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Published: July 22nd 2017
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Geo: 55.7106, 12.5659
I can't recall when I have walked so much in a short period of time. Likely it was back when I was in my teens. We decided to go to the National Museum which is basically a day excursion. The museum is terrific with all sorts of displays. It is housed in what was once a castle which has seen several renovations. My pictures are limited because there is so much to see and many items are behind glass. We spent about 5 hours in the museum. The ground floor traces the history of Denmark from about 13,000 BC to 1050 AD. The first floor covers the Danish Middle Ages and the Renaissance as well as the Prince's Palace, the Royal Collection of Coins and Medals and the Peoples of the Earth display. The second floor is Stories of Denmark from 1660 - 2000 and various ethnographic treasures. The top floor was Near Eastern and Classical Antiquities.
Needless to say, the collections were somewhat overwhelming in their scope. One could probably spend a week here and the museum is free to the public. It was surprising the contents of some of the exhibits because it seemed that these items belonged
more in their places of origin. Perhaps the items were on loan to the museum. It was also surprising to see the term Eskimo was still in use since we in Canada now refer to these people as the Inuit.
We had lunch in the museum "dining" on "historical" hot dogs. Apparently it is a special recipe prepared for the museum. They were very good and unlike hot dogs as we known them - only the shape was similar.
Considering the opulence of many of the castles we have seen it makes one think of the disparity between the rich and the poor today. The nobility of the past lived in conditions I am sure the ordinary people could not envision.
On reflection it seems that most Danish people we see today enjoy life more than we do in North America. They live in smaller accommodation but seem to spend more time in parks, relaxing at cafés, riding their bikes and working less. In North America a great deal of time seems to be spent on accumulating wealth and material possessions. The apartment we are staying in belongs to a lawyer. It is very simple but adequate yet it is nothing
like what would be the expectations for a lawyer in North America.
One feels very safe in Denmark. Bicycles are often left on the street unlocked. In one case we saw a mother leave her child outside in a carriage while she went into a store. Parents spend a lot of time on specialized bikes where children ride in a type of carrier on the front of the bike along with the groceries, etc. Family cars seem to be the exception to the rule. There are lots of smaller groceries in the residential areas. Definitely no Wal-Marts or Costco's with massive parking lots. The only exception is likely the IKEA stores in suburbs.
Tomorrow we head for Odense, the last leg of our journey before returning to Germany.
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