visit the old home where I grew up, visit an old friend from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. grade, visit the old school, visit the place where I used to go after school to work on the fishing boats, take a ferry ride on the sister ship (ferry) to the one I was on when I at the age of 9 decided I wanted to go to sea.
Off we go in my sister-in-laws little Toyota, we cross the man made "landbridge" between Moen (Møn) and Bogoe (Bogø) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog%C3%B8 and drive to the ferry landing at the village of Bogø.
Bogoe has an old windmill http://www.moellearkivet.dk/bjerreby-mlle4 The link is in Danish so use Google Translate to read it.
In Bogoe we board the old ferry for the long ride across Grønsund (literally translated it means Green Sound). The distance from the ferry landing at Bogoe to Stubbekoebing (Stubbekøbing) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stubbekobing on the Island of Falster is all of 1.3 Nautical Miles / 1.5 Statute Miles / 2.42 Km. At a speed of say 7 knots (8.1 mph / 13 km) it takes the ferry from loading to landing is about 11 to 12 minutes.
The ferry we took this trip on was the IDA and I assume she is still the only ferry running on that route. I made my decision to go to sea on the sister ship (ferry) named, if I remember correctly, Gudrun. The Gudrun was built in the mid 50's. The Ida is just a bit younger otherwise they are / were identical. http://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/bogo-stubbekobing-ferry-gdk615162
The above link has some nice pictures.
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| Yours truly thinking back to that day in what must have been about 1954 when I was standing on a deck similar to this one and decided that I wanted to go to sea. The trusted sister-in-laws Toyota in the back. |
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| Norma is getting her sea legs on this "long" voyage across the "ocean". Note she is dressed for Danish summer weather. It was a rather cool day. |
One of the things that are discovered that although we are now in the area where I grew up and rode my bicycle and went to the "big city" someone had made new roads, how dare they, and we could not find our way to the right road to go to Horbelev (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horbelev), the village where I went to school. We found a lady stopped outside a house and we asked her for directions - she said follow me, I live in Horbelev - and to this day I wonder if she recognized me because she added something curious; "I live in Dr. Rasmussen's old house and you are welcome to stop by for coffee." Did she purely on speculation assume that I would know who Dr. Rasmussen was, or did she recognize me but didn't identify herself. We will never know. Anyway, we followed her and entered the village on a road I recognized as we got closer. We thanked her profusely for the invitation but declined since we had a lot on our plate this day.
First was a visit to and old friend from school, Ole and his wife. They live on the farm he grew up on although he no longer farms, and to get to the farm we had to drive through the village of Saerslev, Falster (http://www.stad.com/index.php?lat=54.8413&lon=12.057192). The link may not be the best but it does have some photos from the general area. As a child I lived in Saerselv for a couple of years and it was from there that I began 1st grade, walking to school in Horbelev, but it was only "uphill" on the way to school and "downhill" going home. So as a first grader I had to walk the enormous distance of a little over 1 km each way (0.6 miles). From our house, which was a rental house, to my friend Ole's house / farm was a great distance with a "big" hill in the middle was about the same distance. However, in the summer we could cut across the farm fields and shave some distance off.
Ole and his wife Alice in their den.
We have, of course, gotten a bit (or perhaps a lot) older since we saw each other last in the late 50's. But the farm looked the same, the little allée from Falskerslev road to the farm house is not nearly as long as I remembered it, but it still had the majestic old oak trees lining it on both sides.
We had a nice visit reminiscing over old times. Ole played a bit of the violin that I remember his father played. Coffee, cake, snacks, conversation, remembering this or that.
We had to move on because on today's schedule are a number of stops. The first one is Horbelev Skole where I went to school except for one year at Bregninge Skole and the last year at Jungshoved Skole. Here I did first grade and the other grades moving quickly through the grades. The school is no longer a public school in the proper sense of the word, having been purchased by a group of families so they can privately educate their children, in other words, home schooling in a real school setting.
The building that housed first and second grade.
To the left but out of view is an apartment for a teacher,
in this case it was Mr. Jensen and his family that lived there.
The building that housed 3rd, 4th, 5th grade and the
administration office, the principal and two teachers had to administrate as well as teach.
In the wing at right were 6th, 7th and so on grades plus "home economics"
in the "attic" with a full kitchen and one or two teacher apartments.
Not visible but directly behind these buildings was the library (in the attic)
and the principals living quarters.
It was nice to see the old school but difficult to connect because the people that were there were really to young to understand what it meant to have been a student there when Hr. (Mr) Nørgaard was principal and he taught art, chemistry, physics, botany, anatomy; Hr. Jensen taught math, language, English, history, gymnastics (we had real gymnastic not PE); Frk. (Miss) Andersen taught Danish, literature, music and I can't remember all the subjects and she had great looking legs; There were other teachers; among them Hr. Tambourg who taught the deep subjects as wells as woodshop and who also taught at Bregninge Skole, Frk. Jørgensen who drove the coolest car, a VW, a Carmen Ghia, which was the closest thing we got to see as a "hot" sports car because it was a convertible. Memories!!!!
After the school it was time to make a quick visit to an uncle through marriage, Onkel Einar who had married my mothers sister Lilly. Aunt Lilly died many years ago from lung cancer. She smoked like a chimney and when the cigarettes got to be too much she switched to cigars and when they "choked" her she began smoking pipe. We found his house but unfortunately he was not home. Uncle Einar died later that year but we did not find out until the following February.
Off to my old home, the house I consider, to this day, HOME, the house I grew up in. It is located in the village of Bregninge. Again remember that thing about having to walk to and from school? Well, we did, but in Bregninge we had to walk uphill both ways - for a distance of 2.4 km / 1.5 miles - come rain or shine or snow. For an explanation of the uphill both ways do a google maps search with topography and you will see that it is a fact. Most often we used our bicycles but with a fair amount of snow on the ground during winter we walked and enjoyed the walk. However, for the one year that I went to Bregninge Skole (2nd grade) it was a very short distance. There were two teachers at Bregninge Skole, Hr. Tambourg mentioned earlier and Frk. Voldom. Since this school only had 1st and 2nd grade and a big class would be 18 students their work was somewhat easy. Both lived in their respective apartments at the school. Hr. Tambourg with his wife and two daughters and Frk. Voldom was single.
Since Frk. Voldom had received her Masters Degree in Heidelberg, Germany she also offered private classes in German and I studied with her, together with a large number of adults, for a number of years but never really had occasion to use the German I learned. Frk. Voldom also had a certain way to get students to attend church, the nearest church being Horbelev Kirke (church). Those who had detention were often given the option of going to church to "pump" the organ since she was the organist and it was an old bellows organ. Dare I say that I did this from time to time. http://www.danmarks-kirker.dk/lol_fal/horbelev_lol.htm http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horbelev
The old home was a bit of a disappointment, and it was the first instance of the realization that you cannot go "back home" because what one remembers and what actually exists now, has changed drastically. Whoever was the current owner of the house did not do the old home any favors. Having removed the old façade and the support beams and replaced all of it with brick it just didn't look quite the same.
The old house as it looked 6 years ago.
Same old house; where the wall is white was my parents bedroom.
The yard looks un-kept. Where the small tree is was a very large
cherry tree which would put out a lot of cherries each and every summer.
We didn't find anybody home here so I could not show Norma the cubicle that Max and I called our room. We wandered across the street to an old farm there where there used to be two boys named Kaj and Tage, and guess what, their parents still lived so we had a short conversation. Again we were invited for coffee and cookies and goodies, but they day was getting short and we still had two more stops to make, Pomle Nakke (http://www.visitlolland-falster.com/ln-int/denmark/pomle-nakke-traktorsted-gdk615669) and Hesnaes (Hesnæs) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesn%C3%A6s.
On the way out of Bregninge we had to stop by the village pond, which most if not all small Danish village have for in the "good old days" this is where the fire engines would drop their hoses to get water to put out fires. In the Bregninge Pond my Uncle Einar and my father build super house for ducks so they would be more comfortable in the winter.
Pomle Nakke http://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/pomle-nakke-traktorsted-gdk615669 was a great place to go in the summer for ice cream and for an occasional but very rare"fancy dinner out". It is situated on cliffs and from what I understand it has been moved "inland" a couple of times to keep from falling into Oestersoen (Østersøen which literally translated means East Sea) which is generally known as the Baltic Sea. We just stopped because we didn't find anyone there but did walk around for a bit so Norma could have some idea of where I played as a child and the route taken by bicycle; from home to Pomle Nakke was about 3.8 km / 2.4 miles, and from there to Hesnaes was an additional 1.9 km / 1.2 miles, so 11.4 km / 7.1 miles for the roundtrip.
Hesnaes Strand (beach) http://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/hesnaes-strand-gdk738544 was and is among one of my favorite places in the world as is the little fishing harbor at Hesnaes Havn (http://marinas.com/view/marina/10763_Hesn%E6s_Havn__Denmark) which when I was a child was a rather busy little fishing port. I would make haste from school to home to drop my school bags and books and take off for Hesnaes knowing that just about everyday I would make it in time before one of the fishing boats went out to check their nets and I would go with them.
Hesnaes is also know for a couple of very interesting houses which have survived to this day.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/66454601
Here are a few photos from the beach at Pomle Nakke and from Hesnaes.
It brought back many memories; the smell of the saltwater, the smell of the nets (in those days nets were not made out of nylon, but were made out of natural materials and then often tarred to prevent rot. The sound of the one or two cylinder diesel engines in the boats. The engines were usually built by Hundested Maskinvaerk and were "hot bulb" engines with their distinct sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66t2Zl6w-Ic
When the day comes that I go to my eternal rewards, whatever they may be, this is the place where I would very much like my ashes to be scattered, at Hesnaes Beach and in the harbor basin. I have great very much treasured memories from these two locations.
Up the coast a bit is the old Hestehoved Fyr (Horsehead Lighthouse) but we didn't take the time to drive to the lighthouse. When I was a child it was an annual picnic location; my mother prepared a lot of "open face sandwiches" and they were loaded into a picnic basket together with a proper table cloth, napkins, silverware, china and of course drinks. Then we would all get on our bicycles and ride to the lighthouse for a real picnic on its grounds. Back in those days the light was attended but I do not know if it is now. http://www.fyrtaarne.dk/hestehoved.html
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/74222114
http://tjow.dk/Fyr/slides/g077.html
The day is almost over and it is time to head back to Moen and to Franks house. We were expected to stop at the butchershop in Maglebraende for some steaks, but by the time we got there the shop was closed. We called Frank, on a borrowed cell phone, and gave him the bad news. Then we took the Farø bridge on the way back because the ferry had stopped running for the day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far%C3%B8_Bridges
Frank and Lone went shopping while we were on the way back and when we got there the dinner was ready.
More to follow in the next post.
The pond in Bregninge with a typical old Danish village house in the back.
Another view of the pond and the island made by Uncle Einar
and my father on which the "duck house" was situated.
Each small village in Denmark did have or still has one of these ponds. In the "good old days" they would be used by the fire department to drop their hoses to get water to put out fires. This particular pond also supplied the village of Bregninge with water which was first run through the water works, filters, chlorine, and whatever else was put in the water to make it safe. This pond was also a great place to skate in the winter, except near the water works intake because the ice was always a bit thinner there, which we usually found out the "hard way".
When I was a child Bregninge had a co-op grocery store (Brugsforeningen), a butcher shop, an independent little grocer (Købmanden), a real carpenter shop and of course the school and there were most likely about 10 or 11 telephones in the village, it is now a "bedroom" community and the stores are closed
Pomle Nakke http://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/pomle-nakke-traktorsted-gdk615669 was a great place to go in the summer for ice cream and for an occasional but very rare"fancy dinner out". It is situated on cliffs and from what I understand it has been moved "inland" a couple of times to keep from falling into Oestersoen (Østersøen which literally translated means East Sea) which is generally known as the Baltic Sea. We just stopped because we didn't find anyone there but did walk around for a bit so Norma could have some idea of where I played as a child and the route taken by bicycle; from home to Pomle Nakke was about 3.8 km / 2.4 miles, and from there to Hesnaes was an additional 1.9 km / 1.2 miles, so 11.4 km / 7.1 miles for the roundtrip.
Hesnaes Strand (beach) http://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/hesnaes-strand-gdk738544 was and is among one of my favorite places in the world as is the little fishing harbor at Hesnaes Havn (http://marinas.com/view/marina/10763_Hesn%E6s_Havn__Denmark) which when I was a child was a rather busy little fishing port. I would make haste from school to home to drop my school bags and books and take off for Hesnaes knowing that just about everyday I would make it in time before one of the fishing boats went out to check their nets and I would go with them.
Hesnaes is also know for a couple of very interesting houses which have survived to this day.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/66454601
Here are a few photos from the beach at Pomle Nakke and from Hesnaes.
The rocky beach at Pomle Nakke. Note how steep the cliff is.
A typical Danish summer day at the beach at Pomle Nakke.
Small fishing boats in Hesnaes Harbor. As a child I
used to work on boat like that, but back then they were
made out of wood and made men out of steel.
The boats that I would go out on were owned by a man and his two sons. They had a number of people employed as well. In the small shack in the picture below they would stack the empty fish boxes and also clean the fish before they were boxed and shipped off to market in refrigerated trucks. The catch was most often flounder, cod and eel.
Remembering back "when" I would clean fish here
and come home smelling like fish.
Occasionally a big fishing boat makes its appearance and this one did as if on cue.
It brought back many memories; the smell of the saltwater, the smell of the nets (in those days nets were not made out of nylon, but were made out of natural materials and then often tarred to prevent rot. The sound of the one or two cylinder diesel engines in the boats. The engines were usually built by Hundested Maskinvaerk and were "hot bulb" engines with their distinct sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66t2Zl6w-Ic
When the day comes that I go to my eternal rewards, whatever they may be, this is the place where I would very much like my ashes to be scattered, at Hesnaes Beach and in the harbor basin. I have great very much treasured memories from these two locations.
Up the coast a bit is the old Hestehoved Fyr (Horsehead Lighthouse) but we didn't take the time to drive to the lighthouse. When I was a child it was an annual picnic location; my mother prepared a lot of "open face sandwiches" and they were loaded into a picnic basket together with a proper table cloth, napkins, silverware, china and of course drinks. Then we would all get on our bicycles and ride to the lighthouse for a real picnic on its grounds. Back in those days the light was attended but I do not know if it is now. http://www.fyrtaarne.dk/hestehoved.html
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/74222114
http://tjow.dk/Fyr/slides/g077.html
The day is almost over and it is time to head back to Moen and to Franks house. We were expected to stop at the butchershop in Maglebraende for some steaks, but by the time we got there the shop was closed. We called Frank, on a borrowed cell phone, and gave him the bad news. Then we took the Farø bridge on the way back because the ferry had stopped running for the day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far%C3%B8_Bridges
Frank and Lone went shopping while we were on the way back and when we got there the dinner was ready.
More to follow in the next post.
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