Marvelous Middelfart

Not surprisingly,  I didn't have the highest of expectations before visiting my friends Kristian and Stine in their hometown of Middelfart, Denmark.  A name like doesn't conjure up thoughts of a Nordic paradise.  Situated on the island of Funen, Middelfart is connected by two bridges to the Jutland Peninsula to its west.  I figured that this fact would be the most interesting thing about Middelfart, but I have certainly been proven wrong.

What a beautiful spot.  We've been here for about a week and we continue to be pleasantly surprised by the town and it's surrounding area.  With beautiful homes, plenty of greenspace, a quaint town centre, and water seemingly everywhere, we found ourselves checking out the real estate market after a few days here (very different than Vancouver's).

My long-term blog followers will remember Kristian and Stine from my blog update from Hong Kong, written on May 31, 2006.  Kristian and I go back as far as 1982, which when we realized equates to one-third of a century made us feel very old.  I haven't seen Kristian for about six years and Stine for about nine years, but upon arrival it felt more like just a couple of weeks.  They have been wonderful hosts.  Thipp has contributed a couple of meals, resulting in her now having an open invitation to return with the option of bringing me or not.

Back in 1986 I spent about one month working on Kristian's family's farm in Toftlund (we all agreed that I didn't have a future in farming).  Although it was a very small town, I had a great time thanks to Kristian's group of friends.   During our current visit Kristian arranged for a number of them to come over for dinner one evening and we had a great night of catching-up and reminiscing.  I last saw them all eleven years ago at Kristian and Stine's wedding and hopefully it won't be that long before we meet again.