Denmark and Iceland, July 2015

                             

My trip this summer to Denmark and Iceland in July was a wonderful, low key, relaxing vacation spent with family and friends. It was a great trip with good food and wine.

I arrived in Copenhagen and immediately took the train several hours south to Vordingborg to meet my former sister-in-law, Janne, and her partner, Soren, on his beautiful boat with three cabins. They had been on a month long trip, and I joined them for the last few days, three days and three nights spent at three different ports. It’s always fun and interesting to visit the small towns and their harbors. Janne and I convinced ourselves to swim on two occasions; it was cold. There are many Danes with boats, also Germans, Swedes, and Dutch. We ended up in Vejle, which is where they permanently have their boat moored, about an hour from their home in Viborg in Jutland.

Agers Island

Anne and Lauren then came from southern Denmark where Anne had spent several weeks at her dad’s summerhouse on the beach. (Sarah and Ben also spent a weekend there.) Viborg is a pleasant town and we spend some relaxing days there going to the playground and walking around.

Anne and Lauren returned to Iceland and I took the train to Copenhagen to meet up with my Australian friend, Jacqueline, and her husband, Thorkil. Jacqueline and I  had been in Danish class together when we both first arrived in Denmark. It was lovely being in their home again and sitting in their very green garden. Thorkil has a wonderful fruit and vegetable garden so it was a pleasure eating fresh produce. 

Jacqueline and I spent a day in Copenhagen, and took a boat tour getting an overview of the city. Copenhagen seems to get lovelier every time I visit. We also visited the Viking Museum in Roskilde, which has the remains of five Viking ships and a fascinating workshop area where people construct boats in the same manner that they were constructed in Viking times. We send another day at Lejre where people eat, sleep, and participate in activities of the stone age, iron age, and Viking eras. People go there and spend their holiday, a bit primitive for me, I think. But everyone seemed to be having a great time, especially the children. It’s a huge area and it was a great place to explore and to see some of the different workshops and displays. Another day I met up with two nieces and a nephew that I hadn’t seen since 1983 when we left Denmark. We met at the beautiful modern art museum, Louisiana, north of Copenhagen. There was an African architecture, art, and culture exhibit, which we all enjoyed.

Then I flew to Iceland to visit Anne, Jim, and Lauren in their downtown apartment on the first floor of a house.  We walked around, visited playgrounds, and an open-air museum. I went swimming in a geothermal heated pool (free for anyone over 70). Another day I went on an interesting library tour “Dark Deeds in Reykjavik” where we visited sites in town and then a passage from a book referring to that location was read, often a crime book.

Another day I went on a bus excursion. The last time I was in Iceland we were on our way to the iceberg lagoon of Jokulsarlon, but the bridge we were to cross on the southern highway had been destroyed by a "glacial outburst flood." Icebergs break off the Vatnajokull glacier, and float in the lagoon; it’s an incredible sight. The icebergs were magnificent with stunning blue coloration. It’s an impressive place, and I’m glad I made it there. We also stopped at the two waterfalls that I had seen previously, but nonetheless are very impressive. One can walk behind Seljalandsfoss; the other larger falls is Skogafoss. It was a long day, but good to be out in the countryside of Iceland. All in all it was a fun trip.