Sunday, March 8, 2015

riding in the car to old trees

yesterday's picture

our original plan for today had been to take the train to the southern part of our island and visit an old, tumble-down castle.  but then we were able to borrow a car so instead we went north to a place called jægerspris (roughly: "yayrs-prees) on the northern part of the roskilde fjord.  its forest is supposed to house one of the oldest trees on the european continent (an oak estimated at 1500-2000 years old).  it's also got a castle (not tumbled down, but certainly old.  it was built in the 13th century, but added on to and renovated through the years). we didn't have a map so, upon arriving in the town, weren't really sure where to go to find the tree.  we found the castle (not open until easter) and a culture center and bought a map there for 10 kroner  and realized we were pretty far from the trees.  also, we'd bought lunch at a nearby grocery store so the boys had already been in and out of the car once.  so, we decided to just eat there and hike around in the area by the culture center instead of getting them back into the car.  (we're not quick, or necessarily all that patient, with the car seat straps these days.) at one point we tried to find the fjord, and you'll see greg and william looking at it from the top of the hill, but short of walking through a farmer's field, there was no real way to get down to it.  maybe we would have walked through it, had the farmer not been out on the tractor.  so we walked back to the car and drove to a little beach before heading home and eating chicken noodle soup.  that's essentially what you'll see here (sans soup).

the car...


the park behind the castle...






castle way in the background...


it's not easy taking a "normal" picture when you're six going on seven...


william and the castle...







heading into the woods...

not the oldest tree, but pretty tall compared to what we're used to...

taking a henry break...


"mama, i'm a driller.  i drill things."


"okay henry, stand proud and show us what you drilled."


felled...









looking for the beach...



looking at flowers on the forest floor....


resting in the backyard of a house which may or may not have been a private residence...

back to the walk...

from further back...



what seemed to be a ring of trees, deliberately planted...


 gatekeepers...


rock wall...

there are 54 unique monuments put up in the 1770s for famous danes and norwegians by one prince frederik...






the cliff at the beach...

down the hill on the beach...





i found the spectacles-wearing rock...

william found this horn coral fossil.  greg provided his hand for the picture.



henry played in the water...


and this was the last picture...

happy spring!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow,!I did not know about the monuments for the famous danes and norwegians.
I live in Fredensborg home to Fredensborg Palace ,and in the park theres something called Nordmansdalen ,with 70 statues depicting norwegian fishermen ,peasants and other ordinary people
http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/nordmandsdalen-gdk807388

http://holberg.nu/billeder/Nordmandsdalen.jpg

/Erik

greg|regan said...

Interesting Erik. So was the Prince Frederik I mentioned the son of the King Frederik in the link you posted? Like father, like son. Or at the very least, like Frederik, like Frederik.

nina said...

Good bye puffy blue coat, hello Snowdrops, or I should say snowdrops!
I have a question: how far can Henry go without complaining that he's tired of walking? At four, he seems especially strong, with great stamina. Am I right?

greg|regan said...

Hi Nina, Yes, the snowdrops are about as open as thy can be now. (Though I may wear the blue puffy coat on my adventure today.)

About Henry-- it's funny-- he'll walk a couple kilometers with his class, no complaints, no problems, but typically with us he insists he needs to ride on his dad's shoulders. But on this trip he walked the entire time, so at least a few kilometers. He rides his bike to and from school when the weather's nice-- a couple kilometers-- but many days it's a very slow trip.

greg|regan said...

they, not thy (my 'e' is giving me problems these days)