Thursday, August 15, 2024
After breakfast this morning, we departed from the Tornøes Hotel on a bus for an all-day field tour. Our first destination was about an hour’s drive west. We arrived at Langesø Fair, an annual event where vendors market Christmas tree supplies and equipment to growers from all over Europe. This year, the outdoor event adjacent to Langesø Lake, had 120 vendors with exhibits. We received a map of the grounds showing vendor numbers that we could cross reference them to a master vendor list. We were allowed to wander around the site for the remainder of the morning. This was my third trip to Langesø so I spent much of my time hanging with a couple of N.C. growers who slowly progressed, stopped at each exhibit to ask questions, and exchanged contact information. Many of the supplies and equipment on display are not available in the U.S. There was also an ongoing Christmas tree contest where fair attendees could vote on their favorite tree in each of two categories, Nordmann fir and other species. I managed to walk the fair circuit twice before it was time to exit. In the parking lot, we were provided sandwiches and drinks for lunch. Adarsha, Sai, and I shared a bench under a shade tree to eat. As we finished our lunch, a Danish friend, Lars, approached and we were able to briefly catch up on news with each other. (Later, I learned that Lars had won the Christmas tree contest in the other species category.)
—— Langesø Christmas Tree Fair ——
From Langesø, we rode southeast for our next stop at Hvidkilde Estate. Here, we made several stops looking at aspects of Nordmann fir Christmas tree production including, restablishment, pest damage, harvest year selections, and bough production. We also visited sites where we learned about noble fir bough production.
—— Nordmann Fir Christmas Tree & Bough Production at Hvidkilde Estate ——
—— Noble Fir Bough Production at Hvidkilde Estate ——
After returning to the hotel from the field tour, I decided to walk about Kerteminde before dinner. From my hotel room window, I had been viewing the rear of a brick church, so I started my walk by going around it to see its front. Unfortunately, the church was locked so that I couldn’t check out its interior.
—— Kerteminde Church ——
Next, I walked across the harbor bridge and was impressed by the Danish architecture of surrounding buildings, the scenic harbor, and the marina with its numerous boats. I also walked to the sandy beach and observed many sailboats buzzing around the harbor waters. On the return trip, I stopped and chatted with a German couple that had temporarily parked their small motorhome (on a Mercedes Benz chasis) in a spot with a nice harbor view. We had an interesting discusion about RVing and Christmas trees. Upon returning to the Tornøes Hotel, I had dinner with the conference group and then headed to my room for an early resitrement.
—— Kerteminde Harbor, Marina, and Beach ——
