Back in Copenhagen

Howdy y'all! We're back in Copenhagen for the night, or two. We are going to Mette's house for dinner so we drove back this afternoon. I think my body is adjusting to the time change fairly well and I'm getting used to Danish time. Both days I have gotten up at 9:45 and stayed up pretty late. Jeff and I walked around Vejby during the day while Bjarne went to a wedding for another school teacher. We walked down to the beach and made a stroll through town, making a stop at the supermarket for orange juice and trail mix. All of the cottages are supposed to be for summer use only, and are taxed accordingly. But, some people stay longer than they are "supposed" to, Jeff and Bjarne included. Jeff showed me a quaint cottage on the beach going for a cool $1.2 million. Both of their homes have tripled in the last 5-8 years, so real estate is pretty good here too! Tomorrow we'll go sight seeing around town then possibly head back to the cottage. Either way, Monday I will take the long way back from the cottage on a solo coastal road, about 50 miles. Until later, B.

The front of the summer cottage

Day 2 - Vejby, Denmark

Miles and miles and miles of cycling routes!!

Hello from the summer cottage! Jeff and I did a little more cykel touring around Copenhagen and then took the train north to Hillerød where I bought a TomTom. We figured out how to rig it up on my handlebar, but couldn't put it to test at the store. We went to King Christen the 4th's "hunting lodge" and did some sight-seeing there, but didn't go inside. Then rode the Regional Route number 32 to Vejby. It was a very nice 40 km ride, but you really have to watch for the signs that point you in the right direction. I know I'm going to have problems with that on future rides solo, but that will be part of the adventure. Hopefully TomTom will help! When we got to the cottage Bjarne fixed us up with water and our daily dose of gin and tonic, with green tea! I'm sure the tea makes it better for me! I was able to put our idea of rigging TomTom up and it worked. I don't expect to need this very often, but down the road I'm sure I will appreciate having it. Maybe it will help me find a Starbucks, or the closest watering hole!! We had a fine dinner on the rear patio and made a tour of the grounds. They have a really quaint place here and are doing a lot of work to fix it up. I recommended tearing the roof off and putting up some glu-lam beams for their ceiling joists and beams. The roof is sagging pretty bad, and they are already tearing off the ceiling boards to re-insulate, so they might as well do it now. Unfortunately, no salt shakers were found today.... :) Ciao

Nice "lodge"

Dinner is served! Bjarne and Jeff.

Day 1 - Copenhagen, Denmark

I made it to Denmark! Jeff met me at the airport and we "trolleyed" the bike box on the train back to his apartment (condo). He rolled the suitcase while the front edge of the box rested on top of it. I said, "This is what it must look like when people move in Denmark, cause cars are rare!" After putting the bike together and Jeff fixed breakfast, we rode about 35 km total around town. I got to see quite a bit of the town in about 5 hours and it helped keep me awake! I've been up for almost 36 hours and almost "hit the wall" when we got back home. After a gin and tonic, I think I felt a little better! So we picked up dinner and then met Jeff's friend Mette for after dinner drinks at Tivoli. It's an amusement park that is very popular here, but much different than anything in the States. His pass gets you in to walk around and listen to concerts (when playing) and also to the restaurants and little diners/cafés, and the pass is good for every day. Tomorrow we will ride out to the summer cottage where we will meet Bjarne who is working on remodeling. It's a MAJOR renovation and sleeping arrangements will be ineresting as everything in the kitchen is in the bedrooms! Until later, Brian.

Cousin Jeff. Looks like he's on a News Boy, eh DT?

Marble Church

These "townie" bikes are free! Just put in 20 Crown and then return it to get your money back.

Not to sound like a pig, but beautiful women are on bikes EVERYWHERE!! And there are more women on bikes, then men. I think I found a few salt shakers! I love it!

Paris Hilton sighting for DD!

Tivoli Park

Bon voyage, au revoir, adios, arrivederci, c-ya!!

To all of my friends and family-
It's time for my epic trip across the pond. Two months of traveling and cykeling (Danish word for cycling!) Europe is about to begin. Some of you will ask, "Why did you quit your job and what the hell do you think you're doing?". And I'd say, I'm just doing what my dad told me to do! Actually, it started because he knew I wasn't completely happy and satisfied in my job and felt that I needed a change. I pondered the idea for a while and decided he was right. Besides, when will I get this chance again? So I put in my notice at Builders FirstSource and now I'm heading out for a wild adventure and an eye opening experience. I hope to come back with some perspectives on my life and the direction it's headed. If not, I'll at least come back with a relaxed state of mind and I'll figure out my direction later! Here is my tentative itinerary:
July 18 - Fly to Copenhagen - spend 5+ days with my cousin Jeff and Bjarne.
July 24 - Train to Amsterdam - spend 2-3 days with Stuart Parson and/or Jeff & Becky Grant
July 27 (+/-) - Train to Dusseldorf, Germany - cykel 300+ miles (5-8 days) of the Rhine & Mosel rivers to Mannheim, Germany
August 5 (+/-) - Train to Lake Como, Italy - find a "base camp" in the Dolomite mountains and day trip thru northern Italy for a week.
August 12 (+/-) - Train to Lindau, Germany (Lake Bodensee) - sight see a few days then cykel towards Thun, Switzerland (near Interlaken)
August 19-25 - "base camp" with Adrian and Susanna Sommer. Cykel/train around Swiss Alps and visit Jeff & Becky Grant in Zurich. (Yes, they are moving from Amsterdam!)
August 26-? - Wild and free vagabond! I know I would like to visit Munich & Berlin and will spend a weekend touring Prague with Petra. Other than that, I have no idea!
September 16-20 - back to Copenhagen to spend a little more time with my cousins again before departing back to the U.S.

I hope you enjoy following my journey and I look forward to sharing even more of my experiences when I return. Feel free to check back as often or as little as you like, hell, I won't know the difference! But this will be my journal that I am able to relive for many years to come. Thanks for going on this journey with me, and feel free to leave any comments as you'd like!

Happy trails,
Brian

PS- If this soul searching isn't enough, when I get back I'm going on a mountain biking trip on the Kokopelli Trail from Grand Junction, CO to Moab, UT. A 3 day, 142 mile trip with a few buddies. Then maybe go surfing in Costa Rica and then definitely skiing in Colorado. But come February, look out world because I'll be back and more ready than ever!