Kindness of Strangers

We are heading home soon.  I've been sitting here thinking about all of the fun times we've had this year and all of the nice people that we've met.  One thing that I have found again and again is that Danish people are very kind and thoughtful.

KINDNESS #1
Back in May, I took a trip to Kalundborg (other side of Zealand) to hang with my friend Jessica.  Kind of like a girls weekend, but just one overnight.  

Jessica's Little Cottage

This is a Danish thing.  Check out how the shower is directly over the toilet.  For real.

Toilet Shower

It was SO HOT, and Jessica and I went on a crazy hike.  We wanted to see the lighthouse which was like 25 kilometers away.  We headed out on the trail and were doing just fine.  I remember seeing signs warning about wild bulls.  That was a bit worrying, but hey, we kept on going. 

Hikers

Wild Bulls

Following the Trail

And then we got lost.  We found ourselves at a little camp site where there was water (thank God!) and bathrooms (even better!). But we had lost sight of the trail markers.  So, we headed in the direction we thought we were supposed to go, but then doubled back to the campsite.  It was so hot.  We decided to have lunch at the campsite.  Jessica is such a good mom, she packed us a cute picnic lunch.  A friendly danish couple asked us what we were doing there.  "We're on a hike.  We want to go to the lighthouse."  They looked so concerned for us!  They told us that the lighthouse was really really far away.  "It's very very hot today.  There's a winery just down the road.  Why not go there?"  Why not indeed!

The Winery

The Cute Lunch

We got a couple of glasses of wine.  Then we checked out the art gallery that was there.  See those two bottles of wine on the table?  There's a story there.  But I'll never tell.

Two Bottles of Wine

While we were in the gallery, I looked out the window and spotted the friendly danish couple, Peter and Kirsten.  They came back for us!  They were concerned that we'd try to go to the lighthouse which they thought was dangerous due to the heat and the distance.  They told us that they were driving to the lighthouse and if we wanted a ride there, they would take us.  Jessica asked if they'd give us a ride to her car so we could follow them.  And they did!

Kirsten & Peter

Following them to the Lighthouse

The Lighthouse!

Beautiful Views

View from the Lighthouse

KINDNESS #2
Christopher and I like to have cocktails on the canal by our apartment.  There is a cute little picnic table down the block from our apartment that we like to go to.  Here we are at our special spot having dinner with our cousins.

Our Spot

One day, Christopher and I were there and we met one of our neighbors and started to chat.  Bent is an older gentleman who lives in the apartments right above this spot.  We were really enjoying his company, but I had to use to bathroom.  I excused myself and said I was just going to run home to use the bathroom.  Bent, who I had just met like 5 minutes earlier insisted that I go up to his apartment and use his bathroom.  He put me on the elevator and said, "Go to the second floor.  It's the apartment on the left.  Go on in."  So I did.  How nice is that?  I was just out on the canal a few minutes ago and spied Bent on his balcony enjoying the view.

Our Friendly Neighbor

KINDNESS #3
I have already written about my Danish Angel.  She's the woman who returned my wallet to me after it was stolen and she found it on the Strøget.  We still have no idea how she managed to track down Christopher's phone number to call us about it.  She went above and beyond the call of duty to return my wallet to me.

My Danish Angel

That's it.  Three acts of kindness.  I couldn't leave Denmark without telling you about them.  I just love it here.  People ask me all the time what I'll miss most about Denmark.  It's the people.

På gensyn!