Holidaymaking with the Danes

After having endured a summer that hardly deserved that appellation, it was truly refreshing to get a taste of the Danish experience. All in all we spent twelve days and nights with our Scandinavian ethnic cousins, and reaped many benefits from our various encounters with all things Danish.

Danes are renowned for their laid-back attitude and their generally positive outlook on life, but having been badly hit by the recent global financial crisis, our various camp ground hosts, and restaurant owners and museum staff were probably more than pleased to have us as their guests - particularly as short-lived spells of sun were continually being bullied by unwelcome bouts of massive downpour. Despite the too familiar showers of rain, our skin still evinced the signs of successful tans after only a few short visits to the local beach.


LIVING OTDOORS - VOLUNTARILY


Camping in our spacious family tent has become a fovurite of mine, and that's why I've successfully developed a sturdy resistance to the adverse effects of bad weather on my general mood. In addition, as I usually don't get to spend too many hours outdoors during the year, so the season of holidaymaking represents a welcome opportunity to savour sights and sounds that walls and windows conspire to block out.


And since camping is by far much cheaper than  staying in hotel rooms, it also allows for some bigger spending. No, I'm not a seasoned consumer, a capricious shopaholic bent on the bargain wherever I go, but I do appreciate having the monetary muscles  to indulge in a tactile souvenir or two. That's why I jouyfully entered the Kronen coffeeshop on one of our city centre strolls, in Aalborg, and promptly purchased two small bags with flavoured coffee. They're still here with me in my house, but my precious beans won't outlive me. I'll see to it that our future guests also get to know the Danish knack for enjoying the good life.


OBSERVING DENMARK THE PEDESTRIAN WAY


We never intended to see the King's city, Copenhagen (the Danes have a Queen now), but we dithered down the charming and cosy inner-city pedestrian areas of Odense, Århus as well as Aalborg - our pace at no point in time being challenged by need or force. This was, after all, our two-week vacation where we were treated to some wonderful time off; time to be spent on just enjoying each others company; time that would not return if we let it go by without even half-attempting to squeeze something sensible out of it.


But we did spend it wisely, and so we got to experience the family atmosphere of Legoland, the wondrous halls of the Gammel Estrup castle dating back to the early 17'th century, and we didn't miss either a short visit to the ancestral grounds of the world-famous Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen. A museum in his honour has long since been in place in the Old Town area of Odense. This author of hundreds of tales is outranked by none, as his works have been translated into more than 160 languages. Yes, he's the man behind the "Emperor's new clothes" and numerous other works of art.


DENMARK: I''M A FAN!


We just may return someday to a country so lacking in mountains and waterfalls, but so amazingly rich in so many other ways. And, uh, did I tell you that my cousin, lives there, holding a citizenship? Previously, I found that slightly difficult to accept, as being Norwegian-born is nothing to be ashamed of. But I've forgiven him now. Denmark is a truly delightful place to be. At least for twelve days.