So a busy couple of weeks is coming up. Today was not so busy. Orla, Birthe and I went to pick plums to can for the winter. The plum picking was much easier than I expected. Step 1 climb the tree (see picture); Step 2 shake the tree very hard; and Step 3 pick up all the plums that have fallen to the ground (see picture). All in all a very relaxing day before heading to Skagen tomorrow. (Aug 17)

Travel day to Skagen, the most northern point of Denmark where two seas meet, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Today I took the train from Vejle to Skagen, a 4 hour trip. Then walked of about half a km to get to the B&B. The place was advertised as a B&B but without breakfast...so just a bed.....the room was very small but there was a kitchen that I could use to cook my own breakfast and dinners. It was very expensive for what it was but it was the cheapest in town at $50 per night. It is beautiful and sunny today so hopefully the weather will stay good until I head south again. (Aug 18)

I went for a walk around Skagen with an English speaking tour guide. There were only 5 of us so we had a great chance to see lots and ask questions. I have attached a picture of one of the typical houses in Skagen. You will notice that it is yellow (Skagen yellow) with a red tile roof and the roof has white outlines. The outline of the first two rows of tiles is painted white for the only reason that it looks nicer in white that in cement gray. When the roof tiles are installed the first two rows on each side must be “secured” to the frame of the house with cement and then after that the tiles interlock together and no more cement is used. The two lines of cement are painted white. Of course I was the one that asked the question.

Tonight I met my cousin Karin and her boyfriend Klaus for dinner. Klaus' mom cooked a delicious dinner featuring local seafood. The last time I saw Karin was at Christmas 1994 in Sydney, Australia. We had a chance to catch up for a couple of hours on our own before dinner and it was great. After just a few minutes it was like all those years in between never existed. (Aug 19)

So my interest in food and auctions were combined with a trip the Skagen Fiskeauktion (fish auction). 7AM in a cold damp warehouse......with lots of dead fish! Just the way to start the day. Very interesting with lots of different fish that I have never seen. After the auction I took a walk to the most northerly point of Denmark. It was very beautiful and because it was still really early in the morning there was almost no one on the beach.

After the power walk back to town (3.5KM the each way) I had a very quick and much deserved coffee before going to the Skagen Museum to see some original art from a group of artists that lived in the area during the late 1800's to the mid 1900's. The most famous are P.S. Kroyer and Michael and Anna Ancher. After all the time I have spent in Inga's home over the past 40 years I never realized some of the posters she has are by these artists. It was amazing to see the original works of art. Some of them were HUGE.

Time for a quick lunch before getting on the train and then a bus to go to Fjerritslev to see Ase and Else (Dad's brother and sister-in-law) and the rest of my cousins. I arrived in Fjerritslev without incident or trauma. Ase and Else speak no English so we had a very interesting dinner. Ase had asked his granddaughter Lynette (my second cousin who is 17) to come over and sit with us for dinner so we could at least have a bit of a chat. Lynette did a great job translating for us. After Lynette left we were on our own with my very limited Danish and a Danish/English dictionary. I am very lucky that I understand more than I speak so at least I could get an idea of what they were asking me. (Aug 20)

I spent the weekend visiting with my cousins and their families. I have not met any of their kids or spouses yet (except Lynette.) Gitte is married to Morten and they have two kids, Lynette and Soren. Henrik is married to Annette and they have two kids, Rasmus and Sine and Peter is married to Lona and they have one child, Martine. (Aug 21)

Gitte's son Soren had a football (soccer) match on Saturday in Ringkobing. Gitte, Morten and I were able to catch the “team bus” to the match. Only a two hour drive and we were there. It was a great day as I was able to see more of Denmark. Soren's team won the match 8-1. The bus driver stopped at Burger King on the way home. This was one of the times that I noticed the difference in prices. For the basic Whopper Meal it was 8 Euro (x 1.60 = $13 CAN) YIKES. I don't know how people survive with the cost of everything in Denmark.

Henrik and Annette had invited us for dinner after the football match so we spent the evening visiting with them. (Aug 22)

On Sunday Gitte, Annette, Lynette, Sine and I went to an art gallery and then to the beach. There is a beautiful old hotel and restaurant right on the beach. We could not even have a coffee at the hotel as all the tables were booked. It is very popular and very expensive.

I spent Sunday night with Ase and Else again before heading off to Copenhagen on Monday. We seemed to be able to talk better this evening. Maybe because I was not so tired and a couple of glasses of wine so I was more relaxed and not worried about how bad my pronunciation was. We had a great evening. (Aug 23)

So that is it for this entry but I have another to post in about 30 seconds.....watch for it. Copenhagen is next.

Miss you all.

Love Tove