Denmark Trip - Day 11 - Tved, DK to Tversted, DK

Summer House, Tved – Woke at 7 AM, showered and prepared for our trip to Skagen with Lotte, Marie, and Erik. Lotte said she would pick us up at around 9:30 AM and we would drive to Aalborg to meet Erik who said he would give us a quick tour of downtown.

Lotte surprised us with an impromptu stop to meet Ben Chiller who is one of Thomas Dambo’s wooden trolls. After meeting Ben, we had an impromptu picnic and snacked on coffee and cookies out of the back of Lotte’s car.

We then continued to the Randers HF and VUC school where Lotte teaches, and Lotte dropped off some work stuff and introduced us to her boss and some of her colleagues. It was interesting seeing how different school security is in Denmark compared to the U.S. I doubt Carol and I would have been allowed on campus if we were in the U.S.

We continued to drive to Aalborg and met Erik at his place. We then drove to the older part of town where we had lunch at the Café Vi2 (We2) restaurant. I had the “Greasy Burger” which wasn’t greasy but very messy and good.

After lunch, Erik gave us a short tour in the rain of parts of old Aalborg including an old monastery that was converted into the Hospital of the Holy Ghost. 

We then drove Erik back to his place where we dropped him off so he could go to a party with friends later. We continued our road trip to Tversted which is just south of Skagen.

Lotte had reserved a cozy little yellow house through AirB&B in Tversted for two nights. The house was cute and perfectly located close to restaurants, market, and the beach.

Lotte, Carol, and I walked to the beach and along the way, came across a place where you could use a bike for free. Lotte said you just put a coin in the slot to unlock the bike.

Then, when you're finished using the bike, you return it and you get your coin back. Lotte then proceeded to give us a little demonstration. After Lotte's demonstration, we returned to the house and just as we got there, Marie and Gismo arrived. 

So, we all walked back to the beach and took a longer loop trail across the dunes and back to the house.The dunes were very similar to the dunes along the Oregon coast and even had some of the same plants. 

It was interesting to see plants that are considered invasive in Oregon, growing in their native habitat (e.g., European beachgrass). Of course, there were a number of new plants, including Lady’s Bedstraw, Bloody Crane’s Bill and Sea Buckthorn. We returned to the house and stayed up until around 11:30 PM talking and sharing a little wine. (Note: I found a small tick on my neck!!)

Things I Learned On This Day (#TILOTD) –

• Ben Chiller is pretty chill for a troll
• Hospital of the Holy Ghost is one of Denmark’s best preserved medieval establishments
• Three new plants - Lady’s Bedstraw, Bloody Crane’s Bill and Sea Buckthorn