We have now completed two weeks in Denmark and it is time to move on the next brother on the list, who was born second, with me being the oldest. This involves a car ride to Odense, a train ride to Stuer, with a lot of nice countryside along the way.
Odense is the 3rd largest and also one of the oldest towns in Denmark, dating from about 988, celebrating its 1000th anniversary in 1988 as an incorporated township. Think about this for a moment; Odense dates from 463 years before Christopher Columbus was even born. So when we in the US say "way back when, we are usually on talking in months or at best a few years". When in Odense they say "way back when, it has real meaning".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odense
http://www.odense.dk/welcome
http://wikitravel.org/en/Odense
Odense is also the home of the famous author Hans Christian Andersen
http://denmark.dk/en/quick-facts/map-of-denmark/odense/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen
http://hca.gilead.org.il/
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/hans-christian-Andersen
Odense is the location of the famous Lindo Shipyard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odense_Steel_Shipyard
https://www.google.com/search?q=lindo+shipyard+denmark&rlz=1T4ADRA_enUS364US364&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=e0pAU6fSC8ulsQTe3oCgAw&ved=0CD0QsAQ&biw=1583&bih=670
http://www.shipsandharbours.com/manufacturers.asp?id=27
Our destination today is the train station where we will board the train bound for Stuer, at least some it is bound for Stuer, some of is bound for Germany, we discovered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odense_station
Tickets are purchased and we say our good byes and board the train in car number # 4. The train leaves the station and is suddenly moving at a high rate of speed. This is an all electric train. At one point I am standing with my head out a window trying to take pictures and the conductor politely states "You should really pull your head in". About 15 seconds later there was a WOOOOSSSSSHHHH - we went under a bridge and the space between the railcar side and the bridge support was probably not more than a hand width. Lesson learned, keep head inside and forget about pictures.
The route takes us from Odense to Middelfart (here we go again with the jokes - see previous post), across the Little Belt, to the town of Fredericia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredericia
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/217713/Fredericia
http://www.danishnet.com/info.php/travel/fredericia-50.html
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=fredericia&qpvt=fredericia&FORM=IGRE
Just before arrival it is announced that cars three and four will be diverted to a train bound for Germany. Oppppps, we gather our luggage and huff it up through those cars all the way to car one.
Then it is on to the town of Vejle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vejle
http://wikitravel.org/en/Vejle
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=vejle&qpvt=vejle&FORM=IGRE
Here there is a change of train - talk about precision and team work. We pull in to the station on say track 6, those passengers continuing north cross the platform to track 5, which takes about two minutes, the doors close and off we go, even before we are seated. Up through the beautiful Grejsdal (Grejs Valley) and onward.
http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grejsdalen This link is in Danish so ask Google Translate to translate.
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Denmark/West/Vejle/Grejsdalen/photo75873.htm
Shortly thereafter we pass through the official birth place of the united kingdom of a christian Denmark - the small village of Jelling famous for the mounds (graves) of the king and queen. King Gorm den gamle (Gorm the Old) and Queen Thyra. Their son, Harold Blaatand (Harold Bluetooth) brought Christianity to the country in 965 AD, and although still officially a Christian nation in the fold of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, with the reigning monarch as the head of the church (a trick learned from King Henry the VIII of England), Denmark is now, for all practical purposes, a land of agnostics or atheists. We only catch a glimpse of the mounds as the trains speeds through. Here are some links, some of the links have additional buttons for more information.
http://www.visitvejle.com/ln-int/denmark/the-jelling-monuments-gdk607895
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelling_stones
http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelling_Kirke < use google translate for this link.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/28310171
http://www.fortidensjelling.dk/jelling32.htm < use google translate for this link
http://jelling.natmus.dk/om-jelling/tradition-og-historie/aosmann-isfron-1797/ < use google translate for this link.
We continue on our journey, passing through verdant pastures, through small villages to the town of Herning, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herning,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herning_Municipality,
http://wikitravel.org/en/Herning
where the doors of the train open, people scramble off and on, and about 90 seconds later we are rapidly increasing in speed. Then it is on to Holstebro, another fair size town which could be Kansas City KS of Denmark.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holstebro
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/269666/Holstebro
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Denmark/Ringkoebing_Amt/Holstebro-162876/TravelGuide-Holstebro.html
And then finally to our destination Stuer on the Limfjord, where my brother Max, his wife Mariann and their daughters' and 2 grandchildren pick us up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struer,_Denmark
http://www.struer.dk/webtop/site.aspx?p=15312
http://www.struerhavn.dk/ < use google translate for this link.
In order to fortify myself during the trip on the train I purchased two "hvidtøl" before leaving Svendborg.
They were enjoyed on the trip and brought back memories of my childhood and an occasional "sneaked" beer. At one time or another every Danish town with any self-respect had a brewery and each brewery made a great variety of beers. As a boy, when others collected stamps or coins, I collected beer bottle labels, and had a large collection. Here is a link to some information about Danish beer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_Denmark
http://www.beermerchants.com/denmark.html
http://denmark.dk/en/lifestyle/food-drink/danish-microbreweries/
http://www.beerindanish.com/
Since the incident with the head outside the railcar window it appears that only one photo was taken during the rail trip and that is of Norma enjoying a cold coke and the view out the window.
More to follow in the next post.
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