Friday is a special holiday in Denmark. There were three 1/2 days break and they were consolidated into one full holiday. Thus this is a holiday where business, banks, etc. all close down for a nice three day holiday. In addition, tomorrow, Saturday is May 1. Some years ago there were demonstrations, parades and speeches by blue collar workers on May 1st. There are no longer clashes between workers and the gov't but it is a day which many young people use as an excuse to "party" and there are parades in a few towns. As has been the case since we arrived, Sunday is a day where conformations are celebrated in many areas. Consequently this is a busy weekend and not many things are open as normal.
Friday was spent with our host families visiting sights on Langeland, going to Egslav Castle, shopping, or chilling out. The weather has turned cooler overcast with sprinkles of rain. Ulrich and I visited a local artist studio -Ulla Keramik near Bagenkop so see her works of art. She creates many pieces in clay then paints decorations on them - many scenes of Langeland. We then went to the harbor area of Bagenkop to view the commercial and recreational vessels docked there. This is a popular summer vacation spot for sailing, fishing, and boating of all kinds. The waters are good for sailing and there are many small harbors within easy travel by boat. There is also an Efterskole located here which emphasizes navigation.
We then went to a birthday party for a friend of Ulrich's who just turned 75. 16 people gathered at Christian and Else's house for a wonderful traditional Danish meal including a variety of snaps.
We returned to a relatively new restaurant near Bagenkop for our farewell dinner. We enjoyed a tasty dinner, buffet-style, lively conversation, and words of appreciation for the week's stay. We especially commended Leif for an outstanding job coordinating the week's activities, and our host families for housing us this week. We have come to expect that these farewell dinners are bittersweet since we say goodbye to many new friends and get ready to move on to our new "home". Odense here we come!
Submitted by Warren
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