Odense

The kids and I met back at the house yesterday for an all-day cleaning. Finn and Kirsten came for a picnic lunch break in the backyard. Freya had gone to a beach on the west coast with a friend last time they came so they wanted to come again to say goodbye to Freya too. I think saying goodbye to my aunt and uncle was the hardest so far. They have been a big part of our lives here.

Today we went to Odense to see the birthplace and childhood home of Hans Christian Andersen. We also visited a churchyard south of Odense in a little town called Dalum, where my maternal grandparents and my uncle had their ashes scattered. They are in the unmarked section of the graveyard. Even though everyone was tired and just wanted to go home, I was glad they were all willing to come with me anyway. Only a few more days until we leave Denmark!

Downtown Odense

Freya the photobomber

little old houses with little old doors
Melody, Liam and Ila

Dean and Mei in the garden behind HC Andersen's childhood home.  There was no garden there originally but he always dreamed of having one, so one was planted in his honor.

Attempting some family  pictures in the pretty garden

Ila outside HC Andersen's childhood home

waiting for the bus
Ila and Dean

Dalum Kirkegård

Empty and clean!
The kids worked so hard to help me.

Goodbye Finn and Kirsten!

moving

Yesterday, my aunt and uncle came to Kolding with a trailer and helped us move loads of furniture, bikes and boxes. Liam and Ila and Mei are staying at the apartment of some Polish friends who are in Poland visiting family while Dean, Freya and I are staying with our British friends. We have successfully sold and given away the majority of our posssessions and are trying really hard to get our suitcases down to 23 kg each.  We are each only taking the same amount back that we brought here: one suitcase and one backpack per person. Deciding what to bring back has proved a lot more difficult than when we packed to come here.

We are going back to clean in the next couple of days and then doing the final move-out inspection on Thursday. On Friday we will be taking the train to Berlin where we will stay until we fly back to Canada on July 8th. It was the most economical way to return to Canada and the fact that we get to stay in Berlin for a few days is a pretty sweet bonus.
We have been starting to say goodbye to people. I had my last day of work on the 18th. In Denmark, it's tradition for the person leaving to bring cakes or treats to share with their co-workers. This is also how it works for birthdays; the birthday person brings the treats. I worked with some really great people and learned a lot about the Danish workplace and culture. I have to say that it is a much healthier environment than the typical Canadian workplace. There is more concern for the welfare of the individual employee and the work-life balance is more reasonable as well. I know this is not the case everywhere, but it is what I have noticed as a whole. I will definitely miss that!
On Thursday, I got together for a small tapas garden party with my Polish friend Ela and a couple of other ladies. Ela's daughters went to the IB program with Ila and Mei and became good friends and Ela has been a good friend to me during my stay here, always offering any help she can and making sure we are doing well.
We had a nice visit from my cousin Lars and his family on Friday. They brought sandwiches and we took a little trip to the nearest playground. Freya and their kids really bonded and will be sad to not see each other again for a while. They might come to Canada next summer though, so we will look forward to that!

Card to Dean from his classmates

tapas and desserts with Joy, Kat and Ela

Moved in with Jeff and Rachel.

Went to a service at this little old Lutheran Church this morning with Dean and Melody

Danish Museum of Nursing History

We still have a few places in and around Kolding that we have free entry passes for that we haven't visited yet.  We won't get to all of them and some of them are still closed, but we had time today for a quick trip to the nursing museum, Dansk Sygeplejehistorisk Museum. Ila and Mei and Freya and I went while Dean was at school and Liam stayed home.  We thought it might be too creepy for Dean and Liam needed some alone time. It's a small museum showing the history of nursing in Denmark from the Middle Ages to the present. It built in 1911 as part of a sanatorium for children with tuberculosis. I initially thought it was the sanatorium but it was actually just where the nurses stayed. The sanatorium was next door in what is now a hotel.

Hotel Koldingfjord, the location of the sanatorium, built at the beginning of the 1900s.
The children would sleep outside in their beds under the arches, fresh air being
their treatment for tuberculosis.After tuberculosis was eradicated,
the building became a psychiatric hospital for children. It then stood empty from
 1983 to 1987, when the municipality sold it to an entrepreneur who turned it into
a hotel, which is now a popular place for wedding photos and receptions.
(photo taken from Wikipedia)

Legoland

We bought a seasons pass to Legoland last fall and they have reopened so we decided to squeeze in another trip, this time bringing Liam along.  Due to Covid-19 restrictions on number of people allowed in the park, there were barely any lines on a lot of the rides.

at the bus stop, excited and ready to go

Visiting miniature land in Legoland was a lot more fun after having visited
some of the scenes in real life. We were here with our friends from Canada in Februrary
 and Rus and I came here on our own the day before he flew home.
Nyhavn, Copenhagen

Amalienborg Palace - where Queen Magrethe lives
We saw the changing of the guards here in February
and Rus and I also walked through here together

an aquarium at the Atlantis area of Legoland

Dean

Mei and her Ninjago friend

Dean and I spent some good quality time together on the smaller rides
 while the older kids went off on their own. 

Dean with Denmark's beloved author, Hans Christian Andersen

Dean and Freya earning their Legoland driver's license.

The canoe ride through the wild west, passing exotic animals
 like beavers and moose.

Freya on the Xtreme Racer roller coaster.

Dean loved this donut.

The revolving observation tower - I remember going in a tower about
30 years ago with my brother and cousins.  I'm assuming it's the same one.

done, tired and ready to go home

family history

We visited my aunt Karen (my Dad's sister) and my uncle Peder in Vejen yesterday, just a short train ride west of Kolding.  They took us to the small town of Malt, to the churchyard where my grandparents and great-grandparents are buried and then to the town of Askov where we drove past the house where my family lived when I was born and past the farmyard where my Dad grew up. The farmyard is no longer there. After my grandmother died and my grandfather moved away from the farm, it wasn't taken care of and fell into disrepair so I think it became pretty much unsalvageable. I spent a few summers there and have many good memories of it. There was a raspberry patch that in my memory was huge, but is more likely just regular sized, and some really good climbing trees. And then there was the terrifying task of gathering eggs. I had an irrational fear of being scratched and pecked to death by the chickens if I took their eggs. I have since gotten over that fear, thankfully.
I spent the remainder of the afternoon looking through old photographs with my aunt and uncle. I have learned so much about my family this year. I have come to understand my own parents better as I have heard stories and gotten to know their siblings. I have come to understand my own childhood and myself a little bit better too.

The kids and I at the gravesite of my grandparents Jutta and Thomas Rasmussen
and my great-grandparents Karen and Laurits Rasmussen

 The old church and the churchyard, both so well cared for.
Malt church was built in the late 1100's.

Rus and Liam and I arriving on the train in Denmark 17 years ago.
Liam was three years old and I was four months pregnant with Ila and Mei.
June 2003

Liam and my grandpa Thomas. 
He was so grateful to be able to meet his first great-grandchild (only one at the time)
and I was grateful to be able to visit him one last time.
June 2003

My parents (and older brother Thomas)
arriving at the airport for their move back to Denmark.
They were only back in Denmark for two years before returning
to Canada in 1980, this time permanently and with another baby (me).
Summer of 1978

Family greeting my parents at the airport and meeting my brother Thomas for the first time.
This is a pretty special picture. It is the only one I have ever seen that has members
from both sides of my family. My parents were married in Canada with no family present so
this is the only instance where they have all gathered in the same place.
Pictured with my parents and brother are:
Jens Erik (mom's brother), Jutta and Thomas (dad's parents), Karen (dad's sister),
Karl and Karen (mom's parents), Kirsten (mom's sister), and I think that is my
great-grandmother Astrid standing behind my aunt Karen
Summer of 1978

My brother Thomas and grandmother Jutta, on the road in front of the farm
named "Gejlholm". This picture was taken sometime in 1979 or 1980.

My grandfather Thomas and his sisters
Elisabeth (Lisbeth), Ane and Signe.
I have memories of Lisbeth (far left) at parties because she was so fun and
friendly and used to do a trick where she would make a tissue into a mouse.
I probably also liked her because we share the same name and nickname.
Date unknown

Freya playing on my grandma Jutta's piano at Karen's house.
I remember playing this in my grandma's house at their farmhouse.

The kids at the train station in Vejen with Karen and Peder.
(it was pretty sunny=squinty faces)

Fødselsdagsfest for Freya

Freya's Birthday isn't until July 12 but my aunt Kirsten suggested that we give her a little party now because all the other kids got a birthday party in Denmark.  So on Saturday, Kirsten, Finn and Marianne (and little Sussi) came for the afternoon and we had lots of food and good conversation. When we get back to Canada on July 8th, we will most likely have to quarantine for 14 days and Freya's real birthday party in Canada will have to be postponed so I am grateful that she could have this day.

Freya and some cats

The collective screaming during decapitation is always the best part.

Marianne and Sussi
Freya wishes she could take Sussi home to Canada.
I wish I could take Marianne home to Canada.

Uncle Finn telling stories