Friday, March 25, 2022

Back to the AIR

Flight trip as a milestone. The very first flight after the world has just recovered from COV-19. Recently there is another sad thing that the world had to deal with: the war between Russia and Ukraine, but for now I do not intend to go into details about it (many Ukranien were on board to Billund).

Milestone, just like the Tunisian one many years ago which was my very first flight in two with my 4-year-old Dominik. From different point of view, but it felt a little bit same. I hardly wanted to believe that now I can travel by air - on one hand after 4 years and on other hand without any restriction. Neither vaccination certificate nor negative tests were required. Huge hurray to Denmark that the country returned to the life before the virus arose.

The primary aim of this flight was to let my godmother know how it feels in the air. At her age of 60, my present was a flight trip for her because she always said she does not want to die without trying sitting on an airplane, above the clouds. At that time, Nolen was too young to leave here, then the virus came, so we had no chance to fly but now we did. I decided to make her dream come true. Good timing, I'm off work. Not a big issue for me but a lifelong experience for her.

Everything went smooth, too smooth. She sat right next to window there and back and hardly could get enough of the high-altitude perspective. She also could experience a couple of brand new things.

She is very very thankful for me, and I am very very thankful to Zoli. He helped us a lot to carry out this nice trip and to make it unforgettable. Compliant, obliging, generous, caring and I could further enumarate his kind attitude. He also let us in his workplace; a feather duvet factory. Extra special experience for my godmother who also worked in the industry for many years. That Thursday night at Zoli surely remains memorable from the creepy movie of 'Quite place' and 'pizzasalat'. 

As usual, Zoli lend me his car, more exactly his swapped car because he even thought of our comfort and got a 5-door one instead of his 3-door one. I really appreciate his trust in me. And I'm really proud of him, how he made his life in Denmark many years ago and how he managed to adopt the Danish lifestyle.

The main thing was flying but of course, we could not go home without visiting one or two places. Or three... This time we went North, to Aarhus, among the oldest cities and second largest in Denmark. The harbour is a major attraction in itself with iconic buildings. In recent years, Aarhus has experienced a large demand in housing and offices, spurring a construction boom in some parts of the city. Anyway, I could summarize the whole country with the following three words: culture, nature, architecture. Culture, under which I mainly mean the kind habitude of the Danish people with a smile; under nature I mean they try to preserve the nature (and the bees) and are pioneers in green thinking. 

A little bit more about architecture which mostly amazed me this time. Danish architecture traces its roots to Viking military encampments. These constructions are ramarkable for their circular ramparts. Ironically, the most famous example of Danish architecture is not in Denmark - it's in Australia, the Opera House in Sydney. The Danish contemporary architecture is known for its focus on people; prioritises natural light, sustainable energy systems and a comfortable environment for the people using the building, either for working or living. 

We visited Moesgaard Museum that has three Michelin stars in the Michelin attraction's guide. It presents the past in a magnificent architectural setting that makes for a world-class museum experience. I also wanted to see another architectonic gemstone, the Iceberg, which is a unique apartment building constructed in a way that provides optimum sea view.

So Denmark is Denmark. Not in vain the second happiest country of the world. As they say, not second but the first.