The German-Pole Sightsees in Tallinn.
Continue reading “The Dog Sitter Made Me Go To Tallinn. The Conclusion.”
Making Helsinki Great Again!
It began innocently enough.
The Danish language cracked us up. Part “IKEA-German” (Jack and I made that up), part French, and mostly incomprehensible. The -er suffix was applied liberally, too: butikk-er, parkk-er, toilett-er…you get the idea.
About an hours’ train ride north of Copenhagen is the village of Helsingør, at the tip of North Zealand. In Helsingør sits Kronborg Slot, an immense fortification at the tip of the 4-kilometer wide strait separating Denmark and what is now Sweden, but at one time was part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Shakespeare fans will recognize this castle from Hamlet, in the village of Elsinore.
The castle also played a role in the facilitating the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis. As a military coastal lookout, the Danish military in the castle confirmed that the Russian cargo ships carrying nuclear missiles had actually reversed course and were returning to the Soviet Union. How about that!
Having felt that we’d seen enough of Copenhagen to be “happy,” Jack and I spent the remainder of our time in Denmark elsewhere. Our first field trip was to fjord country and the village of Roskilde. Another common misperception is that of the “fjord.” No, we did not see tall glacial peaks this far south; instead, blue tidal marsh areas that reminded us of our favorite places on Cape Cod.
The Roskilde Domkirke is home to the burial crypts of every Danish king since the 10th century. Construction was underway at the cathedral for the chapel and burial crypt locations of the current Danish Queen and Prince Consort, a little unnerving given that both royals are still living. Then again, we are American and not at all accustomed to royal protocols and planning.
We are two extremely fortunate parents. Both of our children truly enjoy spending time with us, and the feeling is mutual. With Jack’s time in Europe now winding down there remained a couple of places on his bucket list, one of them being Copenhagen. Because he was on IB exam study break last week, and more importantly, because he is pulling a most respectable grade point average heading into IB finals, we were okay with him taking a pause from his studies. So off to Denmark he and I jetted.
Continue reading “Denmark: The Danes are Crazy Happy People!”
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