Occasionally, the beauty of travel is that it makes you appreciate what you have at home. Like when you travel 5,603 miles to Copenhagen Denmark to see the same statue – literally the same design – that sits about 33 miles away from your house.
Here she is in Copenhagen:
Our guide told us she is one of (only) three. The exact same design. Wikipedia seems to think that number is thirteen. In Denmark she guards the harbor with a view to the sea. She is very popular with tourists.
In Solvang, she overlooks a busy street in a quaint, Disney-like, Danish village. Also popular with tourists.
A good laugh is a good laugh, whether you get it in Denmark or California. I chuckled throughout the day in Copenhagen, amused by this previously unknown factoid. In fact, I’m chuckling right now, again, even though the fairy tale itself is one of the most tragic but beautiful stories I know. The fact that Disney was able to make a sanitized version wrecked me and I refused to see it for years.
I am deeply privileged to have journeyed to see two statues, in beautiful places. Now, will my next stop be Iowa? Romania? South Korea? Spain? or Canada?
Melanie Marttila is in Canada, so maybe I’ll go there. Besides, she is talented and has managed to write about more than just the first stop on the first day in her latest Blog Post about The Writing Excuses Retreat, part 2.
What do you think?