My Afternoon in Dragør

That observation tower is the symbol of Dragør Town

How could the day get better?  Head to Dragør!

I spent an absolutely wonderful afternoon in Dragør, a waterfront village just on the other side of Copenhagen airport from the Central City.  My hosts were my friends, the Nygaard family.

Meet three quarters of the Nygaard family.

Frederik, Marie and Pernille

Lars left for the day before I remembered I had my camera and I wanted pictures.  You may recall Frederik from his half-a-year living in my house as an exchange student, my grand experiment in how the other half lives.  (The other half being the half with children.)

I had a typical Danish lunch at the Nygaard home, consisting of two kinds of pickled herring (plain and curried).  The curried was quite delicious.  I did not try the pork liver and bacon, invoking the excuse that it was outside my dietary restrictions because it had wheat gluten in it.  It looked awesome in that it was covered with perfectly-cooked bacon, but actually I just wimped out in fear of pig liver.  The wheat gluten did not stop me from eating the traditional Danish style meat balls (pork, not beef).

I also was too gutless to eat the salty, beef stock gelatin that was an accompaniment.  The selection of Danish cold cuts was delicious, all available to be made into the traditional Danish style open-faced sandwiches.  What I ate was delicious so, looking back, I should have been more adventurous with the hardcore Danish dishes on my plate.  (Yes, I am seriously and legitimately regretting the fact that I did not even try the beef stock gelatin.)

Lunch filled me up.  So we set off to explore Old Town Dragør, which is what they would call it if it were in Maryland or Virginia.

Your house must be painted yellow in Old Town Dragør

Some of the houses even have thatched roofs.

Seriously. Yellow is the law

Hope that it's not a smoker living there.

Translation: the Little Butcher

And I got to see the shop where Lars Nygaard will soon be opening his new butcher shop.  Interestingly, the Danish word for "butcher" is "slagter," which I am guessing is related to the English word "slaughter."  Isn't etymology fun?  Or is it entomology?  I can never remember which one is words and which one is bugs.

Anyway, the shop should be open soon.  Which means that the next time in Dragør, since I have a connection in the local meat trade, when I finally have the courage to eat the pork liver, it will be even fresher and tastier.

And a short way away was the harbor.

Boats in Dragør harbor

The harbor area used to be the terminus for the ferry from Malmo, Sweden, but with the opening of the bridge across the Baltic Sea, ferry service concluded.  All that is left is the observation tower that remains the signature of Dragør.

Observation tower

It's not legal to climb the tower.  Otherwise I would totally have done it.  I didn't want to risk an arrest that would embarrass my hosts.

The bridge is sort of visible in this picture

The bridge between Malmo, Sweden, and Dragør, Denmark, is the subject of a TV series, "The Bridge," about a murder that takes place right in the middle of the bridge, and the body is found so that part of it is on the Swedish side and part is on the Danish side.  So the Danish and Swedish authorities have to work together to solve the crime.  Yeah.  Working with the Swedes?  As if!

Frederik and Marie

Apparently there is also going to be a English/French co-production rip-off version where the murder and the body are in the Chunnel.  Which could be good.  But would a chunnel be as good as a bridge?  And would working with the French create the same dramatic tension and comedic moments as working with the Swedes?

Dragør harbor

I did allow myself to pose for one picture.  I didn't really need pictures of me, seeing as I already know what I look like.  All too well.

Frederik (L) and I (R)

Shadows are growing long.  So you know what that means.  Time for coffee and cake.

Coffee shop

Starbucks is making inroads in Copenhagen.  But not Old Town Dragør yet!