Hanging with the Locals (Part 1)

On Saturday morning, we met up with 2 colleagues of Dan's who now live in Sweden! Steen is from Denmark and Linda is from England. Since the weather was perfect, they took us to one of the largest and oldest (1897) open-air museums in the world--Frilandsmuseet.

From the website: You can wander into a time capsule of long ago -- a sort of Danish version of the Scottish Brigadoon -- and return to a town that still lives on in the 19th century, when Hans Christian Andersen was writing all those fairy tales. This reconstructed village in Lyngby, just outside of Copenhagen, recaptures Denmark's one-time rural character. The "museum" is nearly 89 acres, a 1 3/4-mile walk around the compound, and includes more than 50 re-created buildings -- farmsteads, windmills, and fisherman's cottages. Exhibits include a half-timbered 18th-century farmstead from one of the tiny windswept Danish islands, a primitive longhouse from the remote Faroe Islands, thatched fisherman's huts from Jutland, tower windmills, and a potter's workshop from the mid-19th century.

Since the weather was so great, it was nice to just walk around and enjoy the day. It was very interesting to see how people lived back then and how grateful I am to have been born in the 21st century of modern conveniences (air-conditioning, gas cars, electricity, indoor plumbing, just to name a few). These houses were real houses moved from some of the islands in Denmark to this museum. The thatched roof was very common back in the day...and I can only imagine how much of a fire hazard it was! From my understanding, some houses today in Denmark and Sweden have these thatched roofs which are good for insulation. Wonder how much they pay in insurance??
Some things I realized while walking through some of these homes were just how dang tiny Europeans are! Check out the bed below. Seriously, they were little people! Also, the mattress was made out of some sort of bean...kinda like a beanbag!!

Old country store!
Yes, even animals live on the farm! What a cute little lamb!
Pigs, pigs, and more pigs! There are more pigs in Denmark than people in Germany! Seriously, I am not kidding! The Danish love their pork! When it comes to pigs, Denmark reigns supreme. This little country of just 5.4 million people raises 24 million pigs a year, making it the world's biggest exporter of pork.
Off to Sweden next...