Rus' farewell

With Rus leaving for Copenhagen tomorrow morning, we made sure to get together with some more family today. We had big plans to meet at a beach somewhere but were pretty tired from our week of excursions, so we were happy to stay in Kolding for afternoon tea and a walk to the harbour.

Ila and Dean at the harbour

the jellyfish are getting bigger...

the walk

Rus and the family

Vejle 2.0

We all went to Vejle again today, except Freya and Liam, who needed a break from family time. We met my cousin Lars and his family at the environment museum, Økolariet, in the morning and had a picnic lunch with them in the park. We then went to the Vejle Culture Museum where the bog body that we tried to find last weekend is located.

Mei  - Økolariet

Rus following the advice to eat larger portions of vegetables

a video and simulator to let you feel what it's like
 to be a poop going through the sewer system

artifacts - Vejle Museum

We finally found her!
-the body of a woman from the 200's, preserved in a bog

just something pretty to look at after that bog body
- flowers we saw on the walk back to the train

Ila and Mei and the little birds
at the Vejle train station

Geografisk Have & Miniby

When we first moved to Kolding, we were given a booklet as a welcome gift that gave us free admission to many of the local attractions. We didn't get around to many of them before Rus and Dean left for Canada back in December and now they are finally open again so have been using them this week.

Today we went to the botanical gardens (Geografisk Have) and miniland (Miniby).

Ila in goat heaven - Geografisk Have

Freya and Dean in the bamboo forest - Geografisk Have

Freya and Dean - Geografisk Have

Miniby - miniature model of the city of Kolding containing 400 buildings
with another 300 planned and expected to be completed by 2026,
all built by volunteers
(the castle on the hill in the background is Koldinghus
as it looked after the big fire and before its resoration)

one of my favorite buildings in Kolding in miniature

the same building in real life as it looks today
(actually, as it looks a few months ago when I took the picture)

back to the goats one last time before heading home
-this is where we spent the majority of our time

fluffy chicken

Koldinghus

We were finally able to see the inside of the old castle in Kolding.

There is a long and interesting history behind Koldinghus.
It has a very unique look to it because a lot of the original ruins have been left alone instead of being completely restored. This was a deliberate choice by the architects in charge of the restoration as they felt that it would take away from the original historical "wisdom". To some it might seem unfinished or confusing, but I really liked the character and authenticity of it.

Koldinghus - the wooden "patch" is the restoration

Dean and I in the courtyard

Originally a chapel in the castle during the reign of King Christian III, who saw
Martin Luther, became very impressed by him, and introduced Danes to
 Lutheranism in the mid 1500's. Currently a two-storey lecture hall.

Children's play area built around the ruins

The pea, from the Princess and the Pea fairy tale. Dean wouldn't believe me.
 He laughed and said it looks fake.

The Library Reading Room - original use and layout of this room is unknown
- pieces of the Danish National Library were transferred here in 1915-17

I just loved the carvings on this

just another cool old cabinet

a royal suitcase

interior castle walls

not part of Koldinghus,
 just beautiful doors that we passed by on the way home

Trapholt

With Rus leaving for Canada on Tuesday and the museums and cultural buildings open this week, I took time off work and Freya and Dean are skipping school, making the most of Rus' last week in Denmark.
Today we all went to Trapholt, a museum of modern art and design in Kolding. The main exhibit that is on right now is called "Sense Me", a multisensory interactive experience.

Mei in a cloud

Dean lying on a tongue listening to a whispered recording

just to make you feel uncomfortable

part of the home design exhibit - the 1970's living room

The curator of the Lighthope exhibit

Lighthope - during the corona crisis, people all over Denmark have sent in crocheted lightbulbs
to be included in the exhibit, symbols of light and hope for the future

Den Gamle By

Freya, Dean, Rus and I met Liam in Århus yesterday morning and went to Den Gamle By ("The Old Town") for the day. It was only the second day of reopening and there were barely any people. A few of the buildings weren't open because they were not able to follow the maximum guest allowance and distancing rules in some of the smaller spaces but there was still a lot to see. The oldest part contains buildings from 1550-1900 and the rest represent the 1920's and the 1970's. I loved all of the life-like statues and was caught off guard by them every time.

Århus Street Food Market

Liam says goodbye to his place in Århus.
(moving in with us in Kolding for the last month)

Liam, Dean, Freya - Den Gamle By

Rus having fun in the interactive sports section of the museum

Freya and Dean -1970's recording studio

lunch in 1800s style

watching a soccer game in the 1970's apartment

Freya- 1970's kitchen - the 70's apartments were her favorite

fake grandpa sleeping in 1970's apartment
 - this was like stepping back in time into my grandparents house in Denmark - it even smelled the same

toy museum

1970's clothing store

a museum in a museum

interior of an old home

Freya and Dean -Den Gamle By

the pharmacy

the tailor

making paint

the shoemaker

Freya, Dean, Rus, Liam- Den Gamle By

the little matchgirl

1970's grocery store

diorama of a hanging

Dean got a postcard from Flemming the mailman