Last Day in Amsterdam

Yesterday we went on a boat ride on the canal and then found our way to an outdoor flea market-- great stuff and we had a good time looking around and shopping.  We ate lunch at the famous Hard Rock Cafe and then a little more shopping.  To end our trip we decided to have a picnic dinner in the Park in Amsterdam.  It was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  It was a great way to end this amazing journey.   When the girls went down for the night- Patrick and I had to take a taxi ride to the Red Light District (just to say we had been there)-- Well, it was diappointing to say the least -  more like a circus with girls in bikinis all over the place.  Rather sad in some places, so we found a nice little restaurant outside the crazy atmosphere and had a coffee and the most amazing cheesecake.  Good way to end our time here.  We are up early today to pack and head off to the airport.  We are ready to come home-- but we have all vowed to return someday.  Give us a few days and we will post more of our European Adventure on line.  Thanks for following and keeping us connected to home during our travels.  To all our new and old friends and family in Europe-- THANK YOU for making this trip possible and full of adventure.  Your kindness and hospitality was more than generous and you are all welcome in Birmingham -- anytime day or night :)  Wish us luck on the flight home-- no more trains so we should be good.  Much love --The Danley Gang

Amsterdam or BUST (literally)!

We made it!!! Only a few minutes late at that—We were wondering half way through the night if we would—again we had engine trouble with the train and had to move trains once (hauling all our bags and garb) and then the engine had to be replaced twice. We were on the Night Train from Randers to Odense and then on to Amsterdam. We had tried to stay in Randers longer, but this is holiday season and the trains were booked. We finally found a seat on this train. Which was fine, but we found a sleeper car that we had to share with two other people – POOR ladies. We brought in our load of luggage and their eyes almost popped out of their heads. Patrick and I knew that there was NO WAY we could spend almost 16 hours cramped in that little space. We talked with the conductor and she allowed us to move to a second class seat car. Patrick and I stayed in there while Blythe and Devyn stayed in the original car. It worked out fine. Sometime during the night when we dropped cars and picked others up- they dropped the restaurant car- so this morning when we woke up there was no coffee or food- but we managed just fine—well not really fine- but we bought coffee as soon as we could- so we didn’t kill the children before we reached Holland. We need to thank Bryan (he works for the rail system) and told us all about trains, he guided us to the right train and we made our connection with no problems- it was just the engines this time. I have to say we have been so fortunate to have found such great people to help us—Who knows without Chris and Bryan we would still be hopping trains around Denmark. We arrived in Amsterdam around 12:30 and spent the day getting settled, taking showers and then went to the Anne Frank Museum/House. It was great!! Very moving and something to see if you ever come to Amsterdam-but buy your tickets on line (thanks for the tip Melinda we walked in with no problems- the line was around the building and down the street today) This was on Devyn’s list for Europe-so another one has been checked off. We had a good dinner and then walked back to the hotel. We are looking forward to our next two days in Amsterdam -- tomorrow is the Van Gogh Museum and a boat ride on the canals. All I can tell you for sure is that there are NO MORE trains in our near future. Until later =The Danley’s

Hojen Hospitality

The next 30 hours we spent in Randers. The girls took a nap for a few and the adults stayed up to catch up and discuss our journey. Later in the morning once all the children woke up and reconnected- we spent the day touring Randers and visiting the town museum. It was so much fun to see the history of Randers. The kids loved the museum and we ate at the most amazing restaurant- a cute little café that is named after one of Randers forefathers. We got our first bite of true Danish delights. The fish was amazing and we all enjoyed the down time together. Later we returned back to their enchanting home—true Danish décor and the loveliest garden imaginable. The Hojens live right next to the church that Lisbeth is the pastor for – another beautiful site. It was complete with a beautiful veggie garden and a huge yard for the kids to play in. Lisbeth and Anders were perfect hosts – welcoming us into their home and spending the day letting us recuperate and get our feet back on the ground. We then sat down to a great dinner – made from the garden and enjoyed a guitar serenade by the one and only Anders—of course Patrick and Anders had to sample all the fine whiskey that they had and made a night out of deciding which one was the best. I went to bed- as did the kids. This was the first time I had shut my eyes in two days. Let’s just say it was a very peaceful sleep—We woke up yesterday morning to a beautiful breakfast made by Lisbeth (out of the garden again) and with this great Danish Rhye bread—it is like our white bread- a staple in Danish homes. The kids loved it and I am going to attempt to make it when we get home (I hope to do you proud Lisbeth  We then spent the day with the kids playing outside a fast game of soccer (football) kids against the dad’s – the kids won and Oskar was quite excited about this achievement. They also learned to play a Danish game called Kings and Castles (I think -correct me if I am wrong about that)—it was fun and Patrick is going to make one when we get home—it will be great for the lake Mom. It was a cross between horseshoes and croquet. The girls had brought Silly Bandz for the kids along with superhero Spiderman garb for Oskar. The girls loved the Silly Bandz and traded and researched all the different kinds on the internet. Denmark has now been introduced to Silly Bandz—they really are an international hit. All during our visit, the Hojens practiced their English and we tried to learn a few Danish words = Thank you girls (Anna and Ida) for making the visit so special for Devyn and Blythe. We then ate another authentic Danish lunch made by Lisbeth—Yes- all she did was cook while we were there—Thank you for the food ( a Danish tradition at the end of every meal)—I did laundry—That is a whole new story—her washing machine has 20 settings and was so high tech that I even called it wonderful—now for all of you that know me well- you know laundry is not one of my favorite things to do- but her machine takes 2 hours to wash and in true European style takes its time and washes like a pro. I told the Danley gang- these were the cleanest clothes they will ever wear. I know the Hojens thought I was crazy, but that washing machine did amaze me. Before we left, Ida gave a moving performance of Blowing in the Wind—watch out world Ida Hojen will be a star someday—I was moved to tears—her voice is amazing. Thank you Ida for the beautiful music! We gathered our things and got ready for our 4pm departure from the train. Everyone went to see us off at the station. It was fun to reconnect and share a little time, great food, music, and laughter with our Danish friends-we miss you already come see us soon-- next time we visit you we will fly to Randers—no more taking the train for the Danley’s-- Thank you so much-- love you all!

Destination Denmark

When I picked the title for this post I had no idea exact ally how appropriate that would be. We wanted to experience Denmark but we didn’t want to see the entire country in one day. We got on the train without a hitch—well that was the last time we could say that for the next 24 hours. The train was only a few minutes late- the trains in Europe are very efficient as I have said before—Well, the train had problems and had to be switched out- so now the train is 10 minutes late. In the end our train was 11 minutes late getting into Hamburg. Well our train to Randers was on time and even after the engineers said that it was ok we would make our train—we didn’t. We ended up getting a voucher to catch another train to Randers—of course we wouldn’t be able to meet the Hojens at the correct time and we didn’t have a phone so – the next few hours were spent finding food for the kids and searching for an internet connection to contact Lizbeth and Anders to let them know that we would be arriving not at 11 pm but at 5am—all of this in the Hamburg train station. During this process of switching trains with 6 bags and 4 backpacks we met a very nice fellow traveler named Chris—he was our angel in transit. He guided us through a ferry ride (Yes they put the whole train on a boat!) Quite interesting – we were able to find a better route than the one they had given us --- and we met our train connection- because now we were 45 minutes late and meeting our connecting train would be impossible- the kids were troopers. They were happy because on the boat there was a gift shop. They were able to occupy their time testing out makeup and looking around the duty free shop. Chris stayed with us for the rest of the night to make sure we caught the right train- THANK YOU CHRIS—we are forever grateful for your kindness and sincere concern about the CRAZY lost Americans traveling the rails with our haul. Hopefully we will be able to return the favor someday and you know you are always welcome in our home in Birmingham. Please come see us if you ever make it to the US again. After many hours on trains we finally made it to Randers and were welcomed with a true American greeting American flag waving and all—Anders and Lisbeth—we loved that—thank you. After such a long journey that is exactly what we needed to lift our broken and very tired spirits  You are the best. Randers would never be the same once we arrived!

Marksburg Castle

Today was our last day in Germany. We went to the Markzburg Castle about 30 minutes outside Koblenz. It was the only German castle to have survived intact throughout the centuries. It was just incredible. The castle was built during the Middle Ages and was once the center of a mining area. Today it is run by the German Castle Association. We were impressed by the dungeon and amour room. The girls were surprised by just how hard life would have been back then—and these would have been the lucky ones that lived there. We ended our time in Germany by shopping for some gifts to bring home and making sure everything was packed for our journey to Denmark tomorrow. Thank you Germany for a wonderful time—