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Show . 4 itli21tltSttit:tl1li f lit ii!ttiiiillj.lti:i . 444444 144444444444 ' '44 ) I ? l H l( 4rmnz :: One would be hard-presse- 4i2 :m gEE& 1 d to find Something Rotten in DIMM ' P7 s theres a little Danish in your Denmark is the place to il Immediately upon arrival-yofeel like youve come home. Nearly everyone speaks English unless you get out into the hinterland. And youll have to hustle to find much hinterland. Instantaneously you observe that most Danes have a sense of humor and the Danes gift to America, Victor Borge, quickly comes to mind. Now you know why hes turned his artistry at the piano into a witty presentation. After you are informed about Danish food, how good it is, and why Americans dont know how to cook Danish delights, you learn where the best places in town are to eat. After a meal or two we appreciated nearly everything food authority said. One the meal well not forget soon featured the Danish delicacy frickadelles, boiled potatoes in cream gravy, cooked red cabbage, and all the embellishments. Then it was topped off with red Danish pudding in rich cream. For a moment I thought my mother had returned to earth to cook another meal for me. As you visit with the Danes you rapidly learn that Denmark is the only . Scandinavian country attached to mainland Europe and that, many years ago, Denmark ruled over what is now Sweden and Norway. Denmark is composed of nearly 500 islands, 400 of them uninhabited, and natives brag abut their more than 4,500 miles of irregular coastline. The two biggest islands are Zealand which boasts the capital, Copenhagen, and Funen whose major city is Odense. Copenhagen, Kobenhavn in Danish, meaning the merchants harbor, is Scandinavias largest city with a population of 1.5 million. The city is loaded with exhilarating things' to see. Only he never one problem faces the traveler allots enough time to see them all. The much ballyhooed Tivoli Gardens is worth the trip. Built on 20 acres in the midst of a huge garden back in 1843, the resort and recreation park has been a fantastic success from day one. It pleases the young and old with fun time concessions! games of chance, shooting galleries, bands, variety acts, discos and a multitude of other exciting performances. visitors One writer advised, First-tim- e simply should...get lost in a fantasy world that has the realism of a Walt Disney miracle, but the spirit of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. Museums are plentiful. You can see the greatest collection ever assembled of Danish art in the National Art Museum; the souvenirs of the Danish royal family in the Rosenborg Castle; the tools and espionage used by the Danes to throw off the Nazi yoke in World War II in the Museum of Denmarks Fight for Freedom. Capturing our fancy was the Thorvaldsen Museum. And why not? We so appreciate the replica of Bertel Thorvaldsen Christus statue on Temple Square that we now wanted to see the original. Thorvaldsen, who rose from near poverty to the pinnacle of success in his If -- oi!ntr By QUIG NIELSEN Mil n - iy : - . . sL THORVALDSENS: The Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen was named after the famous sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. self-anoint- 1 " t tr. W - ; 1,. H ,:? lam ,m fe 3 ' u&l Delivery -- , mm HORSE-DRAW- wrfx QM wagons such as this are not a thing of the past sculpturing endeavors, was an exponent of Roman classicism. His museum, obviously, houses the greatest collection of his works. While my wife and I visited at the Thorvaldsen Museum we became acquainted with Eva Henschen, the curator. She dispelled many of the myths we had been told about the famed sculptor. As we were leaving the museum, another Danish worker came to us with a quote. He said, King Ludvik Bayern told the Danish people, there are many kings but only one Thorvaldsen. A trip to Copenhagen would not be complete without a visit to the great Protestant cathedral, Vor Fru Kirke, in English The Church of Our Lady. Around the interior walls of this church are the statues of the twelve apostles facing the central statue of Jesus Christ on the high altar. Very impressive. While we were gazing in wonderment a gentleman approached us introducing himself as the chief custodian of the church. You seem to be impressed with these works of art, he said to us. Very much so, my wife replied. May I invite you to follow me into the room at the left of the Christus? I want to show you another work of Thorvaldsen the general public does not see. Thank you, my wife and I almost said in unison. On the one wall was a marvelous sculpture of The Last Supper. Why this was not displayed somewhere else we wondered but in our unskilled art minds it co in Copenhagen. was beautiful. We had been to Odense on a previous trip but we wanted to return and see once again the city where Hans Christian Andersen lived and wrote his famous fairy tales. In his museum we saw his famous walking stick, copies of letters he had written to his dear friend Miss Jenny Lind and to Charles Dickens. We saw reprints of his books in dozens of languages, and a beautiful picture of his Little Mermaid in the Copenhagen harbor. In a rented car we drove north of Odense and located some of the little towns where my ancestors were bom and worked before coming to America. It seemed to us that many of the small villages couldnt have changed much over the last 130 years. The larger towns had shown considerable growth. Bogensee on the North Sea is a beautiful seaside city and is where the Danish young people congregate in the summer to enjoy the beach and swimming. We imagined it would be much like Florida and Utahs St. George at spring break. Ninety percent of the Danes belong to the Lutheran Church and all religions enjoy complete freedom. One percent of the tax money goes to the churches for their upkeep and to pay the wages of the workers. It must have been a surprise to Danish government officials when the Mormons let it be known they would take care of their own building upkeep and other needs. If theres something rotten in Denmark, we didnt see it. It was a joy to visit. original marble Christus on the high alter in the Vor Frue Kirke (The Church of our Lady) in Copenhagen |