Odense Danmark or Bust! July 12th, '06

Store Blt
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I was to arrive at Copenhagen airport 7:30am on July 12th.  However when leaving Nashville to Newark my plane was canceled due to poor weather.  I was soon rerouted to Atlanta.  I checked the schedule for times and came to the conclusion that I would arrive 3 hours late.  I have heard that the Danes are very prompt.  If you plan to meet a Dane at 7:30am, they will be there at 7:30am.  Not a minute sooner, and not a minute later.  This worried me knowing that my plane was to arrive 3 hours late.

Keterminde Harbor
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I arrived in Copenhagen at 10:45am, went through passport control, then picked up my luggage.  I already had in my mind that I was gonna miss my friend Jacob (Yackob), give him a call, then take the train.  I finally got passed the gates and there he was.  I was so happy to see a familiar face.  However, he did have to let me know that I was more than 3 hours late.  We then headed to the car and to his house in Odense, on the island Fyn.

On the ride to Odense I was amazed by everything I saw, and how nice my friend was.  I was also surprised how much it costs at the toll gate on the bridge Store Bælt.  200 DKK, or $40.00 USD.  Everything was pretty amazing.  The houses, the water, the nice air...everything.  The whole time Jacob talked about this and that about his country.  Oh yeah.  I even got to see a McDonalds.

Munkebo Bakke
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We finally arrived in Odense.  The city was bigger than I expected.  We then finally got to his place.  I met his girlfriend and their son.  After sitting around awhile I came to the conclusion that his girlfriend Heidi understood english, but didn't speak it.  Jacob speaks perfect english and their son only spoke danish.  The Danes are very friendly and polite people.  They are also very proud of their food, especially IS and Fransk Hot Dogs with a coca cola.

Mexico tile at the Mukebo Bakke
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So, after hearing about the is and hot dogs I had to try them.  We got back in the car and headed to Keterminde (north of Odense).  We parked the car, walked around Keterminde like every Dane does, found a hot dog shop, and I let Jacob order.  Wow!  I would have to agree that the fransk hot dog is better than good.  They take a small french bread with a hole on top, toast it, put remoulade in the hole and place the hot dog in the hole.  This is amazing!  But wait!  It gets better!  After the hot dog we walked to an is hus.  (IS = Ice, Hus = house)  At the is hus they have waffle cones, a large variety of flavors.  So when you order they put meringue in the bottom of the waffle cone, 6 small scoops of is and then meringue on top, with a shot of raspberry jam and a chocolate marshmallow cookie.  The only thing that went through my head was, I could never be happier, and I could die now! The whole time I ate Jacob and Heidi kept looking to see if I was enjoying it.  And I was.

After walking around Keterminde and the harbor for an hour we went to a place called Munkebo Bakke.  There is a tower built on the grounds.  A nice little hedge maze and a old monastery.  When you climb to the top of the tower you can see Fyn, Zealand, and Jutland (all three major islands of Denmark).  Also while in the watch tower look down at the tiles that are on the ledge.  Just about every tile has the name of a country, city, or state on them.  I didn't see any for the USA but there is one for Mexico.  We then got back in the car and went back to Odense.  Heidi fixed us dinner.   And I'd be dammed that I can't remember what it was.  Sorry Heidi.  After dinner we relaxed a bit and watched t.v.  And I kept wondering to myself, why does the clock say 10:00pm? and why is it still light outside?  Well, during the summer time the sun doesn't set until 10:30pm and it doesn't get fully dark until 11:15pm.

That's it for day one.