We traveled the Danish countryside today! In Chapter 6 "Is the Weather Good for Fishing?", Annemarie, Ellen, Kirsti, and Mrs. Johansen take the train north along the coast to Gilleleje. They are going to visit Mrs. Johansen's brother, Henrik. When Mr. Johansen calls Henrik to let him know they're coming, Annemarie notices that he talks in code. He tells Henrik that he's sending him a carton of cigarettes and that there are lots of cigarettes in Copenhagen nowadays, if you know where to look. Annemarie, knowing that isn't true, pieces together that her father is really talking about Jews. On the train trip they encounter 2 Nazi soldiers, but even though Annemarie is afraid Kirsti will let something slip, she doesn't and it's a pretty enjoyable trip. They talk about passing Klampenborg and the Deer Park, and about the castle in Helsingor, which they pass on their way to Gilleleje.
When we finished reading this chapter, we opened up Google Earth on the SMART Board and followed the train's path from Copenhagen to Gilleleje. I am lucky enough to have done half of this train trip myself when I visited Denmark about 10 years ago (unfortunately, before I read Number the Stars). I took the train from Copenhagen to Helsingor to see the castle the girls talk about. I am a huge Shakespeare fan and this castle is said to be the setting for Hamlet. As much as I would like to take the class to Denmark and show them around, that's just not feasible (especially with a math test tomorrow), but we felt like we were there as we looked around Google Earth. We zoomed in close on the castle and checked out a "spherical panoramic view". It was like standing in the middle of the courtyard and turning around to see everything around you. We also got down to street level in Gilleleje and had a good look at some of the marvellous old houses with thatched roofs that are there. It was awesome!
I love learning about the places that I'm reading about. It makes the novel really come alive. If you would like to learn more about Denmark, check out the official website of Denmark and the Visit Denmark website. Tomorrow, we'll probably check out the Meet the Kids website which is a kid-friendly website about Denmark.
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