But Mon. also brought the arrival of our friends from Denmark! They pulled into the spot next to us, and the party began! Russ greeted Henrik with a beer, Anne brought out some wine, and Abby enjoyed playing ball with them. Before their arrival, we had invited them join us for brats and homemade potato salad that night, and of course, more beer and win
e accompanied this fine meal. :-) The Cardinals game was on TV, and Henrik wanted to learn more about baseball so Russ spent the next week trying to explain the intricacies of the game. He still has a lot to learn!Henrik made golf reservations for Tues. afternoon at Stoneybrook West Golf Club (http://www.golfstoneybrookwest.com/) located about 30 m
in. away, challenging Russ to a match “for the honor, the glory, and two cold beers”, as he put it. I was Anne’s personal cart driver while the 3 of them played, and when they started, it looked like Henrik would wax Russ. However, that was not to be the case, and Russ handily beat him, crushing Henrik’s spirit. Ah, nothing a couple beers won't cure!Afterwards, we were invited to their place for a typical Danish meal that is tradit
ionally served at Easter and Christmas but can be shared at any time. It’s sort of a smorgasbord consisting of marinated herring, mackerel in tomato sauce, homemade meatballs (never eat meat before the fish!), veggies, cheeses, Danish and other breads, and a yummy but very potent liqueur commonly known as “snaps”. This particular brand, Linie Aquavit, is placed on a ship in Norway, traveling across the equator to Australia, and back again in oak sherry casks (this is supposed to give it a richer flavor). Served chilled, the alcohol content is about 40%, and with each sip one is to raise their glass with the toast “skol!”, encouraging everyone else to join in. We said “skol!” a lot! If you want more info on this traditional Danish custom, you’ll enjoy this article called Snaps for Beginners: http://www.epinions.com/content_1475846276ions.com/content_1475846276. Drinking seems to be a national pastime in Denmark!Henrik helped Russ work on our awning Wed. morning, and that night it was off to Manny’s Chop House for the Buy 1 Get 1 Free fajitas, which they really enjoyed.
The next day they moved their coach about a mile down the road to the Thousand Trails campground, where they are members and can stay for free. They invited us for dinner, and Russ brought Henrik a St. Louis Rams cap to add to his collection. Anne made an Indian Curry Chicken casserole…simply delicious! More food, more drinks, more fun.
Sat. the rematch was on for Russ and Henrik when we took them to play miniature golf at Disney’s Fairways Course. This is not the easy, fun course with all the Disney characters that I played with Linda and Angela, but rather one that resembles a traditional golf course with mounds, valleys, and an emphasis on skill. Henrik was sure he’d beat Russ this time, but alas, that was not the case…Russ won by 4 strokes. A rematch on a regul
ar course is definitely in the plans next time we see them! From here we rode the monorails around the Disney parks and then ate dinner at a Chinese buffet. Another fun day with good friends.Our last day together was Sun., and we had invited them for one of Anne’s favorites (and one of Russ’ specialties)…barbecued baby back ribs. Let’s just say that Anne really enjoyed them! They brought a couple bottles of wine, and though we tried our best to help them get rid of their wine collection during the week, it seems we only made a slight dent in the 33 bottles stored in their rig! They'll have another month to drink the rest
before they have to put the coach in storage and head back to Denmark. Good luck!During their stay here, Henrik and Anne enjoyed taking both dogs for long walks, and it seems the dogs enjoyed it, too! Hopefully it won’t be another 2-1/2 years before we meet up again as we always enjoy our time together. If you’d like to find out more about the Danes and their travels, you can visit their blog at http://www.winnebago.dk/.
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