We left Copenhagen (6/28/12) with one thing on our mind “We
need to get the hell out of Denmark”. We planned on trying to ride through the
whole thing in one day, but my bike was acting a little off and my knee was
acting up again. Denmark has some beautiful cities and country side but the air
is so thick with bugs in some areas that just after 20 minutes of riding your
arms face and shirt are covered, it smells, and you couldn’t pay someone to
smile at you and seem cheerful. We joked that the one good thing about Denmark
is that you can ride through it in a day. We eventually stopped for the day
behind a roadside picnic area and set up our tents behind some bushes. The next
day when I woke up, I kept on hearing a noise that resembled someone rolling a
big trash bin from my last job around. I thought someone was maybe picking up
the trash and taking their sweet, sweet time. Josh was first up and out of his
tent and he told me it was thunder.
After that we all got up and packed our gear before the rain
would really start. The ferry to Germany wasn’t that far away, just 20 miles or
so. As soon as we started riding to the store it started to rain. We went into
the grocery store and got our food for the day. Pretty normal stuff except this
time when Chris walked out he said a lady invited us to her house to have some
coffee. Now we have never had a random stranger invite us into their house and
didn’t know how to take it. We had some riding in front of us, but the lady
came out of the store and told us where her house was and was so nice we
couldn’t say no. We got there and met her husband who was surprised I’m sure to
get three wet grown men in his kitchen. He didn’t speak English, but his wife
translated for him and he shook all of our hands with a big smile. First thing
she asked when we got inside was if we were hungry. We are always hungry for
free food. This woman made us coffee with milk, cinnamon crackers with honey
and man were they good. They were pretty modest, but their house was amazing
and right on the water with a perfect little garden and yard that ran to a dock
with a boat. They were getting ready for her birthday party the next day where
her daughters from America would be coming to see her. This lady even talked
about how she was fine paying up to 50% in taxes because people with money need
to share with the people who don’t have enough and she was a fan of Obama. I
can’t even name a leader of a single country we are going to and this woman
from Denmark knew about what Obama has been trying to do.
The rain slowed down and we hit the road. It was only one
road to the ferry so Josh flew ahead, while Chris and I sat back at our own
pace and talked. The rain started to come down hard along with constant thunder
and lightning all around us and above. Being from Seattle, we are see rain all
the time, but these rain drops were huge and when the wind blew it found a way
to get right in your shoe and fill it up. We talked about video games, (of
course) but then we also talked about college and without even trying Chris
convinced me to go back to school. From those of you that know me I always
hated the thought, but something just clicked and I’m going for it again. By
the time we got to the ferry we were soaked and I managed to tare a hold in the
crotch of my favorite shorts, but it was still warm when it was raining and
that lady was so nice to take us in, that the day wasn’t bad. She saved Denmark
in our minds. If it wasn’t for her, Denmark would have been a shit place.
Only thing to note about the ferry was that we all got a 5th
of grain alcohol for about $9 and we got the hell out of Denmark. Maybe we just
caught people at the wrong time or the Danish just don’t work the same way as
the rest of the Europe, but these three boys didn’t enjoy it, maybe you will.
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