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Day 33 - June 25 - Faaborg – Glamsbjerg – Odense
Today I arrive on Fyn, for the eastward ride
toward the final return home. The day started
with at 12 km ride from Bøjden, at the ferry
dock, to Faaborg. The first stop was at the
Faaborg old town hall where Mayor Bo Andersen and
his colleagues briefed me on the municipality
which is home to 20,000 people, 70% of whom live
in small villages. The town has 20 “free
schools”, which are “private” schools who
get 15% of their funding from tuition, the rest
public. Like much of Denmark, the town has an
aging population, which is creating fiscal
pressure. Two unique features of the town are the
management structure, which is a four-year
experiment in decentralization and leaves much
autonomy in the local unit (school, hospital,
elder care home, etc) pursuant to a contract. The
second is the spirit of volunteerism that is
present down here, particularly in the area of
elderly care. It is a spirit that Anne Jensen
says is growing as the citizens realize that
government cannot take care of everything. Tom
Lund then briefed me on the Danish Cycling
Championship that begins here tomorrow in
Faaborg. 20,000 people will witness the 160
riders compete over the course, some of which we
will ride today.
Leaving Faaborg we had a great group of riders
join us for the 25 km into Glamsberg. The ride
was beautiful over a rolling landscape with great
views of the water from almost every location. (It
is not wonder that many are moving here from
Copenhagen.) Mayor Andersen was a great riding
companion and is training for the “Denmark to
paris” ride that other of my fellow riders
along the tour are also attending. (I would love
to return and do that some day.)
Glamsberg is interesting because it has a town
association that makes sure the town stays alive
and active. I enjoyed hearing of their
civic-minded pride at investing in the future of
their community from a voluntary perspective.
They escorted me to the hotel in the middle of
the town for a “Fyn Coffeetable” which was
without a doubt the most decadent, delicious and
dangerous spread of sweets I have encountered on
the tour. There must have been at least twelve
different pies, cakes, and pastry treats that I
was invited to try. Fortunately the dozen
businessmen joining me had a lot of things on
their minds so my attention was distracted, then
we invited in a dozen young people from
neighboring schools who joined us for a dialogue
and to help us with the feast. The town has
eleven schools, which is remarkable for a town of
its size. Their slogan is “where knowledge is,
knowledge will grow”. The young people were
absolutely delightful . To my first question;
“What does ‘America’ mean to you?” I
received great responses: The older folks in the
audience said “freedom, religion, big, NASA,
and hospitality”. The young folks said
“movies, education, war and power, and junk
food”. To the second question (what would you
want an American to know about Denmark), the
older folks said “social security for everyone,
our informality and our tax system”. The younger
ones said : “our closeness of family, social
system, lack of worry.
The responses to my Third Question were really
interesting (How close are America and Denmark,
and does it really matter.) The older folks gave
me a 6.5 and 8.5 average (on a 1-10 scale). The
young folks gave me a 7..5 and 8.5. We talked
about why the numbers for young people outside of
Copenhagen are so much higher than for those
inside Copenhagen. They said things like:
“because in Copenhagen people are brainwashed
and too controlled. They think they are the
chosen people in the country and that they know
better than everyone else; that the people in the
countryside are simple. We in the countryside like
to have friends; to us relationships are more
important, so we see the need for closeness to
America while they don’t”. Interesting
perspective, I thought.
Leaving Glamsberg I was delighted that many of
the students rode with me, and I was particularly
pleased that Minister of Environment Troels Lund
Poulsen joined me. The Minister is very focused
on the role of the agricultural community in the
environmental debate, and is a great advocate for
proactive environmental policies.
We rode into Odense and arrived at the Odense Zoo
for what would become one of the more unique, if
not bizarre, events of the Tour. When I pulled up
in front of the zoo my good friend Henrik “The
King” Busborg was entertaining the gathered
crowd with a booming rendition of “Blue Suede
Shoes” in his black sequined Elvis outfit. I
was thrilled to tell the crowd about the amazing
“Elvis Fest” that we had had at the Residence
two years ago, and the fact that the Prime
Minister mentioned it to the President when we
met at Crawford, Texas ealier this year. Henrik
promised the crowd a “surprise”, so he and I
dashed into the back and I slipped into
Henrik’s white sequined Elvis outfit, complete
with an incredible America Eagle and flag
encrusted belt. The Crowd cheered when the Elvis
Twins emerged. (though I think Henrik had a
better hair day than I did!) I think the two of
us cut a striking figure on our bicycles as we
rode the six km from the zoo to our next
destination. It was so funny watching the
reaction of the Danes we passed by on our bikes
– which was no reaction at all! Danes try so
hard not to seem nosey. When we had passed by,
and stopped by about a dozen people, none of whom
had even looked surprised or shocked or even
curious, I finally pulled up beside one young
lady of about 20 years old, who we had been
riding behind for about a km, looked at her, with
Henrik on one side of her and me on the other, and
I said: “So, does this happen to you every
day?” She smiled slightly and said ‘Yes”.
And rode on off!
Our next destination was the home of Torben
Eschen, who is probably the best Elvis historian
in Denmark. Above Torben’s door is a sign that
says “Graceland”. The media was there In full
force for our arrival, and joined us as we toured
Torben’s apartment, full of Elvis memorabilia.
I must admit that my attention was distracted by
some of the other less politically-correct items
in his home, and it was probably good that we did
not linger very long in the house, but it was
great to have the opportunity to meet Torben, pay
tribute to the Power of Elvis, and learn from
Torben about the connection between Denmark and
The King. I have to admit a little apprehension
about the news coverage of the Elvis episode and
I anxiously await the news stories.
We left Torben’s home after changing back into
our biking gear, said goodbye for now to my
friend Henrik, and headed to the Vollsmose Kirke
to meet my old friend Reverend Torben Hangaard. I
have been to the Kirke several times, to check in
on the amazing work that Torben and his Muslim
friends Imam Abu Hassan and Maher Al-Badawi are
doing to bring the Christian and Muslim
communities together. (the last time I was here
was for an Elvis concert given by Henrik
busborg.) I call the work here “Interfaith
works”, because here Torben, Abu Hassan and
Maher are not just talking about integration,
they are creating projects to make it happen. I
was pleased to find that things are going better
than ever here in Vollsmose. Twenty to thirty
young Muslim kids come to this Christian church
twice a week after school to work on their
homework. The extraordinary thing is that their
mothers also come twice a week for tutoring in
how to help the kids with their homework. What a
great “InterFaith Works” initiative. Torben
showed me for the first time the photo that went
all over the international news the day the
Muhammad cartoons were first published in
September of 2005. It was of him and Abu Hassan
standing together with a crowd behind them,
holding a Bible and a Koran. I was particularly
pleased to hear Torben report on the great
success their programs were having, as they are
now starting to see young Muslim kids from the
community attend University. This place is
spreading the spirit of hope and inclusion to
young people from ethnic backgrounds better than
anyplace I have seen in Denmark. I still find it
strange that more leaders from the faith community
are not coming forward to learn from and replicate
the good works of the Vollsmose Kirke.
The Day ended with a ride to our host for the
evening, Valdemars Slot. This is the most amazing
Manor Home in Denmark. It was built by King
Christian IV for his favorite son Valdemar in the
years 1639 - 1644. Valdemar was killed in battle
in Poland and never occupied the home. It was
given as a prize to an ancestor of the current
owners after he won a great battle against the
Swedes in 1678. The castle is open to the public
and elaborately decorated, boasts an antique toy
collection, an antique boat collection, and the
most unbelievable trophy collection of mounted
big and small game animals; better I think than
the collection I have seen at the Smithsonian in
Washington! The current owner, Baroness
Caroline Fleming, is the eleventh generation of
the family to own the historic castle. Caroline
is an amazing lady with two adorable children,
Alexander (4) and Josephine (18 months), and she
was an incredibly energetic and gracious hostess
for our two nights at the most remarkable
Residence in the Kingdom. (It was the first time
I had ever slept in a bedroom with its own
postcard!)