Denmark

After more weeks of colds, coughs and general malaise, plus a big birthday for Jasper who is now 4, we suddeny decided to accompany Zoran on his work trip to Denmark and then have a couple of weeks of family holiday. We bought our tickets a week ago, and we left Sydney on Friday afternoon, and flew for 9 hours, Jasper didn't sleep he was so excited about the whole thing, and a bit worried too, but we landed in Singapore airport, the most amazingly huge airport open 24hours, and the kids ran around and played for our three hour wait for the link to Copenhagen. jasper slept well on this leg, but as Sequoia was on our laps - there were not enough basinets, three for the ten babies on board so the youngest ones got priority - she had not a huge amount of sleep and Z and I none for the 15 hours into Denmark. We arrived at 7.30am and decided to spend the day exploring the city to get us into local time, so we walked and walked and walked, also took a boat trip through the canals and took the 4pm train into Odense, (pronounced Ooo-dens-se) 1.5 hours away on the next island - Funen. We all fell into bed at 6.30pm after being awake for over 48 hours straight, but the kids woke with the first birds just before 4am, sun rose not long after! This has continued with early starts due to a mix of Jetlag and our kids being ones which like to stay up with the sun - very exhausting in the northern late spring with 17 hours of daylight. It is really cold here and I am so glad we packed our winter gear. The kids are in fleeces and hats each day.



Me soaking up some sun - note the thick jacket - outside the little apartment we stayed in on Saturday night as our B&B was full until Sunday.

On our first day in Odense we explored a bazaar which was a bit like a big veg market at home, the same sorts of things, including the plastic thongs, nicnaks and cheap plasticware, except the persian stall was amazing, rows and rows of every dried fruit and nut imaginable - from dried mullberies to multicoloured nougat, to fifty nut mixes, seeds of a huge variety, sweetmeats and tiny baked dried biscuits. We also went to a park where we saw very very big pigeons - no wonder they can be a meal in Europe they are huge and really lovely. The grass was long and filled with daisies and dandelions.


Sequoia picking flowers

Monday Zoran went to work and the kids were overtired with their crazy 3.30am start, they had a morning nap and all we managed to do was a three hour roundtrip walk to the supermarket - me pushing Jasper in the pram, a backpack on, Sequoia strapped to my front in the baby sling and two heavy bags of shopping hanging off each handle - if I dont get fit this week I will be very surprised. We got home in time for Sequoia to have a nap, jasper slept the whole morning in the pram so I played with him for a couple of hours before Z got in, it started to rain on the last block as we walked home and continued all afternoon, so we were a bit housebound. Zoran's day went well, although the jetlag has hit him quite badly. The B&B we are staying in has a wonderful garden which the kids are enjoying playing in.



Jasper inside the cubby house


Sequoia looking out the cubby's window


Jasper was very impressed with the two toned yoghurt they have here. Everything is really creamy, milk, cheese, yoghurt, it all tastes so rich. And everything has a strong smell, the meats are all types of smoked, aged or some type of deli style, and in huge array, and the cheeses too are plentiful and pungent. Danes must find our food quite bland!

Today is Tuesday, the kids all have colds. Sequoia has had an allergic reaction which began on the plane in Singapore as a horrible rash on every part of her body bot covered by clothing (we think it was something either on the hot washcloths or in the airconditioning which settled) and it has finally gone down today. As we only have my legs as transport and town is a three km walk away I haven't been able to get her to a doctor, but everything else was fine, just the cold outside air irritated the rash, until today, which was a much milder day, and by the time I walked into town her rash has gone so I didn't have anything to show to the chemist. Hopefully it is gone for good. Sequoia didn't sleep last night due to a stuffy nose so she has had a bit of a grumbly day. I put the kids in a pram lent to us by Marianne who runs the B&B,


Sequoia in the pram, it has big wheels are all the pavements are either loose pebbles, cobblestones or bumpy bricks.



Jasper was too tired to walk so he squashed in behind his sister (she did not like this one bit as you can imagine) and we followed the river through the forest into the city centre - centrum, 3.5km from the B&B.

We walked through own and bought some sketch books, jasper used his crayons to make a love impression by rubbing over a beautifully patterned draincover of a galloping horse. We shared a dill and tuna danish sandwich which was warm and delicious - jasper even ate all the herby filling! and I let the kids climb the statue in the town square.


Sprawled out this reclining nude had two happy children using her as a slide!


Jasper thought a nose squeeze was hilarious!


Sequoia was dwarfed by her foot!

The buldings are all either red-brown brick or rendered and painted in lovely pastel colours. Everybody rides bicycles and there are lots of different baby and kid carriers. Jasper took these photos as we waited at the bus stop to catch the bus back to our B&B. This is a mum with her little boy in the back carrier going past a pretty row of buildings.




Here in the background is a church tower and the bells toll every quarter of an hour, Jasper said he thought someone was getting married which was a lovely thought.


After another big day, Sequoia slept all the way home!

Txx