Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Guest Post: Seven Days in Denmark

I'm so happy to introduce a guest post from the Lovells on their recent trip! Hope you like it and feel free to leave a comment!


With just seven days to enjoy Denmark with our “Lovell-y” daughters in the thick of winter, we kept it moving.  It was a joyful moment when Briana realized that the girl she noticed walking by in the baggage claim area of the Aalborg airport not only looked a lot like Myra, but was Myra!   Yes, it’s fine with us to imagine that her vision of what a  week together would bring was instantly elevated to a higher level.  Palling around with the “rents” and Myzee – looking good!  Our corner room at the somewhat dated Park Hotel was everything we needed – including a view down the quaint street to Briana’s corner room just a couple of blocks away.  Bree hosted a warm and welcoming happy hour in her sweet room which we followed up with a delicious meal in town – the first of many truly outstanding meals in Denmark.  Aalborg was a delightful small town full of beautiful old buildings, nice parks, huge fjord, pedestrian streets, great cafes and last but not least, a lot of nice local brew!  Though cold outside, the Danish “hygge” (like coziness) was forever present inside – think warm, tasteful Danish design and LOTS of candles that burned not only at night, but all day, every day, everywhere.  Yep, I’m going to candle up for sure.  Seeing Aalborg, seeing the life Briana had created for herself there in Aalborg, walking on the beach at the most northern tip of Denmark, enjoying the local scene ... all highlights of the first few days. 

We took the train to Copenhagen and spent the last few days there.  What a beautiful city FULL of people on bikes!!!!!   Whoa ... bikes everywhere!  Even more than I remember seeing in Amsterdam.  Not like here, where people are clad in rain wear, helmets, neon etc.  Just ordinary people dressed in mostly black outfits (along with some fancy boots and high heels) getting to and from home, work, shopping etc. on very ordinary bikes.  Certainly makes me realize that though Portland may be a “biking” city by U.S. standards,  we are not even on the charts compared to Copenhagen.  We joined the fray of cyclists and rode out of the city center to the Bella Sky hotel – part of a redevelopment zone.  By redevelopment zone, we’re talking about some of the most wild and contemporary architecture you can imagine.  Unbelievable!  Check it out if you want:http://inhabitat.com/denmarks-new-bella-sky-hotel-boasts-a-stunning-green-interior/ We also had the pleasure of two evenings with “cousin Ida” (mentioned in Briana’s earlier posts) - a thoroughly delightful cousin of our friend Ingrid.  She was most welcoming and made visiting Copenhagen feel really special.

It’s hard to summarize a fun-filled week in just a few paragraphs.  I’ve never written on a blog before, so I hope it isn’t too long or boring!  We had a fantastic visit in Denmark with Bree and Myra.  The outside temp was pretty cold, but the warmth of our time together more than made up for it.  We loved it.  We totally loved it.














3 comments:

  1. Lovell Party!! Great family pics! Also love the one with the headbands!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great that you've been keeping up with your blog...so fun to hear about your experiences! Thanks for sharing photos, too. And glad you all had a wonderful visit last week! (the photo of the Bella Sky Hotel reminded me a bit of the tower at the DeYoung Museum in SF) - Barb

    ReplyDelete