Noteworthy Adventures (Part III and Part IV)

And now- the exciting continuation of my overly long blog post!

Adventure number three: Greve Strand.  Greve, as you know, is the village I live in.  Strand, in Danish, means beach.  So yes, this is the local beach.  I've been told that nowhere in Denmark is more that 20 km from the water- be it a sea or strait.  At first, I found this kind of an amazing thought.  But there were too geographical facts that need to be kept in mind.  First, Denmark is composed of a series of small islands, as well as 1 peninsula (Jutland).  Of course, with this shape, proximity to water is a given.  Also, the scale of this country is astounding!  I always think of European countries in terms of what I learned in French class- "La France est à peu près la même taille que le Texas." Aka: France is about the size of Texas.  The is also true of Germany, Spain, Poland, etc.  But Denmark?  Denmark ranks somewhere between West Virginia (on the bigger end) and Maryland (on the smaller end).  It is a TINY country.  In spite of all of the islands and distances between areas of the nation, to travel to Jutland takes only a few hours- thanks to the AMAZING bridges that have been added, including the second longest suspension bridge in the world, from Sjælland (pronounced Zee-land, where Copenhagen is) to Fyn (pronounces Foon, the island just to the West, which separates the capital from Jutland and the rest of Europe).  Anyway, this is a small place with a lot of beaches.  And, given the short distances to the water, the beaches are well used in the summer.  By this time of year, people have mostly given up on them, except for the polar bears (called Vikings here!).  Not that the beach is so cold, but the water is icy.  Anyway, my village, Greve, is only 5 km from the Strand, and so I hope to take advantage of it as often as possible.  You see, there is an incredible biking culture here, and most roads come equipped with either very nice, wide bike lanes, or separate bike roads all together.  Getting to the beach is pretty much a straight shot, right past the Greve Train Station.  I was briefly introduced to the Strand with my parents when we came to have dinner with Henning, Inga, and Katrine.  But it was very quick, and late in the afternoon.  So, I had to go back.  I decided that I could probably handle a 5k on my own if I took my time, and on Sunday morning, jogged out there- and made it successfully!  (Bolder Boulder, here I come!)  Unfortunately, it was difficult to document how beautiful it was... I don't typically bring my camera or my sketchbook out on my runs.  So, I came back the next morning (yes, somehow I got Labor Day off again this year!) by bike.  It's really amazing, because you can't see the water at all until you are RIGHT there.  This is because a natural thin layer of forest grows right up along the coast here- it is dense but, like I said, maybe only 30 feet deep.  Just enough to keep the beach invisible from an unknowing observer.  

My bike at the edge of the 'forest'.  The beach is just about 30 feet to the right through the trees!

Once you get through the narrow trails of the forest, the wide expanse of the water opens up before your eyes!  The sand is very, very fine and incredibly white, and in the morning, the semi-low fall sun makes the still water glimmer playfully.  Because this is a strait, not open water, there are few big waves, just a gentle ebb and flow of the natural tide.  On this particular bit of beach, right as you pass through the trees, there is a tiny little pier meant for sitting and descending into the water, if one is willing to brave the cold.  As you walk onto it, there is the most bizarre feeling that you are not walking on a solid object, like a pier, but rather some invisible force like a cloud, holding you suspended by just a few feet over the water.  And it feels that if you keep walking, you could walk the same way, all the way to Sweden, which, by the tiniest hint of a black line on the horizon, and a few even tinier vertical lines like boat masts, seems to be waiting somewhere far off.  To the left of the dock, one can see the gray silhouette of a power plant, with a trapazoidal main building, and thin, sleek wind blades turning slowly and silently.  On the right, a small jetty, where boats have been tied up on either side.  Off behind it, the silhouette of further coastlines.

The view to the South.

I sat on the pier for some time, sketching for my Visual Journal class.  Although, when I first arrived on the beach, there was already someone on the pier, and from the experience I had had the day before, I wanted to be able to approach the water and follow the path to the terminus on my own.  So, I sat in the sand for 15 or 20 minutes on my own, taking pictures, pondering, and beginning my drawings.  You can imagine (given the Danish way of dealing with strangers) my surprise when the woman who had been on the pier approached me, speaking Danish, and smiling.  I explained my lack of proficiency in the language (I am working on that, I promise!), and so she began to speak somewhat choppy English to me.  She asked me what I was doing (I showed her my sketchbook) and why I was here.  I explained that I was a foreign student, and we then determined where, in the city, I went to school.  She then asked where I lived, and I was, happily, proficient enough to properly pronounce "Greve Landsby" (again, pronounced Gray-veh Laands-boo.  The word Landsby means "village" and differentiates where I live from the Greve Strand, as well as the new community that has developed near the station, adopting the name of Greve).  She, apparently, had a relative living in the village, so we happily drew a map in the sand showing roads, the Greve Museum, the local church, the village store, and my house. 

Our beautiful map in the sand.  My house is the big circle in the upper right corner.

The woman, Linda, then happily explained that her relative, Susanne, lived very close to me- in a yellow house!  And... just as quickly as she had approached me, Linda was gone, running off to receive a phone call.  After she was gone, I finished what I was sketching, and because the pier was finally vacant, approached it again.  And yes, it was as magical the second time as it had been the first.  The same sense of floating, the same amazing openness. 

The pier.  I swear, some magic power would take me all the way to Sweden.

Happily, I sat at the end of the pier and sketched and took pictures.  But, surprisingly for a Monday morning, the beach was actually fairly active.  In fact, people came and went, most of them coming onto the pier at one time or another.  And despite the very solid construction, every time someone walked down the catwalk, the entire pier shook in a mini earthquake.  So it was when a quiet old man, wearing a purple robe and using a walking cane, came out to the water.  And... imagine my surprise when the old man, completely without hesitation, put down his cane, threw off his robe, and completely naked jumped into the water for a quick swim.  I did my best not to look, but he definitely wasn't wearing anything.  And again, with the same straightforwardness as he had entered the water, he climbed back up the ladder, put on his robe, picked up his cane, and went walking back towards shore.  Next came a woman to swim (thankfully, she wore a bathing suit), and just as she was finishing up her routine, a large group of people- mostly young women about my age, but of all ethnic backgrounds (it was incredibly diverse for Denmark) came through the trees onto the beach.  They walked around looking like this was a new and splendid wonder, and so, it seemed to me that they were foreigners.  The woman must have thought the same, and said to me something in Danish, ending with a chuckle in the word "turister", which means tourists.  I chuckled too, knowing what she was thinking, and muttered the only word I could think of in Danish- "ja".  Quickly, the swimmer went her own way, and I, ignoring the tourists, went back to my drawings.  

Back to shore and the North from the pier.

Until, of course, I was approached again.  This time is was a man- probably 35 or 40, bald, with olive colored skin.  He spoke to me in Danish (which surprised me, because he was part of the tourist group) and then, again, I had to explain, embarrassed, that I don't speak Danish.  So, he switched to English and asked me what I was doing, and where I was from.  I explained (again) that I was a foreign student from the United States, studying architecture, and was drawing for one of my classes.  He replied with two comments which I found equally surprising.  First, he told me that he had thought I was Russian.  (Random!) Second, that he was Afghani, and that he loved the United States, and that they were doing very good things for his homeland.  Honestly, I have NEVER been told by a foreign person that they a. liked the US or b. thought they were we doing good work in the Middle East.  It made me really happy, because I had gotten used to being sort of silently disapproved of here.  Well, after that I had to head out.  I needed to do some shopping at Wave, the second largest mall in Scandinavia, in Hundige (pronouced Who'n-dee).  

Waves!  Beautiful but eerily empty.

In case you are wondering, I bought a headband (short hair and strong winds do not mix!) and a scarf for 120 DKK (kroner), approximately $24, at H&M.  The mall itself was very big, and really quite beautiful, very open and clean-cut and light.  But, it was also sort of depressing, because it opened 3 years ago, in the midst of a financial meltdown... and I've got to say, it really hasn't gotten that much better.  Large portions of the mall were closed or empty, and all of the walking space was being taken over by signs of "unsalg" (sale).  After getting what I needed, I didn't really stay that long.


My fourth adventure was a family outing- the annual DIS Housing Picnic.  It took place at Staunings Plæne (plæne means lawn) in Klampenborg, a city just North of Copenhagen.  It was a really beautiful park RIGHT on the beach, amptly called a lawn, because the grass was amazingly green and very expansive.  

Across Staunings Plæne to the beach.

I came with Inga and Henning, and we brought this really cute picnic set- a green backpack full of plates, knives, forks, napkins, and a really classy thermos, plus a picnic blanket- an American flag one!- as well as a barley salad to share with everyone else (we all had to bring something to share) and pork cutlets and sausages to grill.  We also got one free drink each (of course I got a Carlsberg... I mean free beer.  Really?  Who would pass that up?).  Everything was delicious- fruit salads, pasta, couscous, bread, and the sausages!  Mmmmm.  Plus, we had these mini chocolate chip cookies (the cute round packaged kind) to have with coffee at the end.  How Danish!  What was also really nice was that it was an institute-wide picnic, so I got to see a bunch of people with their host families or Danish roommates.  

My many many salads at the picnic!

 Eva, for example, has a VERY cool older (like 30's) guy roommate, who I think is the editor of a magazine.  Also, Kelton, who is from Boulder (went to Fairview) and goes to Cornell (studying architecture too), introduced me to his host family.  I guess his host dad loves pizza, so he went to Italy to buy an Italian pizza over, disassembled it, shipped it all to Denmark, and reassembled it in his back yard!  They, obviously, have pizza parties with it, and I (hopefully) will be invited to one in the future!  And finally, I met a girl named Tally, who sat down with her host family right next to us.  What was funny about this is that our host parents (and her host sister) recognized one another immediately.  They live in completely different areas of the Copenhagen region, but I guess their daughter went to school with my host sister, Katrine, and they are really good friends.  Katrine wasn't there because she is already at school, and this girl was about to leave in a few days I think, also.  But to run into these people, who were also very nice, was pretty cool.  

Look at all the people!!!

After we finished lunch (before coffee) Henning and I went down to the water to walk around.  And what did we find but a bunch of kayaks brought specifically be someone (I'm not sure who... I think a host parent) for DIS students to use in the water!  So, I got to suit up in a life jacket and sea kayak for a few minutes.  I hit a bunch of SUPER big waves because I boat had just passed by- it was so fun.  It was even more fun because there were 20 or so kayaks in a very tight space, so everyone kept running into everyone.  Not great for the kayaks, but kind of a fun bonding activity for us.  Not that I will ever see those people again, but the sense of group good spirit was very nice.  

Action shop of me at the end of my kayak adventure!

 Finally, maybe the highlight of the day for me, even above the great food or kayaking, was sitting and drinking our coffee to the music of the fødselsdag (birthday) song.  As opposed to English, where we all wearily sing a very boring song off key, the Danish birthday song seems to make everyone smile.  Why?  Because it's ridiculous, that's why!  Basically, I gathered that the song entails naming the birthday person (ex- Tiffany har en fødselsdag)in song, and then naming an instrument (also in song).  You then proceed to sing a little jingle in the voice of that instrument.  The song starts again at the beginning, and goes on as long as the song leader continues to choose instruments.  I think we heard a piano, a trumpet, and a trombone.  It was super funny.  The girl who's birthday it was laughed and laughed.  I would have too.  And, her cake was basically a giant gingerbread man cake covered in icing and licorice.  Oh, and Danish flags.  They like those here.

Inga, me, and Henning at the end of our wonderful picnic day!

Well, I leave for Western Denmark and Jutland tomorrow morning at 8.  And by 8 I mean I leave here at 7 so I can be at the bus in Copenhagen at 8.  I get back Saturday afternoon, and should have lots more to tell!