Denmark

 16 May

We had to get up at 3am to drive the 45 minutes to Reyjkavik International airport.  We had been advised that due to the Summit of the Council of Europe, the road to and from the airport would be closed, for up to an hour, but we couldn't find out if it would be at 4am or not... I thought that VIPs would not chose to fly in the middle of the night but just in case, we left earlier than we had too.  So we saw sunrise!  We worked out where the car hire depot was (4 minutes walk away!) and Greg dropped me off with the bags while he returned the car.  We had breakfast, and boarded our Play flight to Denmark, which left at 6.20am.  We arrived in Copenhagen at 11.30am local time.

Arriving in Denmark, we took the train to Roskilde to meet up with our long time friends Thomas and Marianne. We first met Thomas and his mate Hendrick in 1986 (gasp - so long ago!) on an elephant trek in Thailand.  Something we probably wouldn't do now! We kept in touch - Thomas lived with us in 1992 when he was studying medicine - and it was then that we first met Marianne.  This is our third visit to Roskilde, and it is always so lovely to catch up with them both, they are the best people!  They had left a key out for us so we settled in and waited for them to get home from work! Marianne got home first - they both finish about 4pm and race to see who can get home first (both on their bikes).  It was so lovely to see them both again!  We had an Icelandic gin before Thomas and Marianne prepared us a delicious dinner.  Which we had with champagne, as is our tradition :-)

17 May

Thomas made us fresh bread rolls, an enormous omelet to share (courtesy of his chickens) and cheese... it was fabuous. After our huge breakfast Thomas took us for a walk (11,000 steps in total, so quite a long walk!).  First we walked into Roskilde itself and to Marianne's new dental surgery.  Greg and I saw the price list.  A root canal is about $300!  What a bargain compared to Australia!  Marianne is loving having her own practice again.  Then we walked to Thomas's new practice, where he is working on a flexible schedule. Finally we walked to Musicon.  This is a development that has been happening for the last 15 years, started by the Roskilde Music Festival.  They had their office overlooking discarded warehouses and a run down industrial area, and had the idea of building a community that had a special feel to it.  The first building completed was low cost housing for students.  Now there are lots of apartment buildings, all privately owned, and they are all different.  Even apartments inside a complex are different.  The idea is to stimulate creativity and individuality.  There is a dance and music school there.  Most of the people who chose to live there are artists in some way so the vibe is very cool. RAGNAROCK - The museum for pop, rock and youth culture (the gold building) has been voted one of the 15 best "must-see" museums in the world for innovative design and interactive exhibitions.  We were going to have an outdoor beer here but the bar doesn't open until 2pm, so we wandered back to the house.

Thomas had suggested that Hendrick and Christina might like to host us for dinner!  Luckily they said yes!  They live about 25 minutes drive away from Roskilde,'ín the bush' according to Thomas!  They certainly have a huge block of land, beautifully looked after as is the Danish way, and a lovely house.  Hendrick pulled out his photo albums and we got to laugh at our young selves and how very crap we were when it came to photography!!   Christina is a great cook and she made us Danish asparagus salad, followed by a baked wild salmon with Danish potato salad and a Danish cabbage salad.  This was followed by an almond tart with fresh stewed rhubarb and strawberries (Danish of course).  It was a lovely meal.  We also got to meet their two beautiful daughters!

18 May

Well as a special surprise to me, (to continue! the celebrations) for my birthday, Thomas and Marianne took us out to dinner at Mumm, in Roskilde.  The restaurant has been operating since 2000 and has a very good reputation.  We had the "free fall"- a 6 course menu put together by the chef with wine.  The waiter did a lovely job of explaining each wine and how it would compliment the food.  And it was all absolutely delicious.  We enjoyed every mouthful!  I so appreciated the thought Thomas and Marianne had put into planning this wonderful occasion for us.  They know how much we love food too! It was quite a lot of wine though and by the end, we were all feeling a little affected... Greg insisted on a quick drink in a bar before heading home.  We stopped in a bar and were surprised to have three young men join us for a chat!  One of them said their dad was English (living in Denmark of course) and promptly rang him, and insisted we both speak to him!!  We left (or rather were asked to leave, the bar was closing!) and started the walk home - then Marianne remembered her bag!!  We rushed back and banged on the door - they were still cleaning up so we were able to get it!  Phew!  Such a fun night.  We had so many laughs.  We are so lucky to have such wonderful old friends!

19 May 

We waved au revoir to Thomas and Marianne - heading to their house in the south of France, where we will meet them next month.  It was a beautiful day and we walked down to where I had booked to get my eyebrows dyed.  What an experience!  They obviously don't do eyebrows much (despite their website).  There was no discussion about what style I wanted, and no threading or waxing or plucking - she just plonked on the dye.  Then rubbed it off. Vigorously.  Over and over.  I was thinking I'd lose a layer or skin on my eyebrows!  She muttered that they dye was really sticking to my skin.  Because she hadn't used any barrier cream?  Eventually she stopped scrubbing and presented me with a mirror.  My eyebrows, surrounded by traumatised red skin, were darker.  What an experience!  Greg and I walked on down to the Viking  Ship Museum which is located at the bay in Roskilde.  In 1962 they discovered the remains of 5 Viking ships, used to fill in one of the arms of the fjord as a barrier.  The area was temporarily drained and the ship remains were excavated, painstakingly preserved and put together again (like a giant jigsaw puzzle) - it took 25 years.  The museum was built especially for the ships but it turns out the big glass window they installed is causing damage to the ships.  They are building a bigger and better museum and are planning how to move the very fragile ships.  All of the ships have been recreated, using traditional methods and equipment, and they are down in the dock near the museum itself.  10 years ago when I was there with Liam and Bella there were a heap of activities on for the kids - I can't quite  remember why, but it was a lot quieter on this visit!