Denmark home of Danish butter cookies and legos...

Ok so I think I've found my new love...it's name is Denmark. I think it is the most amazing place I've ever been, so clam and peaceful and surreal. For those that don't know, I came to Denmark to visit my friend Lisa who is from Denmark but was an exchange student at my high school in Coeur d'Alene. Her family is absolutely amazing and has taken fabulous care of me. :) Her mother is an unbelievable cook and fixes the most amazing breakfast and dinner. Here is our meal schedule at an average day at their house:

9:00 Am- Breakfast- multiple options of Danishes (that's where they get their names from), rolls with at least 5 different types of cheese to choose from, Tom's choc. (so good), peanut butter (so we would feel more at home), then soft boiled eggs (so good), scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes....and the list keeps going...

Lunch: eat out at a Danish restaurant (I ate smoked salmon for the first time...not by choice...it was in Danish so I didn't know what I was ordering...and I ended up with raw looking fish...but it wasn't that bad)

Dinner.....omg...yumm...anything ranging from Homemade gourmet pizza to veil to pig skin (sounds gross but once again proved itself) to homemade sweet cabbage.

Dessert...Danish Butter Cookies of course!

So now that we've all gained 10lbs from reading that... I've done so much I think I'll just go day by day...

Day one: We flew into Billund in the early evening and Lisa picked us up from the airport with a really cute sign...:) We then went home and had dinner with her family. Then She took us on a tour of the cookie factory! Yes as in my favorite cookie...Danish Butter cookies...Lisa use to work there so we were able to peak in a see how it works...

First you have to put on the gear...Hair hat, coat, and shoes...

Then the mix the dough choose the cookie shapes and press them out...Then they get sent into a giant and very long oven....

Then they come out and inspected and put sorted into cups...also all the accidents come out...notice the pile of cookies on the floor due to a jam in the machine...

Choc. Cookies....

Packaging

Ready to ship!

Jin and I getting away with some goods...we're not sure how we are going to fit them in our carry ons that can't weigh over 10lk...and they actually way them before you go through security now!

Day two we went to a prison! They built a new prison about 5 years ago so the old one was turned into a museum. So we went and toured it. It was originally built in the mid 1800s. It was huge! and all I can say is if anyone is thinking of going into a life of crime...go to Denmark to do it...

Reasons for becoming a Danish Criminal:

1.You can bring your own TV and decorations for your cell.

2.Your cell is an actual room with a real door.

3. You can paint your walls.

4. All the walls around the prison are painted in bright colors and patterns everywhere.

5. There's a store so you can go shopping with the money you make working.

6. When you have visitors there are actual rooms with couches you sit in...no glass screen.

7. Beautiful chapel inside.

8. Huge grounds to walk on and play soccer on.

Who's moving in?

After the prison we went and I had my first Danish hot dog...and all I can say is I now eat hot dogs...(so Theta's if you don't want anymore in your mailboxes we better have the cook switch brands and import from Denmark)...They are these really long red hot dogs in normal size buns then they have three different sauces and fried crunchy onions, fresh onions, and pickles. I now eat onions (only on these though...sorry potato salad makers...I will still pick them out).

Then on the way home we picked up some pumpkins and went home and carved away. Of course one of my zones came over me and I was left in the freezing cold by myself unaware that I couldn't feel my fingers. Everyone else was done and mocking me from the window. :) But they were beautiful and glowed so nicely...except the wind kept blowing them out and I said we should move them to the front porch and they kept avoiding my suggestion and finally Lisa told me that it was b/c it was embarrassing. I was extremely offended that my beautiful pumpkin was embarrassing! It turns out the danish aren't big on carving pumpkins and in the past when Connie, Lisa's mom, carved one the neighbors never let her live it down. But then they ended up out there in the end b/c it was the only place the wind didn't blow.

ps I'm back in London now and it's snowing!!!!!yay!!!

Day Three:

We went to the old town, a traditional danish town that has been preserved. It was so beautiful, it was in its of season so no one was there, so we had it to ourselves. I got hissed at by a goose and we sat in a carriage. We ate traditional danish pactries and disgusting licorice. They had some hats and shoes that were fun to look at also. It was very interesting and we took some really cute pictures. :)

We also went shopping before the old town. I thought I'd lost Lisa's earrings she bought...and in the process of looking for them Lisa set her coat down. We found that Jin was holding the earrings...but then we lost Lisa's coat. So we back tracked through the mall and all possessions were found luckily. :)

Day Four:

We went to Hans Christian Andersen's birth place. He came into the world in intense poverty; the seven room house held 5 families. He once had his fortune read when he was really young, she said he would be famous and come into great wealth...and well it came true. He was kind of an out cast in life though b/c he was really tall and tall wasn't in that season. He also had a really big nose and so he was called ugly...maybe his inspiration for the Ugly Duckling... He also really feared becoming insane like his grandfather b/c they had similar traits. His grandfather during his insanity hid away tons of money he earned over his life time and then died and told no one. When it was found it was all worthless b/c all the bills were dated before the great bankruptcy, so the family was put into poverty.

Then Lisa and her boyfriend's mom planned him a surprise party for his 25th birthday so we took him to it and met all his family and friends. I have to say I've never been in the kid who didn't speak the language...and well here I was. I found out afterwards that the reason they sang happy birthday in English was in Jin and I's honor...so sweet but the only words we understood all night :). I used my only two Danish words a lot that night...tak which is thank you and kuling which is chicken....luckily they all speak English, but only when talking directly at you...so they were probably talking about me and I had no idea...lol but it was a lot of fun. And we carved more pumpkins :)...then we went home and did facials :)

Day Five:

We went to LEGOLAND!!!! It was so fun! Even though it rained almost the entire day, it was a lot of fun. It was the last day the park was opened and since it was raining there were very few people so we walked onto every ride. It was great! I took tons of picture. Everything was built out of legos...imagine that, "so what's you job?" "Oh I build with legos all day, like yesterday I built a 10ft high Statue of Liberty." So awesome...I really picked the wrong major.

Day six:

It was our last day in Denmark :( and so we just had the morning and early afternoon. We went to this deer park where you can walk around and find deer and then feed them! So we brought raw spaghetti and went searching for the deer in this wonderland that should have been in Narnia. It was sooooooooooo surreal....it didn't look like it could be real it was so perfect. It was on the coast and surrounded by HUGE Aspen the size of big Idaho pine trees, and then these wild deer would come and eat out of your hand. Then as we hiked back to the car it started to rain and our feet where covered in mud. It rains a lot there...

We jumped on the plane and were off to London...I'm home now and am heading to Paris early in the morning! It was and amazing trip and really hope to go back soon. Also since I will be moving there you can all come too....:) Lisa and her family were sooooooooo amazing and really made me feel at home. So it helped my get over my homesickness. :) Ok well I'm off to pack for Paris. xx

LoVe YoU aLl!

-KAT