European Road-Trip

We loaded up the car and left for Denmark this morning at about 7:30 in the morning. Got on the E40, right from our door-step practically, and headed west for a bit before connecting with the E34 which took us briefly through the Netherlands and into Germany. Got the adrenaline flowing first thing when a freight-truck backfired a thick burst of black smoke at us just as we were passing it. Sounded like a cannon and scared the crap out of us. Thank goodness for my non-reactive demeanor or we may have swerved into on-coming traffic.

Other than that, the drive was uneventful. It was fun to test out the BMW on the autobahn, though I drew stern looks from Kristen when I got a bit too lead-footed. We stopped for lunch (McDonalds) and fuel in Bottrop, Germany. Crossed the Danish border at 16:00 exactly. Much prettier driving in Denmark than in Germany. Sloping farmland as opposed to industry and conrete barriers.

We arrived at my Aunt's house in Vadum at about 19:00 and were welcomed by her (Faster Alice) and my eldest cousin on my father's side (Helle). By the way, "Faster" means "Aunt" in Danish. After bringing in our suitcase, we were presented with a wedding present (a Rosendahl set of drinking glasses and cereal bowls) and an early birthday present for me (a few beers and a giant box of Piratos licorice). Then we got a tour of Helle's orchid greenhouse, before heading off to my grandmother's townhome, 5 minutes away. [ I call her Farmor, which is Danish for "Grandmother on my father's side" or directly translated to FatherMother. This makes more sense than the English version which doesn't indicate which grandparent you mean. ]

When we got there we were met by a barrage of other family members: my mother (Mamma) and father (Pappa), my sister (Stephanie) and her boyfriend (Henrry), Farmor, my uncle on my mother's side (Hans), my cousins on my mother's side (Annika and Niklas), and Annika's two children (Christopher and Natalie). Niklas's girlfriend (Karola) was supposed to be there, but she had to go home early because she was sick from a tick bite. Also, Annika's husband (Jorge) couldn't make it because he had a prior engagement for that weekend which had been in the planning for almost a year.

There was a massive dinner preparation going on when we got there, so there was a lot of time to chat with everybody and for Kristen to finally meet the Swedish side of my family (from now on to be referred to collectively as "the Swedes"). We passed around our "wedding album" and caught up on each other's lives. Then we all sat around the communal picnic table and had dinner (pasta and homemade chicken fingers).

At this point, Pappa announced what our surprise wedding party was going to be: a viking wedding ceremony in full costume followed by a gargantuan feast featuring a fire-roasted 70 lb. pig which had been slaughtered yesterday! Certainly not something we were expecting. There would be about 48 adults and 12 children at the event. This was all put together in less than three weeks.

It was getting late, so we all turned in for the night. Kristen, Stephanie, Henrry, and I will all be staying at Faster Alice's house. Everyone else is staying at Farmor's house, with Niklas sleeping in a tent outside near the picnic tables. Tomorrow will be spent getting things ready for the party on Sunday.

-RP-