My first tick on the list

On Monday the 1st of July I went on my first trip abroad. To Germany!

Everything in Denmark is pretty pricey and so there is a strong Danish tradition of popping over the border to Germany. Once there, the Danes go mad and buy stackloads of booze, chocolate and liquorice, filling their cars and trailers to the absolute limit before venturing back to their expensive homeland.

And so, because the Danish government tries desperately to get foreigners integrated into Danish society, we followed the sorry migration south. Just across the border there are special "Dane shops" that make lots of money selling ordinary supermarket products to beer-craving Danes and their sugar-hungering children. It's a sad place to be and yet I find myself there, behaving just like the rest of the people who have piled over the border for a lower price on food and drink that can only be bad for us. The realisation is rather depressing.

However, somewhere along the horizon the sun does rise: if you venture further into the foreign lands you find Flensburg. Though not the most impressive city, it does have its highlights. A large highstreet offers a wealth of shops, including a shopping center, and walking along the backstreets you will sometimes come across the most charming alleyways. Little courtyards, with little shops, lie within the little alleyways. The surrounding houses beautifully old and in stark contrast to many of Flensburgs other buildings.

It is therefore with very mixed feelings that I return home. No matter how sad our reasons were for going I still enjoyed it.