Denmark!

I wasn’t planning on getting to Denmark this year; in fact, had told a friend I wouldn’t get to Copenhagen till next year. Nearly still true: I went straight from Copenhagen airport to Faxe Ladeplads, and straight back a week later. But when Arne told me that a visit would work well during their foster kids’ school holiday, when he and Inge would be making use of their summer house as well as the farm, how not? Spending time with the friends I love is my priority now.

So, I’ve just had a week with very dear friends, in a place I love. A quiet week, mostly home, but as previously, one day Arne invited me to lunch in Præstø at a lovely spot by the sea. We had a few other drives around Sjælland – and I always find the Danish countryside unbelievably charming, tidy and green, so I had to snap a few photos, as you see below. I also got to see the recently-acquired summer house, which is a delightful living space.

And I had a rare change of pace, musically, the evening Arne took me to a concert at Gerlev Idrætshøjskole put on by teachers of gospel singing. Make a joyful noise, indeed! No surprise that the music doesn’t resonate with me, but I admired the musicians and could appreciate some of the singing talent – even if I did retreat outdoors to lower the volume. To me, the spirit of community was the most striking thing about the evening; what a fabulous organization to be part of.

And then, off to Türkiye: having arrived at Copenhagen’s airport 3 hours ahead of my flight and barely clearing all the lines in time, I want to say you should think about going to Kastrup 4 hours ahead of your flight if you want to avoid the stress of fearing you’ll miss your plane. Even though my friends had said lines are really long there these days, I was not prepared for the unnavigable throngs of passengers trying to find a place in the right line. Truly a miserable performance in airport organization. On the other hand, train connections from the airport are excellent – though on arrival, when I got my ticket, it wasn’t at all clear how to get to the Øresund line rather than the metro, where all the crowd was going. All good in the end. And I hope to be back next year, maybe with a few days in Copenhagen.