August 1
1st August
We arrive in Copenhagen Airport after taking off in Brisbane some 24 hours ago. After collecting our luggage and emerging into the Arrivals Hall we gravitate towards a couple bearing a large wooden plaque bearing our names and decorated with Danish flags. We meet Kirsten and Klaus, our exchange couple's brother and wife who kindly have met us with two cars to transport the four of us plus luggage to Vaerlose which is to be our temporary home for the next month. Roger and Liz are with them so after lots of hugs, hellos and heks we are shortly on our way to Vaerlose about a half an hour away by car. We are introduced to a very comfortable home at Hojeloft Vaenge and Kirsten makes us a welcome pot of tea and refreshments. A very pleasant happy hour ensued with Roger and Liz and making acquaintance with Kirsten and Klaus.
Feeling refreshed after good sleeps for us all, we discuss the day plan over breakfast and have a browse through the many tourist brochures left for us. It's a lovely day and we decide on Stevns Klint, about an hour's drive from Vaerlose.
STEVNS LIGHTHOUSE
We start by climbing the steps of the 27 metre high lighthouse. The lighthouse offers great views of the landscape of Stevns and of the Baltic Sea where views to Sweden can be observed.
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| Richard, Liz, Sandy at the viewing platform of the lighthouse |
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| The Lighthouse from the Cliff Area |
STEVNS CLIFF
Stevns Klint is a globally exceptional testimony to the meteorite impact on the history of life on Earth. This area provides evidence that the meteorite impact took place 67 millions years ago and is widely believed to have caused the end of the Age of the Dinosaurs. All very interesting. We walked along the stony beach type area and I selected a stone to add to my "Stones from Everywhere" collection. Perhaps once a Tyrannosaurus stepped on my stone.
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| View of the ocean and cliffs |
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| Sandy and Liz on the beach and cliff area |
HOEJERUP OLD CHURCH
The 1250 year old church is located on the 30m high cliff. In 1928 the sea undermined the cliff and overthrew part of the building into the sea. The rest of the church is now secured by underpinning. The last service was held in 1910. Today you can stand inside the church and look out over the sea through a door. In March 1928 the cliff collapsed at Hoejerup and took part of the church with it. Soon after the crash it was decided to reinforce the church against further slides and today the church stands at the extreme edge of the cliff. There is an observation deck that provides a great view of the sea and cliff. We looked around the old building and the observation deck.
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| The Old Church at Hoejerup |
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| We had a picnic lunch here |
COLD WAR
During the Cold War, Stevns played a major role in the defence of Denmark and NATO as it formed part of the front line between East and West. The peninsular of Stevns would have been on the front line if War had broken out. That is why Stevnsfort was built and for 40 years was ready for War around the clock. We walked past and viewed the nuclear missiles that were part of the defence mechanism during that time.
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| The Missiles |
RØDVIG
We took a walk on the marina past yachts and fishing boats on to the shipyard which is more than 100 years old. By the harbour is the white flint kiln which has become a landmark for Rødvig. We climbed to the top of the building
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| The marina |
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| The kiln |
We finished our sightseeing of Stevns with coffee and waffles and ice cream at Rodvig. An interesting day and a pretty drive there and back. I am pleased to report that Richard is driving on the right side of the road (which is on the right) with no problems. And with the help of Annabelle, our GPS instructor, and Roger, our map navigator, we got there and back with no problems. A very nice day.
BIKE RIDING AT FARUM
Today we went for a bike ride at Farum area. Roger, armed with the map, was our navigator. Very pretty area, although terrain rather rough in places. We took a picnic lunch which we had near the lake. Although it was only 10 kms in each direction, it was made longer because we took a few wrong turns and it was quite hilly sometimes so we all felt we had done a pretty good exercise stint. An afternoon nap did not go astray.
CITY SIGHT SEEING DAYS
We caught the train into the city twice with Roger and Liz during their week with us, an easy journey, half an hour into the city and the trains come in very regularly. Some of the things we did:
THE LITTLE MERMAID
At Langelinie Pier the statute of the Little Mermaid can be found, one of Copenhagen's most famous tourist attractions. She reached 100 years old in August 2013 and must be one of the most photographed ladies in the city of Copenhagen. She was inspired by one of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales.
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| The Little Mermaid and Them |
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| The Little Mermaid and Us |
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| Liz is seeking a cheap thrill here but He's not happy about it |
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| The Changing Guard at Rosenborg Slot |
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| Hundreds of bicycles parked |
THE ROUND TOWER (Rundetaarn)
Is one of the most popular structures in DK, built by Christian IV between 1637 and 1642. It was the first part of the Trinitatis Complex which combined church, library and observatory in a single building. The spiral walk is unique in European architecture. The 209 m long spiral ramp winds itself 7,5 times round the hollow core of the tower, forming the only connection between the individual parts of the building complex. The observatory is encircled by an outdoor platform from which you have a magnificient view of the city of Copenhagen. We walked to the top, a good heart workout. We also saw the bell loft and went into two of the exhibition halls.
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| View from the Observation Deck |
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The Spiral Walkway
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| Inside the beautiful Trinitatis Kirke |
MALMO
We took the train to Malmo, Sweden. So train to the city and then a change of train and just half an hour to reach Malmo. We passed over the very impressive Oresund Bridge which is a railway and motorway bridge and is approximately 8 kilometres in length and the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe.
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| The Oresund Bridge |
Before explorations began, it was time for coffee and sticky buns (for some) so we stumbled upon a very posh cafe and chose it, very nice ambience and extremely good coffee.
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Coffee Break
We ambled along to the water and bought tickets for the boat tour. Malmo has a vast system of canals and bridges. An onboard guide gave a very informative commentary of Malmo's history and interesting facts about the buildings and sights along the way. Much enjoyed by us all.
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Before boarding
One of the most impressive buildings in Malmo is called the Twisted Torso. We passed it on the tour, it is Scandinavia's tallest building.
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After the cruise we walked around, came across this church and admired the unique architecture.
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| Sandy & Liz by the river |
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Sculptures in the Street
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Our wanderings take us past a street with lots of restaurants with outdoor dining. We selected Fridays and had a very nice lunch. After lunch it was time to think about returning to Copenhagen and we got a bus back, it took a little longer but we had a different view of the bridge by road instead of rail bridge. A very enjoyable day.
LYNGBY
The open air museum near Lyngby is a perfect place for a walk through the historical environment of old houses, mills and farms from a past era. Arriving at the museum you enter into a different world and you can imagine yourself transported centuries back in time strolling along the gravel roads and visiting the fully furnished homes of people from the past.
Some of the old buildings below
An enjoyable morning spent here, then we drove into Lyngby and had lunch at Amalie Cafe before a wander through the shopping centre. An enjoyable day.
SAGNLANDET AT LEJRE
Is an experimental centre featuring a series of reconstructed settlements, houses and active workshops from the Viking Age. Here you can explore houses and gardens of our ancestral forefathers, visit active workshops where Viking women, hunters and artisans perform their crafts. There are cattle grazing, wild bore, sheep and goats roaming the fields. Lejre is very much geared to the younger generation but us oldies enjoyed it too. We took a horse and cart through the area which was an easy way to see it all in relative comfort. Kids can shoot with bows and arrows or go sailing in a dug out canoe. We watched a mock battle of youngsters dressed in clothes of the Viking era and the rousing antics with battle cries from the warlord was very entertaining.
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| Clip clopping along |
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| Example of many of the old buildings here |
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| Interior of old Blacksmith's shop |
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| Battle about to begin |
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Ancient Standing Stones
Lunch at Ledreborg Palace Golf Club
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Roger and Liz leave this afternoon so we drop them at the station for their journey to the airport. A very nice week spent with our friends.
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