Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Amsterdam


Central Station
Originally uploaded by GailJ.
The last leg of my trip was a quick stop in Amsterdam. I had a long, 6 hour layover there, so I contacted my friend Bill Jorgensen, who was in my Danish class many years ago.
Bill and Ponos met me at the airport at a very early 7:30 am and we went directly to Amsterdam central. After a good 'English' breakfast we were off to see the Van Sough museum. We had a lovely time in the museum and got to see so many really famous paintings. I have been to Amsterdam many times in the past, but I had never been to this museum. It is a must if you go.
There was a problem with the trains, so we couldn't take too much time for touring and I didn't get a lot of pictures. After the museum, it was back to the airport and I picked up some last minute postcards. I have been sending Grandma a postcard about every 4 days, so I had to get it done in Amsterdam as well.

The flight was LONG but uneventful. Thank goodness for the individual movie screens and the choice of many movies and tv shows to keep me from too much boredom! I just wonder why it took about an hour more to fly home from Amsterdam than it did to fly there? Hmm! It was 1 hour extra I had to sit by the very smelly bathroom.

I want to once again thank everyone I visited for their hospitality. I had a wonderful time and really miss you all! Please come and visit me soon! It was wonderful to see everyone and I enjoyed seeing all the kids! That was the best part of my trip. I got to see everyone again. It is too long between visits!

I hope everyone enjoyed following along. I will be back to work on Monday, darn!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Last Days in Denmark


Vor Frelser Kirke
Originally uploaded by GailJ.
I have been so busy these last days since returning to Copenhagen, I just haven't had time to update. I hope that everyone has been following along and enjoying the trip!

I returned to Copenhagen on Thursday afternoon and just relaxed the day away. Friday, the touring began again!

Camilla and I started the day at the Botanical Gardens in Copenhagen. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed walking through the many exhibits in the conservatory there. I had fun seeing some things similar to the Como Zoo and some things that were different. We did a little shopping afterward and met Amalie, Camilla's younger sister for a bit more shopping in Roskilde. (It was more 'gift' shopping than real shopping!) We then headed out to their dad's place in the country for dinner. Carsten, Camilla's dad, his wife, Anne, Grandmother, Birgit and her friend were all there to meet us. We had a wonderful dinner and evening.

Friday started off early, because I headed back to Sweden for just a few hours. I have a 5 day Eurail pass, but the train conductors haven't been marking it, so I had a few extra days on the pass. I still have only 2 days used on my pass, but I took 7 days of trips! I really got my money's worth on that pass. Anyway, I went back to Malmo for some Skogaholmslimpa. I was very successful in my search. I brought my then empty blue duffel bag with me and came back with a lot of limpa! Customs is going to wonder about me!!! Teri will enjoy it though and my freezer can hold most of it.
Once I got back with my now, 27 pound bag, Camilla and I went in search of Smørrebrød, which we found, after walking about 3 miles. I love Smørrebrød. It is a traditional Danish sandwich. They are as beautiful as they are good.
If the 5 miles I walked between the trainstations in Copenhagen and Malmo weren't enough, I finally got to do a little more. Camilla and I were off after our lunch to the Vor Frelser Kirke to hike up the tower of 400 steps. My sister Teri has wanted to do this for the past 5 trips to Denmark and has always been unsuccessful. I was able to do it. Well, we missed about the last 10 steps, since the stairs were so narrow (about 12 inches wide) and only about 3 feet of head room. ´We made it as far as our size would allow anyway. After this hike, my feet are officially done walking and I was tired of stairs, but Europe doesn't agree. I think that my planned trip to NY and the Statue of Liberty will now be a breeze!!There are stairs EVERYWHERE!!!!
We made it home for a quick dinner and off to see Harry Potter. (Yes, there was more walking, and stairs involved.

Today, Camilla's grandparents picked us up and we did a bit more castle touring. We visited Fredericksborg castle, which was pretty amazing. We also had a walk by of the Fredenborg castle where the Crown Prince lives (He will be the next King).

I am getting all my packing done now. I came with 2 suitcases. One with my clothes and one just with gifts. They each weighed in at 42 & 48 pounds each. I thought I would be back to one suitcase, but no, I have 2. My suitcases is full of limpa and only the bag with the limpa weighs over 40 lbs, which is now in my big suitcase. I put my clothes in the duffel and the clothes only weigh about 25 pounds. Hmm, where did all that weight go? Scrapbooks and red cups, for sure!!!

I will be having a 6 hour lay over in Amsterdam on my way home, so my friend Bill will be picking me up at the airport tomorrow, for a short visit. I will do that last update about that time when I get home.

I hope everyone has enjoyed following along and seeing the pictures. I will see those of you in Minneapolis, soon!

Thank you to all my hosts. It has been great seeing everyone and enjoying their wonderful hospitality. I want everyone to come and see me soon! It is too long between visits.