9-21-03 Aalsmeer Netherlands
Denmark is a very beautiful country, but it’s also very expensive. Gas was over $1.25 a liter, that’s near five dollars a gallon. Maybe more if I was exact with the conversion from Euro to US Dollars. The world has been voting on the American economy and the value of the dollar continues to drop. I don’t blame Bush for that… I blame him for a lot of other things, but the economy was in the toilet before he came along. Anyway, we knew that Northern Europe was going to be very expensive, so we planned to spend a limited time up here, while still seeing the places we wanted to visit. Like much of Germany, Denmark looks freshly scrubbed, no trash or litter, no old cars abandoned, no untrimmed grass, or houses needing fresh paint. And quaint, by god there is quaintness everywhere. Thatched roofs, windmills, Disney could not compete. Denmark is the tomato of countries, mostly water. Modern new bridges connect islands along major routes, and the ferry system is very efficient. We crossed several bridges on the way to Langerland, a cucumber shaped island, to Ristinge, a small village on a narrow point of land, where Claus Nielsen, my Grandfather, was born. It seems have become a summer destination for windsurfers and beach lovers. There were many large homes that looked fairly new, built in the old fashion style.
A thatcher was at work installing a thatched roof on a new home as we drove by. The thatching is very thick, made up of bundles of straw woven and lashed to a wooden framing. The fresh roof was yellow, but we could see that the thatch soon ages to a deep dark brown. We found the small harbor where a fisherman was organizing his nets. In a local guidebook we read that the sea trout population has been growing due to the government’s efforts. It's great to think that somewhere in the world there are people who care what is happening to the oceans, and are actually doing something about it.
We visited the famous Ristinge beach, well, famous in the windsurfing community anyway. A bit cold and blustery the day we were there. I tried to image what life must have been like for a young Danish man a hundred plus years ago. The choices seem to have been milking cows or going to sea in small boats to catch fish.
`
5:15:32 PM 
|
|
