Flat Stanley-Whitman Visits Denmark

GOD MORGAN (Good morning in Danish, pronounced as “Hood Mohrgen”),
We are visiting Copenhagen, which is the capitol of Denmark. Everyone here bicycles (!) and all the streets have bicycle lanes; you can even get free bicycles to ride and return them at the end of the day. The people are very friendly and all of them speak English as well as Danish. This is a small country and everyone is expected to obey the rules-such as no jaywalking and stamping your ticket before you get on the metro (subway)- but no one “checks” to make sure you have a ticket. It is an “honor” system and everyone just follows the rules.

Denmark was the home of the “Vikings” who ruled much of Europe hundreds of years ago, and Copenhagen is surrounded by water. One section of the city has canals, and we went on a boat ride and spent time at Nyhavn (New Harbour). This is where Denmark’s most famous landmark, “The Little Mermaid,” is found. The little statue sits on a rock in the harbor and is based on a story by Denmark’s most famous writer-Hans Christian Andersen. (You may know the story of “The Ugly Duckling,” which he also wrote.)

Copenhagen has a wonderful amusement park called “Tivoli” and this delightful park reportedly was what inspired Walt Disney to build Disneyland! This park was built in 1843 when the promoter urged the King to give the people some amusement to keep their minds off politics. Right now it’s decorated for Halloween, and it’s full of pumpkins and orange lights. Yes, everyone here celebrates Halloween too and the shops are full of witches, black cats and pumpkins.

Today we are going to visit Rosenborg Slot (Castle) where the Kings of Denmark once lived and where the Royal Jewels are kept. This is our final day in Denmark and then we will be flying home to Connecticut. I have enjoyed my holiday very much and hope you’ve enjoyed my pictures.
Farvel (Goodbye),
Flat Stanley Whitman

Bon Jour from Paris: A Day in the Life of Flat Stanley-Whitman

Bonjour, I have been vacationing with my friends, Jane and Jag Dalal, in Paris where we have visited many sights. I am sending you some pictures, so you can see of the places we’ve been.

Paris is a beautiful city—the capitol of France—and it’s divided in the middle by the Seine River. The first day we walked down the famous street called Champs-Elysees which is full of shops and little cafes where people stop and have coffee in the afternoon. This street takes you to “L’arc de Triomphe” which is a huge arch built by Napoleon to celebrate his military successes. Unfortunately for Napoleon, it was not finished until 1836, long after his rule of France ended.

We also saw the Eiffel Tower, and did you know that the elevators for this giant steel structure were built by Otis Elevator in Farmington? The Eiffel Tower is the symbol of Paris, but when it was built for the World’s Fair in 1889, Parisians hated it and thought it was ugly.

We spent half a day at the Louvre Museum and got to see the “Mona Lisa” and some beautiful paintings and sculptures. My favorite section was the antiquities area where we saw writing and sculptures from 3,000 years ago done by the Egyptians! The museum is so big that people get lost in it.

Have you heard of Notre Dame Cathedral? This huge church dates back some 800 years and has wonderful large gargoyles on the top. (They look like a cross between an animal and the devil with a horn!) We visited Notre Dame on Sunday, so we got to participate in the church service and heard the organ played. Our last day we decided to take the train out of Paris (people take subways and trains everywhere) to the town of Versailles and visit the Versailles Palace which was the home for France’s Kings and the nobility. It is a huge estate with several gardens, a lake, pastures for sheep and horses, and the palace itself is splendid with paintings and sculptures of Roman gods throughout. The palace was really a city where the French court and all the families lived, so it was a busy, busy place.

Well we are ending our trip to France, and I think Flat Stanley is no longer so flat! We enjoyed wonderful food, wine, breads and cheeses, and of course, French pastries!

We are going to Copenhagen in Denmark next, so for now I will say goodbye as the French do.
Au revoir,
Flat Stanley-Whitman (FSW)