We just got back in Copenhagen after an amazing five days visiting our good friends – and fellow Angelenos – Carmi and Heidi Cohen. Heidi and Carmi have made our trip overseas seem like just a move up the CA coast by relocating their family to a tiny town just north of the Danish/German border in Southern Jutland called Døstrup. It is a small town…really small. As best I can tell it has just over 200 residents, and while I’d love to share a website or a cool link to the town I just could not find one – so the best I can do is share this link courtesy of google earth showing the view from way up high.
The area has an almost surreal feel. Tranquil, serene, unspoiled and so untouched that you really get a sense of what it must have been like when the Vikings roamed the countryside – or when the Germans came over the border in 1940.
Spending time in a place like that offers a chance to take a deep breath and look at the world from a very different perspective. Yes, you can still tap into the outside world via the internet, cable and all else but you feel just a little bit removed from all that. Like all that is going on around the world is really “on the outside.” That is a very hard feeling to find.
But even in this small corner of the world, our friends from LA have done something that makes this little town feel very alive. Called the Landevejskroen (roughly the “Land’s Road Inn”) – or more simply the “crow” – Heidi and Carmi have taken a several hundred year old inn that had been left desolate and empty and converted it into an amazing cafe, restauraunt and meeting place for people from all over. Starting with nothing but the bare bones of the old Danish Inn, Heidi and Carmi put sweat, love and and a ton of effort into this beautiful place. This article – “The American Dream in Dostrup” - pretty much sums up what they did to make this dream happen. Of course it’s in Danish, but you’ll get the point. It is really a special place…and if you are ever driving down Route 11 from Thy south through Aalborg down to the German border at Tønder you know just where to go. Tell ‘em Steve sent you.
Stumbled onto your website last week and liked what I found. If I go to Europe next year I’ll try to pop in on your friends’ inn. Thanks for posting.
That’s great Vicki! Glad you enjoy the blog. I know Heidi and Carmi would love to see you if you come through Denmark. They will also have a website up soon, so be on the lookout for that! Also, keep on visiting my site. Lots of cool stuff coming up.
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