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Published: July 17th 2011
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In October we were done with our flurry of trips so had time to pick up our new Volvo in Copenhagen. It turns out that for those who do not have to pay taxes, the best place to buy a car is where the taxes on cars is the highest. Car companies tend to reduce their base price so that with taxes the car is still affordable, and in Denmark the taxes are very high.
Anyway, Linda and I took the Friday night train from Brussels to Copenhagen, sleeping as usual in a couchette. We arrived about 9 am Saturday morning, and the owner of the Volvo dealership met us at the station.
Our first stop was to a womens boutique, which just happened to be owned by his wife. Linda admired the blouses...she loves blouses...and selected one. When we went to pay, they said it was their gift to her. That was very nice of them. (On the other hand it would have been awkward if he took her there just to bring his wife some business...we didn't know how it was going to turn out.)
After this stop we drive the scenic route pass the Little
Mermaid to the northern outskirts of the city where the dealership was located. We went through the whole process of taking ownership and getting temporary Danish license plates for the car. The dealer mentioned that the week before he had delivered the exact same car (color of exterior and interior) to the Queen of Denmark.
By mid afternoon the car was ours. We drove up the coast to Helsingor to see the Kronborg Slot (or fortress). We had reserved a hotel room near the dealer, so returned there in time for dinner and overnight rest.
Early Sunday morning we headed west stopping first at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskild. This was followed by a visit to the Roskild cathedral built in the 12th and 13th century. It was the first gothic cathedral built out of brick, and soon brick gothic spread across Northern Europe. We soon stopped at Sagnlandet near Lejre, just southwest of Roskild. Sanglandet, or Land of Legends, represents life in the Stone, Iron, and Viking ages. The village has been recreated with seven thatched wattle and daub houses. It was very interesting.
We then continued west to catch the ferry to Nyborg. On
the way it started to get dark with storm clouds and then to rain. I tried to turn on the windshield wipers, but they wouldn't work. As the sky grew darker, I turned on my headlights and the wipers started working. I guess the law in Denmark was that if you have your windshield wipers on you must also have your headlights on. We had the dealer in Brussels rewire the lighting to disconnect the windshield wipers from the head lights. I like to do my own thinking.
Anyway, we made it to the ferry and from Nyborg and continued to the Jutland Peninsula, where we crossed to the North Sea barrier island of Romo. We were interested in that place because it was used in one of our conversational German courses as a German vacation destination. At this time of the year we were the only ones on the beach.
We stayed in a quaint Danish inn known as Kro's. Apparently, in 1396 Queen Margrethe decrred that travelers were to have access to an inn every three miles, and so today they are found everywhere, although not everry three miles, and are a very comfortable place to
stay and to eat great Danish delicacies, otherwise known as seafood.
Monday morning we took our car to the beach. It wasn't much for building sandcastles, so we left it sitting there while Linda searched for seashells.
After that it was a very long drive back to Overijse. We arrived home at almost midnight, but I had to get to work Tuesday morning.
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