Of Dansk & Denmark

There's a reason they call it Jutland.



It juts, like a thumb, right off of Germany. I never realized just close contact they actually had until I visited there last summer...& it was like, yeah, we just pop over the border whenever we want to stock up on food stuffs.(Germany having a much lower sales tax then Denmark, which is at 25%. And no, that's no a typo..a fast food meal for three at Burger King cost around $25) What person in their right mind WOULDN'T go over to Germany? Buying anything in Denmark is expensive. They are prohibited from buying cars over in Germany though.

Needless to say, they are on much better terms then they were during World War 2,through 1940-1945 they were under Nazi Germany occupation.Denmark didn't put up much of a fight initially(there was really no point, they would have just been slaughtered)but they did positive things during the course of the war in regards to sabotaging the Nazis and smuggling Danish Jews to the safety of Sweden. Denmark, was definatly Germany's sore thumb.(and one that it may have wished at times that it could cut off,but it lived with it,hoping to assimilate it into the German culture) My MIL,who lived in Copenhagen (for her entire youth), then a small child, recalls seeing German soldiers & swastikas & not having much to eat, due to the food rationing. These days, Danes and Germans get along fine. The ugliness of World War II has melted into the past.

(in case you missed it, this was the video I shot last year in Denmark. Germans, Danes, and (2)Americans were all in attendance,and no one was injured,mamed, or killed,in the making of this movie.It was in a very rural area,and no one else was speaking English which definatly made me feel like a tourist,& when a German mistook me for a German & asked me a question(my name may be Heidi but I do NOT speak German) I had no idea what they wanted. Fortuantly,the only word you really need to know is "yeah"(influx on the latter part,like you're asking a question)which means the same in Danish as it does in English. 99% of the questions have this as their answer. This seemed to satisfy the German couple, though I still have no idea what they asked me.(it could have been "Are you really just a stupid American?") I don't know Danish, let alone German.(save one or two odd words)

Anyway, the point of this post is just to ramble..and to reflect (more) on one of the more interesting parts of Europe. Someday, I really hope to go back!


(me in the North Sea. It was way too cold for swimming)