Bridget Jones’ Diary is absolutely one of my favorite films. I have seen it multiple times while in college, and that’s where I got the idea of entering a relationship with two men at the same time, with one named Ben and the other, Jerry. Who would have thought that after so many years, I’ll watch the movie again in a beautiful country house called Brillegården?
It’s 10:30 pm and we’re doing the Danish ‘hygge’ time. After a lovely dinner prepared by Grandma E, some Friday ‘slik’ (sweets) and a wonderful cup of hot coffee, we turned on the tv to watch a film. And voila! Bridget Jones in the house.
As you might have guessed, I am multitasking. We’re halfway through the movie, but as I have seen it many times before, let me write about my trip to the island of Fyn all at the same time. So, how did I get here in this beautiful and peaceful place with a traditional courtyard?
With my hostmom in England and the boys having their own thing, my 7-year old host kid and I took the wonderful time to take the train from Copenhagen to Nyborg. It takes around 2 hours to get from Birkerød to Nyborg. Grandma E then drove us from the train station to their farm house in Svendborg, and that’s around 30 minutes.
My 7-year old travel buddy was so excited that she went home from school very early. We hopped on the S-tog (S-train) right away, and transferred to the IC-train (InterCity). With the throng of people traveling to the western islands of Denmark, it’s a good thing we had reserved seats and we brought plenty of food along. The only thing which was upsetting (only a little bit upsetting) was that our seats were not beside a window.
After a little while, we were crossing the Storebælt or the Great Belt, the bridge linking the islands of Zealand and Fyn. Never thought it was that long… The bridge has 3 constructions: a road suspension bridge, a railway tunnel, and a box girder bridge for both road and rail traffic. Opened in 1998, the bridge has a length of 6,790 meters and, together with the Øresund Bridge, enables mainland travel between Europe and Scandinavia. In addition, the suspension bridge has the world’s third longest main span, that is, 1.6 kms.
As soon as we reached Nyborg station, the weather shifted from sunny and bright to cloudy with some rain drizzles. Pfft.. Moving on.. To the left and the right, there were stretches of farms and fields and forests and open spaces. A couple of houses here and there, and a glimpse of the sea and some islands surrounding it. We were now in Svendborg, Funen’s second largest city. A lovely drive along a smooth road led us to Skårup Fyn, a nice town with around 1.6k inhabitants. Grandma E took the road along the coast, and in a short while, we reached Brillegården.
Brillegården was built in 1802. It is basically a four-winged farmhourse with a cobble-stoned courtyard. Grandma E plants fibers, etc. and teaches weaving using looms. I haven’t seen much of the farmhouse, but tomorrow, I’ll definitely take a stroll around and see more of it and the surrounding gardens.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner of perfectly oven-cooked pork matched with Grandma E’s rød grød med fløde for dessert. It was delightful, as I have only tried one with rhubarb. Grandma E’s was made with black and red currants. Love it! This Danish dessert is definitely one of the things I will miss about Denmark.
We also made little paper pots for the seeds. Grandma E is so resourceful and hard-working. Perhaps I should start thinking about what I want to do when I grow older — knitting? gardening? owning a vineyard? Hmm.. It will most likely have to do with art. 😉
I enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa’s hospitality on the first day. It was also pleasant to hear their stories, how they met, the challenges they had to face, how they ended up in Brillegård, and how they cope with day-to-day life waiting for the next time the grandchildren will visit. Tomorrow, we’ll head off towards the city for some sight-seeing. Really looking forward to it! Carpe diem!
PinayOdyssey 