First Taste of Danish - Part 2

H.C.Andersen's childhood home in Odense

Odense didn't hold a lot of attraction for a seventeen year old that had passed the fairytale stage and yet not gotten into admiring architectural wonders.
Not being a total cultural ignoramus I spent some time the next morning taking in the salient attractions of Odense, i.e. H. C. Andersen's childhood home.
Then it was check-out from the YH and on to Copenhagen. Quite a laborious undertaking in them days, one had to hitchhike to the eastern end of Fyn (Funen Island), catch the ferry to Sjaelland and then try to get lift/s to Copenhagen. Arrived at the Bellahoej YH very late afternoon, checked in and settled down - well, settled down involved arranging for and preparing dinner for myself. It was Friday night and I met another hiker from Kraut land who was absolutely charming. We decided to combine our dinner efforts to cook up a substantial meal.
After being sated we sat out in the gardens to have a smoke - don't be horrified, in them days it was the civilised thing to do - having a smoke after dinner.
Just a little aside at this point - then it was customary for people to smoke. I remember my mum preparing  for Sunday afternoon coffee if people were coming to visit. The preparations encompassed having at least two cakes ready, brewing a large pot of coffee and putting a bottle of Cognac and a porcelain oval jar with cigarettes in it, plus a matching lighter (matching the oval cigarette jar), on the coffee table. Mum didn't smoke, but if the company was congenial she'd 'puff' away on a cigarette just to be polite.

Part of Tivoli - the oldest entertainment park in the world

On with the story. Next morning, being a Saturday, my new-found mate and I ventured into Copenhagen to take in the sights. Quaint little city that it is, it was quite interesting - Little Mermaid, Rosenborg Castle, Town Square, Stroeget (believed to be one of the first pedestrian malls in the world), and so on.
Early afternoon we ended up in Tivoli, the unique Danish entertainment park in the middle of the city - just opposite the main railway station.  We lingered about and took in the sights, not having an abundance of money we avoided the rides and temptations. Mid afternoon we spotted two lovely looking Danish girls - scrumptious! My mate was very adept at chatting up the 'birds' - he soon had us hooked up with these two lovelies. Tivoli wasn't really the place where one could 'make out' with the girls, so we persuaded them to take us to a park that was a bit more 'private'! They chose Kongens Have (The Kings Gardens) as the venue.

First Taste of Danish - Mie on the left

Actually, we didn't care! All we wanted was to make out with them. We got the surprise of our lives, these Danish girls were not shy at all and quite forthcoming - up to a point! We spent hours in the park necking and petting, it got quite heavy at times. The end effect was that the girls took their leave about nine'ish and we were left with what is commonly known as 'blue balls'.
The girls had promised to meet us Sunday morning in the park - but that never eventuated. So, we decided to debunk Copenhagen and move on. My new mate was going south (back to Germany) and I was heading for Sweden - hopefully the pickings were a bit richer there.
I caught the early afternoon ferry to Malmoe - no bridges then - and contemplated where to go next.

I decided that Ystad was the ticket! Having been advised that hitchhiking in Sweden was not very popular (I think almost forbidden) I purchased the cheapest rail ticket I could get and went on one of those wonderful clean and fast Swedish electric trains that took me in a jiffy to Ystad. Ystad is lovely little town with even lovelier girls. BUT - one absolutely great disappointment happened there! It wasn't the female company BUT the bread!! Mum had equipped me with a large container of Schmaltz (pigs fat used for covering bread to make it more palatable - either on its own with a sprinkle of salt or a base for putting some cold cuts on it). Well, I'd run out of bread and ventured to the what was then 'supermarket' - really only a general store. I spied a rather lovely looking rye bread, nice, firm and dark! I purchased it, took it back to the YH and proceed to prepare my 'Abendbrot' - rye bread slices covered with Schmaltz and Salami. Shock Horror - it tasted like CRAP! Naturally,  first of I blamed my mum for supplying me with Schmaltz that had reached its use by date centuries ago! But NO - the bread was to blame - it was sweet like cake! Sweet bread and Schmaltz just don't go together - just ask Heston Blumenthal.
Never one to be discouraged by such small inconveniences, I soldiered on and had my Abendbrot - food is food after all.

That's today - then they were a lot skimpier

Went out the next morning to explore the town and more importantly the beaches. Ystad being on the very sheltered side of the Baltic Sea has, in July, a very agreeable climate. The beaches are, or were then, absolutely gorgeous. What was even more gorgeous were the girls frolicking on the beach. Them Swedes sure have the nag for putting out enticing messages - must have had something to with the Mid-Summers Night Dream movie of that era!
Ystad was not very 'profitable' in the 'bird' hunting department. I took in the sights, explored the town and beaches, had some lovely food, apart from the disgusting sweet rye bread, and took my leave. Train travel being ridiculously cheap in Sweden in those days, I purchased a ticket from Ystad to Lund - the famous university town. Yes, I was chasing an education, but not of the academic kind. Lund proved very profitable in that genre - but also very disappointing mainly due to my inability, then, to wake up early.
Arriving in Lund late afternoon I settled into the YH and went out to see what was going. Very soon I found this lovely girl, Kristen, and we got chatting. Chatting went to kissing and petting, we spent a lovely afternoon and evening together.
Turned out she was there with her parents, in a car, on their way to a Europe holiday. After enough petting and getting all steamed up Kristen said: "Why don't you join us on our car trip down south? I'm sure my parents wont mind!" OK, get the instructions and be ready. They were leaving by 6:30 the next morning.
What happened, being super-horny and bothered the night before, I promptly slept in. When I got up at seven the carriage, containing lovely Kristen, had left.
Devastated is not an apt word for what I felt. Harakiri came to mind - but then, we are made of sterner stuff than that and soldier on. Packed my bags, tears rolling down my face, checked out and headed for Helsingborg to catch the ferry to Helsingoer.
That was a somewhat fortuitous, or fatal as some might say, decision. It changed my life, my outlooks and my destination!
Sorry folks, enough rambling for today, look for Part 3 next week - promise??