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Homeward Bound
Who would have thought that today, the 27th of August would be our last day of our trip.Where did the time go?? It seems like it was only yesterday that we were sitting in Copenhagen Airport wondering whether or not our motorcycle would arrive on time in Toronto.And it did.It's now early in the morning and we are lying in bed at my sisters house on Post road in Roches Point.Woke many times during the night speculating over many things which of course I should have waited to do when I did wake up but sometimes you just can´t help it. I crawled out of bed at 8:15 and went downstairs to get some breakfast.Sister Suzanne was there to greet me and I poured myself some Bran Flakes with milk and fresh blueberries. It wasn´t long before we were joined by Km. She went with the toasted bagel with butter.After breakfast we decided to make at last minute check. Our bags were packed the night before so there wasn´t much to do in that department.Well, that's what I thought.I´m not sure how many times I carried our luggage back and forth from the bedroom to the washroom to weigh them on the bathroom scale.We were allowed to have 23 kgs of check-in luggage each plus our carry on. When I started this venture, my arms were normal in length but by the end, the baggage seemed to be dragging along the floor. Either my arms were getting longer or the luggage heavier which the latter was not the way to go.It all seemed to work out in the end though. The last thing to be packed was the frozen Bupka. I was happy to know that it wasn´t going in my bag. What´s a Bupka you might asked??It's a round cake with chocolate icing on it which can be found in any Jewish bakery. We tasted this for the first time when we arrived at my aunt Bessie´s at the start of our trip. Km liked it so much that she decided to take one home to her mother.
After our packing was in place, I asked Suzanne if she would drive us up to Bills mom and dad so we could say goodbye.Lovely couple both in their 90´s. We got some great pictures of them with our leather coats, sitting on and standing beside our motorcycle some days before. They both looked very much at home and really seemed to enjoy the picture taking. We said our goodbyes after a short visit and returned home again. We then phoned the kids on Skype to let them know that we were looking very much forward to seeing them again.Marc promised to meet us at the train station in Fredericia and drive us home. The rest of the day we relaxed around the pool, had a few drinks and before we knew it, it was 4pm and time to go to the airport. Pearson International was waiting for us. Our flight was to leave a 20:20 and we decided to get there early due to traffic at this time of the day and to avoid stress. The bags were placed in the trunk of the Mazda and we were off to the airport. We arrived in good time and Suzanne ran to get us a cart for our luggage. She ran back towards us saying she needed a Toony (a two dollar coin) for the cart.Bill was there immediately handing over the toony he had recently found outside of a gas station in Keswick. Easy come, Easy go. We then placed our suitcases on the cart and said our goodbyes. Suzanne and Bill hopped in the car and headed back to Keswick.As Km and I headed for the door, I asked her if she got the video camera from Suzanne. Her response was… what video camera. Then we hear Suzanne´s voice in the distance calling out our names. They didn´t drive far before Suzanne let out an AHHHHHHH while lifting her arms in the air. She discovered the camera on her lap. Bill was sure she did this on purpose to get a last goodbye in. Well… if that was the case, it worked. She got the goodbye and a last minute hug and we got the camera.Nice trade off !!!
We went into the building and there we were again. In the exact same spot we were, three months ago. This time we were heading the other way. Next Stop… Denmark. Okay, with a two hour stop in Heathrow first. Strange feeling it was. We checked in within a half hour which was great. We decided to go straight into gate and proceed to the shops to look around. I started with buying a bottle of Captain Morgan Special Blend and a Crown Royal Whiskey. Paid the man 55 dollars for the two and as I was leaving he asked me if I was staying in London. I told him I would be there for a few hours before moving on for Denmark. He them informed me that they would most likely take the bottles from me in London due to the 100ml liquid restriction. He took the bottles return and gave me my money back. DAMMMM.I´m a little curious if I will be able to purchase duty free in London going to Copenhagen. Within the European Union there is no duty free any more. Hope they will approve that I started in Toronto. Time will tell. At the moment we are flying over the Atlantic Ocean just south of Greenland. Altitude: 36000 feet and a ground speed of 1040 km/hr. We are half way to London and I´m in need of a rest. Have to close my eyes for a bit.
Its now the 28th of August and the time is 8am London time. Our decent into London Heathrow has begun. In 15 minutes, we will touch down getting ever so closer to our final destination in Copenhagen. It was a very pleasant flight and a smooth landing.When the plane came to a complete stop, we were allowed to get our hand luggage and leave the aircraft.We then follow the long corridor and proceeded to the next terminal to catch flight number BA0814 to Copenhagen departing at 10:10.We had just over an hour to kill which is not a difficult task in London Heathrow. Karen M suggested that we find a coffee shop and grab a snack to eat, but first we had to pass through London's Customs and security check.They are by far, the most efficient I´ve experienced yet. When we get there, the lineup is quite long.The people up front are emptying their pockets and putting everything up on the tray provided.Then it´s their shoes which have to be inspected.They are all running around in their socks. Finally its our turn to be ransacked.We fill the tray with the possessions we have and our jackets as well are placed on the conveyor belt along with our hand luggage. Our shoes are placed in another tray and everything is passed through thex-ray machine.Then it´s through the metal detector and hope for the best. We were both allowed to pass but on the other side, we were both called over to the Customs Officer´s. I was asked if this leather jacket was mine which I answered yes.As he went through the pockets, he finally pulled out a miniature pocket knife. Where that came from I have no idea. Kind of funny that I´ve passed through so many customs security checks and finally here in London Heathrow, on my way back home, they find the knife. They ask me if I would like to check it in with my luggage. It was too much of a hassle, so I told them to throw it out.Now it was Km´s turn. They started by asking her if this was her carry-on bag which of course it was.All things were removed from the bag and it was sent for further investigation. It was putthrough the powder search.Not that they were expecting to find cocaine powder.They were looking for signs of explosive powder.In the mean time, they found a package in her suitcase that was wrapped up so nicely that they insisted it be opened.They saw something on the ex-ray machine and this was the package.We were both a little curious as to what they were looking for.As they opened it up,they find Km´s silver plated salad tong she purchased at that little antique store not far from my sister Suzanne.It was a scissorlike thing with a spoon on the one side and a very dull forkon the other. Km was informedby the Customs Officer that she would not be allowed to take it with as hand baggage. Itmust be checked in with our regular luggage.Km tried to talk her way out of checking it in.It wasn´t working and flames were starting to show in her eyes.She was ready to kill but there were too many witnesses around.We bothcouldn´t understand what the problem was.I suppose that they were afraid that Km would try and pinch someone to death with them on the plane. That was the only other thing that we could see that it could be used for besides serving salad and she didn´t have any of that.We weren´t going anywhere with this so we decided to check it in with Km´s carry-on bag.They were very helpful and before we knew it, the bag was checked and we were off to find a cup of coffee.
We found a little coffee shop and bought ourselves a small sandwich to go along with the coffee.From here we could watch the departure screen to see when we would have to go to the boarding gate.At 9:15, the "Go to Gate" sign appeared. We gathered up our things and did just that. In just under 3 hours, we will arrive in Copenhagen.We did have a pleasant flight and the time went quite quickly and before we knew it, we touched down at Copenhagen International.Its first now, that I´m really looking forward to getting home.We head down the corridor to pick up our bags.They were one of the first bags to come up the conveyor belt.At the same time, we could see from the train schedule, if we hurried, we could catch the train to Fredericia in 15 minutes. If not, the next trainwould be leaving the following hour. We made it through customs without any problems and then out the door to to the main hall. It was then over to buy 2 tickets to Fredericia. After paying the 640kr to come home, we made a break for the train which is located here at the airport andwere lucky enough to catch our ride home.Its only a matter of 2hrs and 10minutes until our 3 month trip comes to an end.Here we are once again cutting through the Danish Landscape.Those familiar grey clouds which we haven´t seen for some time now fill the sky.Temperature is 18 degrees.We just phoned Marc to announce our arrival and to let him know what time we arrive in Fredericia.It wasn´t long before we cross the Old Lillebælts Bridge.It´s only minutes before we arrive at the Fredericia train station. We made it home safe and sound. There´s nothing better in the world then traveling… but at the same time,there´s no place like home. We were greeted at the train station by Martin, Marc and Kante.Its was great to be back. There were hugs all around and then we grabbed the luggage and headed for the car.Its seems a little unreal that three months have just passed by before our eyes.Wow !!!!!Tonight we get to sleep in our own bed.Yes…there´s no place like home.Even though we finally home,thoughts are flying around in my head about all the places we´ve seen and experienced. Starting from the time we left Sister Suzanne and Bills place on the 9th of June heading out on our journey of a lifetime, wondering where we were going to sleep that night and what we would see along the way.I recall the friendly Canadians on the east coast laughing at what I was telling them… in Danish of course. Here in Denmark they would have been wondering why I wasn´t locked up somewhere but in Cape Breton, they laughed because I did, and where quite sure that what I said must have been funny because I laughed myself. Then thoughts of the States, New York, the Amish folk from Lancaster Pennsylvania, the White House in Washington, Tennessee,with a visit to The Grand Ól Oprey in Nashville and a stroll along Beal Street with all the pubs andthe live music basically 24/7/365, then off to Memphis and Graceland. The pink limousine we ordered that picked us up at our tent and drove us to the restaurant for some real Memphis Barbeque.Then there was Texas where Km misplaced her Visa Card which we did find again.Freezing in the mountains at night in Colorado and sweating during the day.Fighting off the heat wave in Utah while driving through the desert. The trip along Snake Canyon on our way towards Yellowstone National Park. The mountains in British Columbia and the forest fires of course. Lake Louise in Banff Alberta to the flat prairie province of Saskatchewan. Then south over the border again to Sturgis, South Dakota to Usa´s largest Bike Rally with 3 to 4 hundred thousand bikers in this corner of the state. Here there was Custer Park and Mount Rushmore and my favourite Cowboy town called Deadwood. Then scooting along east and running into the city of Pipestone, Minnesota which was the sacred grounds of all North American Indian tribes. It was here and only here, where they mined the special stone used in making Peace Pipes. From here it was then up into Canada again. It was great spending time with family and friends although we could definitely have used more time for that. There were a lot of people I would have like to have seen but just couldn´t seem to fit themin.
Amazing is just a small word to describe our trip around North America. We met some amazing people and visited some amazing places. From our experience, It didn´t matter if you turn to the right, left or justdrove straight ahead.There was always something to great to see. The most important thing to remember is to enjoy the places you are and take your time doing just that. Otherwise the trip turns into a blur where one thing gets mixed up with another.A blog is also a great help to remember events and places.North America is incredibly vast continent and we didn´t see all that we would have liked to have seen but we sure did our best. No doubt about it, we haven´t seen the last of Usa and Canada. Our original plan was to cross Canada and a quick visit over the border to Km´s cousin Inger in New Jersey. It was first after our arrival at my sister Suzanne and Bills place that our plans were changed. Bill suggested we visit the states as well since we were already down there. It was by far, the best thing we ever did.Canada is an extraordinary country with lakes, rivers, mountains and forests but believe it or not, one can get tired of just that.We needed to see something else and didjust that.As for traveling without a plan, for us was thebest way to do things. Being just us two was also a plus because we could come and go as we pleased without having to discuss it with others.If we liked where we were and wanted to stay a day more… we did. Our tourist guides were the friendly Canadians and Americans we met at the gas stations and coffee shops who noticed the foreign license plate or perhaps just heard us speak Danish together and came over to talk.Sometimes it took a little longer to get away then we had planned but they were always helpful with some good tips on where to go and what to see in their area.We always found something interesting or a beautiful place to stay.
As for our economy… we used 88,000 kroner/17,600 Canadian dollars for our 3 month adventure.This included everything from sending our motorcycle, insurance for both ourmotorcycleand health,food, lodging and plane tickets. Yes, everything.Just under 200 dollars/ day for two people.Even our motorcycle GPS and our 10" computerwere included in the price. The computer was used for our online banking, skype, blog and of course all our pictures. A great little tool when your far away from home over a longer period of time. Will we return someday… ????? No doubt about it.Perhaps next time in a motor home with a trailer for the motorcycle.We met so many retired people over there that spent most of their time just traveling around in search of good weather and something interesting to see.Pretty easy task.
My motorcycle did arrive home 4 weeks after we did.It was a day I was so much looking forward to see. We picked it up at the harbor terminal in Århus, 75 kms north of Fredericia.When the man brought it out of the warehouse, the crate was bent all out of shape, and then I was.Somewhere along the line, they either dropped the crate or just drove into it with something causing damage to my new whitewall tires, new saddle bags and a scratch mark on the frame.It was a short 6 month battle with the insurance company before they opened their wallet and did the right thing and covered the damages. I was very lucky to have pictures both before and after arrival here in Denmark.Great documentation to have.
We are now both back at work, doing everyday things and thinking about the next journey. Australia, New Zealand or perhaps Thailand. My work would definitely like to see me travel in the winter time while the workload is at a minimum.Dreams…that´s what life is all about !!!!!
Karen Margrethe and I would like to thank all of you who showed an interest in our travels over there and a special thanks to those who were persistent enough to read the blog and patient enough to wait a whole year to hear the ending and this is it.
Thanks so much.Love to you all, Ian and Karen Margrethe.
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