Can you go home again?

We said a final good-bye to the water, the cool weather, and early sunrises.

We had a uneventful taxi ride to the airport with five suitcases, a tandem in an over-sized case, a bike in a bike box, and six carry-on pieces.  The Air Berlin staff was helpful and the cost for the extra pieces and extra weight was not the $600 I thought it might be.

After a short flight to Düsseldorf we spent a few remaining Euros on soccer cards (including cards from the Women's World Cup), German erasers, and lunch.  Then it was back on the plane for the 11.5 hour flight to LAX.  No one got sick, all our luggage arrived safely, and the customs person asked three questions before wishing us, "Shalom."  It doesn't get any better than that.

After a culture-shocking drive back to the inland empire (the airport traffic!  the honking!  the billboards!) we were happy to arrive at my parents-in-law's house where the beds were made, the split-pea soup was ready, and pool was inviting.  Maybe you can never go home again because there are still tenants living there!

I hope we don't constantly compare things to Denmark, but two big issues stood out to me initially (really three, but decaffeinated coffee didn't seem worthy of a whole paragraph).  I am literate!  I can speak!  I was at the store and a baby dropped something that was unnoticed by the parent.  Instead of getting the parent's attention and handing her the toy, I could get the person's attention and say an entire sentence without stammering.  I was also excited to see that all the magazines were in English!  I could eavesdrop on conversations.  The library is filled with books we can read!

The other difference is noticing how people differentiate themselves in the US by putting bumper stickers on their car, signs in front of their houses, and messages on their shirts.  Kids are encouraged to do things to make themselves stand out (cello at age three, sports camp at age five, amazing science projects at ten).  I knew this about the US, but saw it more clearly after our return.

Now it is on to unpacking our suitcases, unpacking items in storage, and doing all the things we said, "We'll do it when we get back from Denmark."

Thanks for being loyal readers and for your positive feedback.  Look for the next blog in 2016, give or take a couple years.

Squeezing in a few more things

How could we live in Denmark for a year and not visit The Little Mermaid?

We joined the crowds and posed like the tourists we had become.

 Also on our do-before-we-leave list was to eat a Kinder Surprise.

They are banned in the US because the little toy in the hollow chocolate egg is a choking hazard.

We enjoyed one last meal by the sea,

including s'mores.

Then it was time for the final packing and the final weighing of suitcases, followed by deciding what to leave behind and give away.  I wasn't sure how we would check out so early since no one was at the desk to take the keys.  We told to simply leave them on the counter - very un-American.

We set three alarms so we wouldn't miss our 5:30 pick up, and that was it.  The year crawled by in a flash.

Circus

In the morning we were surprised to see a circus had sprung up across the street from the hostel.

The trailers were designed to look like cozy railroad cars.

I am guessing the little rope between the people and the elephants was to prevent the former from bothering the latter.

A. was curious about the circus and was able to find someone to answer questions (was it a good job?  did the performers or the people working behind the scenes get paid more?).  We did not go to the circus, but could see the people riding on the backs of the elephants (without any special contraption) and hear the music.  That was enough for me.

le Tour de France

It was great to be in the same time zone as the Tour and to be on vacation!  David was hoping the hostel television had a station that carried it and, like an American, started flipping through the channels at the bottom of the list.  What a pleasant surprise to find the race on one of the main stations!  Plus, the other guests came into the t.v. room arrived hoping to watch the Tour, too.

Final days

The weather has not been great, but there is still fun to be had.

A tree we pass on the way to town

Public art in town

Table tennis and chess (background)

A visit to Kronborg Castle

There are also s'mores by the fire, dips in the cold Baltic Sea (17ºC), sitting and watching the waves and boats, visiting with old friends (we met a hostel 22 years ago!), and meeting new people.  It's been a good week.

Sweden

After yesterday's windy and rainy weather, today's cool and drizzly weather seemed lovely!

We left for Helsingborg, Sweden from this beautiful station.

We had a great view of the library

and Kronborg Castle.

We were disappointed Karnan was closed for renovations

but we had fun taking pictures from the hill above town.

The photo above is city hall from Karnan

and a view from the front (the family is in the center if you look carefully).

We were not able to tour there either, but did walk around the 15th century Sancta Maria church.  The most interesting thing there was this wall with a note about the tradition of Jerusalem's Western Wall.  The notes here are removed every Friday and are restored without being read.

After a great lunch at a falafel place we looked for football cards and the library because we like to sample the local offerings.  We found some unusual cards and

enjoyed the library, including a game of Monopoly and this reading area.

Outside the library was a place where you could hear recorded stories while sitting under this tree.

And what would a trip be without a maintenance cover picture?

We learned the flag of the region is a combination of the Danish and Swedish flags, reflecting the history of the area.

We spent the last of our Swedish money (no 50 ore, no two kroner coin, and the 20 kroner is a bill, not a coin) and enjoyed the twenty minutes ferry back to Denmark, where we can at least try to speak the language.

Helsingør library

The forecast was for pouring rain, but we didn't want to stay at the hostel the whole day so we were off to the library.  What a find!  It opened on 10/10/10 (hmm - Danfoss Universe opened at 05:55 on 5/5/05 - is that a Danish thing?) on the harbor in an old shipyard building that has a new glass structure around it.

Inside you can see original steps and beams.  Here is a view of part of the music library, which has an exhibit focusing on the Roskilde Festival.

 On a couple of the floors there are balconies that out of the original building but still inside the new building.

Here is a view from the balcony (you can see that they are still doing construction in the area).

Other buildings have been converted, too.

The children's area has lots and lots of wooden toys, including this area with a pirate books to the left and a ship to the right.

What looked like a round structure opened up to reveal the travel section.

There was part of a play house with bears and bear books.

And of course there was Wii, Playstation, and Kinect (the kids are driving cars).

In another section of the same building was an interactive art museum for kids,

including a climbing area,

pop-up art,

and tea sets (with magnets).

The rain finally ended and we headed home, being careful not to step on the slugs.

Hostel

from danhostel.dk

What a great hostel in Helsingør!  The main building is a 100-year-old former summer house and is right on the water.

According to Google maps, Højstrup is the closest train station, but it is very small and does not seem to get much use.

After exploring we tried to walk home along the shore because all beaches in Denmark are free and public, but not always easy to access.

The view a little to the left shows Kronborg Castle.

And this view shows how two kids with the same parents react differently to the same temperature!

Yet another swimming post

I am squeezing in as many dips in the fjord as I can.

This was the view this morning at about seven o'clock.

 Some people get in the water by climbing down the steps at the end of the dock.

 I prefer to take a running jump or dive.

Today I brought the Gammel Dansk and we had a final skal, until we meet again.

I'll drink to that

I didn't quite understand what we were celebrating (the five-year anniversary of something), but after our morning swim the skinny dippers broke out the 2cl shot glasses

 and we all had a little drink.  And then some people had another one.  Skal!

photo from SuperBest ad

I am very sorry I don't have a picture of the flowers, snacks (chips and carrots), and people gathered by the dock next to the water on a beautiful, sunny morning.  Just imagine us at the end at the far left of this picture, near the little building.