Home stay, friendly match, barbeque and medals

We arrived at the Stensballe Football Club. Dig on the American flags! They are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. There are over 1900 members. A nice thing about this club is that the kids only pay about $200 per year for a top notch football experience. This is due to a combination of sponsor and community support. The goal is to have each kid play, regardless of their financial situation.
The boys, parents unload and off we go to learn with whom the boys will be staying.
Werner, one of the club leaders - in green - had things well under control. Here some of the boys met Ricky, their home stay parent.
Shortly the parents were dismissed and sent to their hotels - returning later that day for a friendly match against the SIK U18 team.

In friendly matches you line up and shake hands before the game.


On with the game. In this case, our boys played better in the second half than the first. But, they had fun with the game - and as you'll see later, we're rewarded for their efforts.


The next day we came together for a barbeque at the SIK clubhouse. The food was endless and fabulously good. With steak, chicken, sausages, home made potato salad, various salads and veggies, along with a home made cake - no one went home hungry!

Then Werner announced that since the boys had come in 'second' in the tournament that weekend, it was time for them to receive their medals. Each of the boys was called up and Fleming, the head of the club, award each boy their own SIK silver medal.


And then we had a few minutes for team pictures with home stay family and friends. And the gang went off to see Batman (with Danish subtitles) and the parents went over to Poul-Erik's house for drinks and more visiting.


It's hard to believe how much we packed in to these 11 days! A great trip made even better by the fabulous home stay parents!

Here we met one last time on Monday morning to pick up the boys and to head to Copenhagen.

time for team pics

First we need to gear upThen amble over to the picture station. The coordinator is in the far right background, sort of looking like he's seen this all before...
The boys are sorted by height.

Some chitting and chatting before the pic...
And then we have our men of stone!

Shots around the hotel, beach, Hirtshals, Hjorring

A few shots of our handy little kitchen and table top toaster!





Dana Cup trophy display at the team photo shop downtown Hjorring.Giant sodas dwarf the drinker.



Shots of some colors and things about town.



Graveyards are interesting. Even I wouldn't mind being buried here. Some of these plots date back to the late 1800s. They're all tended - even if family is not alive to do so. Wonderful little garden areas honoring those who sleep below.
A few more beach shots of Ann, Em and I.

Beach barbeque and sunsets

Our image of the north sea? Cold, pounding waves, windy, downright nasty! Reality - some of the best beaches in Europe. Water is cool, but not as bad as Superior. Waves are pleasantly present, but no undertow. Beaches are sugar sand??? Yes, that's right, sugar sand and pretty. Firm underfoot along the water line. Lots of folks sunbathing and enjoying the surf and sand.

This is the beach in front of the Fyrklit Hotel. Long wide beach and high dunes.

The cement structure at the top and, fallen to the bottom, of the dune are remnants of the German occupation and bunkers.

This is a better use of an old bunker - a barbecue pit. This is at the top of a dune looking west over the ocean. The boys were starving and ready for action. Think of a great white and a seal beach!






Later, after romping on the beach, it was time for hot tubbing.


And then the sunset! This is one of the most amazing parts about this part of Denmark. The sun setting is different every night and simply stunning.




And so another great day ended.