So we had the summer solstice in Denmark and it was very special.
In Denmark everyone goes down to the beach and makes a massive bonfire together and puts a witch ( which in the olden days would have been alive) on top of the pile. Everyone crowds around and lights the fire and they all sing a danish song together as it burns. Nowadays there are fire crackers inside the witch, which go off as she burns; this is when she flies away, to Germany funnily enough.
All along the beach you can see all these fires burning, because every street has a separate street, so it is quite cool to look along the beach and see all these plumes of smoke from all the bonfires on the beach.
We also went to another bonfire in the city (Åhus, Denmark) out on the docks.
Maria's future company when she goes to live in Denmark
They have groovy things to cover up holes in the ground in Denmark...
So Denmark was, as should be expected in northern European countries and in Scandinavia particularly, very well organised, functioning and just great really.
I've decided to put each section of our stay in separate posts, or I should say, each interesting thing that I'd like to share to share with you all, just because it's easier to get my head around, and hopefully yours too.
Bikes at the main train station in København
First we stayed just out of Copenhagen, which is København in danish, in a little house out in the countryside. We had a bedroom with a slanted roof and a big skylight window that we could open to let the good old danish air in.
We saw København and all the touristy things that you have to see, such as Tivoli, the little mermaid, etc... and it was wonderful.
the little mermaid
Denmark is very cool, everyone is tanned and very good looking, wonderful well dressed eye candy at every corner.
From there we went up to Jutland, which is the biggest island in Denmark and is considered the countryside, bu let me tell you they are the most civilised country bumpkins you'll ever meet.
So I'll post some of the things i did in a second, but now I'm off to have lunch.
Today is my 10th day in Europe, It's gone so fast.
I feel like I want to tell you all about all the things that have happened to Maria and I, but every time I try I just get further and further behind with what I am doing, So this is me trying to bring you all up to speed as quickly as I can, so that I won't feel like I'm so far behind.
My last post was about Frankfurt, but now we are in Denmark and have been here for 5 days already.
After Frankfurt we caught the train up to Berlin, which took about 5 hours, but the trains in Europe are so nice, especially in Germany that it wasn't bad at all, plus we are used to traveling long distances in Australia. Berlin, when we got there, wasn't as great and amazing as we thought it would be, I think because we had really high expectations of what Berlin would be like, because we had heard how wonderful it was and how it was one of nearly everyone's favourite cities in the world. So our expectations were really High. Looking back though, I am realising how cool it actually was and how much i enjoyed it, but at the time I was a little bit unsure as to where I stood on liking Berlin as much as everyone else seemed to.
We got a LOT done in the two full days and 2 half days that we were there for. Luckily we were still really fresh and ready to do everything, so getting lots done was quite easy, but looking back I'm not really sure how we managed it. On our first afternoon, we checked into our hostel, walked around the shopping district and then got on the underground and went to a suburb of Berlin called Charlottenburg and walked around there and then went to the Charlottenburg castle; which was probably one of my favourite places in Berlin. It was amazing. It is pretty much a big park and lake with different sections of the garden in different states of containment; if that makes sense. So there were sections of the garden that were really contained and had walkways and lines hedges and trees, and other parts that were like walking through a wooded forest. One of the great things about Berlin is, and especially in the season that we are seeing it in, is that Berliners will stay out and also use these gardens to cycle and walk and relax in. There were people sitting by the lake, working on their laptops!
The next day we saw the Brandenburg Tor (gate), the Reichstag (which is the german house of parliament), and Unter Den Linden (which is a famous street in Berlin).
Our second full day in Berlin was visited the Holocaust Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, which was actually closed due to it being a monday, but we decided that we would come back because we had heard it was so good.
We also went to Potsdam, which is about 45mins out of Berlin and is a town full to the brim with castles and palaces. It was amazing, they were gorgeous but we got lost on the way there (we had to walk from the rain station) so we didn't get to see as much of the Potsdam castles as we wanted to, but it was still amazing!
That night, because it gets so dark so late at night, we finally went and saw the Berlin Wall. We went to the East Side Gallery, which is the longest section of the wall standing today and one of the two parts that are still standing in Berlin. This part of the wall has been painted by artists all around the world, and it was simply amazing! We, or I, took lots of pictures because they were so beautiful, I think that was our favourite day in Berlin.
The Next day we were leaving for Denmark in the early afternoon but had enough time to visit the other section of the wall and go back to the Holocaust Memorial which was so worth it, it was amazing, very disturbing and confronting, but so important to know and understand and something I strongly suggest one should see when in Berlin.
So that was Berlin, in the end I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think I look forward to going back there; the only thing I wish we had time to see was Checkpoint Charlie. I think if I could choose again I would go to Checkpoint Charlie instead of the second wall that we went to, just because after we had left Berlin we heard that it was really interesting, and meant to be really good.
Here's some video proof of my adventures in Berlin.
Ok, that is all for now, I hope you are now a little more informed of what I've been up to.
