Fun in Fredericia

  Fredericia, Jutland, Denmark
Saturday, July 19, 2008

Celina, Melissa & Gitte

Thursday 17th July
Alison: After one change near the Denmark border, our train arrrived in Fredericia in the late afternoon where we received great welcomes in the train station from our Servas friends Gitta & Peter Lykkehus who we had last seen 10 years ago in Adelaide. I had been pregnant with Rachel back then and they had two gorgeous little girls and we had very much enjoyed their stay with us so it was great to see them again. Peter & Gitta had hardly changed but waiting back at their beautiful home overlooking the sea at Skaerbaek were Melissa & Celina who had now grown into 2 lovely young women of 16 and 14.

Kids enjoying the trampoline

The kids were ecstatic to see a trampoline in the yard and immediately raced out to jump on it, before being called back for tea and a yummy chocolate and orange cake that Melissa had made. The kids played together and Celina showed off her cute floppy eared rabbit, while we chatted & relaxed, catching up on 10 years of news. When we had contacted them earlier in the year about coming to visit they were concerned that they would be away, but luckily they managed to change their holiday plans, so they had recently got back from a trip through France and Italy, but were still on holidays.

Alison in the garden

We then had a lovely dinner of meatballs, noodles and yummy salads before a relaxing evening chatting. We were admiring the modern art on the walls and were amazed to discover that Gitta had done them herself after doing an Art Class. They looked fabulous and really suited their beautiful modern house - I really love Danish interior design. I put the kids to bed fairly early and crashed myself, while Michael enjoyed staying up and chatting to Peter before finally joining me in bed.

Friday 18th

Going out in Peter's boat

Alison: We slept very well and emerged to a fabulous breakfast with the family. We quickly realised we would not be losing any weight while we stayed with them, even though their whole family looked amazingly trim! Although the weather had looked a little threatening, Mike had insisted the night before that he was the 'weather man' and that it would be fine the next day for going out on Peter's speedboat, so while Mum and Gitte went for a walk, Rachel, Tom, Mike, Melissa, Peter and I headed out to the water. The kids were very excited about going out on the boat and we had a lovely time skimming over the little waves in the lovely bay.

Tom having a steer

We stopped at Middelfart for icecream & hid from a shower under a canvas in the boat for a bit, before heading back to their place, Tom, Melissa and Michael enjoying the chance to have a turn at steering.
Then we had a lovely lunch after which Rachel, Mum, Gitta and I went shopping for ingredients as I had promised to make dinner for them. We went into Middelfart to a great fish shop where I bought some stunning salmon and then wandered around the pretty shopping strip looking for presents for Mum to take back to her friends. Then it was on to the shopping centre to buy a few more bits and pieces. I had noticed they had one of my favourite Jamie Oliver recipe books which of course was in Danish, but I could work out the ingredients well enough to make a tried and trusted dish of salmon wrapped in prosciutto & lentils with fresh herbs. Interestingly none of them had cooked lentils before and as Gitta was a vegetarian, this was a great opportunity to introduce her to such a useful foodstuff.

Lovely family meal

The meal was very successful and we had a lovely evening chatting & looking at slides from their trip to Australia 10 years ago. It was funny looking at pictures of the house and garden before we had done the extensions, but it brought back great memories. Finally we headed off to bed, sad in the realisation that we had to leave the next day.

Mum, Mike, Tom, Peter & Gitte at Trapholt

Saturday 19th July

Alison: After another impressive breakfast, I packed and then, leaving Rachel with the girls, we visited the fabulous Trapholt Museum of Modern Danish Art, Applied Art & Furniture Design in Kolding. This was the perfect kind of museum for us as we all love this kind of thing and the Danes are noted for their design.

Arne Jacobsen's Cube-flex summer house

Apart from the great art, we also got to see Arne Jacobsen's 1970s Cube-flex summer house overlooking Kolding Fjord, which was fascinating in bringing back memories of 1970s design as our house at Oakbank which Mum's brother Jim designed had been built back then. We were also really interested in the furniture design but the usual exhibit had been replaced by a temporary one. Luckily one of the people helping with the exhibit took us into the store room so we could have a look at the fabulous chairs and sofas that were usually on display!

Peter by my favourite chair

We finally went back for another lovely lunch before farewelling the girls and then Peter & Gitte dropped us at Fredericia Station. After many hugs and promises to keep in touch, we got on our train heading to Copenhagen.

The family saying goodbye

Mike: Again we were soo happy to see these friends again, and we got suuuch a lovely warm welcome; and agaaaain they had a beautiful house in a divine part of the world, looking out to the water. A very peaceful family, unlike ours some might say (!!), their home very much reflected this. A real oasis of tranquillity, calming white walls and simple yet stylish Danish interiors, with noooo noise from the outside world, it felt like we were the only ones on the planet! Ten years it may have been since we saw them, but for all of us it felt like yesterday... perhaps not their kids though, now young 14 and 16 year old adults, who we had last seen at our place as gorgeous cute young things of 4 and 6!

Celina with her rabbit

All lovely, relaxed people, Celina a bit more fiery (like myself at that age perhaps!), we felt instantly at home and it was soo good to be there with them. Indeed these turned out to be a wonderful few days, with many highlights. Without doubt though, theee standout for me was the day out on their cruising boat. A bit gloomy the day we arrived, I assured them that contrary to official forecasts I would bring the sun in all its glory for our big day out on the water the next day, and when we woke lo and behold there was the beauuutiful sunshine streaming in.. boating heeere we come!!

Skaerbaek Harbour

Though tooootally impractical I have always loved the idea of a boat for some reason, and unlike the purists I have always fancied the motor variety. This boat was made to order and I loooved it, a perfect size for the 6 of us who went out, sleek as and super fuuuuun.

This got me thinking, suffice to say much to Alison's complete disgust!, more about maybe one day getting one at home, so of course I noted the website address, as I really loved this exaaact boat! We had a ball, out for a few hours, all having a turn steering of course, and I was sooold! The other big attraction of this boat was its ease in handling and maintenance. Peter said that much like me, he is no good with all things practical, but he assured me that with this boat he simply needed to get it serviced once yearly and the rest of the year it sat happily in the car shed when not being used, where it fitted just perfectly being a nice snug size.

What is more, even moore importantly, getting it into the water was deeead easy. A little motor winched it off the trailer and in she went, and likewise getting it back on the trailer was a 1 man job in literally two minutes... With enough practise I maaaay even learn to do it myself one day, else of course I can always take out my trusty practical boat-loving friends with me for insurance (are you reading this Daniel!!??))....

Mike enjoying steering

Need I say there was more great food, especially delicious pickled seafoods and smoked salmon etc, plus the usual array of lots of new and yet unseen cheeses, dips et al, ohmygooooodnoooo!!! A trampoline in the yard was a big hit for all including me, as was the PlayStation for Tom in particular, though sadly we never did get round to the big Aust Denmark Karaoke Challenge... next time.

Since we saw them Peter has discovered and become heavily involved with meditation, now teaching it too, so we had a lot to talk about, given the big difference meditation has made in my own life over the last 20 odd years. Like me this has set him forward on an irreversible course of self discovery and self growth, and like me this has become theee defining aspect of his life.

So we talked deeply about where our lives were heading and what we wanted from them. I especially enjoyed sharing his thoughts about how he can begin to extricate himself from his current job, which although he enjoys it is not what he really loves and is passionate about. Echoes of course of my own corporate role sooo many years ago now - and I am thus always so keen to help in any little way from my own experience, to give friends the confidence to take that seemingly scary jump OUT of the comfort zone, and into the deeeepdaaaaark land of the unknown! The landing is aaalways softer than the fear may suggest! I very much look forward to keeping in touch with Peter over the next little while and seeing just where his path takes him next!..

The girls were a real delight, quite different to each other - with Melissa poised, calm and mature, and (refer above) the slightly younger Celina far more the outspoken fiery one. She told us with some consternation how her teachers had told her to 'change that face Celina', clearly referring to the particular expression with the much practised doubleeyerolltripletwisttothebackofthehead!!!!

Visiting the nearby furniture and art gallery was fabulous too. We both tend to looove modern design, and let's face it in Denmark you are right in the hooome of heart of chic modern design, sooo stylishly simple and understated! Having seen quite a few art galleries which we enjoyed a lot already in our travels, it was great seeing instead am amaaazing collection of modern yet timeless furniture, woooow some of them were out there!

I of course insisted we invest in a few pieces from the gallery shop for our own home and kitchen, so whenever we use them we can bring some of these great memories straight back..

Arne Jacobsen's chairs in summer house

Rachel as always loved being in the company of older girls, she being herself a 10 going on 16 year old, so snuggling up with Melissa watching adolescentgirlymovies and the like put her quite in heaven! And then regressing to hama beading which she also really took to, more age appropriate perhaps!

Goodbyes in the station brought tears to my eyes, I think especially because of the deep connection I felt with all of them, but especially Peter in his spiritual quest. I have nooo doubt we will see these people again.