Day 26,149 was Saturday, June 23, 2012. Ruth Ann and I slept until 1.30 PM - 15 hours after we went to bed. I felt good when I got up - just what my body needed and what Ruth Ann needed. The only problem was that we had no suitcase which meant no clean underwear or shirts or socks or toothbrushes, etc. However the airport in Copenhagen had given us an emergency bathroom packet with a toothbrush and paste and deodorant and shampoo until our suitcase arrived. But Brad came to my rescue with some underwear and shirts and Ruth Ann was able to survive with her arrival clothes, at least for one more day. Today was a real fun day as it was Mathilde's (Lene's daughter) 20th birthday celebration. There were 25 guests for the party, all relatives and friends of Mathilde and Lene and Brad. We knew most of them from attending previous parties at Brad and Lenes. The guests started arriving at 4 PM. We drank and had snacks from 4-8,and then had the main courses from 8-to 9.30. Brad and Sten fixed weiners, brats, and hamburgers on the grill and Lene had salads, veggies, fruit and boiled potatoes (of course), Then we went to the backyard for the St. Hans Summer Festival which amounts to a big bonfire that Brad had built. Usually they have a witch on a stick that they burn but this year the witchmaking guy next door (Leif) to Brad and Lene's did not have time to make one. Lene handed out words to a patriotic Danish song and all the Danes sang this song. I couldn't pronouce the words so I just hummed along. Then we returned to the house and had dessert - it was a heavily frosted birthday cake along with chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate covered pieces of licorice. It was absolutely wonderful. And, of course, everbody had to have a cup of coffee before they went home -that is the Danish custom. Most of the guests left by midnight. I stayed up until 1 AM and had a another beer with Brad, Lene, and Erland and Yrsa, (Brad and Lene's good friends.)
Erland and I had a long talk earlier in the evening. Erland is a mechanical engineer and is CEO of a company in Essen, Gemany. He was working in Denmark but his job was eliminated due to a merger so he ended up in Germany as a CEO of an energy company. Anyway, we talked about why the Danes are such a happy people. His view is that they have universal health and drug care and don't have to worry about going to the doctor or a hospital or pharmacy. But his main point was that Danes learn from a young age that nobody is better than anybody else in Denmark and everybody is entitled to good average life. He said, we don't expect to live like kings and queens but all Danes should be entitled to a good average life. Those were his words. I found those words quite interesting - a good average life. He said the biggest headache for Danes was the price of gas -which is over 8.5 dollars a gallon. And there is some complaining about the high taxes, especially among the wealthiest.
Day 26,150, was Sunday, June 24, 2012. I slept until 1:30 PM again - 12 1/2 hours in bed after having 15 hours last night and this morning and afternoon. I must be tired from jet lag and not sleeping in Alexandria at Chuck's funeral. Anyway, I feel good today. Today was a lazy day. Brad and I took Alex to Fredericia (about 6 miles) so she could ride the train back to Copenhagen. She has her last test (ancient history) on Tuesday and she will be done with gymnasium (Danish high school.) She has bittersweet feelings about being done but is ready to move on to the next stage of life. I got my BLOG up-to-date as you can see. I stayed up until 11:30 after watching Italy beat England in soccer in overtime.
Day 26,151 is today, Monday, June 25, 2012. I slept until 12:30 PM today. I can't believe I'm sleeping like this - I had 13 hours in bed. I finally took a walk today = 40 minutes for a June total of 38.8 miles.
We are going to Randers, Denmark, later this afternoon to attend another party for Mathilde's 20th birthday with her au pair family. It is another surprise birthday party. Like I said the Danes love to have a party.
Day 27,152, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. Last night we drove to Randers (Gimming) for Mathilde's surprise party at the home of her au pair family home. Their names are Lars and Ulla and they have 3 girls, ages 12, 8, and 2. Mathilde is their au pair until next year. Ulla is an architect and Lars is a gymnastics teacher and a farmer - he is farming his parents farm. They are presently remodeling the old farm house with Ula doing a lot of the planning as she is an architect. For food we were treated to sweet corn, a salad with lots of tomatoes, some strips of chicken and pork fixed on the grill, and, of course, a heavily frosted birthday cake with fresh strawberries. Lars ands Ulla are such nice people.
We got home by midnight.
So what happoened next? Now listen to this.We all walked to the open area in the school entry. We found a table and out came the bottles of champagne. Everybody was given a glass of champagne, including Alexandra, and many photos were taken with champagne toasts. The principal of the school stopped by to congratulate Alex and he had a glass of champagne with us.
CAN YOU IMAGINE this happening in an American high school? NO WAY? Ruth Ann and I would still be in Anamosa but our address would change to: Pete and Ruth Ann Bungum, c/o Iowa State Penitentiary, Anamosa, IA. 52205. Every other student with a cap on was doing the same with their families and believe it or not, nobody was running around drunk. This is another Danish custom that is very different from American culture. One thing I've observed is the Danes treat their teenagers in a more adult way.
The next stop was Mother Inge and Alexandra's home. Inge had a wonderful meal of quiche, salad, bread, more champagne, wine, beer and, of course, cake with strawberries. We visited until 8
PM and made it home by 10:00.
Day 26,153 is today, June 27, 2012. Got to bed by midnight and got up at 11:30 AM. Nothing going on today so I have been getting caught up on this BLOG. I did get my walk in today = 45 minutes for a June total of 41.3 miles. I went to the bank and cashed in a $100.00 bill for KRONER - I got 550 kroner so the exchange rate is 5.5 kroner per dollar.
Brad worked at home today and Lene was at the office in Kolding. Brad was on the phone all day. WOULD YOU BELIEVE THIS? He made calls to his colleagues/employees in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., Paris, Shanghai, and Singapore. The name of his company is Aperian Global, he is part owner, and is one of 9 people who are "The Leadership Team." There are 75 people employed in the company. He said the company's goal this year is to reach the 15 million dollar level. Brad is in charge of Europe and Asia. The company is involved in cross-cultural training - their customers are big multi-national corporations. Aperian Global trains the employees of these big companies who are going to go work in another country. In fact, they train the whole family, which includes the spouse and kids - the whole idea is to lesson the culture shock when they move to their new country. The employee is not only trained about the new culture but trained on how business is done in the new country so he/she can be a more effective business person and not do stupid things.
Day 26, 154 is Thursday, June 28, 2012. We went to bed at 10:30 last night and got up at 10:30 this morning. I got my exercise today by walking 45 minutes for 2.5 miles, in the PM I mowed Brad's big lawn for 3-4 hours and then took Hayden, Brad's and Lene's black lab, for a half hour walk. So I can honestly claim I walked at least 5.5 miles today for a June total of 46.8 miles. Tomorrow is an early day as we have to drive to Copenhagewn for Alexandra's graduation ceremony.
The students climbed into their respective buses/trucks and out came the beer, mainly Tuborg. The rest of the day was spent visiting the homes of each of the 31 students on that particular truck. Each Mom and Dad was expected to have food and something to drink (including beer. wine, or alcohol free) available when the truck arrived. Inge and Brad were the 17th stop for the truck on its journey to the homes of 31 students. The truck arrived at 7:30 PM. They were loud as they came down the street, waving to all the neighbors with cans of Tuborg in their hands. The truck stopped at the house, the sober driver removed the endgate, then put the ladder down and out came 31 students who walked through the house to the back yard. Inge had prepared fruit cups and coffee, spiked punch, beer, and wine. Probably half had the fruit cups - they had supposedly been eating at every stop but maybe closer to the truth is they were more interested in continuing with the Tuborgs. I can truthfully say this - they were all respectful and nobody was falling down drunk - yes, they were talkative and a little loud but who wouldn't be after 7-8 hours of drinking and eating. Plus they had 14 more stops to go - I would guess they would be even more talkative and louder at the end of the 31 visits. I got a kick out of Inge when she suggested to Alexandra that maybe she should have some fruit and coffee at this stop - she did. They stayed for about 15-20 minutes - at that point the truck driver came and told them to load up because they had 14 more stops. I watched them load up and I noticed one of the students get in the cab with the driver. His home was #18 so he had to tell the truck driver how to get to his place. When the truck arrived for us Alex was in the front seat telling the driver how to get to her house. Another thing I noticed was the truck driver was drinking a can of RED BULL - I can understand as he had a long night ahead of him.
The plans were that at the 31st place (I guess it ended at 1:30 AM) they would all stay overnight - it was out in the country. Brad told me this noon that because of a dirty house the girls had a change of plans and they stayed at some girls house instead.
Anyway, it was truly a learning experience for Ruth Ann and me.
Day 26,156 - Saturday, June 30, 2012. Didn't do anything today except write in this BLOG. It is time for Tuborg.
Day 26,157 - Sunday, July 1, 2012. I walked 36 minutes =2.0 miles. I walked around the Taulov Lutheran Church and even went in the church before the service started to check things out. The church was built in 1868. The interior is somewhat similar to ours except for one thing - there is a three foot long model of a a sailing ship hanging in the middle aisle about 12 feet above the floor. I guess the sea was pretty important in Danish history.
At 11 AM we went to Erland and Ursa's home for brunch. The food was a little different but I enjoyed
every dish. The familiar stuff was meatballs, potato salad, and lettuce salad. The different foods for us were: raw salmon on dark bread; smoked cheese on dark bread; and a noodle and shrimp mixture that I also spread on dark bread after watching what the others did. Of course, we had strong coffee and then Brad and I split a can or two of a special brew of Tuborg (5.7% alcohol - Uffda.)
I watched the first half of the European soccer championship - Italy versus Spain. Spain ws ahead 2-0 when I went to bed. Brad told me this morning that Spain won 4-0. I went to bed at 9:30 - I was tired.
Day 26,158 - July 2, 2012. Up at 9:30 and took a 45 minute walk going left at the church and walked to the edge of town. I stopped at an office building, opened the door, stuck my head in the door and was greeted by a guy named Michael. He was a computer programmer who had ridden his bike 11 kilometers to work in Taulov from Frederica. We visited for half an hour about many things including what I was doing in Denmark. I told him my son lived in Taulov and he had gotten to Denmark when he met a girl from Denmark while being in a group called Up With People. He smiled and said, "They fell in love, didn't they?" He asked how I liked the Danish people and I said "I really like them because they are so friendly, especially after we get to know each other a little better." I told him we had been in Denmark over 15 times since 1985, he found that quite remarkable. When I told him I was 71 years old he said I looked pretty good for that age and that my exercising everyday must be good for me. He proceeded to tell me that his grandma just turned 99, still had a sharp mind but was failing some physically. He said he made her promise she would live to 100 years because then she would get a personally signed birthday card from the Queen of Denmark - and when she died he wanted to inherit that birthday card, frame it, and keep it for the rest of his life. He said there are over 800 people in Denmark over 100 years so it is not a big deal for the Queen to personally sign, maybe, 100 cards a year. I complicatd him on his english and that was the best thing I could have said to him - he liked to hear that and thanked me. We shook hands and parted our ways. I'll probably stop again before we go home - he was fun to talk to and I think he enjoyed talking to me as much as I enjoyed talking to him.
It is 1:20 PM right now - Brad is taking us to a shopping mall in Kolding so we can do some shopping and people watching.
As I write this I'm sitting on Brad and Lene's patio - it is 7:30 now. Lene picked us from the mall at 6 PM and we got back home by 6:15. Ruth Ann and I did a little shopping; I bought a Danish-English dictionary and she bought a pair of sandals. We walked around the mall - it is huge. We spent most of our time at Bilka's which is equivalent to Walmart. That is where Ruth Ann bought her sandals and WOULD YOU BELIEVE THIS? - THEY WERE MADE IN ITALY and not China or some other Asian country. They were on sale for 75 kroner, (original price was 150 kroner) so we got them for $15.00 instead of $30.00. Then we went to a fast food place and had 2 French hotdogs and a Pepsi Max for 40 kroner = U.S $8.00. A French hotdog is a foot long weiner and half a hotdog bun with a hole in it. The hole is filled with French hotdog dressing and then the weiner is jammed into it. That dressing is wonderful - that is about the only reason we eat them because they are not the healthiest things in the world. It is time for supper.
We just had Lene's wonderful chicken lasagna. I'm stuffed and ready for bed. It is still light out at 9:45 PM and will be until 11 PM and it will be light at 4 AM. Why? Because Taulov is at 56 degrees north latitude while Anamosa is at 43 degrees north latitude. So Taulov is over 900 miles closer to the north pole.
Day 26,159 - July 3, 2012. I was up at 9:15 this morning and went with Brad to Fredericia to have his Peugeot worked on - it needed muffler repair. I met Ole Christiansen, the owner. Brad has bought 3-4 cars from him. He is in his 30s, a very nice man, easy to talk to with good English skills, and a natural born car salesman. His Dad, 75 year old Henrik, started this Peugeot dealership, and now it is run by son Ole and his brother. He was tired today as he didn't get to bed until 2 AM - he and his wife had been to a Madonna concert in Copenhagen last night. He said Madonna performed nonstop from 10 PM to midnight, with only clothing changes. It was a great show according to Ole. He said the young kids do not like Madonna so much because she is trying to be like Lady Gaga and they just want her to be herself. Madonna is 53 and Gaga is in her 20s.
I got my walk in this afternoon. I took Hayden (their black lab) for a one hour (three mile) walk along a bike/walking path around the farm fields to the north of their house. I got lost once and didn't know whether to go left or right at a "T" intersection - thank goodness a teen girl came by and she spoke enough English to tell me to go right. She was right - I ended up at a place where I had walked yesterday so I knew how to get home. Hayden is a black lab - they are hunting dogs and they love water. When walking by a wheat field that had a water-filled ditch by it he about yanked my arm off as he jumped into the water, waded for about ten feet and then laid down to cool off. For the record Hayden peed 13 times and pooped once. When we got home I don't know if he or I were more tired. But Hayden laid down and took a nap and Pete relaxed with a Danish pilsner - so it was Hayden. By the way, Hayden is named after Hayden Fry. When Brad, Lene, and the kids decided to get a dog Brad insisted he would have the right to name it. Of course, Brad isn't a Hawkeye fan????
We went to Middlefart for dinner tonight. We ate outside at CAFE RAZZ located on the waterfront - it was a little chilly but the cafe supplies blankets on the chairs - all four of us used the blankets before we left. Brad and I had chicken sandwiches and Lene and Ruth Ann had salmon. Each was 149 kroner which equals about $30.00. With the three beers and two glasses of wine the bill was around 1,000 kroner or in our money about $200.00. The food and setting was great but so was the bill.
Then Brad and Lene took us a tour of an old castle which is now a meeting place and banquet hall for corporations
Day 26,160 - July 4, 2012. It's close to a perfect day in Denmark - the temp is in the low 70s, a slight breeze and the SUN in shining. In fact, Lene was sunbathing on the back patio this morning. I took a 36 minute walk this morning = 2.0 miles for a July total of 9.3 miles.
Alexandra took the train from Copenhagen to Fredericia this morning - Brad and Ruth Ann and I picked her up - she wanted to spend some time with us so we could do more one-on-one visiting. Plus she had a break from her classmates' graduation parties. She is tired and may need a nap because she didn't get to bed until 6:00 AM this morning - the reason being she was at another graduation party last night and she danced all night. The partying will go on for another week. Alex's party is this coming Saturday at her Mom's house in Lyngby - we'll be there.
We had burgers for supper on the south patio - to bed at 9 PM - I'm tired. And so are Hayden and Alex, as you can see them both sleeping on the patio here, after they were both out carousing all night last night :-) :
This morning we are taking Alexandra to the train station in Fredericia so she can get back to Copenhagen. Then Brad, Ruth Ann and I are going to Germany to buy beer for Alex's party on Saturday night.
We left at 4:45 for Spjald in west Jutland to go to Alberte's 15th birthday party. She is Lene's niece and the daughter of sister Jette and husband Paw. They have four older sons named Simon Malte, Sebastian, Alexander and Jonathon. In attendance were Lene's other two sisters named Lisbet and husband Sten, Majbritt and husband Preben, and grandparents Jytte and Poul. The all speak English except for Grandpa Poul. It was really fun, especially talking to 23 year old Simon Malte and 21 year old Sebastian. Simon just spent 4-5 months in Vancouver, Canada with a friend skiing and drinking Canadian beer. Simon is a big guy and can hold a lot of beer. He said his friend is skinny but he could almost hold his own when it came to drinking beer. I had a good laugh at that one. Simon had worked for several years doing construction work to save money for this Canadian ski vacation. He really liked the Canadian people because they were so friendly. On August 1 Simon is leaving for Copenhagen to begin training to be a guard for the Queen's palace. He was pretty excited about that. Sebastian is a student at the University of Odense. He is studying journalism and philosophy and wants to come to the U.S. to study at a major university. Brad was giving him some tips on possible universities to apply to.
Day 26,162 - July 6, 2012. I slept till 10:30 and then took a 40 minute walk = 2.2 miles for a July total of 14 miles. I'm still HIV and haven't gained any weight. I weighed 74 kilograms which is 162.8 pounds.
On my walk I went to the north part of Taulov- my goal was to say goodbye to Michael, the computer programmer I met on Monday. His bike was in front so I knew he was there. I walked in the office, we exchanged smiles and handshakes. He was happy to see me and I was happy to see him. His business partner saw us exchange greetings so he came over and introduced himself - his name is Birger Normann. Now Birger has a little bit of a protuding gut - he patted himself on his gut and said he had been eating too many burgers - notice the "u" instead of an "i". Both Michael and Birger have a good sense of humor. I told Michael I had written about him on my BLOG - so on a piece of paper I wrote out "Pete Bungum's BLOG - A Grateful Senior Citizen" - he typed it in and up came my BLOG. He smiled when he found it and I think he thought it was kind of neat. Birger wanted to know how long my son had lived in Taulov and what he did. I explained. They talked to me about their business goals and experiences so far - they have only been partners for several months. Then Birger went to the cabinet and came out with a gift for me. He gave me a mouse pad, post-it notes and 3 pens - all three had their company name, phone number and web address.
Day 26,163 - Saturday, July 7, 2012. Today is the day of Alexandra's graduation party at her and Mom Inge's home in Lyngby, a suburb just north ot Copenhagen. We left for Lyngby at 8:40 and arrived at 11:00 AM. We helped set up a tent for chef Stephan who was coming at 3:00 PM. The big tent was already set when we got there. They had tables and chairs all set up for 56 guests. The party started about 3:00 when the early arrivals met at a park to play games. By 4;30 everybody arrived - for the next two hours people socialized with wine, beer. soda and snacks. Chep Stephan prepared chicken, hamburgers, beef sirloin strips, hot dogs, several salads, bread, buns and a graduation cake . We ate from 6:30 to 8:30 and then the music and dancing began. We talked to a lot of the guests and had a good time. We left at 1:00 AM. The music and dancing continued until 4:00 AM. By that time the only ones left were Alexandra and her friends. The the girls went for a swim in a nearby lake. Oh, to be young again.
Day 26,164 - Sunday, July 8, 2012. We had stayed overnight at the home of Inge's friend. About 11:00 AM Brad, Lene, Ruth Ann and I went back to Inge's house and helped take down the big tent and the two little tents. We also carried all the tables and chairs out to the truck to be taken back to the rental place. Then the four of us took off for Brad and Lene's home in Taulov, a two hour drive. We unloaded and then Brad and I mowed the lawn. Lene fixed a wonderful fish supper for us accompanied by those tasty small boiled Danish potatoes plus a salad. We went to bed at 10:00 PM.
Day 26,165 - Monday, July 9, 2012. Today was the day to go home. We arose at 4:50 AM, loaded the car and drove for two hours to the Copenhagen airport. Our flight to Helsinki was 1 1/2 hours with a two hour layover. Then it was Helsinki to Chicago for nine hours and half an hour from Chicago to Cedar Rapids. I developed a cough on the plane - I think it was from breathing that air on the plane - there were 240 passengers all spewing out their germs and I got some of them. Carron and Kathy picked us up at 7:30 and we were home about 8:15. It was great to be home but we were dog tired and severely jet lagged.
So here it is: IPeuropa APS +45 76 96 20 05 www.ipeuropa.dk
Check it out folks and see what these two "Great Danes" are doing.
So the bottom line is I'm glad I stopped the other day and met Michael and I'm glad I went back and met Birger today. I think Danes are great people; they are easy to talk to, they have great senses of humor and love to laugh, they like beer and wine, and they love to party. They are MY KIND OF PEOPLE - no wonder they have been declared the world's happiest people.
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