Denmark

Today was kind of our last day of vacation. We drove from Germany all the way to Denmark, and now we’re staying in a lovely four star hotel. The drive was a pain. I tried to sleep through the whole drive, but I just couldn’t. I was basically in the stage where you’re half awake and half sleeping, not knowing if you should be awake or not. The drive was so boring because there was nothing to see or do. Germany was flat and filled with trees, while Denmark was totally flat. There were no trees in sight.

All I did in the car was read and make some poems. I was inspired by the weather to make this one:

Once we drove up to the hotel, I was amazed. The hotel’s white buildings were very nice and well-kept. We walked into the reception and were stunned by the design. Everything was new and modern, which differentiates from almost all the hotels we’ve been to. My sister and I decided to explore the hotel, finding foosball tables, a Wii set, a billiard, an upgraded gym, a table tennis table, and a dart board. We played everything, and I’m telling you that our foosball tournament was very intense. Sadly, I lost and she claimed the victory. Though, I did get back at her in table tennis (on the Wii). 🙂

The rest of the day was spent driving in the city of Horsens and relaxing in our hotel rooms. When we were in the city, we went to go get something to eat. We walked back to the car, only to find a parking ticket hanging from the window shield. What happened here? Well, we were fined because we didn’t have a clock in our car. Yes, a clock. Apparently, in Denmark everyone needs a clock in their car to show how long they’ve been parked. The fines are huge, so if you’re driving in Denmark, buy a clock! You can get them in any gas station. We were fined a whole 600 kr (88 dollars!)

Anyway, I can’t wait to get back home. I’ve only been gone for two weeks, but I miss my house and my pets. Even though Norway has the worst summer weather right now, I can’t wait to go back.

Today, I literally had to wake up at 2 in the morning. The reason was because we had to drive all the way down to southern Norway to take a ferry to Denmark. The ferry left at 7, and we had to make sure to arrive there on time. The ferry took us over some pretty huge waves. The boat just wouldn’t stop rocking. Because of this, there were children throwing up everywhere. It was gross, but also sad because the children were miserable. The vomit wouldn’t stop coming from their throats and the tears just kept on running from their eyes. Poor kids…

Well, I had a much better experience than them. I thought the waves where comforting and they made me sleepy. I was also fascinated, because I’ve never been on such a big ferry. While the ferry sailed over 34 knots (39 mph, 63 kph), I balanced my way up a flight of stairs and went on the deck. Wind blew my hair everywhere while I was trying to look across the ocean’s horizon. The wind was both chilling and refreshing.

After about 2 hours, we reached our destination. The first thing I noticed about Denmark was that it’s very flat. There wasn’t even one mountain in sight. Everything was flat for miles, and all I could see of civilization were a few barns. Though, we only made two stops, and they were both at gas stations. So, we didn’t really get to experience the “true” Denmark, since we didn’t go in any of the concentrated cities. Sorry, Denmark! I’ll get back to you later. The focus of the day was to drive all the way down to Germany.

It was a very unique experience crossing over the border line of Denmark and Germany. We had our passports all ready, and we were expecting to be stopped by border control, but there was no border control. I guess my family and I are still too American 🙂 haha. It was really cool when we crossed because on Denmark’s side, there were the four Scandinavian flags: Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. While on Germany’s side, there were three flags. I only saw the Germany flag, I didn’t catch what the other two where. I just thought that was really cool. I also tried to take some nice pictures of it.

All I can tell you is that when we crossed the border, it was like we were in a totally different world. All of a sudden, there were buildings all over the place with trees filling in all the gaps. There were roads, churches, houses, boats, and people were actually walking on the streets. In Denmark, we basically drove across the country in a matter of hours on a freeway, so we didn’t get to see much.

Since we came too early to check into the hotel, we parked our car and had our first German meal at a restaurant around the corner. My family and I were definitely rocking the tourist world with our baggy pants and our backpacks slung over our backs. Thankfully, we didn’t get lost, but instead found our way to the restaurant. We were greeted by a friendly German gentleman, who spoke English. We took our spots and found the menus on the table, but they were all in German! We survived though because our server gave us English menus. I just think it’s so cool because German and Norwegian have some similarities. which I find fascinating.

My amazing sister and my awesome dad 🙂

We read through our menus, and I knew exactly what to get: a schnitzel. I’ve never tried a schnitzel before, and I was definitely ready to try it today. I took a bite, and it was pretty good. It kind of reminded me of chicken covered with bread crumbs, but the schnitzel was just a little more chewy than that.

Schnitzel with potatoes and vegetables

After the delicious meal, we made it back to the hotel and checked in without any problems. It was finally nice to just relax for once. We’ve literally been on the move since 2 a.m. Now it’s time to gain some sleep while listening to the cars drive by and police sirens screech outside our window.