Jutland, Denmark: Days Three and Four

On Monday we left early with Arne and Athena for the west coast of Denmark. Arne and Jff were meeting with some people in their field at a folk school dedicated to renewable energy. It was also my opportunity to see a folk school in action. So we drove about an hour and a half to Kalundborg where we took a high speed ferry to the east coast of the second largest island in Denmark, Jutland (pronounced YOOT-lind). The ferry was amazing! What would have taken us about 3 hours on a regular ferry, took us about 40 minutes. We went out on the back deck of the boat, and literally the wind made our faces deformed.

Once we got over to Jutland, we stopped a bakery to have some coffee and well, you know, Danishes (they are not called that here). Delicious! We got back in the car and watched the cutest little towns with very old, very picturesque churches go by. It also gave me a chance to relax and read a book I am really enjoying: The Birth House, about mid-wives in Nova Scottia, by Ami McKay.

By Monday afternoon we made it all the way to the northwest part of Denmark, an area that has the greatest concentration of wind energy installations in the country. The folk school was very interesting- an amazing place where all sorts of experiments around renewable energy has taken place. Among the things we saw while there were all sorts of solar panels, different turbines and blades, a home insulated completely by hay bales, a completely sustainable geodesic dome, and all sorts of buildings with passive solar uses. It was cool to learn also about how they are a folk school.

After our long visit at the folk school we found the bed and breakfast where we had reservations. The “Kro” or tavern, was very cute, very Danish, and of course, on a fjord. The small town we were in was mainly a fishing village, but with turbines all over. It was very picturesque. For dinner we all had some sort of fresh fish. Pictured here is my meal- a very beautiful seafood-splosion.

Tuesday Jff and Arne had more meetings and so Athena and I went shopping. In Denmark, almost all towns have a pedestrian street or stroget, and this street is lined with shops. It is fun to walk around and see what is being sold, what is “in” currently, and how much various things cost here. The Danes dress very casually, and the clothes are very expensive (partially due to the horrible exchange rates). The stores that have tempted me the most are the stores where they sell dishes and linens. There are so many beautiful, simple, and practical items—they make Ikea seem like the Target of Denmark… come to think of it… Anyways, like I have said before- the Danes know how live, and in fact they have a special word, huegle, which means cozy, and stresses the importance of “home feel”. Funny.

Anyways, after another ferry ride and views of the countryside we returned last night around 7 pm. We went for a walk down to the fjord and cooked ourselves dinner in the community kitchen and then relaxed for a while. It is hard to believe that we still have two weeks of traveling left after this week! It already seems like we have done so much.