A lovely land is ours
With beeches green about her
Encircled by the sea
Her hills and vales are manifold
Her name, of old, is Denmark
That’s how the Danish national anthem goes. Denmark is a
flat country. It’s not overly green or overly brown and everything looks dull
in the winter and the trees aren’t covered in multi-coloured leaves in the
autumn. They don’t have different shades of brown, red and yellow like they
have in Sweden. It’s windy most of the time and the beaches aren’t anything
special even though we have so many of them. But of course Denmark has its
moments from time to time. I think it’s amazing to drive in the summer on the narrow
country roads and I love when everything is covered in snow in the winter. I’m
in Denmark at the moment and it’s windy, grey and rainy. Not really what you
imagine the weather to be like in the winter. There’s no snow and no minus
degrees. The weather is mild and so Danish-like. But to be honest I don’t mind
being back in Denmark right now because the weather in Ireland doesn’t seem to
be any better anyway. In fact it seems like it is worse over there right now.
On the 19th of December my parents came to
Ireland to visit me. I had promised to meet them at the airport where we had
rented a car. I had to take the bus to the airport from Austin Friar’s Street in Mullingar
and normally I would ride my bike into town but that day I decided to walk. The
weather was so bizarre that day. It had been raining, snowing and the sun had
been shining. When I began my walk into
town it was really sunny and beautiful, but after five minutes big snowflakes
came down from the sky. It wasn’t cold enough so they melted when they came
into contact with something. Mostly it was just wet. My grandpa has told me
about how they used to hitchhike when he was in Ireland a lot of years ago and
how it was just normal to give rides to people walking on the roads. I was thinking
about that as I was walking into town when a car pulled in and asked me if I wanted
a lift into town. So that was how I got my very first lift from strangers.
I met my parents in the airport and unfortunately one of
their suitcases was still in Amsterdam and the suitcase that made it to Dublin
was filled with my clothes. So we were off to a very good start! We picked the
pre-booked car up at Europcar and made our way to Mullingar. I think the clock
was around five when we came to Mullingar. They were staying at Annebrook’s
Hotel and it was actually a really nice and cosy hotel with a great breakfast
buffet. The first night I stayed at my own place and my parents came to pick me
up at 8 a.m. and we went back to Annebrook to have breakfast and it was the
first time since I came to Ireland that I had an Irish breakfast. I don’ know
why I like Irish breakfasts so much because I don’t really eat the sausages or
the black and white pudding. But the bacon is AMAZING! AMAZING!
Most of the day we spent walking around looking at the shops
in Mullingar and I invited my parents for hot chocolate and blancmange with
jelly at my place. Mainly they came to Mullingar to see where I live and to
see Mullingar. I have been waiting for them to come over since I left Denmark
in October because I have longed for the feeling of having someone to share
everything with. I can tell them all about it but it’s not the same as if they
have actually been here. And now they have been here and I think they actually
liked Mullingar.
When I told people that my parents were coming over to
Mullingar just to see where I live they all laughed at me and said, “They are
coming here?” Like what the hell are they going to do here? But I suppose it’s
the same as when people come to Skagen and I’m thinking, “What the hell”. There
are actually a lot more to do in Mullingar than in Skagen.
The photos are taken in Mullingar and this time the they're actually my own. I was really disappointed when I got back to Skagen, and saw that there's hardly any Christmas decorations.
We also drove to Lough Owel which is around 7 km from where I live. But it was really windy that day.
In the evening we
had booked a table at Dominick’s Restaurant and the food was really good in
there.
Definitely a place I am going to another time.
On the 21st we
drove to Dublin in the morning. We dropped the car of at the airport and took a
taxi to the hotel. We stayed at O’Callaghan Davenport which was a really nice
hotel and it was in the city centre. It wasn’t far away from streets like
Dawson Street and Grafton Street.
My mum and I with the hotel in the background.
It was my first time in Dublin and in the
beginning I was quite stunned by the lack of cars in the city. But on the
shopping street there were so many people and it reminded me of why I didn’t
want to live in Dublin. I don’t have the patience to be around so many people.
All you really want to do is to push them. The weather wasn’t great. It was
raining most of the time and the rain made it even worse to go into shops,
because a lot of people had also sought into shops to hide from the rain. But
apart from all the people I liked Dublin. It was nice and really pretty with
all the Christmas decorations.
All the streets had really beautiful decorations.
My parents had to leave the hotel at 0830 on the 22nd.
Their flight was around 1100 and mine wasn’t until 1900. So I had a few hours
to kill. Luckily I could keep the hotel room until 1400. I spent my time doing
the last bits of Christmas shopping and after that I went to a pub to watch
football and have a few pints before I went to the airport.
Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to call in at O'Donoghue's. It's the pub The Dubliners used to play at and I've read that it's worth a visit. But as you can see on the photo it was packed the day we wanted to go in there. Dublin is a crazy place around Christmas!
I came to Denmark at midnight on the 22nd and by
midday the 23rd I was back in Skagen. I went to see my grandparents
on my mother’s side first. It was only a short visit but it was so nice to see
them again.
On the 24th of December my grandparents on my
mother’s side came to my parent’s house around 6. In Denmark we eat Christmas
food and open presents on the 24th of December. Each year we switch
between all my grandparents. One year we celebrate it with my grandparent’s on
my mother’s side and the next my grandparents on my father’s side and also
every second year my brother and his wife join us. On the 25th and
26th we normally go to all the grandparents and eat some more
Christmas food.
This is what we have for dinner on Christmas Eve.
Ris a la mande (rice pudding). This is want we eat for dessert. Normally one almond is hidden in the pudding and the one who finds it gets something.
The Christmas tree
On the 25th I also met up with Zille, an old friend from
school, and we went downtown for a few beers. I ended up staying out for quite a
while though, because I wasn’t back in bed before 0430 which was a bit late
when I had to be somewhere at 1200 the next day. But luckily I was alright in
the morning and had a lovely day.
On the 28th I went to my friend Anne’s house with
Zille and my best friend Sabina. We had a blast and it was nice to hang out
with them again.
Yesterday, the 29th, I went to Frederikshavn with
Sabina where we went to my local bar, Munken, for a Tuborg, just to celebrate
the good old times.
Sláinte! Skål!
After that we visited a friend I went to school with and we
hung out at his place most of the afternoon and evening before we took the
train back to Skagen.
Today, the 30th, I’ve been hanging out with
Sabina. We had lunch at Green’s Pub and Café in Skagen (the best place in
Skagen) and then we went to her place to play Catan. I won 3 out of 3. She’s
coming over to my parents tonight and we’ll probably just play some more Catan.
Sabina and I
I have almost two weeks left in Denmark before I fly back to Ireland on Januar 12. Tomorrow it's New Year's Eve and I'm having dinner with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law. Then I'm meeting up with Sabina after dinner.
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