A day at Bakken

(written by Lindsay)

Everyone I talk to says that this has been an unusually cool and wet summer for Denmark. It has rained more days than not, and I can only recall a handful of times that I have left the house without a jacket. It has definitely been dreary for us, considering we have just survived some of the craziest winter weather back in Seattle. This past weekend, however, we finally got a bit of a sun break, so we decided to spend that precious time outdoors.

A 15 minute bus ride and 10 minute journey on the train found us at Bakken, Denmark's oldest amusement park. The rides and games remind you more of your run of the mill county fair, but there is a certain charm and excitement to the place nonetheless. Admission to the park is free - a short walk through a forested area and you are there - but you pay for the rides and the games and the food. We bought a whole little booklet of tickets, and proceeded to scout out the Cavan-sized rides.

Cavan was fascinated with everything - the bumper cars, the balloons that other kids were carrying around, the umbrellas over the tables at a cafe. We probably could have had a perfectly amusing day just walking around and taking it all in. But of course we wanted to put our little boy on his first ever rides :) Most of them were built for adult and child to ride together, so Tom and I took turns taking him. The first ride, a bunch of "boats" going around a large elephant, was a little too fast and the elephant noises a little too scary. Cavan just looked bewildered when we got off. So then we tried something a little slower: the carousel. He loved it!



And the spinning ducks...cried when it was over.



The Oldtimer cars...screamed when it was over. Yeah, we had to do that one twice :)



At 6:00 we caught the train back to Vedbaek, but when we got to the station realized we'd have to wait 45 minutes for the next bus. So, we walked home. It was a 40 minute walk, but it was such a lovely evening to enjoy, picking flowers and talking to the sheep on our way. This is our life. It takes us forever to get where we're going, but I realized on the way home that night that I don't really have anywhere else to be. Maybe it's because we're living in a foreign country and don't have the same feeling of obligation to things as we did back home. Or maybe it's because the pace of things here (and without a car) is forcing us to slow down. Or both. Either way, I find it refreshing. Even when it's raining.