Denmark Nuggets
A man we talked with in Copenhagen told us the Danes complain that in the US, we don’t treat our millions of immigrants the way the Danes say we should. He then added, “But this is Denmark, we don't want any immigrants.”
As we drove across the countryside, west of Copenhagen, Denmark, we saw a large field filled with people and vehicles. Would you believe it, Denmark’s annual, yes once a year and we are here, flea market. Walked all over the place and of course bought several things. Emmy is proud of the little (3” X 4” X 8”) brass box that they said was used to sterilize needles, etc., by horse and buggy doctors, years ago.
At Cape Canaveral, Florida, where they spend billions of dollars trying to launch up-to-date rockets and rocket systems that are checked and rechecked microsecond by microsecond, they still have great problems getting them off the ground. I asked the young Danes, “What do you think will happen with the missiles that have been in underground silos for years and years?”
Copenhagen, Denmark, was a delightful place, with pleasant weather, full moon and all. We had dinner in the Tivoli Gardens, looked around town some more, then found the campsite, with not much problem. Only one or two other campers in the campground in September.
Drove all-round the edges of Lübeck, Germany, (1979) following the camping signs. There were different looking signs, but apparently all for the same campground, and it was closed each time we found it. Bought more supplies and food at a very big store along the freeway, then found a campsite in the nearby town of Travelmunde, where our ferryboat leaves for Denmark in the morning.
At an extreme is Denmark’s Legoland tower, where an elevator climbs above their version of the Acropolis, Nile River monuments, Mt. Rushmore, and a model airport.
During both visits to Denmark, there were young people collecting money to feed the “poor children in America.” They invited people to see a film that showed hungry children in gutters, people being shot, and all kinds of problems in the US. Wonder what they really did with the money they collected.
During our conversation, one of the young people in the Copenhagen, Denmark, campsite said that the opening scene in the TV program “Dallas” was made in a US Government propaganda lab, as “… no city anywhere in the world looked like that.” Since we had lived in Dallas, and had traveled throughout the USA, we assured them that TV scene was not only a real video of Dallas, there were dozens of cities in the US that could have been used for a scene like that.
Emmy is proud of the little (3” X 4” X 8”) brass box that was once used to sterilize needles, etc., by horse and buggy doctors years ago, that she found in the flea market in Denmark. Then we rode the ferryboat from Bojden to Fynshav, where we found a campsite.
I asked these Copenhagen, Denmark, young people, “What do you think will happen with the missiles that have been in underground silos in North Dakota and Wyoming for years and years? There may be mice feeding on the wires, and building nests in the control units. Why do you think they are located in the most desolate, least populated area in the US? If they do launch, more missiles might fall in Montana and Canada then in the Soviet Union. And how many Soviet missiles do you think will misfire and fall on Denmark?”
I told these Danish young people in Copenhagen, I had been very involved with missiles, rocket engines, and the computers that were used to control the launch and flight of missiles, so I know at least a little about the missile business. We have no idea if I changed any minds, and it was impossible to determine why they thought like they did. They had nothing good to say, but knew little or nothing about our country, except they hated the USA.
I told these Danish young people in Copenhagen, that the missiles they were worried about might not be all that much value in a war. I reminded them that at Cape Canaveral, Florida, where they spend billions of dollars trying to launch up-to-date rockets and rocket systems that are checked and rechecked micro-second by micro-second, they still have great problems getting them off the ground. When they do launch, often the mission is not successful.
In 1985 we talked to a Dane who had sent his two daughters to school in the US, one to Ohio and the other to Wisconsin. We asked about their opinion of the US. His daughters told him that US families do not eat three meals a day together, and families do not spend enough time together. We never heard, or at least don’t remember, why he sent his daughters to the USA in the first place. His daughters were spending no time with him, they were 6,000 miles away.
In both 1979 and in 1985, on the main walking street in Copenhagen, Denmark, there were people collecting money to feed the “poor children in America.” They advertised, and invited people to see a film that showed hungry children in gutters, people being shot, and all other kinds of problems in the US. Wonder what they really did with the money they collected.
In both France and Denmark, young people campaigned for Lyndon LaRouche, for President of the USA. He was presidential candidate for the U.S. Labor Party one time, was a candidate for U.S. presidential nomination of the Democratic Party 6 times. As far as I know, he never won anything except a jail sentence for some kind of monetary atrociousness.
In Copenhagen, Denmark, the movie, “Gone With the Wind,” was playing in a downtown theater, advertised by well-worn posters from years ago. I visited two book stores, but neither had the book. A bookstore clerk suggested the nearby used book store, and success, they had a copy in good condition, so good luck for Linda.
In the morning the man from the office of the campsite in Horsens, Denmark, came over with some hot fresh baked bread for our breakfast. Last night the manager and his wife were ready to leave for their home, after closing the municipal campsite in Horsens for season. But they decided we looked too tired to find another campsite, so they changed their minds and stayed another night, just for us. Amazing the wonderful people we find in every country. We suggested they have the city put a length of red tape over the directional signs, so no one else would look for this site. They liked that idea.
It’s pleasant driving through Denmark, but not as scenic as Sweden and Norway. Just a lot of flat farm land, with a very strong wind all day, this day. The towns are clean and neat and look like good places to live. We went to the large island and visited Odense and saw Hans Christian Anderson’s home, then found a campsite near Arhus, Denmark.
Near Copenhagen, Denmark, I found a cane that is a “natural piece” of wood, complete with knots and small twists and turns.
It was unbelievably easy for the German Army to capture Denmark at the start of World War II. Several commented on the almost complete lack of concern or resistance, on the part of the Danes. When the war ended, there were many members of the German Military stranded in Norway. Sweetie's teenaged Cousin Josef, was in Norway, with the German Navy. As these Germans tried to get home, dozens, or hundreds (depending on which story you want to believe), were shot and killed by the Danes, as they tried to cross Denmark, on the way to their home in Germany. Some Danes were very courageous and fearless, now that the war was over.
On the ferry M/F Prins Henrik, from Germany, to Denmark, there were train cars loaded with passengers. One train load of people left London; ferried the Channel; by train to this boat and on to Copenhagen; then after Copenhagen a train-boat to Sweden; then by train to Stockholm; a train-boat to Helsinki; then by train to the Soviet Union.
On the main street of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1979, we saw a booth manned by several young people, set in the middle of the shopping street, with an advertisement for Lyndon LaRouche for President of the US. I asked what their opinion would be if people in the US campaigned for a man to become the head of Denmark’s Government, and they didn’t like that idea at all.
One day in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sweetie and I boarded the bus. I handed the driver a Danish Bill, he gave me a piece of paper and some change. In a few minutes a ticket checker boarded the bus, and after scanning the piece of paper, said, “Where is her ticket?” I told him what had happened, he talked to the driver, then waved to me as he got off the bus. When Sweetie and I got off the bus, the driver apologized.
One evening the girls’ High School band in Helsingor, Denmark, marched through the shopping district. They were very good, and had visited the US and Disneyland the previous year. My love of band music (and girls) easily persuaded me to walk all over Helsingor, Denmark, listening to the band, and watching … … .
One Sunday morning, while traveling from Norway to Denmark on a ferry similar to a first-class cruise ship, a delicious buffet breakfast was served, for about $5 per person. A fifteen-piece live band entertained the passengers, and a smaller band, with a group of young singers, serenaded the passengers with beautiful Gospel music.
One time a man was standing where we expected to see the driver of the English tour bus. He was waving his arms, with a big smile on his face. That was a lot of fun for him, scary for us. The driver was on the other side of the bus. We were in Denmark at the time.
One year we went to Puttgarden, Germany, to catch the ferryboat to Denmark. After we arrived at the dock, we decided to stay in Germany until morning, so went to the local campsite. We expected to catch the 7:55 AM ferryboat but when we arrived at the dock at 7:10 they took our money (much less than we understood from the brochure) and waved us right on the ship.
Some young people in Denmark said the opening scenes of the TV program Dallas, an aerial view of the city, was created in a US Government propaganda factory. No city could look like that. We laughed and told them we had lived in Dallas, and could recognize scenes in that opening film.
The campground at Helsingor, Denmark, is near the water, and we can see the lights of Sweden, just a short distance across the Øresund Strait. Emmy fixed dinner while I listened to the English language news from Radio Moscow. Well, it’s been agreed that I’m the driver, she’s the cook, but cooking is the least important of her real duties, I mean her enjoyments!
The father of the Danish students who were studying in the USA, said school teachers in the US are not as interested in their students as the teachers in Denmark. There is little discipline in the schools; black and white students do not associate with each other. While he wasn’t really negative about the US, he did not seem too pleased with it either.
The ferry from Germany, to Denmark, was clean and neat, and has a large restaurant, cafeteria, snack bar, conference room, gymnasium, duty free shop the size of a supermarket, complete with butter, cheese, candy, tobacco, liquor, and shopping carts. There are people, trucks, cars, buses, and railroad cars on the boat. When we arrived in Denmark, the customs man tried to stamp our passport. He said, “There is plenty of food in the markets in Denmark, but the government can't afford to give me a rubber stamp that works.”
The Fredrikshaven, Denmark, campground was new and the facilities were about the best we have seen anywhere, including some hotels. The facilities included everything we could want - washers, dryers, showers, plenty of hot water - very clean, and well laid out. The first year we stopped here, there was no one to collect the money, but we spent the night. The next visit, we paid, but only for that year, not the previous one. We kidded them about that, and they laughed and said, “No cost for years gone by.”
The man (with his wife) at the next table, at breakfast on the ferry, was the sales manager for the Lego Toy Company, and he told us about Legoland, Denmark, so we visited a few days later. They have the Taj Mahal, Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, the US Capitol building, and many, many more, all built with Lego blocks.
The man who ran the elevator in the observation tower at Legoland, Denmark, had recently visited San Francisco. He had been offered a job by the Green Peace organization, but since he did not have the needed official immigration papers, they said they would forge any needed documents for him to stay in the USA. Sounds like a nice patriotic organization. Not.
The next day from Denmark, we crossed the Øresund by ferry, and arrived in Helsingborg, Sweden. A woman saw the USA sticker on the bumper and came over to talk with us. She had lived in the US for 12 years, and liked it very much. After her husband died, she was in need of medical care so moved back to Sweden for that, but she wished she was still in New Jersey.
There is a story told to us by a dozen former members of the German military (and confirmed by a couple of Danes), that it was unbelievably easy for the German Army to capture Denmark at the start of the war. Several Germans commented on the almost complete lack of concern or resistance, on the part of the Danes. When the war ended, there were many Germans stranded in Norway. As these Germans tried to get home, dozens, or hundreds (depending on which story you want to believe), were shot and killed by the Danes, as they tried to cross Denmark, on the way to their home in Germany.
Their hate for America matched their lack of knowledge about America. We had a large “coffee table” book about the US that we had purchased in Vienna, Austria. In Copenhagen, Denmark, the young people just could not imagine the photographs were real.
They young people in the “peace-booth.” In Denmark, complained that there are enough nuclear bombs to wipe out all the people in the world, 10 times over. I said that while that might be true, most missiles and bombs would not find their target. In WW II there were many more bullets, bombs, and shells fired by all the armies, then there were people in the world, but 99% never struck anyone, or anything of value.
We asked a lady, who had been born in Europe, the name of her hometown. She said, “It's a little town that you've never heard of, Horsens, Denmark.” We were thrilled we could deny that statement. We met wonderful people in Horsens.
We easily found the campsite in Goteborg, Sweden, and the ducks came, in the rain, to the camper for Emmy’s stale bread. How did they know she was there, the word must get around from country to country, and from campsite to campsite. She finds customers for the stale bread, everywhere. It rained during the night, and still more in the morning. We drove around town for a while intending to catch the 1:00 PM boat to Denmark, but it was still raining, and we did not find a reason to stay past the 9:30 AM ferryboat.
We walked around Copenhagen, Denmark, shopping and looking along the “walking streets.” The McDonald’s and Burger King restaurants convinced us we were in a civilized city. That evening we again spent time at Tivoli Gardens. A delightful place, outdoor dinner, pleasant weather, full moon and all.
We had a large “coffee table” book about the US that we had purchased in Vienna, Austria, as a gift for Cousin Hugo. In Copenhagen, Denmark, the young people just could not imagine it was real. They said they had never been told that the US looked anything like that. The fact that the book was printed in German, in Vienna, gave it some validity in their mind.
We reminded the Danish father that the front page of his newspaper that very day had a picture and story about 200 Iranians living in Denmark, and that the Danes were very upset with them. He then admitted the Danes complain that in the US, we don’t treat our millions of immigrants the way the Danes say we should. But he admitted the Danes don’t want any immigrants at all, and treat the ones they have very badly.
We visited the Lego Company’s version of Disneyland, in Billund, Denmark. It’s a miniature city, somewhat like Madurodam at The Hague, Netherlands, and Swissminiatur, the museum of scale-model buildings found in the Swiss town of Melide. At Legoland they have small versions of the Taj Mahal, Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, the US Capitol building, and many, many more, all built with Lego blocks.
When we first arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark, we drove here and there to see the city. We then found a parking place in front of the Tivoli Gardens, a very unusual place. An amusement park right in the heart of Copenhagen with restaurants, “carney games,” amusement park rides, small-time gambling games.
While driving on a highway near Copenhagen, Denmark, we saw a huge tour bus, with an enormous windshield, coming down the road toward us, but saw no driver. Then we noticed the bus was from England, and the driver’s seat is on the right side of the bus. One time a man was standing where we expected to see the driver, he was waving his arms, with a big smile on his face. That was a lot of fun for him, very scary for us.
While we were visiting in a Flea Market in Denmark we came across a “peace-booth.” They said they were against only US missiles, and said they knew nothing about the Soviet military so wouldn't and couldn't have any comment about the Soviets. They complained that the US has enough nuclear bombs to wipe out all the people in the world, 10 times over. I said the missiles they were worried about might not be much value in a war. Billions of dollars are spent to launch up-to-date rockets that are checked and rechecked micro-second by micro-second, and they still have problems, so what do you think will happen with the missiles that have been in underground silos for years? All those Soviet misfires, would land in Denmark.
While we were visiting in a Flea Market in Denmark we came across a “peace-booth.” I reminded them that Hitler captured Denmark in a day or two, and if their opinion was representative of most Danes, it would require only a phone call from the Kremlin to Copenhagen, to accomplish the same thing, if a new war was started.
Young people in Copenhagen, Denmark, told us Lyndon LaRouche was the most famous man in the US, and that he would win the President electrion in a landslide. I told them that I read the LA Times, Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine, and listens to network news, and had never heard of the man. They were shocked.
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