Vacations of a Different Degree

I've spent three vacations in my life in Denmark.....the last trip in 2005 (ten years ago this summer).

Truth be told....these were the most relaxing vacations that you could ever devise.

Oh, I'd agree.....it was an enormous event full of stress to travel via the German autobahns on a Saturday.  Toss in the crowd on the road, slow-moving trucks, and various storms that will dump some rain and pass.....it's not a very pleasant experience getting to Denmark.

But then you cross the border and note the speed limit sign pops up immediately.  You start to notice that folks act calm.  Then you get on a secondary road and notice a lot less traffic.  Your blood pressure starts to lessen, and you feel sedated to some degree.

Eventually, you get to this vacation cottage deal.  It's a regular house, near a beach area.  It's no dynamic, eye-catching, or remarkable.  It's just a simple house....a patio with a bar-b-q.....a quiet background with pine trees.....and a few clouds passing over.

Danes are practical people.  If you wonder into the local village....there's not much to get excited about.  Gas is expensive.  Beer is expensive.  Liquor is expensive. Smokes are expensive.  If you wanted any bad habits.....it'd ruin your bank account.

Danes tend to keep streets tidy, uncluttered and organized.  It's hard to find some ghetto area or some area that is really dismal in appearance.

You tend to notice after a while that there aren't that many restaurants or fast-food operations in Denmark.  An American would assume they eat at home a good bit and if they eat out.....they tend to avoid spicy or odd food.

Crime?  It's hard to feel threatened in Denmark.  A drunk Dane is about the worst possible threat that you'd come up against.  You could be in Denmark for two weeks and never see a single cop car.

The issue of a summer vacation in Denmark?  Well....it rains.  It rains.....a fair bit.  Even in the midst of a normal hot July summer.....you might be lucky if you had only three days of pure sunshine for a seven day period.  All this five-star beach access and idealistic landscape......and a limited and marginal amount of sunshine?  Yeah.  That's the negative.

So, you calmly enjoy fourteen days of what you can get.  And after fourteen days.....you leave with a loss of stress and feel like you visited the Danish version of Mayberry.....where life is all calm and enchanted.