
FOOD & DRINK - Have had the chance to try a few new things on this trip like....
 
-         Blomster Vand: Mineral water, no bubbles, with flower syrup infused into it.....verdict: scent-smacking-sationsal!!!! A Kate Yummeroo star there.
-         Nutella & Chocolate Milk: Ok they are found all over the world but these two average products are sooooooooooooooooooooooo popular over here. They are everywhere, even making its way to breakfast buffets as I reported earlier, right to the point where bakeries have huge fridges stocked with Matilda (Chocolate Milk) and Nutella Sachets for those who come in for a fresh bread roll.
-         Chocolate Thins: Now this kiddie favourite is pretty much similar to just spreading Nutella on you bread, but instead, after spreading on your butter, these thin chocolate squares are then place on top. Not a huge fan, to me it's just like eating a piece of chocolate with bread. Pretty much its cheese, sliced meats/fish or chocolate that you have on your bread usually over here.