A Winter In Europe Part II: Denmark, Germany, & the Netherlands



DENMARK: A VERY DANISH CHRISTMAS


Situated in the eastern Jutland region of Denmark, Horsens is the home to our very good friends Peter, Sarah, Logan, and one of Pea's BFF's, Liva. Horsens dates back to about the 10th century and is now a center for graphics and electronics companies. It is considerably less expensive than the major city centers of Denmark which is why many Danes live here and commute to other regions of Denmark. It's a lovely town and we love coming here.


We have traded visits abroad for the last six years and have a had a helluva time together in six different countries. We sure love our Danish fam.


Sara's dad, Frank (right), and Dre's dad, Gerard (left), were friends in the Navy. This friendship led to future friendships between their families that would span generations.


Penelope and Liva, the respective granddaughters of the old Navy sailors, do not speak the same language, but after a week together, they start to understand each other again! Their friendship is beyond words.


A Christmas in Denmark means you will be drinking Snaps. A lot of Snaps.


A Christmas in Denmark also means you will eat about 7 servings of incredibly delicious food. I was warned not to ask for seconds, but of course, I asked for seconds. After the 5th serving, I stopped asking for seconds...even though I really wanted to.

The food was insanely good. Smørrebrød is always a good idea.


Christmas in Denmark also meant holding hands and singing Danish carols around a Christmas tree lit in candles. What a lovely time.

 

A Christmas in Denmark also means being challenged to arm wrestling by the descendants of Vikings at 3 in the morning. I will let you guess who won this.

German, Gerwoman & Gerchild


After an unforgettable Christmas in Denmark, we were train bound for Germany on a mission to Berlin.



 Hamburg was a lovely stop with Christmas lights aglow, and only two hours train ride from Horsens. Though it was cold, winter markets offered steaming sausages and hot mulled wine to warm our bodies along our brisk jaunt through the city.


Merry Christmas in many different languages! (six I think if you count)


Back in the early 1960's, before the Beatles were the Beatles, the young Liverpudlians spent a lot of time in the red light district of Hamburg. Being a fan, I spent some time exploring this area known as Reeperbahn. I like my Hamburg medium-rare.


Hey, we know you! Our favorite German, Ilonka, from our Jakarta days!


We only drank these delicious hot-buttered rum drinks so we could keep the mugs. It was tough work, but somebody had to drink them. For some reason, no one has recognized this sacrifice.


The travel-weary Peanut waiting for the train to Berlin. 


 And bam, she's in Berlin with a wiener shirt!


My favorite part of Berlin was the incredible graffiti which adorned every wall and building throughout the city. In the subways, they even had photographs of graffiti hanging in frames. A Vietnamese-German man on the train described the city as "poor, but sexy." He also described himself as a banana - yellow on the outside and white on the inside. The dude had many clever things to say.


Our aforementioned mission to Berlin was a long awaited journey to be tatted by the great Durga, an Indonesian tattoo master. We had tried previously to see him in Indonesia, but he had moved to Germany with his wife. Dre's tattoo is of Srikandi, a female shadow puppet warrior centered on the SouthEast section of her mandala compass. She is the wife of Arjuna from the Mahabarata. This would be an homage to her second home in Indonesia. 


The Brandenburg Gate, built in 1791, has endured a torrid history, but ultimately became the symbol of Berlin's reunification. It's also neat to look at.


No big deal here. That's just us walking through Check-Point Charlie, the most famous crossing point of the former Berlin Wall. That was back in the days when people thought walls were a bad idea.  


Hey a book about a place called Usa? Sounds Swedish. Actually, interestingly, the book was about the Southwest part of the USA, where Dre and her family originate from. 


I have an ongoing joke that is only funny to me. Whenever we are looking for food in a foreign country and I see a Subway, I like to enthusiastically point out to Dre that, "Hey, they got a Subway!" Subway isn't exactly an exciting prospect when you are traveling abroad, but I think somebody should show enthusiasm for it and I'd like that person to be me.


Some good memories, a few currywursts, and a new tattoo in Berlin. Onto Amsterdam!

Amsterdaaaaaaaaaaamn


After a six-hour train ride from Berlin to Amsterdam, we made it to our final destination. Upon arriving, we soon found out that the Netherlands did indeed have windmills. At first, I mistook the windmills for giants and tried to fight them, but that's a common mistake.


Zaanse Schans, a restored industrial village from the 18th century, is a fantastic day trip from Amsterdam and was one of our first adventures when we arrived.


Only a 20 minute train ride and a short walk from central Amsterdam, Zaanse Schans is a lovely experience and totally free.


Part of the experience is watching firsthand how Dutch wooden clogs are made. For a moment, I was tempted to purchase a pair, but then I had extreme difficulty imagining a scenario where I would actually wear Dutch wooden clogs. Maybe to kill a spider.


Someone very tall left these shoes behind.
 

I found this part of the experience extremely cheesy. 


Back in the city, we enjoyed walking around the canals. Having lived in Jakarta previously, we were intrigued recalling the colonial Dutch influence there. The canal system didn't work so well in Jakarta though and has led to many floods and massive infrastructural issues since their creation centuries ago. Indeed, the canals seems better suited for a place that doesn't monsoon. 


Another enjoyable activity to do in Amsterdam this time of year is taking a night boat tour during the annual Amsterdam Light Festival. Every year, artists create light spectacles to see during the months of December and January.


The pictures don't really do it justice, but this provides one a vague impression of what the light tour looks like.



One of Penelope's heroes is Anne Frank and Amsterdam offers the opportunity to view the home she and her family hid in during the Nazi invasion. Unfortunately, you have to book several weeks in advance during busy times of the year. We were unable to view inside, but still enjoyed peeking at it from the outside.


 Perhaps our favorite stop in the city was Ice Amsterdam located in front of the Rijksmuseum. They had a steady flow of beverages, classic rock blasting, and prime ice skating opportunities abound. We met some fellow Washingtonians and thoroughly enjoyed Penelope and Dre's first ice skating experience.


I was not photoed because I spent most of this time on the ground.


By this time, we had spent 3 weeks in a very frigid Europe. If you can't tell in the photo, Penelope had had enough. It was time to head back home to Dubai. Dank je wel, Holland! Danke schön, Germany! Tusind tak, Denmark!

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