Svendborg - Denmark

I had booked our flights to Europe with Thai airways mainly because they let us fly into Copenhagen and out of London for a fairly decent price. Now that I think about it, there is a reason for that. Our flight between Sydney and Bangkok was rather uneventful. Uneventful because the BFG promptly put his headphones on and tried to watch as many inflight movies as he could which meant very little talking. There was a 4 hour wait in Bangkok where I decided that we just had have some Thai food (we were in Thailand!)




The second part of our trip from Bangkok to Copenhagen was really long. Like 11 hours long. Like this is a really old plane and there are no more personal screens, and you can really tell you are in economy long.

When we finally landed in Copenhagen, we proceeded to go buy train tickets so that we could take the train out to where the BFG's parents lived. But not before the BFG consumed what was to become one of many hot dogs. The Danish really like their hot dogs.

On the train, I was thinking how things weren't really as expensive as the BFG was making it out to be. Our train tickets only cost about $12 AUD which I thought was pretty cheap for a 2 hour ride. However when the conductor came round to check out tickets, we realised that we had only purchased a seat and not a ticket. It took me a while to work that one out too - I was trying to come up with all these scenarios as to why someone would buy a seat and not at ticket. I thought it was just assumed that you would be travelling if you bought a seat. Anyway, turns out we had to pay extra for the ticket which actually cost something like $60 AUD each - ok, so now I see how it can be expensive.

What felt like a journey of epic proportions (because by now, I felt like I've had 2 hours sleep and we had crossed a massively long bridge that connected Zealand to Funen), we were picked up by the BFG's parents at the train station.



The BFG's parents live on Tasinge, an island in Svendborg (think Denmark - all islands). Cute thatched roof houses scatter among the apple trees (there are apple trees EVERYWHERE) and rows of houses with their window blinds drawn looking like little display homes line the streets. What amazes me is that there are no mass produced match box houses anywhere in sight and people still live in houses where the roof can be blown away by the Big Bad Wolf!

We went for a drive around, with the BFG's mum pointing out the sights and we had a short stop in Summerland (think that's what it's called) - an area full of summer houses. Below is the summer house the BFG's family owned for a long time and which his grandfather helped build.



While poking around and nosying at other people's summer houses, we picked at wild berries and apples. During the drive, the BFG's mum also pointed out the wild pheasants roaming the countryside. My first reaction was "wow, free food". The BFG's reaction to that was "gosh, you're so Asian".

And we're back

It's been two weeks since we arrived home and it feels like so long ago that we were half way across the world. I'm trying really hard not to dwell on my post holiday blues and get back into work and life in general. Luckily, there was a very cute, very small package waiting for me when I got back. A package in the form of a new nephew. Yep, my sister had another baby while we were away and Baby J (who is now a little terror in his own right) has someone he can pick on (or love - depending on the mood).

The other thing I had waiting for me when I got back was wisdom teeth surgery which I had done last Friday. Because I was getting more than 2 out, I had to go under a general anaesthetic. There is absolutely nothing fun about that.

Anyway, I'm going to start blogging about my trip. Normally, I keep a travel diary whenever I go overseas but this time, I didn't. It's all in my head and I have a lot of photos to help me remember.

This is the second time I've been to Europe. The last time was in 2000, I went by myself and joined a Contiki tour for 3 weeks. While I don't mind the organised tour, I think I had way more fun this time with the BFG doing our own thing. I think what made it so good was that I travelled with someone who I really enjoy being with (unlike organised tours where you're just confined to a bus with people you wouldn't normally share appetizers with) and in the case of Contiki tours - more Aussie bogans than you can poke a stick at. Sure, the BFG and I had a few disagreements while we were away (as the good people of Athens and York can attest), but at the end of the day, I'm still glad that it was him I was with when I found myself with a terrible sore throat and not being able to speak any Spanish to the pharmacist, or sharing the excitement when we thought we were spotting celebrities in London, or even having someone to sit next to on the plane (so you can try both the chicken AND the beef).