Costco Cuckoo

In middle May, my crazy friend Nhu and I were invited to have a nice dinner and visit with Gorm and Stefan in their Copenhagen home just a short bicycle ride away from where I live.  One of the things we talked about was what a nice time Nhu and I had on our last visit to Stefan's home in Sweden in the country side.  He invited us again and we all agreed on a weekend in the middle of July.  

Nhu just bought a fancy new electric car and she offered to drive.  Pretty fancy car I must say and at a very reasonable price.  Very modern, comfortable and high-tech.  Nhu lives north of the city center, I live south of the city center and Gorm lives in the center.  Nhu was going to pick up Gorm and then pick me up after that.  Unfortunately Gorm wasn't feeling well, so he canceled at the last minute. 

At dinner, Nhu was telling us that she needed to stop off at Costco on the way.  Costco? Really?  Stefan was very interested to know what Costco was all about.  So since Nhu has a membership card, we all agreed to meet at the store just before it opens.  Who knew Costco had a store in Sweden?  

It turns out that Costco in Sweden is exactly the same as Costco in USA.  We walked up and down all the aisles looking and looking at all the items you never knew you didn't need.  And of course when you look at all that great food, by the time you hit the check-out counter, you're starving and the smell of the hotdogs and pizza lur the customer almost in a hypnotic trans to spend more money and eat.  So of course we had no choice but to follow the scent of cheap greasy food, order, chow down and eat American hotdogs in the culturally and historically rich country of Sweden.  Yes, a bite of heaven, actually.

After our big shopping tour, we went to the German shop LIDL - which is also a fun store to look around in - to buy more ordinary market groceries so that we had what we needed for dinner, breakfast and lunch.

Then back into the car and off to the potato patch.  We lost Stefan.  But luckily Nhu had previously punched in Stefan's address into her GPS.  "You have arrived" it showed. Wrong!  We were literally in the middle of nowhere.  I knew we had gone too far.  "Turn around," I said to Nhu.  We drove back about 2  minutes to the dirt road closest to the motorway.  "Turn here!"  I pointed from the asphalt road, "There! There's his house!"  I could see it way off in the distance.

We made it. Parked in the garden, unloaded the car and I mixed us a welcome drink.  Stephan dumped chips in a bowl and he set up a few chairs under the "palm" tree, as he calls it.  I thought I misunderstood him but he said it again.  "Gorm and I call it a palm tree because it gives so much shade."  It really does.  It is a huge beautiful walnut tree loaded with green balls that will become delicious walnuts come November.

We had a lot of fun sharing the latest updates with each other.  

It was so warm late into the evening.

Apparently Stefan and Nhu had a lot more to talk about because Stefan gave me the job of grilling the burgers, sausage, and veggies - which of course, I was sooooo happy to do.  Plus Nhu and I had quite a personal chat in the car from Copenhagen to Costco, Sweden.

Years ago, Jens and I visited Stefan shortly after he built his terrace - which is huge and amazing.    At that time, all the planks were wood color.  Years later, the wood has turned silver and the flowering vines have made it really cozy.  The grill was proudly parked on the terrace along side of a huge patio table.  But we ate dinner under the palm tree with tiny green coconuts.  It was so nice and no bugs for all this amazing nature.

The burgers and sausage are almost done.

After dinner it was time for dessert.  Stefan baked

amazing brownie and layered it over vanilla ice-cream.

And we topped that with fresh Swedish strawberries.

Eventually the wind started to pick up and I decided to put on my jacket.  It was still warm but the wind was very cooling.  My sister Jay grows her own potatoes, so I snapped this photo for her to show her that Stefan actually lives in the middle of a potato field.  Well...... this year.  Next year it will be a different crop.  But it is all just wonderful.

The next morning was perfect.  We could feel the day was going to be warm and it did get very warm.  But we started our day on the terrace with a very tasty breakfast and a much needed cup of coffee.  

Eventually the rising sun creeped over the peak of the roof making the shadow shorter and shorter until we could no longer move our chairs into the shade of the house.  So Nhu and I got up again to walk around Stefan's huge garden to admire all the flowers, fruit, trees, shrubs and bushes growing.  The amount of rhubarb was wild.  "Take all you want," Stefan said to Nhu.  "How much do you want," Nhu asked me.  "Gimme 6 stalks!"  I came home with a dozen.  Nhu took even more.  There was so much rhubarb, we didn't even make a dent in the patch.  

Rhubarb in the foreground.

There are several kinds of berries and roses, cherry trees, a pear tree, herbs, wild flowers, amazing vine hortensia in the garden and these Hollyhocks that I snapped for my friend, George.

Then there was this Christmas tree that I gave to Stefan some time ago. 

It used to be a tiny thing on my balcony.

Eventually it was time to pack it all up and make our way back to reality.  We had to cut our trip a bit early because Nhu got a last minute appointment with psychotherapist but I think it's way too late for any sign of  hope.  Costco Cuckoo can be a very serious mental disorder.

As we drove home, I quickly snapped these photos of the pylons of this fascinating bridge between Denmark and Sweden.

Why is it a fascinating bridge, you ask?  Because it doesn't go anywhere.  It just ends in the Baltic Sea.

Thanks for a great weekend Stefan.  Such wonderful hospitality.

Thanks for a great weekend Nhu.  So kind of you to drive and offer positive support.

 

I have, You have, Koloni-have

I have, You have, Koloni have.  It’s a clever play with words.  You have to speak Danish to understand it.  John said it to me and I started to crack up.  John and his wife Birthe, invited us to have dinner at their kolonihave which roughly translates to communal garden.  It’s a long running Danish tradition from the very early 1800’s. 

Basically, it is a small cabin type home on a small plot of ground.  They are always in an areas that are designated for such a cabin/garden with each garden side by side.  Each garden owner is in a union or association where group decisions are made concerning the area. 

The idea behind the kolonihave is to get out of the tightly packed, apartment city and get some fresh air where you can get some dirt under your nails and exercise your green thumb. Most garden homes have electricity.  Many with running water and some without any power or plumbing at all.  They are intended for use during the warmer months only; April thru October.   

John and Birthe’s garden-home is so wonderful, cute and “hyggelig”. It’s the epitome of what it means to own a kolonihave.  Their garden home is about a 25-minute drive away from the center of Copenhagen. John and Birthe’s garden home has 2 open terraces and 1 covered patio.  This means that no matter if the Danish sunshine is dry or flowing, you can always sit out and have a hyggelig (cozy) time.  It has a good size kitchen with eating nook, living room with fireplace, bathroom with shower, toilet and washing machine, bedroom and guest room, storage hallway and a working tool shed. Here now are some pictures I quickly snapped with my phone from John and Birthe’s kolonihave.

First we were royally welcomed with Gin & Tonic.  When it was time to eat, Birthe brought out this beautiful and very tasty appetizer she baked.  The filling was creamy salmon - I'm still waiting for the recipe.

 The Danish colors of red and white wine were served.

Birthe plants many of her flowers and bushes from seedlings. 

Notice the doorstep - made of logs.

This is the patio table on the main terrace.  That's my jungle juice in the green bottle.

I bought in Sweden because it's illegal in Denmark.  It keeps the mosquitos away.

 The main dish was grilling up nicely.

 Here is a treeman to greet guest with a nice country style welcome.

 What time is it?

 Chives with purple flowers, huge leafs on the rhubarb and tomatoes growing in the glass-house.

 This is the back terrace where morning coffee is served as the sun rises on this end of the cabin.

 2 prince frogs at the door step.

 View of the front garden from the living room.

 Lupin from the garden.

 artwork and antiques

On one of our visits the weather was not sunny so we ate here in the covered patio with an amazing grape vine growing up over head.

If it is cold out, this small wood-burning fireplace will keep you warm and cozy.  It's a Danish cast iron stove made on an island called Mors.  If you are in the market for a wood-burning fireplace, check out this company called Morsø. They have been in the business for over 150 years.  Click here to go to the website. 

 Cats in the window.

 Danish tradition is to have a flagpole in the garden.

It was a cool day and the evening winds were picking up so we moved inside for dessert.  It was a holiday weekend called Pinse (Whitsun in British - Pentecost in American)  This is the weekend that Danes normally stay up all night long to watch the sun rise.  Though we didn't actually plan to stay all night long - which could have been fun - and it was even offered - we actually ended up leaving surprising early.  Suddenly Jens was not feeling well.  That ill feeling he had, lasted several days and yesterday at 3:30 in the morning, it turned out to be a bit of a nightmare.  Later that day with blood and brusise, we got him started on prescription medicine and things are hopefully going to get better.

I want to say tusinde tak John and Birthe for a wonderful meal and a very nice evening.  So sorry that it came to a quick end.  But while it lasted, I enjoyed it very very much.  Thank-you for your invitation and generous hospitality. 

To see more typical Danish summer garden homes, try to google Kolonihaver or just click here to see what a typical garden home looks like. 

Road Trip

I had some time off at the end of May so Jens and I rented a nice station wagon and took a drive to Kolding, Jelling, Vejle, Twin Peaks and Jordrup.

Here we are at a road side stop having a late lunch because of our late start.

Just 2 days ago Jens had cancelled our trip because of his health.

Then it was on again the following day.

Then the day that we were supposed to leave he decided to rent a car.

No worries - there are several auto rental shops just a 5 minute bike ride away.

Our first stop was at Jens's mother's home in Kolding where we spent the night and then left for Jelling the next day. 

We were supposed to stop in and have a cup of coffee with Jens's mother's sister-in-law.  But it turned out to be a 5 minute visit on the door step as the sister-in-law was on her way to the doctor's office.  So into town we went. This is where they have the Jelling Viking Stones.  But first I wanted that cup of coffee.  And here we are having cake and coffee inside of a café that was Viking themed.

So sad and so sorry - the rain was getting ready to pour over our heads and thunder was cracking so we made a mad dash back to the car and never even saw the stones.  But thanks to the internet, we can see them here:

here: Pix from Google,

here: info from Wikipedia,

and here: documentary from Danish television.

Lucky for me the Viking village is just a "stones" throw away from where Jens's mother lives and we will see it the next time we are visiting his mother.

From Jelling we drove to Vejle.  We took the long scenic route through Grejsdal (Grejs Valley).  There's not much forrest in Denmark but this is one of the spots where there are plenty of beautiful trees with a little country road running through the valley between Jelling and Vejle; our point of destination.

Vejle has a long and interesting history. You can read about it here.  I really wanted to see the city center but it is just too much for Jens and his mom so we saw what we could by car, drove along the fjord and then up into the forrest to our hotel. 

The following pix are what I snapped with my camera from the car window.  We of course saw lots more of the city center but it's too dangerous to drive and hold a photo session at the same time.

The pix below is the part of the drive between Vejle fjord and our hotel.  Here the road narrows to a single lane under a double set of train tracks.  It was cute and funny that we had to stop for traffic from the opposite direction. 

So now we have come to our 4 star hotel - Munkebjerg Hotel.  It's very nice and I booked 2 rooms with balconies.

Jens's mom and I went for a doggy walk around the hotel grounds.

I got word from a friend that it is baking hot in Copenhagen but here on the west side of Denmark it's a combo of wetness with fog and a splash of rain.  It seems to be like this often.  Even in some of the pix on the hotel website, there are a number of photos showing off the view from the hotel yet not always with a clear sky.

It's almost impossible to tell from these photos but the views above and over the fjord, from the hotel restaurant are beautiful.

The following day, I got up out of bed and walked the dog.

So I still have on my morning face.

But I just had to take a selfi with these amazingly huge Rhododendron flowers.

We are a bit early in the season but the hotel driveway is linned with giant size Rhododendron plants and I am sure that as I now write this, there is a 10'/3m high wall of bright pink-magenta flowers.

Beyond the hotel grounds and on the other side of the road is a trail running through the forrest where I walked the dog.

Eventually we came to this log cabin of sorts.  Made of real logs and with a grass roof. 

Once I am back from the doggy walk, it's time for our breakfast.

Jens took a few extra sausages from the breakfast restaurant to treat Bounty.

Below are a few pix of the hotel but NOT from my camera.

This is the view over Vejle fjord from the restaurant and the outdoor dinning terrace.

The entrance drive to the hotel and casino.

One of the 2 hotel restaurants.

The hotel had a full spa treatment.

From the other side of the fjord you can see the hotel up in the lush forrest.

Now we are off to find the highest point of Denmark.  Eventually we get lost and can't figure out where we are or where to go.  It's near by and it is called Ejer Bavnehøj Møllehøj (aka Twin Peaks) at 170m/560' high.  Click here for more info. 

They say the views from the top of the tower are fantastic but not today - it was very foggy and this was all I could see from the top of the tower.  On a clear day, you should be able to see a bridge that is only 5 minutes from where Jens's mother lives.

From the top of the world we head out to get a little bite to eat and then to pick up some danish and we slowly make our way to Jordrup where Jens's sister and her husband live.  We visit for a couple of hours and then we head back to Kolding for one more night before driving back to Copenhagen.  It was a lot of driving (just around the corner by California standards) but it was so much nicer doing it in a big rental than in our little city ultra mini fold out car.