May 18 & 19, 2012 North Sea Ferry from Norway to Denmark

Yesterday morning we walked two blocks from our hotel to the ferry.  Unfortunately the ferry had been delayed for a little over two hours due to bad weather.  Once onboarded, everything went smoothly.  In fact, being two hours late was a bit of a blessing as we didn't dock in Denmark until 9:00 am - our students liked this much better than having to be off the boat before 7:00 am.

Unfortunately, the Internet on the ferry was out so everyone has been off the grid for over twenty-four hours. We explored the ship - kind of like a budget cruise ship, but without all the spectacular food.  Students read, napped, checked out the Duty Free shop, and napped some more (except Moriah who said she couldn't sleep).

Most of us were up around 7:00 or 7:30 and had breakfast in the ship's Scandinavian Buffet.  Lots of good choices: sweet rolls, crepes, cereal, yogurt, European bread, fine cheese, bacon, sausages, eggs, apple and orange juice, a various pickled things (beets, herring, etc.), and other tasty offerings

When we landed in Hirtshals, Denmark, we took a twenty minute train ride and then transferred to a bus for the remainder of our trip to Aalborg.  Normally the train goes the entire way to Aalborg, but about 8 months ago a ship ran into one of the supports for the train bridge just north of Aalborg, so the trains can't make this crossing.  I've been told the bridge will be safe again in October.

When our bus arrived in Aalborg, we were surprised to see Karla's relative Ib Nielsen waiting for us.  He put our luggage in his trailer and then gave us the directions to walk to the CabInn Hotel.  Ib invited everyone to a traditional home cooked meal tonight, and tomorrow will take us on a tour of the west coast of Denmark.  Stay tuned for pictures of incredible sights.

On the morning of Syttende Mai in the hotel breakfast hall, an elderly American couple was sitting at the table next to me and I couldn't help overhearing  them.  They were criticizing how much money Norwegians spend on their bunads, then they were talking about taking a train to some town but it really wasn't a very nice town, then they were disparaging some other things about Norway.  I don't know what it would be like to live life seeing everything through eyes that never find anything good enough.  This is the exact opposite of our eight Concordia students: always upbeat, always finding the wonderment in new and different experiences, all of them "in tune" with one another so everyone is aware of where everyone else is and how they're doing.  They're getting a little tired once in a while, but they're doing great and having a good time.