There are three more letters in the Danish alphabet than in the English one.
Cars cost 2.5 times more in Copenhagen compared to South Africa to encourage citizens to cycle.
Receive huge fines for not wearing a helmet while cycling.
Schnapps drank with herring is a very popular combination.
White bread is difficult to find, rye bread is eaten with most meals.
Sweetie Pie originated from Denmark, but is called a cream puff here.
School and university is free.
A waffle is what we call a sugar cone, and a Belgian waffle is what we call a waffle.
I read on the back of a tea bag today "some relationships come and go, but some are made to last". My dad does not have a lot of his family left. He has lost both of his parents as well as his only sibling. What remains is a few half siblings that all live in different parts of the world. While my dad chose to leave home as soon as he matriculated, he has sustained relationships with some of these half-siblings, and today he got to meet up with his half-sister who he had not seen since their father's funeral, more than 15 years ago.
Anne and her husband, Daniel, and their three daughters (like us) acted as our own personal tour guides for the day in Copenhagen. They travelled more than 3.5 hours just to see us, and as soon as we stepped off of the ship, the showering of blessings began. They brought us all a very special Danish gift. My dad received a key holder and my mom, sisters and I received a daisy bracelet. The reason being that the Danish queen's favourite flower is the daisy. We all also received special Danish chocolates and licorice. They then took us around Copenhagen showing and telling us about historical statues and Nordic myths. We came across a statue of a Nordic goddess and Anne told us the story behind it. This Nordic goddess turned her sons into bulls and made them plow the land. Wherever she plowed became her land and Denmark. Unfortunately I don't have access to internet so I cannot find out the facts behind it. The place where this statue lies is on top of a water fountain. In the winter they have to turn this water fountain off to prevent the pipes from cracking because of the cold.
Anne also showed us a statue of the Little Mermaid, an extremely popular tourist attraction in Copenhagen. We were also shown the place in which the Danish Queen's boat docks into the harbour, as well as where she resides during her stay, and the balcony that she stands on and waves to the people on her birthday. We were allowed to have a picture with one of the guards, something that is forbidden at Buckingham Palace. We were even lucky to see the changing of the guards which happens at 12pm every day.
My favourite part of the day was visiting the Marble Church. It was so amazingly beautiful inside. Tourists just went in and stopped to sit in a pew and quietly pray. It was one of the most beautifully-built churches that I have ever seen. The locals describe it as onion-domed. The front words of the church translate to "the Lord's word stays eternal". This church reminded me of another church that we visited in France more or less 10 years ago. Julianne, my younger sister was around 6 or 8 years old, and when we entered this church (I have forgotten the name of it), it was so majestic that she quietly whispered to my dad "daddy does Jesus live here?" It was one of those extremely precious moments that my family has never forgotten.
After our tour we had lunch at a place called Dansk Smorrebrod. A Smorrebrod is basically rye bread with different hams/fish/meats, sauces and garnish on top. Almost like an open sandwich. Anne told us that when she started sending her oldest daughter, Mirjam to school she would pack her a sandwich for lunch. Mirjam eventually returned from school one day asking her mom to make her "sandwich" the same way as the other mothers did for their daughters. Anne, a South African, did not know then that this was the Danish way to do it.
Our lunch was decadent and it ended with a scoop of true Danish ice cream with a sweetie pie squished on top. God truly blessed us today by gracing us with the meeting of my dad's sister and her family. Not only were we blessed by their company, but I believe that God blessed them with ours. God does that sometimes, almost like a double whammy of blessings. I am just so lucky that my eyes have been opened to the fact that this is all His doing.
I read on the back of a tea bag today "some relationships come and go, but some are made to last". My dad does not have a lot of his family left. He has lost both of his parents as well as his only sibling. What remains is a few half siblings that all live in different parts of the world. While my dad chose to leave home as soon as he matriculated, he has sustained relationships with some of these half-siblings, and today he got to meet up with his half-sister who he had not seen since their father's funeral, more than 15 years ago.
Anne and her husband, Daniel, and their three daughters (like us) acted as our own personal tour guides for the day in Copenhagen. They travelled more than 3.5 hours just to see us, and as soon as we stepped off of the ship, the showering of blessings began. They brought us all a very special Danish gift. My dad received a key holder and my mom, sisters and I received a daisy bracelet. The reason being that the Danish queen's favourite flower is the daisy. We all also received special Danish chocolates and licorice. They then took us around Copenhagen showing and telling us about historical statues and Nordic myths. We came across a statue of a Nordic goddess and Anne told us the story behind it. This Nordic goddess turned her sons into bulls and made them plow the land. Wherever she plowed became her land and Denmark. Unfortunately I don't have access to internet so I cannot find out the facts behind it. The place where this statue lies is on top of a water fountain. In the winter they have to turn this water fountain off to prevent the pipes from cracking because of the cold.
Anne also showed us a statue of the Little Mermaid, an extremely popular tourist attraction in Copenhagen. We were also shown the place in which the Danish Queen's boat docks into the harbour, as well as where she resides during her stay, and the balcony that she stands on and waves to the people on her birthday. We were allowed to have a picture with one of the guards, something that is forbidden at Buckingham Palace. We were even lucky to see the changing of the guards which happens at 12pm every day.
My favourite part of the day was visiting the Marble Church. It was so amazingly beautiful inside. Tourists just went in and stopped to sit in a pew and quietly pray. It was one of the most beautifully-built churches that I have ever seen. The locals describe it as onion-domed. The front words of the church translate to "the Lord's word stays eternal". This church reminded me of another church that we visited in France more or less 10 years ago. Julianne, my younger sister was around 6 or 8 years old, and when we entered this church (I have forgotten the name of it), it was so majestic that she quietly whispered to my dad "daddy does Jesus live here?" It was one of those extremely precious moments that my family has never forgotten.
After our tour we had lunch at a place called Dansk Smorrebrod. A Smorrebrod is basically rye bread with different hams/fish/meats, sauces and garnish on top. Almost like an open sandwich. Anne told us that when she started sending her oldest daughter, Mirjam to school she would pack her a sandwich for lunch. Mirjam eventually returned from school one day asking her mom to make her "sandwich" the same way as the other mothers did for their daughters. Anne, a South African, did not know then that this was the Danish way to do it.
Our lunch was decadent and it ended with a scoop of true Danish ice cream with a sweetie pie squished on top. God truly blessed us today by gracing us with the meeting of my dad's sister and her family. Not only were we blessed by their company, but I believe that God blessed them with ours. God does that sometimes, almost like a double whammy of blessings. I am just so lucky that my eyes have been opened to the fact that this is all His doing.
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