Oh Odense!

“My life is a beautiful fairy tale.” – Hans Christian Andersen

*We loved the colourful trams in Odense (OHD – en – seh).*

*But the reason we came here is to see where Hans Christian Andersen was born and tour the museum.* *Five cylindrical wood and glass buildings, surrounded by beautiful garden paths that blend into the surrounding cityscape,* *hint at* *the organic*, *curvy route within the museum.*

The birthplace of storyteller Hans Christian Andersen (whom the Danes call simply H.C., pronounced “hoe see”). Although the author was born here in poverty and left at the tender age of 14 to pursue a career in the theatre scene of Copenhagen, H.C. is Odense’s favorite son.

Infusing a fairy-tale feel into the display of thousands of Hans Christian artifacts—from his iconic top hat to a wastebasket full of crumpled papers—these objects tell the story of Andersen’s life through wonderful voice acting. From his wanderlust (with travel souvenirs and object —including a rope he traveled with so he could escape in case fire) to his love life (with notes to both men and women), the collection offers insight into Andersen’s personality.

*One of my personal favorites of H.C.’s fairytale*s *is The Princess and the Pea. In this display of the story the pea was the main attraction!*

*His paper cut-out illustrations and drawings and quotations from his brilliant prose illuminate his creativity and genius.*

*Of course, we’ve all heard of Hans Christian Andersen but did we know what a talented artist he was? The walls were filled with his sketches & cutouts!*

*As he told children his stories, his scissors were busily clipping out these very entertaining works of art.*

*What fun it must have been to see him at work/play!*

*The house where H.C. was born in 1805.*

*And the street where his house still* *stands.*

*A wood carving of Hans Christian’s mother in one of the squares in Odense.*

“A wealth of beauty exists in the world around us, even in the small.” – Travelogue in Sweden by Hans Christian Andersen

Roaming in Roskilde

“We began as wanders and are wanders still.” – Carl Sagan

*Roskilde’s imposing 12th-century, twin-spired cathedral houses the tombs of nearly all of the Danish kings and queens.*

*It’s a stately, modern-looking old church with great marble work, paintings, wood carvings and an engaged congregation that makes the place feel very alive.*

*The downtown didn’t disappoint either!*

*“No city can be truly beautiful without ample provision for parks and open spaces.” –* John Nolan

*A visit to the Viking Museum while in Roskilde is a must.*

*Here’s Murph trying to image what it would be like to paddle across the Atlantic Ocean with 70+ of his closet rowing buddies!*

*This is an illustration of townspeople, a thousand years*
ago, weighing down and ultimately sinking five ships to block an easy channel into the harbor. Leaving open only the most challenging approach—virtually impossible for anyone but a local to navigate.

*The museum displays five different Viking ships, which were discovered in the Roskilde fjord and painstakingly excavated, preserved, and pieced back together beginning in the 1960s.*

*Looked like a giant jigsaw puzzle to me!*

*Kids were busy building their own boats in a workshop and then testing out how well they sailed. Very cute* 😊

Much to contemplate as we looked out over the harbor!

Couple more things in Copenhagen

*I found this interesting – our hotel room was equipped with hand weights! Pretty good, eh?*

*This crucifix is in the chapel at Fredericksborg* – *I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one that included Dismas and Gestas the two “thieves” that flanked Jesus on the cross.*

*Common sight here. Almost more bikers than cars – NICE!!!*

*Kayaking is free here. The only requirement is that you collect any trash from the water as you paddle along.*

*Eating a Danish is required in Denmark*❣️

Copacetic Copenhagen

“Travel not only stirs the blood—it also gives birth to the spirit.“ – Alexander David-Neel

*Murph had told me about Tivoli before but I could never quite picture this lovely place.* *The grand old amusement park opened in 1843.*

When our kids were younger we were frequent visitors of Disney World. We were always interested in Walt Disney and his history. He traveled extensively in Europe, making several visits to Tivoli. As we walked around I could totally envision Walt Disney doing the same and creating his park as he strolled.

*Flowers abound – a feast for the eyes.*

*So quaint and so much fun to watch these horses race.*

*Little trolley to thrill the children.*

*I’m sure Walt loved this place and was thinking of families when he dreamed of his parks.*

*And for the more adventurous there was this and of course an old roller coaster too!*

*An adorable mime show entertained everyone.*

*Very reminiscent of the Grand Floridian at WDW*.

*We intentionally returned in the evening to see the park beautifully lit.*

*So many more pics of Tivoli but I’m afraid I have to move on…*

*A beautiful walk along the river to our next stop – the “free town” of Christiania, which was established by hippies in 1972.*

Things were looking grim for the Christianians until 2012, when the Danish government offered to sell most of the land to the residents at market rate, and offered guaranteed loans. In exchange, Christianians had to upgrade and maintain water, sewage, and electrical services, and preserve rights of way and “rural”areas. *Thus formed Freetown Christiania.*

*This converted military barracks makes for great places for people to live now.*

*We just loved the peaceful vibes here*❣️

Watching parents here raise their children with Christiania values makes me a believer in this social experiment. Giving alternative-type people a place to be alternative is a kind of alternative beauty that deserves a place!

*“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” –* Dolly Pardon R.I.P. 🥲

*It’s a pretty touristy thing to do but we DID have to find The Little* *Mermaid!*

The small bronze sculpture inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s (another teaser about HC) 1837 fairy tale about a mermaid who longs to become human. It was created by Edvard Eriksen and unveiled on August 23, 1913. Rumor has it that the artist used his wife as his model. Lucky for me and all the visiting tourists that Murph was not that sculptor!

*While traveling on the Metro we spotted many people snacking on these.*

Sticks of meat and right up Murphy alley — where do they sell them? Seven Eleven, of course! They are all over the city! 🤷🏾‍♀️

Cozy Copenhagen

Hygge (pronounced hoo-gah) is a Danish concept that embodies a feeling of cozy contentment, well-being, and warmth. It’s about enjoying life’s simple pleasures in a mindful way, often with good company, surroundings, and a sense of gratitude.

*Can’t beat this iconic view for starters – Nyhavn (New Haven) is a 17th century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen*.

*The first evening in Copenhagen we headed out to familiarize ourselves with our neighborhood. The Rådhus (city hall) is always a good landmark.*

*I’m not really sure what this building is but I love the Danish architecture.*

*So, Hans Christian Andersen was not born in Copenhagen (more on that later) but he is affectionately known around town at HC. He IS buried here in town so… A quick hello was in order.*

*We took a train out to Fredericksb*org *Castle and along the walk, leading up to the castle, we spotted this adorable castle-like play area. Cute!*

*Fountain of Neptune – Now you can see this better without our heads in the way* 😉

*So much to see in the chapel so I’ll condense it to this 1610 wooden organ, still with it’s original hand-powered bellows. Hymns play on the old carillon at the top of each hour.*

*This fascinating golden globe made in the mid-1600s to illustrate astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’* *bold new theory that the sun, not the earth, was the center of our galaxy.*

The tiny model of the solar system at the very center has a brass ball for the sun and little figures holding up symbols for each of the planets. The mechanical gears could animate this model to make the concept more vivid. It is still in working order!!!

*Peeking down from the top of a doorway – quite adorable, eh?*

*Ok, so this is anti hygge – but totally understandable in Denmark*!

An adventure on the way to our adventure!

“If it scares you, it may be a good thing to try.” – Seth Godin

*As we were walking down the driveway to* get in our Uber, Murph looked at the app. It said “Your autonomous car is coming. There will be a driver behind the wheel but he’ll be doing almost nothing — actually nothing at all..” What the What?!?!

This was a wild and VERY cool experience. We chatted with our driver quite a bit (what else did he have to do?). He told us the car has five settings, which were – sloth, chill, standard, hurry and Mad Max! I would totally love the Mad Max version!!! We got to the airport in record time and it was so smooth and so classy!

One more thing…

before we head across the pond.

At the very top of our bucket list this summer was to bike the Gordie Howe Bridge. Built entirely by Canada and connecting Windsor Ontario with Detroit Michigan. It has complete infrastructure to accommodate walkers and bikers who want to make the journey across, sans motors. We met up with close friends at their home in Corktown and started our ride from there. Cruised along some city streets and thru Mexicantown until we reached the base of the bridge. Quick “family meeting” — “Let’s just start our assent and reunite at the top.”

*Lots of opportunities to take some pics and appreciate the work our legs did to get us up there!*

*From the Gordie Howe could see our skyline and the Ambassador Bridge.*

*We continued over the bridge, went thru passport control* *and biked to the foot of the Ambassador Bridge to ride the Windsor side of the Detroit River.*

*Slowing down to see some of the lovely sculptures along the way.*

*I loved this one so much that I had to show you both sides*❣️

*Also loved this tribute to Firefighters.*

*You know me – can’t resist some flowers!*

*Fun seeing our city tour boat in front of the RenCen (Renaissance Center).*

*Getting hungry and needing sustenance for our trek back home, we dropped into this pub in the Sandwich Town neighborhood.*

*Truly* *the place exists — we ate sandwiches there!*

*Heading over the border once again – we meet back at the top – still smiling!*

A break for some sentimentally… “A friend is someone who helps you up when you’re down, and if they can’t, they lay down beside you and listen.” – Winnie the Pooh

“Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’” CS Lewis

To our dear friends, Patrick and Dawn, thanks for this amazing day and here’s to all of our future adventures‼️

Hey There

Practice Run

*Here’s Murph, riding a much loved trail on the west coast (Michigan) – the Kal Haven, which runs from Kalamazoo to South Haven.*

Stay tuned – we leave for Europe on August 22!

It’s Not Over Until…

“The moment where you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever being able to do it.” – Peter Pan

*Well, it’s just not over until I give props to Murph! The amount of time and effort he puts forth for these journeys to take flight is truly amazing!*

Guiding us along – reserving rooms, events, cars, trains, museums, timed tickets for the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum & monuments to visit…buying passes for vaparettoes (boats in Venice) & *tubes (subways in London).*

*Seriously, it takes MONTHS to plan all of this – AND he does* *this without even whining* ❤️

*“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” –* Edith Wharton

*In addition to all of that, he’s my editor. Before I send any of my blog posts he looks them over first.*

*“We can do no great things — only small things with great love.”* – Mother Teresa

*He even hangs on to me so I don’t blow away with the wind!*

We aren’t really shoppers, and especially not when we travel. Limited amount of luggage space, ya know. Except when I saw a man wearing this shirt while we were in Ljubljana I knew I HAD to have one. Fast forward about 10 days and I found it in a shop while we were in Kobarid.

*“Think not that you can direct the course of love; for love…directs your course.” –* Khalil Gilbran

****A word with you please **** When we talked about traveling to England, Wales and Europe this past summer, many of our friends voiced concern. Let’s face it, the good ole U.S. of A. no longer has a great reputation. Several people thought we’d experience animosity because we are American. I’m here to tell you, it was just the opposite – we spoke with people from England, Italy, Slovenia, Australia, Switzerland & Vancouver to name a few. Unilaterally, they showed compassion and concern for the citizens of our country. They realize that “we the people” is different than the people who are running us into the ground. They’re worried and didn’t hesitate to tell us so. But hey! we only have three more years to survive – right? 🤔

“One of the great things about travel is you find out how many good, kind people there are.” – Edith Wharton

Steppin’ Up

“The world is changed by your example not your opinion.” – Paul Coelho

We weren’t sure that we would arrive at our hotel in Rome before the manager left for the day. So, she sent us this adorable video to make our check in seamless.