Jeg har haft travlt efter påskeferie med at se gymnastik, en tur til København og at se køerne danse. Jeg lærte, at gymnastik og køer er en vigtig del af den danske kultur. Det var også så dejligt at se min yndlingsby og yndlings Detroit Lakes-dansker igen.

I thought that gymnastics was a pretty big thing in Detroit Lakes – and to be fair, it is, as they might be the reigning state champions of three consecutive years. I didn’t really think much about what it would be like in Denmark, but I have learned that gymnastics is a really deep part of a culture. It might just be the people I’ve met, but it seems like a lot of people go to gymnastics efterskoles, and can do flips and that sort of stuff.

I learned that this culture is best represented by Verdens Holdet, otherwise known as the Danish National Performance Team for the rest of the world. Every year, 32 amateur gymnasts are selected to be on it, all of who must be quite skilled and be a nice person to travel with. This group comes up with a spectacular hour and a half performance, which they then travel all around the world with. After this year, they come back to Denmark and travel around here to perform it. I was lucky enough I got the chance to go with my  host family to see them.

It’s safe to say that the performance was very impressive, and it was clear that they had put a lot of work into it. It was also easy to see that everyone out there performing was clearly enjoying it, which made it really fun to see! You can read more about it and see videos here: https://www.dgi.dk/ndpt/world-tour/show-2016-2017

If you read my blog, you might have gotten the impression that I really like Copenhagen (København). I got my first chance to visit København back in February when I visited Siri, my København dweller friend/former Detroit Lakes, MN exchange student.  I was therefore a bit more than happy when Marie, my host mother, said that we would have a little trip to København.

We took the train over to København H, and took our time to walk over to Nørreport. After going into a few stores, we made our way to Rundtårnet, or the round tower. This tower is connected to a church, and was built for the use of astronomy. The weather wasn’t too great, but I still managed to get a few good pictures.

The picture on the top left was taken in the bathroom, and I must say, I didn’t expect such a good view from that particular place.

We then took the bus to Søborg, where my host mother’s gymnasium friend lives. After we got to eat a bunch of delicious hummus, Siri arrived! It was so nice to see Siri again, and also get to know the very welcoming family. We talked for quite a long time, and it was very hyggeligt. It was sad to say goodbye to Siri, but it has only made me more excited for the next time I visit.

The next morning, we took all off into the middle of the city. I haven’t traveled as a family group for a long time, so it was a bit refreshing. They were kind enough to show us a bit around, starting with Vor Frelsers Kirke, known as Our Savior’s Church. It is known for its distinct spiraling steeple, which we unfortunately could not go up due to high winds. We could, however, look around the beautiful church and appreciate the calmness it emanated.

We then walked over into Christiania. To my American friends, you might have heard of Christiania because of Lukas Graham, who does come from there. Christiania is an area in København that is separated from the rest of Denmark, and it was very nice to see the artwork there.

Our next stop was  to Papirøen, København’s street food center. It was too crowded for all of us to find a place to eat, but I still took pictures to capture the craziness.

We continued into Nyhavn, the most recognizable place in Denmark. It was quite the search to find a place to eat, but we ended up at an adorable little coffee shop that wasn’t overpriced and had a table for seven. It was nice to sit down and talk for one last time before departing. Unfortunately after that, Marie, Johanne, and I had to depart and in time to make our train.

After three hours, we arrived back into the Vojens train station. The next day, we got to go on an adventure of another kind.

I’ve never head of anything like this in the US, but there is a special day that the cows are released into the fields after being kept inside the whole year. My host mother and my host sister Emilie drove a little ways to a nearby cow farm. It is there that we got to see some very happy cows run free, accompanied by a band with huge crowds watching them.

I thought that I could post this on my blog, but it turns out that my blog does not support videos. I have uploaded it on youtube instead: https://youtu.be/dzGWiwD1BuU

It’s only twenty one seconds, and the quality isn’t great, but it is much better than a picture for describing the craziness. My phone decided to stop recording right after the first cow made its appearance, so I must apologize for that.

What came the weekend after that was just as exciting, but that’s a story for the next blog. My life is certainly not slowing down until I get back to the US.

Galla var sidste weekend, og weekenden efter skal jeg tage til Tyskland. Jeg glæder mig rigtig meget til, hvad kommer efter det, hvilket er en Eurotour, som ikke ligger langt væk.