Happy Anniversary

Thursday 7th April – Aalborg and Happy Anniversary

I woke up this morning feeling relaxed and excited. The excitement does not stem from the bright blue sky and the light flooding our bedroom. No, it is the day that changed my life when I first laid eyes on Alice 16 years ago. Wow, what a ride and it keeps on getting better. Well that is enough sentimentality for the moment as we come back to reality as it is time to prepare our clothes for the laundry.

Well I’m glad I did not go off on the washing trip as Lilian came back all battered and bruised. They were taking a shortcut through a construction site when she slipped and came down hard on her hip and at the same time grazing her knee and hand. Luckily there was no other damage but she is a little shaken and sore as a result of this incident.

After lunch she was feeling a little better so Joan took us for a drive across the fjord to visit Lindholm Hoje. It is one of the most notable ancient monuments in Denmark and was in use as a burial site from AD 400 to AD 1000. The oldest graves are at the top of the hill and a few skeletons from the site are on display in the museum. Most of the graves are cremation graves, where the deceased person was cremated at the grave site. The site has also uncovered a newly ploughed field that was buried under a metre of sand. Parts of a large village with wells, longhouses and pit houses have also been excavated. The attached museum shows what the village looked like over the ages, how its inhabitants dressed, how they cultivated the soil and which animals they kept. The exhibition is not huge but it is well laid out.

We finished off with a coffee and homemade bread with cheese. The chef was an amiable gentleman with a portly paunch and a booming laugh. A few hundred years earlier he could have passed for a Viking. He did tell us that the bread was made from old grains with stinging nettle the secret ingredient. He dries the nettle and then crumbles it into various dishes such as pasta and omelets. It would make an interesting recipe book. Apparently, he has also been a guest on one of Jamie Oliver’s cooking show.

Dinner tonight was a baked salmon and spinach lasagna with wine and a large bottle of Leffe Bruin.

Friday 8th April – All Aboard the 888 Bus to Vig Station

This morning it is just a matter of having a leisurely breakfast and folding yesterday’s washing. After lunch Joan drove us down to the Aalborg bus station so we could check on the departure status of the 888 bus. Once we had confirmed the location of our bus we took a leisurely stroll across the railway tracks to Aalborg's beautiful city park, Kildeparken. This park is unusual because since the mid-80s major celebrities have left living reminders of their visits by planting a tree. Sir Cliff Richard planted the first tree before he gave his concert in Aalborg Culture Centre as a reminder of his visit to the city. Since then the spade has been swung no less than 76 times when prominent guests have stuck the spade into the ground, and planted their tree in Kildeparken. At each tree planted by the artists or their representative, there will be music. A stand by the tree contains a little medley of the artist's most famous music which is activated by pressing a button. Among the 76 stars are Stevie Wonder, Guns ‘N' Roses, John Cleese, Dame Edna, Sting and James Blunt.

After visiting the park it was back to the bus terminal for our 15:00 departure on the 888. We left dead on time and were soon travelling south along the old highway towards Aarhus. There were only two stops prior to Aarhus where we picked up a handful of passengers to add to the five that departed Aalborg. The vista was once again superb but the outside temperature was a chilly 8 degrees. Alice and Lilian played a game called spot the resident in the yard. In 100 km they only saw a handful. Just after 5:15pm we hit the outskirts of Aarhus which is the second largest City in Denmark. At the bus station we just about filled the bus with passengers who wanted to travel to Zeeland. After we finished loading it was a short drive to the port where the bus joined a huge multitude of vehicles that were being driven onto the huge high-speed catamaran that would convey us all across the Kattegat. Once on board we disembarked from the bus and made our way up to the top deck restaurant. The seating area was quite crowded but we managed to steal the bus drivers reserved seat. After settling in we bought ourselves a Danish hotdog which we washed down with beer and wine. The journey across was very smooth and only took 70 minutes. Thirty five minutes later we disembarked in the middle of nowhere at Vig Station. Luckily for us it is still light and we did not have long to wait before Jens pulled up to convey us back to Ordrup which is only 15 minutes away.

Tonight there was no doubt what we would be watching on television. Denmark was playing Croatia in handball for an eventual berth in the Olympics. With 30 minutes each way of non-stop action it was highly entertaining. Denmark was the eventual winner and is now one step closer to the Olympic dream. If you have never seen a game, try watching one on you-tube. By the-way Australia has a handball team.

Saturday 9th April – Ordrup

After the excitement of last night’s game I had no trouble sleeping. In fact for the first time in eons I was able to sleep-in until after 7:00am. The sun is shining and the wind has abated which makes it absolutely balmy outside. I am in my shorts and t-shirt and getting around like it is a summer’s day. Jytte has organized me to help prepare the house for summer. It is time to dust off the patio and all the associated furniture. We even wheeled out the Webber so it would be ready for tonight’s feast.

After lunch Alice and I took a long walk. We headed off along the gravel laneways, past the many summer houses and eventually down a pedestrian pathway to the beach. There were quite a few people out and about taking advantage of the sunny weather. The water temperature is still very cold but down by the jetty there were squeals of delight or was that anguish as a number of young children leapt into the icy brine. Alice and I decided that it was more sensible to enjoy our walk in the sun than to participate in such frivolity.

Back at the summer house we took some more sun as Jytte prepared the ingredients for this evening’s meal. With my church jacket on I was in charge of the Webber and soon had it fired up and ready to accept tonight’s offering of mince patties (hamburger rissoles). With our rissoles cooked and the bread rolls heated it was time to get stuck into the meal. An added extra that I have not seen before was a Heinz product called Hamburger dressing. The ingredients had all the essential produce, including sugar that you would normally include with your burger. With dinner over it was time to watch the next Olympic qualifying handball game between Denmark and Norway. It was another exciting match and Norway led for most of the game. A late surge in the second half saw Denmark level the scores at 25 -25. They had a chance on full-time to snatch victory but their number one player (Hansen) could not convert. Denmark has to play Bahrain tomorrow.