At the time I was a children's librarian, and one of the big attractions for me was a visit to the place of Hans Christian Andersen's birth and the museum in Odense, dedicated to this wonderful author. I had booked a tour of Scandinavia, but I decided to arrive a few days earlier than the tour departure date so that I could go to Odense. I searched online and found out all I could about travel to Odense. It seemed that rail was the best transport to take, so I booked a hotel close to the railway station within walking distance from Copenhagen's central business district. I arrived at the railway station and asked in English about taking a train to Odense. The lady in the ticket box didn't speak much English, but after a little to-ing and fro-ing, I managed to purchase a return rail ticket and waited patiently on the platform for my train. The train whizzed through the countryside and after a little while I was in Odense.
I've always believed that the most important tool when travelling is your tongue. I asked for directions and finally found the little village that is all 'Hans Christian Andersen'. I wandered the cobblestone streets and admired the small cottages. I found a very small one with a plaque that had "Hans Christian Anderson" on it and I was able to wander through the rooms, my imagination running wild with images of what it must have been like to be born in such a place.
In the little village there was a souvenir shop (there's always one, isn't there?) and there was a delightful range of Christmas products that proved light enough to pack in my luggage. I like to buy Christmas decorations of places I've been to - it makes my Christmas tree decidedly 'international'.
Next I came upon the Museum and what a totally fascinating place it was! In such a place, children can immerse themselves in the fairytales. I spent quite a long time reading about each exhibit. I loved the three dimensional displays and marvelled at the thought and detail that had gone into this magical place.
Having visited Odense, the sculpture of The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen had special significance.
Another highlight pre-tour, was Tivoli Gardens. I met another traveller in the hotel and we decided to meet up and go to Tivoli Gardens on our last night. It was another fun place to visit and I was glad of the company.
The day after I transferred to the hotel where the tour group was departing from. The next stage of my Scandinavian Adventure was about to begin.
Well, there's a little intro to my wonderful, memorable travels through Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia (to St Petersburg), Estonia, back to Sweden, then through Norway and back to Denmark.
Recently a customer made an enquiry through the Studio about Scandinavian digital scrapbooking kits. It sparked my interest and I decided to create such a kit. I wanted to produce a kit that was totally authentic to the region and I think I have done just that.
My "Scandinavian Adventure" kit is now in my store at the Studio and is currently 30% off as an introductory offer for a limited time.
Here is a look at this huge kit which has 95 individual elements and 24 papers in a variety of styles.
I decided to scrap some of my memories with my kit. Here are two of my pages:
If you have been to Scandinavia, or have plans to travel there...may I suggest that you take a look at this kit as a means to scrapbooking your travel memories.
Have a great weekend.
Happy scrapping!