Hjorring, Denmark w/Inge & Jesper, 10/5-11, 2006

I arrive in Hjorring by train around 5 p.m. by myself, having lost Janeen going to the train station in Copenhagen.  There in the station is Janeen waiting for approximately 3 hours.  She had caught the 9 a.m. as planned. How she missed me I have no idea except I may have been looking for her when she arrived at the platform in Copenhagen.  She's sitting talking with some Danish man who has befriended her.  Now she arrived in Hjorring without knowing Inge's last name, telephone or address.  She and this Dane went to the police station in Hjorring to try and locate "Inge"!  Now how many Inge's live in Hjorring?????  She doesn't feel she was wrong at all.  I tell her I feel she owes me 120 krona and also that I have used my phone card up on all these calls trying to locate her.  I just don't understand her ways but I am greatly relieved to see that she has made it up here in the north of Denmark.  She does reimburse me the money for storing my suitcase in Copenhagen while I looked for her.  I call Inge and she's here very shortly to pick us up.  It is so good to see her again.  She shows us a bit about town.  Back at her home, we each have our own room in Jesper and her beautiful home.  I take the one upstairs so Janeen doesn't have to climb so much.  The computer is up there, twin beds and a sink.  Very lovely room with 2 down pillows and a down comforter.  Inge fixes us a lovely dinner with sauteed veggies, steak, potatoes and red wine.  We go to bed after a wonderful evening of sitting at the kitchen table with olives in pesto, drinking wine and going over the years.  Jesper comes home from his meeting and eats dinner at the tale end of our meal.  I'm up the next morning after having slept wonderful, around 8 a.m.  Inge is up and in the kitchen.  Jesper has left for his clinic.  Inge fixes us breakfast of cheese, rolls, coffee and we get dressed to go to the town of Lonstrap.  It's a cute little resort town on the North Sea.  It's not a beautiful day with some rain.  We stop in a jewelry store she likes and has bought jewelry there before and look at his work.  I try on a serpent ring that is 850 krona but spot this necklace that has an ancient Egyptian spring clasp and silver chain and buy it for 750 krona, about $120.  I have just loved this necklace and wore it so much with fond memories.  Janeen buys a silver and gold ring that Inge admires and would like Jesper to buy her.  She actually owns the necklace I have chosen.  We go back to the house after having a herring lunch at a restaurant in Lonstrap.  Inge buys our lunch.  We are going to make dinner tonight as Inge needs to go to work.  I get on the Internet for email and banking.  Also I call Amy and use up my calling card.  There was only 12 minutes left on the card.  Inge comes home around 4:30 and we go to the grocery store for groceries and wine.  I fix Caesar's salad, chicken with pasta in rosemary & garlic cream sauce, brussel sprouts and a variety of broccoli.  Jesper opens a very good bottle of Italian wine.  The wine I have bought is not that great.  We have a marvelous dinner.  I drink too much wine and Inge and I dance in the dining room breaking my reef sandals!  It's Saturday morning and I'm up late at 9 a.m.  Inge and Jesper are up and she has breakfast on the table.  We're going north to see their newly purchased church, their summer home and to Skagen, a popular resort town the farthest north in Denmark.  Jesper takes the trailer with things for the church.  The church is cool, set in the countryside and they are meeting with the architect next week over the changes.  I take a few pics.  We drive on to the town where their summer home is, driving on the beach for a bit and Inge and I walking over the dunes with umbrellas as it is raining again.  We are walking to their summer home while Jesper and Janeen drive in the car.  There are wild roses in the dunes with the biggest rose hips I have ever seen.  Inge makes jam from them but it is quite a job she tells us.  The dunes remind me a bit of Indiana.  The summer house is very cool.  They bought it in Norway pre-assembled and assembled here on the site.  They have a tower in the back yard to sit on top and view the sea with a glass of wine.  The tower is enclosed below by chicken wire for their chickens.  They bring them out to their summer home.  We take some pics here and drive on to the peninsula to Skagen.  It's a cute little town.  The red tile roofs here are trimmed with white paint along the edge and across the top of the roof.  We have lunch at the Skagen Fisk Restaurant.  Jesper and I both have a wonderful fish cream soup with a small lobster and stone crab claw placed in the middle of the bowl.  It is so delicious and the presentation beautiful.  It's made with saffron and ginger. Take pics here too.  We drive to the point where the seas meet, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.  It's another wonderful day with Inge.  We're back to the house after stopping at the church again to pick up the trailer and bring it back with us to Hjorring.  She makes a dinner with the chicken, pasta and many veggies with coconut milk and curry spices.  It's quite good but I am not very hungry.  Very tired though and we all go to bed.  Up around 8, it's Sunday so Inge and Jesper don't have to go to work again.  Inge has breakfast on the table.  We have breakfast and now we're leaving in about half an hour to go on the treasure hunt.  Jesper is really into this and they have been on about 50.  You go online to find the clues and need a GPS to follow these clues and locate the treasure.  It is simply a box with these cards inside and little trinkets people choose to put in the box.  We head out for the countryside.  It's a lovely day.  We get to Nymolle Baek, which is a national park protected area.  We hike thru the woods and ravenes , by a creek and it is very lovely.  We get to the spot where Jesper has figured the treasure is hidden and we can't find it.  Inge and Jesper say it is usually easier than this.  We look for about 20 minutes to a half an hour and Jesper finds it.  It is tucked under the steps in a black plastic bag.  Very concealed.  There is lots of stuff in the box and we are the second adults to find the box.  Jesper takes the second adult card and registers our find in the booklet inside the box.  There are 3 adult cards and 3 junior cards inside the box total when it is placed in it's hiding spot.  There are now 1 adult card left and the 3 junior cards.  It is quite fun.  We now head for the castle where there is a clue and math you must do to find the next treasure hunt.  Jesper does the math and we take the tour of Voergard Castle.  The tour is all in Danish and very wordy.  Inge translates but it takes forever.  The rooms are filled with antiques.  The fixtures are all Italian glass with a few brass and crystal chandeliers.  Many of the Italian glass are reproductions replaced in the 50's of the original ones.  The castle was built by Ingeborge Skell in 1588.  It was bought in 1955 several years later by a Danish man, Count Eoberbech Clausen, who had married Dr. Pean's daughter.  Pean invented the instrument clamp-like for separating and holding tissue in surgery.  Also used for pulling sticks in closing the surgery opening.  She died while they were living in France and left him all of her estate.  He had already made his fortune in France.  He bought the castle and moved all of her belongings to this castle.  We finally exit the castle and find that Jesper has found the treasure here at the castle and he has also found another one nearby.  The one at the castle he gets the first discovery card.  Leaving the castle we stop in a lovely small town and have coffee and delicious desserts.  Now we drive on to the town where his clinic is and tour it.  It's very nice and I take some pics.  We stop for groceries and then head home to prepare.  We have snacks of cheese, fruit, crackers, salmon and bread and I have some wine.  Inge makes some coffee and a few hours later we have dinner.  I make another Caesar's as they really liked that.  Inge makes oven roasted and delicious potatoes scrubbed, oiled and salted that she slices almost thru.  Sautes the chicken with mushrooms and we have green beans.  Another fabulous meal.  She makes bread before going to bed.  I'm up at 8 a.m.  Inge is still here as this is Monday, a work day.  The rolls are no good because of the sunflower seeds.  They were rancid.  UGG.  What a disappointment for her effort.  She goes to work and I write in the journal.  Janeen gets up after 9 and we clean up the kitchen.  Inge comes home for lunch and brings sausage and liver pate.  We have a great lunch with her and she goes back to work.  We walk into town and stop by the second hand store.  I'm not interested in shopping so wait outside for Janeen.  We go to the post office and buy stamps, post cards and a box to mail stuff home.  Walk into the train station to book our train to Berlin and on to Prague.  Inge has talked to someone by phone earlier and we need to try to buy the ticket.  The girl at the counter sends us to the phone as she can't access all our options.  We talk to the train people and reserve for Thursday a.m., getting into Berlin in the evening.  The cost is $175 each.  We head to downtown deciding to get the ticket tomorrow and discuss with Inge.  We're in town trying to decide what direction their house is and see Inge looking for us.  She takes us home and we relax.  Janeen makes Swedish spaghetti that is OK.  It's with green onions, bacon, tomato juice and catsup and very sweet.  They appear to like it.  We have great conversation and retire for the night.  Inge and I talk about the weather and how the cold is bothering my joints and she suggests we look on the computer for some other options than going to Berlin and onto Prague.  She finds a trip to Crete, a great deal including round trip flight to the island of Crete, transfers to our apartment for a week all for $285.75.  So we blow off the train to Berlin and on to Prague for a week on the island of Crete in Greece.  We will fly there but not use the return flight back to Copenhagen.   Good Plan........Up the next morning to join Inge for breakfast.  She'll be home for lunch and we'll go to town and buy the train ticket to Copenhagen and mail the package.  Inge comes home for lunch and takes us back to Lonstrap before dropping us in town.  Janeen wants to buy the necklace like mine.  I just can't believe her.  It's taking all my patience to be with her.  Inge is so gracious and takes her there again.  We find the store closed so Inge will arrange to buy the necklace for Janeen and mail it to the States.  We ride out of town to see the church and graveyard that are slipping into the sea, or the graveyard is.  It's a pretty day We stop at a linens shop where the woman has recently lost her husband. He ran the shop and now she does.  She will be visiting her cousin in Tampa Bay somewhere and I gave her my name, address and Amy's phone number to call me in Jan/Feb 2007.  Inge buys a beautiful linen jacket.  I admired the cocoa brown one.  She buys a scarf also.  They are Swedish apparel.  The shop has lovely things.  Inge drops us in town and we buy our train ticket to Copenhagen and mail our package home.  I walk into town to the brush man's shop.  He's the only brush man left in Europe and I buy a suede brush for my jacket and a dish brush that I am still using today.  It's of natural hog hair, I think, and hand secured to a plastic handle.  Janeen is shopping and I tell her I will meet her in the center of town.  I get a danish and sit on a bench in the center of town eating it, watching the people and looking out for Janeen.  Buy some candy from the chocolate shop in town.  We find each other in town and she still wants to shop so I sit on the bench in the sun.  She returns and we walk to Inge's getting lost.  Sit in the park with the map of Hjorring and I try to find Inge's street on the map.  Can't find it.  Ask a girl and she's not sure but we head in the direction she suggest.  See a man walking towards us and he knows the street, takes us to the street off the park and we get home.  Inge is bringing home fish for dinner tonight, Janeen still wants to go buy these Global knives she has seen advertised in the local Danish-type WalMart store.  I can' believe her!  Now she has to have these!  Inge gets home and takes us while Jesper cooks the dinner.  I see a sweater jacket I like and buy it and have loved this sweater wearing it alot.  So if Janeen had not insisted on these knives, I wouldn't have this great sweater!!!!  Jesper has cooked a wonderful meal.  Salad made with the cabbage, fish with a sauce made from the cabbage, rice that he presents formed artisticly from a bowl and we have a German Riesling wine.  We toast to our time together, our reunion and meeting Jesper.  It's a wonderful last night with Inge.  Retire for the nite.  I'm up early with Inge again.  I'm going to work on the uploading of pics.  She leaves for work and I review the pics.  They are all on there.  I identify all that I want on the blog and begin uploading.  She comes home for lunch and has taken the rest of the day to be with us.  She has stopped at a jewelry store where they have this jewelry she likes at 50% off.  I still haven't showered and I want to finish this uploading.  I have Janeen do them while I'm in the shower.  She does fine.  We go look at the jewelry and Inge picks out the one she likes the best.  It was the one I liked the best also.  We stop at the brush store for Janeen to buy Inge a brush and then stop at her office to use the fax.  It doesn't go thru, so Inge mails it to Spies, the company we bought the Crete trip from as they have charged us twice and we need a credit.  Back to Inge's and I'm working on the upload and finishing packing.  We have to leave for the train station around 7:50 p.m. or so.  The train is 8:22 p.m.  Jesper comes home to say goodbye.  He has a meeting tonight and then cards with the boys.  We say our goodbyes and I finish the upload.  Have dinner with Inge and complete packing.  Stopped at another place for Janeen before coming home and bought crackers and chips for the trip.  I'm a bit annoyed with her constant demands and I want to finish the photos.  It's time to leave Inge's and we go to the train station.  I mail the postcard to Mark where Inge has added a note.  The train is late.  Inge is worried about our connection and thinks of taking us to Aalborg.  She talks to people waiting and they assure her the train will wait.  The train finally comes about 8:40 p.m. and we say goodbye.  We are both sad, Inge and I.  We change trains in Aalborg and have been in the quiet car from Hjorring to Aalborg.  Get on the next train and it's very loud.  We are sitting in purchased seats and have to move.  The ride is very uncomfortable.  I try to sleep with no luck, my legs are aching me.  Can't figure that out, maybe it's the insoles???  The train goes directly to the Copenhagen Airport.  We arrive about 3 a.m.  The airport is empty.  We come up from the train station into Terminal 3.  We need Terminal 2.  There are people on benches in 3 but we walk over to 2.  It's quite a hike.  No benches.  Get a trolley for our luggage and go outside to a bench to sleep.  So uncomfortable and then I get cold.  Move inside to the floor of the airport and go to sleep.  The airport is quiet when I go to sleep and wake up around 5 a.m. to it's bustling.  Janeen has moved inside also but I don't see her on my way to the bathroom.  She stops me on the way back.  I go to find where we check in and ask a woman at the counter.  It's My Travel, a charter company.  Or paperwork on this trip is all in Danish and I cannot read it!  We walk to the other end of the terminal and I see a kiosk for "My Travel" so check in.  The woman has sent us in the right direction.  Take bags to the counter and check them in, as the kiosk has given us 2 boarding passes and a tag for checking the bags.  Done with that!!!!  Gets some juice, coffee and a croissant for breakfast while waiting to board the plane.  Buy another danish with my left over krona's.  The coffee is great, French press individual.  We board the plane by walking to security back over at Terminal 3.  The security for Terminal 2 is backed up and the guy monitoring people going up there sends us to 3.  I have an aisle seat and Janeen has a window.  She knocks me again and I really don't like sitting next to her on a plane.  You purchase everything on this charter plane.  They did go thru and offer juice from Copenhagen to the stop picking up more people, a town I can't remember in Jyland.  We take off again and I sleep a bit.  Ate the sandwich on the plane.  I buy a bottle of water for an outrageous 15 krona.  We land in Heraklion, where the airport is on the island of Crete in Greece........next is......the island of Crete..................pictures are: Inge in Longstrap on the North Sea; Inge, me & Jesper on the treasure hunt; Inge in the Dunes by their summer home; Inge @ her front door in Hjorring; Inge & I in Longstrap; dinner @ Jesper and Inge's home; Inge & Jesper @ their church in the country; Inge @ the summer home; Rainbow over Skagen; Seaside town of Skagen; dessert & coffee; Jesper finding the trasure; looking for the trasure; The Castle; Jesper's Clinic; and, Inge & I dancing in her dining room!!!!!