After the bee farm I headed up to Denmark to visit a friend I met on the Camino de Santiago 4 years ago. We bumped into each other on the road and realized we had the same walking pace. As she described us, we were both short and “fluffy” I prefer being fluffy to fat or overweight!
My friend volunteers in a soup kitchen with the Catholic nuns from the order of Mother Teresa know as – “Missionaries of Charity” and I joined in. Mother Teresa’s goal was to show the love of God at all times. Her words and actions continue to be shared around the world today.
So, my first day in Copenhagen was spend in a kitchen chopping vegetables, browning meat, serving food and then washing dishes. I enjoyed every minute. We had around 40 people come, many refugees them selves from other countries coming to look for work.
I went from helping the Catholic nuns to watching a naked old man dangle his dangle about 20 feet in front of me. My friend and I sat eating an ice cream on the wharf when suddenly a man and about my age stripped down naked in front of me, went down a ladder into the ice cold water, stayed for under a minute then got out and walked back toward us to dry off and dress. Everything dangling about. In a bit of shock, I said to my friend “Oh my God, don’t look, don’t look, there is a naked man walking toward us. And my friend replied “Oh, yes that is quite common here, most everyone takes a cold plunge daily for their health. I cold plunge naked as well. We are used to it.” She asked if I wanted to try it and I said I would think about it. And now that it is my little secret if I did or did not – I’ll never tell!
One of the great things about visiting new places is reading about the highlights and history of the country. Hans Cristian Anderson was Danish. He wrote all those wonderful children’s fairy tales. The Princess and the Pea is the one I remember the most. In addition to fairy tales Legos were invented in Denmark by Ole Kirk Christiansen. The name LEGO is a contraction of the Danish words “leg godt” which translates to “play well” in English.
I learned that the USA actually bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark for 25 million dollars in 1917 – who knew!! Novo Nordisk, Danish manufacturer of weight-loss drug Wegovy, becomes Europe’s most valuable company at $428 billion this last year!
Denmark is beautiful, clean, and organized. We visited a famous Art Museum and strolled through the castle of King Frederick VI. The best part was seeing my old friend and staying with her, it gave me a taste of Danish life.
“We romanticize the stars, but forget that it is the darkness that makes them visible.”
People always ask me what is my favorite place, but really it is the people and when I am with my favorite people, well then that is my favorite place.
One of the Sisters
King Fredericks Castle
Beautiful views all around
Lots of sea ports
Where the man jumped in – sorry did not get a photo of him!
My Timshel by Tamara Gonzalez Oberbeck 
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