Before I continue to write about this day, let me explain the concept of danish 'efterskole.' Efterskole is a type of boarding school that teens attend for one year after they've completed elementary school and before they start their education at a gymnasium (high school). What's neat about these schools is that most of them are specialized in some area of learning. For example, the program my host brother is attending is a classical music academy. Everyone in attendance at his school plays an instrument in the orchestra. Of course the students must continue with their regular studies throughout the year, but a large part of their time is devoted to their music. Now imagine going to a school where you spend most of your day doing what you love. Pretty cool idea, isn't it?
Now back to the story...
Around one o'clock we, all five Glavinds, myself, a contrabass, as well as all of the supplies and clothes needed for a year away from home packed into a six passenger van and a small trailer and drove two hours north west of Vejle. It was a tight squeeze, but we made it. Most importantly, the contrabass was still in one piece!
From there we proceeded to help Viktor move into his new house. Before we left, the school's directors held a meeting for all of the families and students to welcome and brief them on the upcoming school year. Or at least that's what I though was happening, as it was, quite obviously, being explained in Danish. At one point in the meeting we all had to sing, so we had a whole choir of danish families. After the meeting we said goodbye and with one last hung headed off to the beach.
The beaches on the west coast of Denmark are quite a sight to behold. You climb for a while over grass covered sand dunes (or danish mountains, as my host siblings and I dubbed them) before you reach a steep drop off. From this point the restless atlantic stretches out for miles, bordered by a white ribbon of sandy beach directly below the sand cliff. Needless to say it was stunning.
We spent the next hour walking up and down the beach, enjoying the sunshine. Down the beach a couple hundred of meters were two german bunkers from WWII. They were easy to spot. The dismal forts were made of dark grey cement and stood in stark contrast to the bright and sunny beach. These small concrete construction were built during WWII as look outs for approaching British vessels. A fascinating, yet slightly chilling piece of history to see.
As the sun started to sink in the late afternoon sky, we packed up and headed home. What a great day.
No comments:
Post a Comment