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!