Update!

Today is my third day in Europe and I can already let everyone know that I may never make it back home!  I absolutely love it here!

The first day that we got here (we flew into the Frankfurt airport in Germany) we took our first train (which was more like a subway, since it was intercity) to the main train station and then attempted to find our hotel.  We of course walked about 7 blocks before we realized that our hotel had been a block away from the train station on the opposite side.  After checking into our hotel we were delighted to find a perfect quaint room just big enough for two beds with a bathroom made just big enough for a midget (I hit my head on the ceiling and shower rod while taking a shower later that night :-) . We then made the common mistake of sitting on the beds and falling asleep for several hours due to jetlag and due to this splendid nap we slept very lightly later that night.... 

When we awoke from our naps we decided to stroll about Frankfurt and as you can see below we took a lot of pictures!  In that one day I have noticed several interesting things about germany, they are as follows

*Germans smoke a lot
*they prefer to park on the sidewalk (there are even lines painted down the middle of the sidewalk that they can park up to)
*not many people talk on their cell phones (I noticed this in the train station when I was trying to figure out why it was so quiet)
*their toilet paper is more narrow
*everything that we have cold is luke warm here, because they don't refrigerate anything (including milk, juice, and sparkling water---I am dying for an ice cold glass of water right now!)
*they don't drink water, instead they drink sparkling water (bleck!)
*when walking down the streets it looks like you are standing in the middle of a BMW/Audi/Mercedes/Porsche commercial- all of the cars are new too!  I don't think that I saw one car that was older than 5 years, and any more than 5 cars that were not one of these cars
*and lastly...did I mention that they smoke...alot...

The next morning (yesterday) we woke up, had our complimentary breakfast (which megan stole a sandwich from for lunch) and headed out to buy our train tickets to Odense, Denmark.  We easily figured out how to buy the tickets and find our train (which left at 8:58 AM), but changing the trains throughout the day was awful!  We had three changes total, and for all of them we had about 5 minutes to catch the next train (which especially isn't easy when you have never been to any of the train stations before, don't have the platform numbers to even know where to go for your next train, and everything else is in a different language).  For our first stop in Hamburg, Germany we were late coming into the station and we had 3 minutes to catch our next train.  Luckily, I snooped over the shoulder of a girl sitting in front of us and noticed that she was getting on the same train.  as the doors opened we rushed out after (and when I say rushed I mean sprinted as fast as our backpacks would allow) and got to the platform right as the doors were about to close.  The girl of course noticed that we had followed and by the next change of trains she had already taught us several danish words and began talking to us about US politics.  She happened to be traveling the same route as us for most of our way and she guided us from train to train.  She was a lifesaver, and I truly don't think we would have made it (on time at least) if it hadn't been for her!  While talking to her, I couldn't believe how much she knew about U.S. politics.  She was asking us about our opinions on Bush, Obama, and the new health care reform (she of course hated Bush and though Obama was our savior). 

When we arrived in Odense, Denmark (5:12 PM) we were met by no one else than Jorgen!  We were both so excited to see him and of course gave him great big hugs!  He led us out to his car (which had danish flags swooshing in the wind on the windows) and "Prince Albert" (their wiener dog) sitting in the front seat.  As we turned the corner down his street Jorgen pointed ahead towards a huge danish flag that he had hoisted up the flag pole in front of his house just for our arrival! That night Jorgen, Ruth, Jonna, Andreas, and Mai (his wife) and us all sat around the table talking and eating food until well past midnight.  It was when we began talking about beer that Jorgen brought out local Odense beer for us to try, which then led to trying shots of a black licorice schnapps.  It was a wonderful night.

This morning we had a good Danish breakfast, complete with smørrbod, fruit, smoothies, cheeses, meats, and a delightful pastry that Jorgen went out and bought that morning for us to try.  It was a local pastry that tasted like the gooey inside of a cinnamon roll...mmmmmm....it was so good!  I had told Jorgen about how I had inherited my Grandpa's sweet tooth the night before and he had gone on to tell me a story of when grandpa and grandma had come to visit and grandpa went into one of the danish pastry shops and asked the woman behind the counter to buy the layer cake in the case.  The woman of course asked him how many slices he wanted and grandpa of course replied, "I want the whole thing!"  Jorgen said that they were eating layer cake for the rest of the week.

After breakfast the whole family had a gathering to go to, so Megan and I rode bikes into town.  After wobbling our way on our bikes 5km (3.1 miles) we arrived and walked through the streets (the area would be like several streets of 23rd put together, but without any cars).  The shops were all so cute and full of fun clothes and yummy food.  We bought a Danish chocolate called a Follerbole (something like that) which is a cookie with a fluffy egg white mixture on top covered in chocolate (although I got a mocha flavored one).

And now we are back at home!

Denmark is such a pretty place, I just love it here!  It reminds me of Sauvie Island so much!  They have a very similar climate and all of the wildlife and plants are also very similar.  The houses here are also so adorable!

For the next week we will be here in Odense and then we will go to stay with Mai and Andreas in Copenhagen for a few days!  While we are in Odense, Jorgen has taken the week off and will be taking us all around Denmark, including (phonetically) yig-en-new, where my great-grandmother grew up.  I can't wait!