A Weekender's Weekend - Part 1 of 1

As I sit at my desk on a clear Sunday evening, dog-tired from a relentless weekend, and poised to spend all of tomorrow in the library, I finally have a chance to soak it all up for a bit. I think it's safe to say at this point in the summer that this experience has taught me a lot. I know part of traveling, part of living abroad, is the self-improvement opportunities, the clarities in thought, that can come with exposure to other cultures, and more importantly, removal from one's own. And I can say with confidence that I've made lifestyle changes based on said experiences. But this summer I've had a lot more instant-satisfaction, immediate lightblub experiences. The realizations haven't been bubbling out after brewing for months. They've come more like a clear bell ringing on bright clear morning. Anyhow, this past weekend was one full of these, and on top of that, we're in the thick of Denmark's best ten weather days of the year.

Wednesday started overcast, but eventually cleared up, making for a nice night. Josefin came from Lund for a visit, and we had lunch near Kongens Nytorv and had a fika (coffee break) at a nice place near the CBS campus. Pete, Abby, Josefin and I all headed to the Statens Museum for Kunst, Denmark's National Gallery. There were some interesting exhibits, including this collection of Turkish portraits and perspectives from the 1600s. By the time we were out, the clouds had cleared and the sun was out. We had pizza at Amigo's, this great place up the street on Finsenvj, and spent the rest of the night relaxing. It was nice to catch-up with Josefin again, and Pete and I will spend another day in Sweden next weekend.

Thursday it was class all day, then catch the train headed south for Marielyst. Marielyst is a beach town, and home to a lot of Danish summer houses. We went down to visit Rikke, a Viking, and her husband Peter and two girls, Sara and Line. Though the bus was delayed 45 minutes (a sin in Denmark) the sky was still lit when we arrived. We had pizzas and the biggest beer I've seen in Denmark (75cl) and listened to some CCR covers sang with an Elvis accent. We were set loose for the night, and we planted at Kleine, a small music bar. We ordered rounds the Danish way, a Tuborg and a shot of Fisk, and we ended up in convo with some locals. Somehow we both eventually found the place on Cypresvej 8, and woke up bright and early Friday morning for breakfast. After breakfast we went for a quick nap on the beach. The afternoon was spent at a "middle ages park", which was basically a permanent renassaince fair. We arrived just in time to see them launch the trebuchets into the river. The place was laid out like a small village, with a blacksmith and a port and a bakery, etc. There was one game, which consisted of throwing stones at two metal targets hanging from a cross. The joust began around 14:00, and Pete and I were sitting front-row 40 yardline. They split the crowd between the two jousters, and our knight ended up the victor. The loser was handed a mug of water, and he rounded the grounds, eventually riding past us. He tossed the water directly on Pete and I, successfully immersing us in middle ages culture. After a herring and pork lunch in a dimly lit eating hall, we escaped Nykobing Falster and headed back to Marielyst. One more visit to the beach, followed by the Miss Marielyst beauty pagent, and we were ready to take the bus back to the train station.

We were back in Copenhagen and home by 23:00, and ready to go out. We took the metro down to the harbour, where the SS Stubnitz was anchored. Stubnitz is an old DDR warship-turned party boat. It's a mass of twisted steel and fog lights, with three levels for drinking and dancing. It was dead when we arrived, but eventually picked up, and was overall a decent time. We were boarding a bus for Legoland at 7:30, so we were sure to get back in time to sleep a bit. 7:30 came early, and I was pretty much as tired as I could be while still functioning when the bus left. I slept most of the way to the amusement park, which is in central Jutland, Jutland being the biggest island, in the west. The weather was beautiful, and Legoland was packed. There were pretty much three kinds of people at the park: Parents, kids, and those of us who arrived on a double-decker bus from Copenhagen. Some of the rides were pretty fun, even novel, like the PowerBuilder, which allowed us to design our own ride. The highlight of the day was probably the Falck Fire Brigade. This ride is human-powered. The group hops in a fire truck, and pumps a lever to make the truck move down the street. Once on the other side, you shoot a fire hose, powered by pumping the water manually, into the burning house. The fire goes out, and you jump back in the truck, pumping to reach the other side. Pete and I watched, noticed good methods and bad, and by the time it was our turn, we pretty much had it down to a science. The other seven fire trucks stood no chance. The gate opened, and we were in the truck and across before you could say "8-year-old competition." Pete aimed the fire hose while I pumped, which was probably the most work I've done all summer. When I thought my arms might fall off, the fire went out, and we raced back to the beginning. When we finished, everyone else was still extinguishing their fires. We exchanged high-fives and posed for imaginary pictures.

I eventually tired of Legoland, the four million kids there, and the sensory overload. Which was convenient, because it was time to start heading for Nyborg, where we would spend the rest of the weekend with Viking Erik Juel, land baron and owner of Juelsberg, a massive estate just outside Nyborg. There were some problems involving ticket purchases, but we eventually arrived at the station, and Erik was there with his wife Lotte to receive us.

We had dinner at the best restaraunt in Nyborg, sitting at a patio on a quite canal. Erik and Lotte are serious travelers, having spent much of the past year in Spain, Italy, India and Indonesia. They spoke candidly about the beauty of the East, and it was especially interesting to hear about India. We sipped on a good microbrew and dined on the catch of the day, a typical Danish panfish. Then the rounds of Norwegian snaps started coming, and really only stopped with dessert and coffee. Lotte told us they were trying to make sure we'd go to bed early.

We drove just outside of Nyborg, eventually arriving at a large gate signifying the entrance into Juelsberg. The estate is massive, over 2000 acres in total, and we pulled along the side of the mansion having seen only a fraction of it. Erik showed us around the "garden", as he called it. His father had set-up a nine-hole golf course on the yard, and he encouraged us to rise early and play it. After a goodnight beer, he left us to the fridge and the first floor of the mansion. The place was built in the 18th century, and has all the original furniture, and portraits, guns, swords. You name it. We slept in the far end of the center wing.

We woke up at 6am to hit the links. We played the entire nine with a five wood, a five iron, and a child-size seven. Considering the difficulty of some of the holes, including one that required a shot over a pond and a tennis court, we did pretty well. Erik was impressed. We had a nice breakfast in the front yard, where the morning sun was already high in the sky. The stars of the show were Lotte's pancakes, though the fruit smoothies were no slouch. Erik, Pete and I then piled into the VW and headed south to visit Egeskov, a big f'n castle. Erik knows the castle's owner, a count by the name of Michael, and we pulled into the private drive just in time to help Michael move a few things into the castle. There must be some type of large-property owner social group. The castle interior was of course stunning, and my two favorite rooms were the hunting room and Rigborg's Room. The hunting room was filled with mounted big game, African and East Asian artifacts, and a spectrum of hunting weapons. Rigborg's room contained a dollhouse to rule all dollhouses called Titania's Palace. It was designed after the one described in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and it took some 15 years to complete. Crazy attention to detail. For instance, there's a bookcase full of Shakespeare, and one can actually read any of the books. Also, the cannons in the study (not sure why those are necessary) actually fire.

The rest of the castle grounds include various gardens, a huge car/motorcycle/aviation/emergency vehicle collection, and god knows what else. There is also a big hedge maze, which Pete and I survived, much to the dismay of Erik, who was watching from the watchtower in the middle. Michael comped us lunch at the restaurant and we ate while Erik told dirty jokes about parrots and Frenchmen. After lunch we drove north to visit Ladbyskibet, a Viking ship burial unearthed some years ago by a farmer. An unidentified Viking chieftain was buried in his ship with nine horses and his favorite dogs, as well as everything he needed for a pleasant afterlife.

We boarded the train in Nyborg, destined for Copenhagen and arrived in the early evening. After some beers on Nyhavn and a failed attempt to find a beach party, we paid another visit to Christiana, which I've recently been told is in serious danger of disappearing soon. Most Danes support the place, as its presence maintains the perception that Denmark is progressive and inclusive. But the powers that be consider it a smudge on the government record, and a series of events has been set in motion that could mean the end of the Freestate.

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It's Wednesday as I'm finishing this post, so I apologize for the length. Monday I spent five hours in the computer lab typing furiously, and hit a wall at page 8 of the advertising plan I'm writing for Spotted Cow. That of course made me thirsty. After a small BBQ in Kathrine's backyard, Pete and I caught a train to Hellerup. Bianca, a mutal friend and Dane studying in Madison this fall, invited us to her going-away party, which was held at her parents' gorgeous house north of Copenhagen.

Yesterday it was class all day, a bit more paper-writing, and then a train to Roskilde. Thomas, a Danish Viking from '01 or so, invited us to his home for a traditional meal of Smørrebrød. We sat with his wife and kids in front of a big spread of black bread, mayonaisse, all types of fish, vegetables, etc. He explained each combination, and the fact that smørrebrød is the lunch everyday for school-age children, and a few nights a week for the average Dane. After dinner we walked down to the beautiful Roskilde harbor and enjoyed some beers and convo by the fjord.

Today it looks like I'll make a museum visit and finish up my paper. Tonight the outdoor film clan visits Copenhagen, and we'll head out for a carless drive-in experience and Juno. My next two weeks are packed to the gills, and I have to carve out some time to write another paper. A little scary, but nothing to get excited about..