I have made my triumphant return to beautiful Copenhagen after a whirlwind trip to Western Denmark (and the very Northern part of Germany). So, as I sit here listening to a FABULOUS radio program about the 46th Anniversary of the Beatles coming to the US, I will regale you with the tales from my first trip to continental Europe!
We started the trip bright and early in the morning on Thursday and headed to the border region between Denmark and Germany. This region is interesting because the land has gone from Germany to Denmark several times, the final border being drawn as part of Wilson's 14 points after World War I. As a result, this region of Denmark/Germany has kind of a confused identity with about 20,000 Germans living in Denmark and about 50,000 Danes living in Germany (however they are still Danish citizens, are assisted by the Danish government, covered by Danish national healthcare, etc. and vice versa).
Our first stop was to the battlefields of Dybbøl where in 1864 (while the Americans were busy with the Civil War) Germany CRUSHED the Danes and took approximately 1/3 of Denmark. This is an important battle for Denmark because this is the point where they became a "small nation" (to this day they very much identify with/take pride in being a small nation that has the ability to really take care of the people, i.e. as a welfare state). After that we headed across the border to Flensburg, Germany. We were there for approximately 40 minutes because we were running really late because of weather so we literally got out of the bus, did a super brief tour of the main street in Flensburg, and then got back on the bus and left!
After Germany we headed to Rødding to a Folkehøjskole to meet the students and stay the night. Folkehøjskoles only exist in Denmark and they are set up so after high school students can go there to take classes for fun (i.e. no exams, no papers, no real work) to figure out what they want to do with their life and to meet other Danes. Anyone over the age of 18 can go to a Folkehøjskole and there is no set amount of time you spend there (so theoretically you could be at one for the rest of your life). However, this is the only type of school that Danes have to pay for (the tuition is about $6,000 a semester which is outrageous for Danes - yeah right!). After we checked in to the Folkehøjskole we ate dinner in the cafeteria with the students, had a lecture about Danish history, the Folkehøjskole system, etc. and then hung out with the students.
The next morning we left to go to Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark. We spent all day in Ribe doing a Scavenger hunt and taking tours (Viking Museum, Cathedral, Monastery, and Brewery). The Brewery was a local microbrewery in the center of Ribe. It was actually very cool because the main brew-master is the Headmaster at the high school in Ribe and just does this on the side. So, we crowded into this tiny garage where they make the beer and he told us all about the beers. During the tour we could "help ourselves to as much beer as we want, but you must try all 5 beers" Translation: by the end of the tour everyone, including our professors, was pretty smashed! The beer was absolutely fabulous though, I don't really like dark beer but it was all really good! 70% of the beer they make is sold in Ribe but the other 30% is sold around Denmark so hopefully I'll be able to find it in Copenhagen! After the Brewery tour we had dinner with another European Culture and History class (they are going to Prague instead of Germany for their week-long study tour) and then we hit the bars to meet the locals! For a small town Ribe has plenty of bars (including 1 that has Karaoke bar) so I think everyone in our program had a pretty good time!
The next day we had breakfast at the hostel then left for Jelling. On the way, we stopped at the Vejen Kunst Museum which is known for their collection of Danish symbolism from the late 19th century. The museum was first built to house the works of sculptor Niels Hansen Jacobsen but now has a larger collection with different artists. The museum was super nice however we didn't get to stay very long and I didn't really enjoy it as much as I would have because I was still, ahem, tired from the activities from the night before.
Jelling is a hugely historical place for Denmark because:
1. Jelling is the site where Gorm the Old (Viking) declared himself 1st King of Denmark.
2. Gorm's son, Harold Bluetooth (yes, the bluetooth in cell phones is named after this man) ordered the making/establishment of the Jelling Stones, considered the birth certificate of Denmark.
3. One of these stones is where the name "Denmark" is first written.
4. Jelling is where Christianity was first accepted in Denmark (DK is now a Lutheran country)
After visiting the Jelling stones we had to climb to the top of the HUGE mound where Gorm was originally buried (his remains are now in the town's cathedral) because it is tradition that people climb to the top of the mound and take a shot of some vile Danish liquor in honor of Gorm (note: there may have been people in our class that were just sobering up from the night before). It was a lot of fun though because this mound, like everything else in Denmark, was covered in ice so instead of attempting to walk down the hill (it was also very steep) the entire class slid down the side on our butts, and yes, there are pictures! Then we had lunch at a "Kro" which is a Danish Inn that is known for having traditional Danish food, homey feel, stuff like that. After lunch we headed back to Copenhagen!
We didn't get back to Copenhagen until pretty late so I got home, had leftovers from dinner and then crashed! Today I think I'm just going to hang out at home. Unfortunately the Super Bowl is not on until midnight here so originally my friends and I were going to go to a bar to watch it, but my train home stops running at 12:30! Oh well, someone said the they don't get the good commercials here so I'm not heartbroken!
