TICKON

While we were in Denmark, my sister and I were taken (by our bed and breakfast host) to Tranekaer Castle. He thought it would be an interesting place for us to visit while he worked on his cabin on Langeland (one of Denmark's many islands).

He dropped us off in the parking lot and bid us well. We didn't really know what we were looking at. The castle was great, but not opened to visitors. We were supposed to walk around the grounds. My sister had broken her toe and by the time we got inside the garden, she was ready to go back. And then it started raining.

We kept on however, and came across an outdoor natural art museum (of sorts). This is what our friend wanted us to see. Tranekaer International Centre for Art and Nature. After slipping in the mud a couple of times, we came across the piece of art shown above. It's called: Between the copper beech and the oak, by Alfio Bonanno. It was my favorite.

Although we didn't stay there nearly as long as we would have if we knew where we were going (we didn't quite understand the map), it was a pretty great find and not something that most tourists would see. We loved it.

The moral of my story is: Sometimes in our life and in our writing, it's a good thing to break away from our schedule. Who knows what delightful or interesting treasure we might discover if we allow ourselves the freedom to do so? Have our characters lived a rich enough life? Have we made the most of their story?

Sometimes, if we follow one suggestion, it can lead us to a cornucopia of new experiences.

ESCALATING SCENE IN DENMARK

Sometimes a scene takes an unexpected twist.

Imagine being a tourist in a foreign country, taking a walk through a public park, and taking pictures of everything in sight--birds--a group of school children--the ocean--a campground in an unexpected place. Very benign and peaceful.

The scene became somewhat comical when we (my sister and I) came upon two women just wrapping up from their nude sunbathing session (to the right of this photo). They were not the Victoria's Secret type of model, but rather the Lane Bryant type. Luckily we weren't exposed to too much. My sister and I got a good laugh out of it, and they didn't pay any attention to us at all.

Public nudity isn't outlawed in Denmark--they do have all nude public bathhouses there. We just didn't expect it at the park. My sister and I hapily kept our clothes on, and for the most part visited places where others did too.

Denmark and Blogs

What do they have to do with each other? Who knows? Except my new background picture was taken in Denmark. To celebrate Memorial Day weekend,and summer, I've included it. Summer is here. Slow down. Relax. Except of course when it comes to our writing goals.
Our characters can never relax. They need to be doing something interesting to move that plot along. However, sometimes even seemingly laid-back things (like camping) can move the plot along in an interesting way.
Does your character accidentally start a campfire on a no-burn day? (Arizona campers know what I'm talking about.) Does someone from the forest service come along? Does the fire get out of control? Does your camper get shot?
It's interesting that something so ordinary as camping can set the stage for either a romance, or a thriller, or even an action-based story. But each scene needs to count for something. Even though it starts out ordinary, we should decide what this has to do with the life of our main character. If the answer is nothing, maybe it isn't such a great scene after all. What can we do to add a little extra spice to one of our scenes that seem overly bland?

Memories of Denmark, parallels on life

As summer draws near, I’ve been thinking of Denmark. It’s funny about that. My dad was Danish and went to Denmark on his mission. He learned how to speak Danish and retained that knowledge for the rest of his life. I wish he would have taught me, although I never gave it much thought as a kid. He was probably waiting anxiously for me to express an interest, and I was too busy climbing trees.

My sister, Shirley and I had the privilege of going to Denmark twice (two summers in a row). We met some really nice people there and immersed ourselves in the culture of our ancestors. We went on the cheep, reserving bed and breakfast rooms, buying Eurail passes, and basically planning our own tours.

It was hectic and crazy and scary going to a country where we didn’t speak the language, but the Danes were friendly, and if they didn’t speak English, they’d ask around until they found someone who could help us. We got lost more than once, and sometimes our accommodations were less than we had hoped. Occasionally, we discovered that there was no easy way to get where we wanted to go--and more than once, it rained hard enough to change our plans.

We discovered on both trips that we weren’t as prepared as we thought for the rainy and cold weather. None of it mattered because we had agreed ahead of time that it wouldn’t. What ever happened was all part of the adventure.

I think life is like that. We get so many things that we aren’t prepared for. It rains on us; we get lost. Life gets hectic and crazy, and if we don’t decide ahead of time, we could let ourselves get pretty frustrated. But, if we remember that the good and the bad and the detours are all just a part of the adventure called life, it’s easier to relax and enjoy it.

This is our first b&b. We got there around 10pm sans luggage. It's a half hour bus ride from Odense, the woman didn't live there, and she left us a note to call. My phone didn't work in Denmark. We knocked frantically on the door, and luckily two young men were staying there and let us in.

This next picture is of a 500 year-old house next door to our second b&b. Older homes like this

one are cherished and go for top dollar.

This is Eskov Castle. It's an amazing place and very beautiful. There are 3 shrub mazes, meticulous gardens, a motorcycle museum, bicycle museum, car museum (with the strangest cars I've ever seen), and a horse and carriage museum. The grounds has it's own herd of deer.

This is Christ and the twelve apostles. If you recognize the statue of Christ - it is original of the one the LDS church uses in the Salt Lake City visitor's center, and in Mesa visitor's center. The room was so big, I didn't get all of the apostles in.

Ah, the memories! If I could get there in the twinkling of an eye, I'd go again. In fact, if money weren't an issue, I'd buy me a summer home there.