Embassy of the United States

ReDiscovery Bike Tour Dialogue
Bike Tour Begins on August 20, 2007

 
Ambassador Cain 04 July 2008
from Copenhagen Day 37 - Rydhave, 17 km (2504)

Text coming soon.



Ambassador Cain 02 July 2008
from Day 36 - Køge - Copenhagen, 66km (2487)

Text coming soon



Ambassador Cain 27 June 2008
from Day 35, Slagelse-Sorø-Ringsted-Køge, 80km (2421)

I reluctantly left Valdemar Slot feeling a little
bleary-eyed after a gourmet breakfast and a quick
kiss on the head for Josephine and Alexander (who
very cleverly had managed to end up with three of
my ReDiscovery Coins!) Unfortunatly I could not
convince Mads to join me for a second day of
riding, perhaps because he did not want to leave
the fun group gathered at breakfast, or perhaps
because he had looked out the window and seen the
rain pouring down outside. Regardless, I am glad
that he awaked to see me off, as I was worried
that when the Castle opened to the public in
another hour or so the first tourists would be
surprised to find a body soundly asleep
underneath the sheets in the “King’s
Bedroom”.
Arriving back in Slagelse our first stop was the
new in-line skating track recently built by the
municipality. This includes the only parabolic
skating track in all of Northern Europe. It is a
great track and I was impressed to see “Team
Slagelse” take to the track and show me their
stuff.  (The rain of course slowed things down a
bit, and I was somewhat relieved that it gave me
an excuse not to embarrass myself by trying to
skate with these young folks.) I enjoyed visiting
with the team and their coaches over coffee and I
wish good luck to Nicolai and his teammates in
their quest for the Gold.
The 15 km ride to Sorø Academy was without a
doubt the wettest of the entire 35 Day tour. My
guest riders, including Martin Lykkegaard
Mogensen from the Gerlev Sports Academy, Sergeant
Cates of our US Marine Corps Detachment,  and
several members of our Public Affairs staff, rode
through the most severe deluge I think I have seen
in the three years we have been here.  We were all
soaked to the bone when we arrived at the historic
Sorø Academy and were greeted by Senior professor
Lars Kelstrup. Sorø Academy is the oldest
academic institution in Denmark, going back 1200
years to when it was a Cistercian Monastery. Its
Cathedral was the first brick building in
Denmark, and its headmaster,  lives in the oldest
building to be continuously occupied in the
country. Sorø was founded by King Frederik II in
1586. The first football came to Denmark here 150
years ago next year. Archbishop Absalon is buried
here in the Cathedral.  All this grand history,
however, was relegated in importance for the
moment because today was GRADUATION DAY! I felt
really guilty that Lars had missed the graduation
ceremony in order to receive us, and I will be
forever greatful to him for giving me the
opportunity to participate in the Graduation
exercise. When the formal ceremony in the
Cathedral was completed, the 150 graduates filed
down to the grand steps in front of the library
for the ceremonial photograph. With lightbulbs
flashing and cameras clicking, I was invited to
address the students, which I did with relish. I
ended  with a hearty “Congratulations” in my
best Danish-English, wishes for a Great Truck
ride and an invitation to ‘Come to America”!

It was great fun watching the young graduates hop
on the elaborately-decorated trucks for the
traditional Truck Ride.  Our daughter Cameron
just graduated last week from the Copenhagen
International School and we had really enjoyed
hosting her “Truck” at the Residence for a
good-old American hamburger and hot dog cookout.
But I did not get to see the inside of her Truck,
so it was a real treat when one group of
graduating students offered me a Tuborg and
invited me to hop up on the truck to join them
for a commemorative photo.
We left Sorø following the Truck brigade and
headed down the road for Ringsted.  Miraculously,
the rain had stopped almost the moment the
students headed out from the Graduation
ceremonies so the rest of the day’s ride was
much better than the morning. In Ringsted mayor
Hermansen and Freddy Svane, director of the
Agriculture Council, and former Danish Ambassador
to Japan, led us in a discussion of Danish
Agrucultural policy. It was great to be joined by
4 young Danish farmers. They are facing the same
problems as American farmers, and we talked of
the challenges of high prices, particularly on
the price of soybeans in America which are an
important import for Danish feed for swine. We
spoke of the differences in rules and regulations
between America and the EU, the growth of the
organic movement, and the increasing importance
of genetically modified crops if we are to meet
the needs of the growing global population for
healthy food. Freddy and I agreed that it would
be great to initiate an exchange program between
young farmers in Denmark and America.
Two of my favorite responses to my First Question
came from the discussion with the young farmers.
When I asked what “America” meant to them,
Randi said “Big Tractors!” Mie said “Men in
Cowboy Hats!”    When I asked her if she had
ever seen a man in a cowboy hat in Denmark, and
she said no, it gave me a great opportunity to
tell my favorite story of the Tour; that immortal
Day 4 when we rode past Jørgen and Doris
Olsen’s “Texas Square Country and Western
Store” in Farendløse. Mayor Hermansen was
thrilled with the story because he knows Doris
and Jørgen, and the store is actually in the
Ringsted Kommune, so many of our guests in the
room had heard the story, and I found out then
that the local paper just yesterday had run a
story about my coming to town on bicycle, and ran
a picture of me with Jørgen when he came to our
“Bamse” Elvis CD Release party at the
Residence and handcuffed me with his authentic
Texas handcuffs.
Leaving Ringsted in the direction of Køge, we
seemed to be going a bit out of the way. When I
mentioned that to Philip, he said he had a little
‘surprise” for me. After carrying our bikes
across a muddy  section of road under repair, we
turned a rural corner and there it was: Texas
Square Country and Western! What a delight it was
to return to the site of my favorite experience on
the Tour. This was a surprise visit and
unfortunately Jørgen was not in the store, but
Doris was there and the store looked just as I
had remembered it, and it was great to have
Alistair and Michael and others from the Embassy
riding with us so that they could confirm that I
was not exaggerating about this amazing place.
Doris proudly showed us the photos from our visit
last year, mounted along with the ReDiscovery
Coin, and also the photograph of Jørgen and me
in yesterday’s newspaper. We took a few
photographs for posterity, and headed back on our
bikes.  (Philip, this was a brilliant surprise.
All of the wrong turns, gravel roads and
misdirections of the past 35 Days are completely
forgiven!!)
The last long ride of the day was 25 km ride to
Køge. I had a burst of energy after about 5 km
from all the pastries I had eaten in Ringsted so
Rico and I hit sprint speed and flew the last 20
km at an average of around 40 km per hour (we had
pretty good wind most of the way).  We arrived in
Køge at Hastrup, a community with a large ethnic
population, and stopped at Hastrup Skole where I
was greeted by my friend Mayor Marie Stærke and
my new friend Louisa, a teacher dressed in
festive ‘Spanish’ attire,  representing the
teachers who were  celebrating graduation with a
Spanish-themed party. I do not think I have ever
seen a more fun group of teachers. But before
joining with the teachers in celebration, I first
needed to meet a remarkable young lady named
Cecilie Hallev. Cecilie is an avid football
(soccer) player. Last year, at the age of 15,
Cecilia was troubled by the fact that young
Muslim girls in this neighborhood did not have an
opportunity to play organized football. So she
started a team of young girls, and called them FC
Hastrup. I was greeted by the cute young girls in
their pink football jerseys with “FC Hastrup”
on the front, along with the name of their sponsor
Spar Nord Bank. Two of the young girls were in
their traditional headscarves and Cecilie
explained to me and to the local media in
attendance that she was leading a campaign within
the Danish Football Union to allow girls to play
in headscarves. Cecilie is a remarkable young
lady, and she has been nominated by the commune
to receive the Ministry of Integretion’s Annual
Integration Award (the one that Reverand Torben
Hangaard and Imam Abu Hassan received a couple of
years ago.) I can think of no better example in
Denmark of the combination of the spirit of
volunteerism and the spirit of cultural diversity
than Cecilie. She would be an excellent recipient
of the award.
The visit with Cecilie and FC Hastrup gave me a
chance to tell the media and the Mayor about our
Taking the Lead summer leadership camp for young
people from ethnic backgrounds. I am a firm
believer in the Power of Team Sports to bring
people together, and the Leadership camp this
summer at the Gerlev Sports Academy will showcase
that power. I am hopeful that some of the young
ladies from FC Haslev will join us for the camp.
After kicking the ball around with the girls for
a few minutes on the field I made the obligatory
stop by the teacher’s party to wish them well
for the summer.  Wow, do those teacher’s know
how to party! As Philip said as we were leaving
“If my teachers had been like that, I would
have stayed in school for a lot more years!”
I am really sorry that we could not stay longer
(and I think Team ReDiscovery was equally sorry
to have to leave), but we headed for the last
stop of the Day, the Køge Town Center, which was
about 4 km away. I was honored to have both Mayor
Marie Stærke and Cecilie Hallev join me for the
final ride and was really pleased when Cecilie
committed that she would join us on July 4 in
Copenhagen for the final ride of the ReDiscovery
Tour.  That is now only one day’s ride away.



Ambassador Cain 26 June 2008
from Day 34, Odense–Kerteminde-Slagelse 80 km (2341)

After a good night’s sleep at Valdemar Slot in
the largest bedroom I have ever slept in (I
believe it is the same size as the tennis court
at the Residence), I was thrilled that my day was
starting with good friend, and “celebrity guest
rider of the day” Mads Ulrich.  Mads had been
worried about whether he could make the 75 km Day
or not, and I think he was encourage when we left
Valdemar Slot in my black armored Cadillac with
the bikes in the van behind us, drove 45 minutes
to Odense, and then took the bikes out of the van
just a few hundred meters from the Fraugde Skole,
which was our first destination. “So this is
how it works!” Mads said with enthusiasm ‘You
don’t actually ride the whole way on bike, you
just pull up in the car a few meters from your
destination,  get the bikes out, and throw a
little water on your face so that it looks like
you have been riding!!” The bodyguards and I
laughed really hard and explained to Mads that we
did this to start the day so that we could pick up
exactly where we left off the day before, but from
here on out it was all on bicycle!! (Mads was a
real Champion and made it in great form for the
entire 75 km, looking pretty good, I should say,
in his “designer” cycling jersey and pants!
)
As we were unloading the bikes to start the day I
was pleased to see the great article and
photographs from the day before in the local Fyns
Stiftstidende newspaper showing the  “Elvis
Twins” entertaining the crowd in front of the
Odense Zoo. I was afraid the image would be a
little “undiplomatic”, But the media seems to
have understood the point about the celebration of
the Great American rags-to-riches success story
that Elvis represents, which I call “Elvis
Diplomcay”.
The biking day started  In Tingkjær to the
Fraugde Skole which was having its annual sports
day. It was great fun riding in to the school
with the enthusiastic students eagerly wanting to
shake my hand and try out their English. I was
hosted by Henrik (“Elvis”) Busborg, who is a
teacher at the school, and clearly a very popular
teacher.  The School honored me with the
opportunity to address all the students, and then
about 30 of them joined me for the 12 km ride into
Odense. The ride into Odense was one of the most
delightful of the Tour. Each of the 30 students
took turns, usually in pairs, riding beside me to
have a conversation. Some were a little shy but I
think all eventually opened up and shared their
thoughts with me.  Two of these young people had
been in a group that interviewed me last year at
the News Museum in Odense. (that was one of the
most fun interviews I have ever done.) I learned
a great deal from these young people, mostly
between 12 and 15 years old. I learned that they
are curious about America, that they like
American music and American movies. The boys like
American sports, mostly base ball and basketball,
and the girls would like to go to New York to
Shop. These young people have an impression of
America that is large, open minded, with lots of
opportunity and powerful, but that is too
“war-happy” , not healthy enough, and does
not take care of its poor people. My favorite
response on the” What does America mean to
you” question was “The Green lady”, meaning
the Statue of Liberty. These young people are
split almost 50/50 on their preference for Martin
or Basim! (I invited them to all come join Basim
and me for the Tour-ending celebration on July 4
in Copenhagen.)  I told several of the students
how proud I was when I joined the President at
his private home earlier this year to host Prime
Minister Rasmussen, when the Prime Minister
mentioned to the President the “great Elvis
party” we had hosted at the Residence last
year.  I told him all about Henrik and the
“Power of Elvis” in Denmark. I think their
teacher got a lot more cool all the sudden!
The great group of young folks, along with
Henrik, rode with me all the way to the
headquarters of TV2 in Odense where News Director
Michael Dyrby met us out front and provided
welcome refreshments for all the young people. I
presented the commemorative coin to all my
guests, and then headed to the offices of IFAD, a
very impressive small company involved in software
design  Here the 20 employees do very
sophisticated design, including design of certain
software in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
airplane. Their primary expertise is in warfare
simulation software, which I got to see tested.
I’ll bet these guys are really good at video
games.
Our next stop was in Munkebo where I was met by a
group of Gymnasium students who joined me for the
ride into Kerteminde. These young people were
great conversationalists on the 13 km ride into
Kerteminde (giving me 7.1 and 7.7 on my Third
Question), and I was really happy that they could
join me for the very unique experience in
Kerteminde at the “Dialogue Bench.” Mayor
Palle Hansborg-Sørensen explained to me upon
arrival that the town several years installed
several benches outside of their beautiful
cathedral for people to sit on and “talk”.
They were inspired by the “Speakers corner’
in Hyde park in London, and I could not wait to
take my turn on the bench, where I was surrounded
by my young riders from Munkebo, and by a dozen
new young friends from schools in Kerteminde. I
was particularly pleased that two of our new
group included two students who had travelled to
America last summer with our “Windows on
America” program. This is a program we
initiated, along with a commitment from the
Egmont Foundation, to send 15 young people from
ethnic backgrounds in Denmark on a three-week
study tour in the US. It is a fabulous program,
and these two students reported enthusiastically
about the positive experience they had had. They
said they returned with a whole new appreciation
for the people and spirit of America.
I spent about 30 minutes on the Dialogue Bench
talking with the young, and some not so young,
people. It was really funny trying to talk while
eating a huge ice cream cone that the mayor
handed me as we were just beginning the dialogue.
I kept watching Bo, Claus and Alex laughing and
pointing, when I finally realized that I had been
speaking for about ten minutes with a big glob of
whipped cream on my chin. (thank you Alex for
finally giving me the not-so-subtle sign to wipe
it off.)
We left Kerteminde for about a 20 km ride to
Nyborg with the imposing bridge growing larger in
the distance. On the way to Nyborg we were a
little ahead of schedule so we stopped at a great
antique store where I was able to find a few
things to add to our collections. Arriving at the
foot of the bridge we packed up the bikes and
drove them across.
I have now returned to Sealand, almost completing
the 2500 km odyssey I started 34 days ago.
Arriving back on solid land, we unpacked the
bikes in Korsør and were joined by Kim Carlsen,
the Director of Tourism, and Per Christiansen
from the Danish Cyclist federation who gave us a
“riding tour” of Korsør and the beautiful
countryside as we made our way toward Slagelse.
On the way we stopped at Trelleborg to see the
historic Viking fortress. We were met by Mayor
Lis Tribler and Mads Thernøe, the director of
the Trelleborg museum. Trelleborg is the only
Viking museum in Denmark actually located on an
ancient Viking settlement. I was treated to a
Viking feast and hand-to-hand Viking combat by
two valiant authentically dressed Vikings who
were fighting over a woman, also dressed in
authentic period costume, and who happened to be
from America!
In Slagelse I  was invited to visit the beautiful
performing arts hall and participate in the Nordea
Business Awards Ceremony. I felt a little
underdressed as I greeted the crowd of 100 guests
and was invited to speak, but it was a grand
opportunity to talk about the meaning of the
ReDiscovery Tour, the spirit of innovation that
the Nordea Business Award celebrated, and of my
joy at returning to Slagelse which is the home to
my favorite of all of our initiatives: our
“Taking the Lead “ summer leadership camp for
young people from ethnic neighborhoods. It will be
held the first week in August at the Gerlev Sports
Academy and is designed to nurture the next
generation of leaders within the ethnic
communities of Denmark.
Returning to Valdemars Slot for the evening, Mads
and I were delighted to have the opportunity to
sit down and enjoy a fantastic meal with our
hosts and a very interesting gathering of guests.
We shared stories of the day, talked a little
politics and faith, spoke of Denmark’s unique
role in the world, and learned of the history of
the grand castle, including its legendary ghost.
When I retired in the wee hours of the morning
after enjoying the best of Danish hospitality,
tradition and fellowship, I tried to stay awake
long enough to hear if the ghost had arrived, but
I am afraid that the rigorous day had zapped me of
my energy, and I was soon fast asleep dreaming of
knights and battles and castles and ….



Ambassador Cain 25 June 2008
from Day 33: Faaborg-Glamsbjerg-Odense - 83 km (2261)

Today I arrive on Fyn, for the eastward ride
toward the final return home. The day started
with at 12 km ride from Bøjden,  at the ferry
dock, to Faaborg. The first stop was at the
Faaborg old town hall where Mayor Bo Andersen and
his colleagues briefed me on the municipality
which is home to 20,000 people, 70% of whom live
in small villages. The town has 20 “free
schools”, which are “private” schools who
get 15% of their funding from tuition, the rest
public. Like much of Denmark, the town has an
aging population, which is creating fiscal
pressure. Two unique features of the town are the
management structure, which is a four-year
experiment in decentralization and leaves much
autonomy  in the local unit (school, hospital,
elder care home, etc) pursuant to a contract. The
second is the spirit of volunteerism that is
present down here, particularly in the area of
elderly care. It is a spirit that Anne Jensen
says is growing as the citizens realize that
government cannot take care of everything. Tom
Lund then briefed me on the Danish Cycling
Championship that begins here tomorrow in
Faaborg. 20,000 people will witness the 160
riders compete over the course, some of which we
will ride today.
Leaving Faaborg we had a great group of riders
join us for the 25 km into Glamsberg. The ride
was beautiful over a rolling landscape with great
views of the water from almost every location. (It
is not wonder that many are moving here from
Copenhagen.) Mayor Andersen was a great riding
companion and is training for the “Denmark to
paris” ride that other of my fellow riders
along the tour are also attending.  (I would love
to return and do that some day.)
Glamsberg is interesting because it has a town
association that makes sure the town stays alive
and active. I enjoyed hearing of their
civic-minded pride at investing in the future of
their community from a voluntary perspective.
They escorted me to the hotel in the middle of
the town for a “Fyn Coffeetable” which was
without a doubt the most decadent, delicious and
dangerous spread of sweets I have encountered on
the tour. There must have been at least twelve
different pies, cakes, and pastry treats that I
was invited to try. Fortunately the dozen
businessmen joining me had a lot of things on
their minds so my attention was distracted, then
we invited in a dozen young people from
neighboring schools who joined us for a dialogue
and to help us with the feast.  The town has
eleven schools, which is remarkable for a town of
its size. Their slogan is “where knowledge is,
knowledge will grow”.  The young people were
absolutely delightful .  To my first question;
“What does ‘America’ mean to you?” I
received great responses: The older folks in the
audience said “freedom, religion, big, NASA,
and hospitality”. The young folks said
“movies, education, war and power, and junk
food”.  To the second question (what would you
want an American to know about Denmark), the
older folks said “social security for everyone,
our informality and our tax system”. The younger
ones said : “our closeness of family, social
system, lack of worry.
The responses to my Third Question were really
interesting (How close are America and Denmark,
and does it really matter.) The older folks gave
me a 6.5 and 8.5 average (on a 1-10 scale). The
young folks gave me a 7..5 and 8.5. We talked
about why the numbers for young people outside of
Copenhagen are so much higher than for those
inside Copenhagen. They said things like:
“because in Copenhagen people are brainwashed
and too controlled. They think they are the
chosen people in the country and that they know
better than everyone else; that the people in the
countryside are simple. We in the countryside like
to have friends; to us relationships are more
important, so we see the need for closeness to
America while they don’t”. Interesting
perspective, I thought.
Leaving Glamsberg I was delighted that many of
the students rode with me, and I was particularly
pleased that Minister of Environment Troels Lund
Poulsen joined me. The Minister is very focused
on the role of the agricultural community in the
environmental debate, and is a great advocate for
proactive environmental policies.
We rode into Odense and arrived at the Odense Zoo
for what would become one of the more unique, if
not bizarre, events of the Tour. When I pulled up
in front of the zoo my good friend Henrik “The
King” Busborg was entertaining the gathered
crowd with a booming rendition of “Blue Suede
Shoes” in his black sequined Elvis outfit.  I
was thrilled to tell the crowd about the amazing
“Elvis Fest” that we had had at the Residence
two years ago, and the fact that the Prime
Minister mentioned it to the President when we
met at Crawford, Texas ealier this year.  Henrik
promised the crowd a “surprise”, so he and I
dashed into the back and I slipped into
Henrik’s white sequined Elvis outfit, complete
with an incredible America Eagle and flag
encrusted belt. The Crowd cheered when the Elvis
Twins emerged. (though I think Henrik had a
better hair day than I did!)  I think the two of
us cut a striking figure on our bicycles as we
rode the six km from the zoo to our next
destination. It was so funny watching the
reaction of the Danes we passed by on our bikes
– which was no reaction at all! Danes try so
hard not to seem nosey. When we had passed by,
and stopped by about a dozen people, none of whom
had even looked surprised or shocked or even
curious, I finally pulled up beside one young
lady of about 20 years old, who we had been
riding behind for about a km, looked at her, with
Henrik on one side of her and me on the other, and
I said: “So, does this happen to you every
day?”  She smiled slightly and said ‘Yes”.
And rode on off!
Our next destination was the home of Torben
Eschen, who is probably the best Elvis historian
in Denmark. Above Torben’s door is a sign that
says “Graceland”. The media was there In full
force for our arrival, and joined us as we toured
Torben’s apartment, full of Elvis memorabilia.
I must admit that my attention was distracted by
some of the other less politically-correct items
in his home, and it was probably good that we did
not linger very long in the house, but it was
great to have the opportunity to meet Torben, pay
tribute to the Power of Elvis, and learn from
Torben about the connection between Denmark and
The King. I have to admit a little apprehension
about the news coverage of the Elvis episode and
I anxiously await the news stories.
We left Torben’s home after changing back into
our biking gear, said goodbye for now to my
friend Henrik, and headed to the Vollsmose Kirke
to meet my old friend Reverend Torben Hangaard. I
have been to the Kirke several times, to check in
on the amazing work that Torben and his Muslim
friends Imam Abu Hassan and Maher Al-Badawi are
doing to bring the Christian and Muslim
communities together. (the last time I was here
was for an Elvis concert given by Henrik
busborg.) I call the work here “Interfaith
works”, because here Torben, Abu Hassan and
Maher are not just talking about integration,
they are creating projects to make it happen.  I
was pleased to find that things are going better
than ever here in Vollsmose.  Twenty to thirty
young Muslim kids come to this Christian church
twice a week after school to work on their
homework. The extraordinary thing is that their
mothers also come twice a week for tutoring in
how to help the kids with their homework. What a
great “InterFaith Works” initiative. Torben
showed me for the first time the photo that went
all over the international news the day the
Muhammad cartoons were first published in
September of 2005. It was of him and Abu Hassan
standing together with a crowd behind them,
holding a Bible and a Koran. I was particularly
pleased to hear Torben report on the great
success their programs were having, as they are
now starting to see young Muslim kids from the
community attend University. This place is
spreading the spirit of hope and inclusion to
young people from ethnic backgrounds better than
anyplace I have seen in Denmark.  I still find it
strange that more leaders from the faith community
are not coming forward to learn from and replicate
the good works of the Vollsmose Kirke.
The Day ended with a ride to our host for the
evening, Valdemars Slot. This is the most amazing
Manor Home in Denmark. It was built by King
Christian IV for his favorite son Valdemar in the
years 1639 - 1644. Valdemar was killed in battle
in Poland and never occupied the home. It was
given as a prize to an ancestor of the current
owners after he won a great battle against the
Swedes in 1678. The castle is open to the public
and elaborately decorated, boasts an antique toy
collection, an antique boat collection, and the
most unbelievable trophy collection of mounted
big and small game animals; better I think than
the collection I have seen at the Smithsonian in
Washington!   The current owner, Baroness
Caroline Fleming, is the eleventh generation of
the family to own the historic castle. Caroline
is an amazing  lady with two adorable children,
Alexander (4) and Josephine (18 months), and she
was an incredibly energetic and gracious hostess
for our two nights at the most remarkable
Residence in the Kingdom. (It was the first time
I had ever slept in a bedroom with its own
postcard!)



Marianne Falck Orby 04 July 2008
from 2300 Copenhagen S

Congratulations U.S.A. - and to you! What a
splendid idea with your ReDiscovery Tour! Is it
possible, that 20 children from Urbanplanen at
Amager (where 2.200 children from 60 nations live
..) could come for a visit and hear about YOUR
experiences with the Danes and Denmark?

Please look at the homepage from Nordea
Danmark-Fonden under "børnekulturpiloter". 2
million Dkr have been donated.

I can be contacted by cell phone ## ## ## ##. (PS I work as receptionist at ###### ##
...)

Best wishes from Marianne Falck Orby



Christina 03 July 2008
from Bornholm

5 people from bornholm will be joining you
tomorow. we are all students from bornholms
gymnasium.



Henrik Busborg 26 June 2008
from Odense

Dear mr. Ambassador,

On behalf of all the kids on Tingkaeskolen,
especially those who rode their bikes with You,
I'd like to say thanks for an exciting day. The
kids refered to it as "their best sports day
ever"! You truly are "the peoples ambassador"!

sincerly,
Henrik Busborg



Henrik Busborg 25 June 2008
from Odense

Dear mr. Ambassador,

Has anyone ever told You, that You look great in
a jumpsuit (belt especially)?

Thank You for a wonderful bikeride through
Odense. Many Odense citizens turned their heads
in disbelief seing TWO Elvis Presleys riding
their bikes!

Hope to see You in Odense again some day soon.

Once again thank You or as Elvis would have put
it: Thankyouverymuch!

TCB
Henrik Busborg



Ambassador Cain 20 June 2008
from Day 32, Sønderborg - Fynshav - 37 km (2178)

Today included the best event with young people
that I have had on the entire Tour. But to start
the day, Pia and Hans treated us to a wonderful
breakfast, with their adorable children Benedicte
(6 ) and Christian (8 months) joining us. We were
also joined half way through breakfast by a
journalist from the local paper who conducted an
interview over coffee and hastily-eaten bread and
home-made jam.
Then with Hans in the lead we headed the few km
down the road to the Sønderskov school. The
Scene upon arrival was simply unbelievable. 750
cheering and screaming students standing outside
the school awaiting my arrival, waving Danish
flags. I rode the line of students, like I was
“reviewing the troops” high-fiving the kids
as I went. After their principal presented me
with a photo of the school, they sang me this
very enthusiastic and catchy song, written by one
of their teachers. I yelled a few words of
greeting to them, invited to them to skip school
and join me on the bike, to which I got
enthusiastic cheers, and then I was MOBBED!
Mobbed with a laughing and cheering crowd of kids
trying to get my autograph. I signed paper,
shirts, flags, crumpled up bits of homework, I
even signed a hat! I think I signed 300
autographs. But the highlight was the several
dozen cute young girls who wanted me to kiss them
on the cheek. When I complied they yelled and
screamed in their high pitched voices like it was
Justin Timberlake. And the best thing of all …
my mother and father were there to see it all. (I
hope they have called my two brothers to report it
all to them.)
One of the local reporters asked me with
amazement in his eyes: “Is it always like
this?”  “Of course it is!” I said with a
smile. The enthusiastic welcome was followed by a
visit with a delightful class of international
studies students from the 6th and 7th grade who
were joined by their teacher Hisam. Sønderskov
School is a UNESCO School with students from over
30 countries. Dana, Ditte, Sarah, Christoper,
Joachim, Rick and Emil were engaging students and
became my fun riding companions, tour guides, and
friends for the next several hours of what would
be one of the greatest days of the Tour. The
group briefed me on the impressive international
studies programs they are engaged with, currently
focusing on Egypt, Jordan and Syria, their
“Students Build Bridges” program, and the
weekly newspaper they put out which, the current
edition of which has an article on the
introduction of American sports into Denmark.
They had some questions prepared for me on
serious topics including EU integration,
Guantanamo, and the Cartoon Crisis, and they gave
me some great answers to my ReDiscovery questions.
On Question One, I really was intrigued by
Christopher’s answer “When I think of America
I think of bums and poor people huddled over trash
cans in the street with fire in them to keep
warm”. Why is that I asked? “Because that’s
the image I see on the video games I play”, he
said. On the Second Question, Ditte said she
wanted Americans to know about Tivoli, and we
talked about the inspiration that Tivoli had been
on Walt Disney as he was conceiving Disneyland. On
my Third Question, they averaged around 7.5 and
8.5, consistent with the scores of young people
in Jutland (The average would have been higher
but for one of my new friends who gave me 4’s
and 5’s because he thought Europe needed to
become stronger and the way for that to happen
was for European countries to become less close
to the US.)
My new riders and I left Sønderskov School and
headed across the imposing Sønderborg Draw
Bridge to “Alsion”, the grand structure on
the waterfront that houses a University, Concert
Hall, Science Center, Nanotech Lab, Innovation
Incubator, Office headquarters and Railroad
ticket office. It is one of the most fascinating
stories of spacial integration I have come
across. Former Mayor A P Hansen proudly showed us
around the beautiful complex, decorated with Olive
trees from America, and I was not surprised to
learn that my friend Jørgen Mads Clausen of
Danfoss has been much of the inspiration behind
the project. (Mayor Hansen said “Danfoss is to
Sønderborg what Lego is to Billund and Grundfoss
is to Bjerringbro”. Having seen each of these
towns on my tour through Denmark, I can attest to
the incredible positive impact and public-spirited
investment that these companies have had on their
communities.)  After the tour of the Alsion,
Peter Rathje, Director of the Sønderborg harbor
project , who rode with us Day 31, gave us an
extensive briefing on the plans for the region to
become carbon neutral by 2029, called “Project
Zero” (which explains the “I am a Zero
(fan)” T shirt that I had been wearing.)  Peter
also unveiled for us the amazing $200 million
“Bright Green Harbor” project on twenty acres
across the water from Alsion, that is being
designed by American architect Frank Gehry. Gehry
is one of the world’s most renowned architects,
but according to Peter he is having to learn
about sustainability in order to design this
project.
With a little time to kill, my seven young
friends escorted me through the cobblestone
walking street of Sønderborg to their favorite
store: __ Candy store where a world of succulent
treats awaited us. Hans was generous enough to
offer to purchase candy for each of us, so I
picked out a fluffy “Florbolle”, which was a
meal in itself. They then escorted me to the Town
Hall where Mayor Jan Prokopek Jensen met us and
showed us to the beautiful old council chambers,
now too small for the 31 member council after
consolidation of seven towns into one kommune.
Mayor Jensen made a very nice presentation,
including the brightest, greenest shirt I have
worn on the Tour, and a beautiful miniature glass
windmill. Mayor Jensen explained that the windmill
was made by hand by handicapped citizens of the
town. He said the town employs 200 of them to
make things like this, which are then sold or
given as city souvenirs, a great example of
“public charity”.
After a very nice lunch at Brøggeriet hosted by
the Mayor, I reluctantly said my goodbyes to
Dana, Ditte, Sarah, Christopher, Joachim, Rick
and Emil, but only after making them promise that
they would consider coming to our July 4
“ReDiscovery Finale”, and after Rick made me
promise that I would consider returning to catch
the Alice Cooper concert in a couple of weeks
(!). I also said goodbye to Mom and Dad who were
catching the train back to Copenhagen,   and then
headed down the road to Danfoss Solar Inverters.
Here CEO Henrik Raunkjær briefed us on the
rapidly expanding market for solar energy, and
the innovative approach that Danfoss Solar is
taking toward the opportunity (with Danfoss in
the name, it must be innovative.) I learned a
great deal about the market and economics for
solar-produced electricity from Henrik, and find
it interesting that Germany’s “feed in
tariff” structure, wherein the government
guarantees a “take” price for produced
electricity for twenty years,  rapidly created a
retail market for solar power in that country,
leading in only a few years to the concentration
of  the solar manufacturing cluster in that
country.  The “net metering” structure
adopted by Denmark and most other countries does
not provide the guarantee and return that
Germany’s structure does, so the market has not
grown rapidly elsewhere.(Unlike the wind industry
in Denmark which grew rapidly and created the
largest wind industry because the government
policies made “home ownership” of wind
attractive.)  I also found Henrik’s discussion
of the evolution of Green Tech interesting; he
contrasted the Green Tech of today with the
“Environmental Tech” of the 70s and 80s: an
Entrepreneural mentality vs. a Save the Earth
Mentality, an Economic Driven market vs. a
Regulatory driven market, a focus on high growth
industries (solar, wind, etc) vs. slow growth
industries (waste).
Before we left Danfoss Solar Henrik presented me
with a stuffed Lemur, whose actual taxanomic name
is “Microebus Danfossi”. This little guy is
one of the most efficient creatures in the animal
kingdom. When he goes into sleep mode his body
temperature drops 50% and his energy consumption
drops 40%. How it got the “Danfossi” name I
do not know, but with this company, nothing
surprises me.
Leaving Danfoss Solar we make a quick stop by
Sønderborg Værktøjsfabrik, a company that has
produced the mold for making parts for the F-35
Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.  The Joint Strike
Fighter is the next generation of fighter jet
that our military has chosen for America’s
defense. Denmark is a partner in the early design
of the JSF, and certain parts of the JSF are
manufactured in Denmark. This particular part
manufactured by the Danish company Terma and is a
component of the Rolls Royce jet engine. The
Lockheed Martin-designed JSF is one of two
American planes that we hope will provide
Denmark’s next generation of fighter jet; the
other being the Boeing F-18.
With a few new riding companions from Sønderborg
Værktøjsfabrik we headed 20 km down the road
toward the Fynshav harbor and our final leg in
Jutland. The scenery of the back roads of this
area is rolling and beautiful. We were having a
very pleasant ride, and good conversation, when
we passed a Go-kart track that looked like
something I used to go to as a boy in North
Carolina. It just looked too compelling, so we
had to stop. Heading down the hill to the
“pit” area we arrived in an excited group of
about two dozen young IT engineers who were here
on a corporate outing from, where else, Danfoss.
They insisted I don the racing helmet and take one
of the go carts for a spin around the track. I
felt like Tom Christensen as I negotiated the
hair-pin turns at top speed (perhaps a little
slower than my friend Tom). As I got into the
last turn, I had to smile as I saw proudly placed
on the hill above the track the ten-foot high
letters spelling the word “HOLLYWOOD”.
A few km later, as I stood on the dock at
Fynshav peering across the Little Belt toward
Fyn, I thought….  How appropriate for my last
encounter of our highly visible, highly
successful, ReDiscovery Tour through Jutland to
be an unscheduled stop where one of America’s
most iconic and internationally recognized
symbols, greeted me. I took this as a fitting
tribute to the Spirit of friendship between
Denmark and America that I have witnessed all
over Jutland. I also took it as an invitation to
return any time I could in the future, to a land
that had treated me as a friend.



Ambassador Cain 23 June 2008
from Day 31 Aabenraa - Sønderborg - 56 km (2141)

Today was one of the greatest days of the Tour. We
had an amazing host, absolutely great guest
riders, poignant history, remarkable innovation
examples, and the most unique evening of the Tour
complete with my first Rock Concert ever with my
Mom and Dad.
Our host was Hans Tjørnelund. Hans had heard
about the Tour in the media, researched it, and
contacted Philip to invite us to Sønderborg,
offering us his home, and offering to arrange the
events of the two days. I knew we were in for a
special experience when I pulled up in front of
the Jysk in AAbenraa and was greeted by Hans,
Merete Lund Brock (real estate magnate) , Jes
Johansen (MD of Culture in the South), Niels
Christensen (CEO of Danfoss), Peter Rathje (Dir
of Sønderborg Harbor) , Mark Luscombe (Chair of
AmCham), Claus Ewers (MD of Brdr. Ewers) and
Ellen Trane Nørby (Member of Parliament),  all
of whom had on the coolest, personalized
“ReDiscovery Tour” cycling jerseys I have
ever seen! Complete with a recreation of the
souvenir ReDiscovery Tour Coin on the right and
left sleeves! I was thrilled when Hans presented
me with my own jersey, and was really proud to
ride out of town with Team ReDiscovery in our
smart looking jerseys, with my new friend Merete
at my side.
On the scenic but hilly ride to Ballebro Merete
told me about the wonderful town in California
where her sister lives named “Solvang” which
was founded by Danes almost 100 years ago. Merete
told me that the town is celebrating its 100th
birthday in September 2011 and the town fathers
would like for me to come and be the special
guest. I found Merete’s invitation
irresistible, so I committed that I would see the
group in California in three years. Before the day
was over Hans and I had agreed to lead a
ReDiscovery Tour 2011 ride down Highway One in
California on the way into Solvang for the
celebration. I made Merete promise to be there to
keep us inspired on the way, and I will invite all
the enthusiastic young riders from Solvang to join
us as well. (OK Merete, you and your sister now
have three years to get prepared!)
The ferry ride to the island of Als was brief but
fun, with lots of local media on board, though I
spent the entire boat ride giving an interview
for a local radio station. Our first stop on the
beautiful island of Als was at Danfoss Universe,
which resides in the heart of the sprawling
campus of Danfoss. I had heard of this place from
my friend Jørgen Mads Clausen, who I call the
“Apostle of Entrepreneurship” in Denmark.
Jørgen was in the States at a Junior Achievement
conference, promoting the entrepreneurial spirit
among young people, which he is such a champion
of, so he could not join us, but I was pleased to
see Annette, Jørgen’s wife, there to greet us
as we pulled up. Danfoss Universe is one of the
most unique hands-on Science and Technology theme
Parks in the world. (Actually, I remember Jørgen
Mads Clausen telling me it was not a “hands
on” experience they were offering but a
“body-on experience”. You can tell how well
it is done the minute you arrive and see the
stunning architecture of the “Cumulus
Building” that was listed last year as one of
the “Seven Architectural Wonders of the
World’ by Conde Naste magazines. Annette
described the whimsical architecture as the
“negative space between the clouds and the
earth”.  Annette and Niels briefed us on
Danfoss Universe over a delightful lunch, and
then took us on a tour of the exhibits in the
Cumulus building (where I got to test my
scientific knowledge), the Exploratorium (where I
got to test my dexterity), the “Blue Building’
(which had been the Icelandic exhibition at the
last Worlds Fair in Hanover), the Mads Clausen
Musuem (where I learned of his inventions of the
valves and thermostats for heating devices), the
Water Park, the Skate Park and the Segway Test
Track! I gained an intimate understanding of the
source of the innovative spirit that is so
prevalent down in this border land of Denmark,
and I realized that it traces much of its roots
to this man Mads Clausen, Jørgen’s father.
(One of my favorite stories about Mads was that
he invented a ‘car jack” for rolling a car
with a flat up on this device to fix the wheel.
Mads designed the device, and then travelled
around Europe looking for people on the side of
the road with flat tires to whom he could sell
the device. With this captive audience, the great
company Danfoss was born!  The entire visit to
Danfoss Universe was a treat. I felt like a kid
again. As Niels had said, it was a “feast for
our senses.” And the entire “Team
ReDiscovery” had a great time racing one
another on the Segways, a remarkable mode of
transportation that I have always wanted to try
but never had the chance (or maybe the nerve.)
Annette said they were not trying to create an
“entertainment experience” but an
‘activation experience” for young people.
They have certainly succeeded here.
There are several American connections to Danfoss
Universe. Annette and Jørgen traveled the US in
search of ideas when they designed their
Universe.  In the Exploratorium, Danfoss Universe
has created an experience in collaboration with
Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner who is the
world’s leading expert in “interactive
intelligence” and has theorized that there are
seven different types of human intelligence.
Gardner comes here several times per year, and
says that it is the finest “exhibition” of
its kind in the world.   I also enjoyed learning
from Niels about the “Man on the Moon’
project, inspired by John F Kennedy’s famous
challenge to his generation, where small teams of
Danfoss employees work collaboratively on  new
business ideas, and are given three months to
come up with and present a plan. The top five are
presented to the Danfoss Board.
I could have stayed and played all day at Danfoss
Universe, but we had to get down the rode, so Team
ReDiscovery rode the 10 km to the Hardeshøj Ferry
Berth where we climbed aboard the 100 year-old MS
Constance to sail to Sønderborg. Unfortunately
the rain clouds opened while we were sailing, so
our Team huddled in the captains quarters
visiting and telling stories. We arrived in
beautiful Sønderborg , an 850 year old city that
used to be a major German port city, and home to
the German submarine fleet, since this part of
Denmark was lost to the Germans in 1864, and only
regained after the First World War. Disembarking
at the imposing “Alsion” building that we
will tour tomorrow, our team began the long climb
up the hill to the historic battleground of the
Battle of Dybbøl Banke in 1864. It is on this
historic land that Hans and his wife Pia have
their home. We said a quick hello to Pia and
daughter Benedicte (6) and then headed out on a
walking tour of the hallowed land. Museum
Director Bjørn Østergaard served as our museum
guide.
Monuments to the fallen Danish officers are
strewn across Hans’ land. The largest Royal
Flag in all of Denmark stands proudly at the top
of the hill overlooking the scene of the carnage.
For Danes, the Battle of Dybbøl Banke was sort of
like the Battle of Gettysburg was for my ancestors
from the South during our Civil War. The battle
was lost by the Danes to the Prussians, who thus
lost this part of Denmark, but in loosing, the
stage was set for the establishment of the modern
Danish state. (In fact, Hans is heading to
Gettysburg in a couple of weeks to witness the
reenactment of the battle. He woud like to start
that tradition here at Dybbøl Banke.) The
Battleground has been well-maintained and
contains a modern museum with a recreation
Redoubt showing what life and battle was like for
the Danes in 1864. Dad and I had the thrill of
making our own musket bullets, loading and
shooting an ancient muzzle-loader like the Danes
had used then, pulling the wooden bridge over the
moat, and even enjoying a booming salute from a
“12 pounder” cannon. The boom of the cannon,
which can shoot almost one mile, was incredible,
and I’ll bet the cows in the fields are still
wondering what that wooden thing sailing over
their heads was (the “stopper” had been
accidently left in the barrel of the cannon!)
We changed hurriedly out of our wet clothes and
the entire Team Denmark enjoyed a wonderful
dinner at the 300-year old home of Hans and Pia.
Prepared by the chef of the nearby Hotel Baltic,
owned by my friend Michael Jepsen, the meal of
white asparagus, deer meat and rhubarb ice cream
was fantastic. For once, with such delightful
companionship sitting with me, I regretted not
being able to linger longer at the dinner table,
but we had to rush off in order to catch the last
few songs of the band … KANSAS! Yes! Kansas was
playing tonight in Sønderborg! (And our Team
member Jes Johansen was the organizer of the
event.)  Kansas had two great hits when I was a
teenager; “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust
in the Wind”.  Unfortunately they had already
played Dust in the Wind when we arrived, but we
were in time for the last few (loud) songs, and
for the “Carry On Wayward Son” finale. It was
a rare scene, standing there in the back watching
these four guys play who were ten years older
than me, and playing pretty darn well, and doing
it with my Mother and Father! I realized that it
was the first time I had ever been to a Rock
concert with my parents! It was priceless when my
dad called my brother Rick as we left the concert
and said “Watching these four long-haired guys
tonight , if I had know what a success you could
become, I would have let you grow your hair long
after all back in the 70’s!”
After the concert we stopped back stage to meet
the band. I do not believe they had ever been
greeted back stage before by a US Ambassador, so
the scene was really special when we took a photo
of the Band and Team ReDiscovery with the
ReDiscovery Coin. After the concert Merete and
Hans insisted on giving us newcomers a tour of
the best pubs of Sønderborg, so in spite of the
early hour at which we had to get up and ride the
next morning, I reluctantly went along  with them
(!) and enjoyed great conversation and great
company until the early hours. As we retired to
Hans' house later, the full moon was  slowly
setting just over the waters of Sønderborg
harbor, so Hans and I enjoyed a final glass of
wine (and Benedicte’s Pringle potato chips from
the US) on his back patio and spoke of the
historic battles of America’s past.  At this
hour, and with only a little sleep ahead of me
before I had to ride again, I felt like I had
been in a bit of a battle myself today, but what
a great day it was.



Ambassador Cain 15 June 2008
from Day 30 - Copenhagen - 120 km - (2085)

Ritter Classic

Today was the longest single ride of the Tour,
and without doubt the most grueling. I was
honored to be the “celebrity guest” of
retired-Champion Danish cyclists Ole Ritter and
Jens Veggerby in the 8th Annual Ritter Classic.
This is a 120 km charity fundraising race that
drew 1200 riders. I was eager to support the Race
for several reasons. Ole Ritter, the former World
Champion, and the World Record Holder in the
distance traveled in one hour (50km), is the
Sponsor of my Bicycle for the Tour and I wanted
to appropriately thank him for designing such a
light and swift bike. I also wanted to lend Ole
and Jens, both of whom have become good friends,
my support for their terrific charitable works.
The Classic this year is raising money to benefit
two Danish causes: The Danish Cancer Society and
the Children’s Heart Fund. Riders pay a fee to
enter the race and a number of corporate sponsors
sponsor the race, The IT Factory being the largest
one in this case.  The Classic was well-organized
with much media coverage, and Jens’ wife
Natasha produces a wonderful magazine for the
event that had a great article about her
“Favorite Cycling Ambassador.” I enjoy doing
all I can to promote the spirit of Corporate
Social Responsible and private philanthropy in
this country, and this is a great example of that
growing Spirit.
The weather looked threatening all day, but as we
led the pack off from the starting line the clouds
broke, and actually we had only one slight shower
during the next five hours of riding.  The race
started off well, but in spite of fairly good
luck during the 1900 km of the Tour so far, I had
a flat tire immediately, at kilometer 6, and a
SECOND flat tire only a few minutes later at
kilometer 9! Not only did those two flat tires
set me behind, but at kilometer 40, I had a
WRECK! This one was totally my fault, and
fortunately was a “one bike” wreck. I was
getting a bit squeezed on a fast downhill leaving
Klampenborg on the ocean road toward Rungsted when
a car pulled out on the left. Afraid that I could
not get in to the flow of riders to pass the car
on the right, I decided in a split second to take
the car on the left on what looked like a
sidewalk. I did not realize the three-inch high
curb until it was too late, and flying into the
curb at 35 km per hour dented both of my tire
rims. Fortunately I was able to stop by a grassy
bank without falling, but the damage necessitated
a change of both of my wheels. Mick in the Van was
no where nearby, so we had to wait about 8 minutes
for him to catch up, and then it took another 4 or
5 minutes to change the wheels. So all-told, we
were at least 13 minutes behind the pack from
this wreck.
But the story of the day for me is not the two
flats, the wreck or the four tires we had to
change, it was that even with all that delay, my
unbelievable Team, which we named “Team One”,
managed to get me back into the lead pack each
time. Team One consisted of a half-dozen former
professional riders, now all retired and most of
them my age or a little older, who managed by
sheer willpower and unbelievable riding strength
to get me back up front. After the two flats, at
km 6 and 9, we were back with the pack by around
km 20. (During the first 80 km of the race there
was a pace car that regulated the speed of the
group to around 30 km; the last 40 km were wide
open). After the wreck, around km 30, we caught
up with the lead pack around km 75. But I want my
non-riding readers to understand what a feat that
was; at the speed we had been going, after a 13
minute stop we were around 7 km, almost 4 miles,
behind the group. But with a combination of great
team strategy (four riders taking turns blocking
me from the wind, ‘hop-scotching’ over one
another), and the occasional push on my back for
a little extra speed, we were able to catch up
after about 35 km. We must have averaged around
45 km when we were catching up, and having lost
the protection of the police escort that had been
stopping traffic, we had to negotiate through the
traffic and intersections, which the Team did
with great skill.  I have never been so relieved
as I was to see the back of the lead pack when we
approached it near km 75. I am forever grateful to
my Team One members, Per, Ole, Thorkil, and the
gang for their heroic success in ensuring that
this Ambassador finished in a respectable
position. I do not actually know what position we
finished in, but I know that there was a great
roar from the crowd when we crossed the finish
line, and there were hundreds of riders who came
in after we crossed, so I felt it had been a
successful day.  But I must admit that falling a
total of 20 minutes or so behind and the three
“sprints” to catch up took about all the
energy I had. I would not have been able to
finish at all, much less in a respectable place,
if not for the Team. I have a new appreciation
for the athleticism and strategy of the sport of
cycling.
Arriving at the finish line was a great thrill.
There was much media coverage, and word of my
“challenges’ had spread so all of them wanted
to know more about it. The stage announcer, if I
understood his Danish translation of my words
correctly, was suggesting that my
“bodyguards” had helped me to catch up.
Although Rene and Peter did a great job as Team
Members, I wanted to make sure the credit was
given where it was due, so I singled out my Team
members from the stage, and explained how heroic
their efforts had been.  It was great to have a
chance to thank Ole and Jens for the honor of
riding today, and for supporting these worthy
causes. Receiving flowers and the traditional
three-kisses from the three lovely ladies on the
stage made me feel a little like Lance Armstrong.
Thanks to all of them, and thanks to my new friend
Mads. I hope you enjoy the ReDiscovery Tour coin.
And also thanks to Mom and Dad and Helen and the
girls for coming out to cheer me on!!



Ambassador Cain 28 May 2008
from Day 24 - Ilulisat, 8 km (1965)

The ReDiscovery Tour arrived in Ilulissat, Greenland on
Wednesday May 28. This is my sixth or seventh trip to
Greenland, and this one coincides with the Artic
Conference being hosted by the Danish Foreign Minister
Per Stig Møller and the Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen.
This was a historic gathering of global leaders at the
“Top of the World”, and included our Deputy Secretary
of State John Negroponte and the Foreign Ministers from
Canada, Russia and Norway, the other countries with
territory bordering the North Pole.

On Wednesday morning I left to start the Tour from the
beautiful Arctic Hotel, which sits on a rocky cliff
above the pastel-picturesque town of Ilulisat overlooking
the Disko Bay. The Disko Bay is one of the most
spectatular sights in the world, with thousands of
blue-white icebergs, some as small as cars, some as large
as office buildings,  slowly making their way from the
Jacobshavn Glacier, from which they calved, into the open
North Atlantic. Some of my most stirring memories of our
time in Denmark are from this spectacular setting,
including visits with Senator John McCain and a
delegation of Senate leaders in 2006, and with Speaker
of the House Nancy Pelosi, and a delegation of House
leaders in 2007. I headed to the town’s conference
center, the site of the multilateral talks, where I
was greeted by a 18 smiling Inuit children on bikes,
ages 6 to 18, and all of the local media, eagerly awaiting
the commencement of the Tour so that they could show me
their town. Thanks to my friend Jacob, who has been a
great tour guide and facilitator on all of our trips to
Greenland, I had a rugged mountain bike that was perfect
for the hilly terrain and the rocky, often-unpaved, roads
of the town. Along with Danish Deputy Foreign Minister
Peter Taksø Jensen, we biked about 8 km up and down
hills to the scenic overlook above the Glacier.  I tried
my best to visit with the young people, most of whom did
not speak English, so we stopped along the way after a
steep hill climb, amidst the howling packs of sled dogs
and pups, to talk about the Tour and why I was there in
Greenland. We were able to communicate with the help of
their teacher who would translate from their native
Greenlandic into Danish for Jacob, one of my bodyguards,
who would then translate for me into English (not
generally in the bodyguard’s job description but it was
greatly appreciated.)  The kids were all eager and curious,
and when I asked about “America”, one young man raised
his hand. I presumed for recognition, but his teacher,
translating, said he was raising his arm with a cupped
hand, as though holding a torch, to show the “Statue of
Liberty”. When I asked why, she spoke to him in
Greenlandic and he replied “freedom, which we have thanks
to you.” Even here at the top of the world, one of the
most remote places on earth, the young people have
memories of the Second World War and the Cold War,
and the threat that fascism and communism created for
their way of life. Given all of the harsh criticism America
has endured in recent years, it was really comforting to
know that even here, people have not forgotten the good
that America has done, and is continuing to do, in remote
spots around the world.

The Tour in Ilulissat was not the longest of our rides,
but it was one of the most emotional, as I saw the wide-eyed
excitement in the faces of the young people when I passed out
the souvenir ReDiscovery Tour coins back at the conference
center. The photograph of the enthusiastic young people,
with the flags of the Arctic Nations flying proudly behind us,
is one of my favorite from the Tour. We had to send the kids
on off to school and clear the parking lot as the formal
negotiating session for the Arctic Confernece was just about
to begin and I had to run  back to the Arctic Hotel, shower and
change for it.

The Arctic Conference was a great success, with the leaders of
the nations assembled agreeing, as one journalist said, to
"end the race for the pole". The leaders essentially agreed
that existing International law, including the law of the
Sea Treaty which the US has not ratified, would provide the
mechanism for resolving competing claims to navigation rights,
mineral rights, etc, which are all becoming more important as
the sea ice begins to melt here in the far reaches of the north.



Ambassador Cain 13 June 2008
from Day 29; Shackenborg - Aabenraa - 86 km (1957)

After a memorable dinner at Shackenborg and a
comfortable night’s sleep, we headed out in the
rain for the 35 km ride to the Naturmælk (Nature
Milk) Dairy. This small but unique operation is
the most successful organic dairy in Denmark,
producing organic milk, cheese and butter,
including the butter that we most frequently
serve at the Residence. Dairy Manager Leif Friis
Jørgensen gave us an interesting insight into
the operation of the Dairy, which is owned by 33
farming partners who together produce 33 million
liters of milk each year.  Started in 1993, the
company has had an impressive growth in Denmark,
and now has a turnover of more than 200 million
DKK, enjoying growth of almost 25% per year for
the past six years. This is a testimony to
aggressive marketing and to the health-conscious
trends in eating. During the tour of the facility
we enjoyed watching the American-made milk-carton
filling machine, which produces 6,000 cartons per
hour.
Leaving the Dairy, in spite of the rain, we were
running about thirty minutes ahead of schedule so
we made one of the unplanned, but really memorable
stops that I have come to so enjoy on the Tour.
Philip remembered that just a few km off the
planned route was the Frøslev Concentration
Camp, built during the German Occupation. We
spent about 30 minutes touring the historic site,
which was built in August 1944 on an agreement
with the Germans and the Danish government that
the Germans would house Danish prisoners here
rather than sending them to Concentration Camps
in Germany or other places in Europe. One month
later the Nazis broke the agreement and sent
captured Danish resistance fighters, the few
remaining Jews left in Denmark, and other Nazi
opponents from here to Contentration Camps.
Altogether, 1600 were sent from here to
concentration camps in Germany, where 220 died.
Another 1,400 prisoners were held here during the
Occupation. After the War the Camp held Nazi
collaborators and others who had let down their
country. The Camp contains a number of museums
including a museum depicting life of the Danish
prisoners during the Occupation, which has a
great exhibit of Freedom fighter memorabilia and
a recreation of the housing barracks. According
to a display in the museum, there were 2,674 acts
of sabotage by Freedom Fighters during the
Occupation. 794 were In Copenhagen, and 99% of
them occurred between 1943 and 1945 after the
Danish Government, which had been cooperating
with the occupiers, was “forced out” on
August 29, 1943 by patriotic Danes, whereupon
Danish cooperation with the Nazis ended.  There
is also a UN Museum paying tribute to the Danish
military missions overseas, starting with the
1956 mission to Gaza.
We cycled the short distance from the Frøslev
Camp to the large headquarters of Rose Poultry in
the town of Padborg. Here I was joined by Minister
of Food and Agriculture Eva Kjer Hansen, who had
flown in from Copenhagen to join me for this
“leg” of the Tour. “Leg” is the right
metaphor, because CEO Per Winther Møller and the
good folks at Rose Poultry treated us to a
sumptuous lunch of chicken served at least 10
different ways. (the fried was my favorite). Rose
is the leader in poultry production in Denmark
with a turnover of 1.7 billion Dkr, from a
production averaging 300,000 birds a day. The
Cartoon Crisis had a major impact on the country
as a large part of its exports have historically
been to the Middle East. Per says that on the
original publication of the Cartoons many of the
their customers in the Middle East were willing
to forgive what they described as “Danish
foolishness” at the publishing of the cartoons,
but he says that when they were republished a few
months ago, these same customers said “the
second is an insult”, and have been pulling
their products off the shelves. The Company has
been trying to get their facilities approved for
export to the US (where people consume more than
twice as much poultry per person as in Denmark
and the rest of Europe), but slaughterhouse
conditions have been a challenge. (The Minister
is working of this issue as well.) The company
has employed with great effect the “Six
Sigma” system of management and inspiration
that was launched by legendary General Electric
CEO Jack Welch.  I really enjoyed talking about
management styles on the next leg of the ride
with Per’s son Jon who hopes to study for his
MBA in applied mathematics and economics in the
States. I also really enjoyed visiting with
15-year old Megan, an exchange student in the
local High School, who has been in Denmark for
six months and has thoroughly enjoyed here time
here.
On the 30 km ride to Aabenraa the wind was with
us much of the way and our large peleton, led by
the Minister giving great tour-guide commentary
along the way, made great time. I must say I was
very impressed with the Minister’s riding, and
equally impressed with her enthusiastic interest
for spearheading a global effort through the UN
for a global food strategy. It is a great thing
to see Denmark’s leaders working to play major
roles on the world stage in multiple areas. As we
were nearing Aabenraa the Minister, who is from
here, shared with me the local sporting tradition
of “horse ring riding”, a sport where the
rider spears a ring with a lance while in motion.
She says that traditionally the game is played on
horseback, but here they use all sorts of
devices, including one race with riders on the
back of the old gray post-WWII American-made
Massy Ferguson tractors! (I told her about my
finding and riding one of these in Bornholm
during the Tour).
Arriving in AAbenraa, a picturesque coastal town
near the border, I was met by Deputy Mayor
Jørgen Witte and Jens A. Christiansen and Peter
Iver Johansen. Peter is the head of the German
minority in Denmark, and Jens is the head of the
Danish Minoriy in Germany. This is the
Schleswig-Holstein region of Denmark that after
the First World War voted to become Danish, while
the region to the south voted to stay German. The
three gentlemen gave Helen and me a great lecture
on the history of the area, with particular
emphasis on the Paris Peace Conference following
WWI where President Wilson and his counterparts
consented to a plan, put forward by the Danish
leader Hans Peter Hansen, to allow the people of
this region to determine their own nationality.
Tensions ran high, and the treatment of the
Danish minority in Germany was particularly
unpleasant, until 1955 when Germany sought
membership in Nato and Chancellor Conrad Adenaur,
in an attempt to obtain Danish support, agreed to
the “Bonn-Copenhagen Declaration of 1955”
which guaranteed respect and recognition of the
rights of the respective minorities on both sides
of the border, permitting them to operate local
schools, maintain their language, worship freely,
participate in politics, etc. Interestingly, Post
WWII many in the area, in an effort to “punish
Germany” after the war, wanted the border moved
south to ‘reclaim’ this area for Denmark, but
the Danish government said that would be wrong,
that these areas had voted democratically to be
German in 1920, and that the world, and Denmark,
should respect that decision.  Our guides said
that many diplomats from around the world come
here to study cross-border minority relations to
this day.
Before leaving the lovely town of Aabenraa to
head back to Copenhagen, since Helen had joined
me on the Tour this week, we made a quick stop by
Petersen’s Antiques, a great antique store
featuring first class antiques from around
Scandanavia. Since I conveniently did not have my
credit card with me, Helen vowed that we would
return when we make our way down to Germany by
car later in the summer.



Ambassador Cain 12 June 2008
from Day 28 Toftlund - Møgeltønder  - 57 km (1871)

After an evening that included a wonderful dinner
at Hotel Dagmar in Ribe, we picked up where we
left off yesterday in Toftlund with a visit to
the Toftlund School. This was without a doubt one
of the best “starts” to a ReDiscovery Day that
we have had all Tour. We were met outside of the
school by about 25 students from Teacher Robin
Wildfang’s eighth-grade English class who had
planned for me a delightful guided walking tour
of the town and school grounds. Robin has been
here in Denmark for 15 years after marrying a
Dane, and is clearly a very popular and very
effective teacher at this school. She had seen
stories about the ReDiscovery Tour in the media
and reached out to our Embassy offering to host
an event. The students were delightful, and I was
equally thrilled to find a visiting American
student among them. Katie, from the Midwest, was
spending a week in Denmark visiting friends and
happened to be at the school today. The eager
students escorted me throughout the town and
briefed me on the local history. This area is the
part of Denmark that from the 1864 to 1920 was
German.  In fact this town was the local seat of
government for Germany. In 1920 the citizens
voted in a referendum to become part of Denmark.
Areas to the south voted to remain German. The
students showed me the “Judges Offices”, now
a boarding school, where there is reportedly
still a ghost wandering about; an innocent man
sentenced to death for a long-forgotten crime,
who is still trying to exact revenge on his
sentencers. We saw the very impressive array of
sports facilities, including skating arenas and
recreational areas currently being built. The
open-air pool is the oldest in Denmark, built in
1943 by some local residents who preferred to use
German concrete for this purpose rather than
building defense bunkers as instructed. We also
saw the old jail, now used as facilities for the
school, and perhaps occasionally for an errant
student.
After the tour I had a wonderful 30-minute
discussion with the students about the Tour, and
was impressed with their responses to my Three
Questions. Their impressions of America were much
less culturally-oriented than other young people I
have met, focused on politics, freedom, size and
power, with the exception of one young friend
whose impression of America was “of Fat
People”! (I assured her that she was not the
only one who had this impression.) They wanted
Americans to know about their environment and
their nature, and their ‘scores” on the third
question were consistent with what I have gotten
from young people throughout Jutland: averaging
7.6 on the “how close are America and
Denmark” question and even higher, around a 9
on the “does it really matter” question. Only
one of the young people had been to America, and
she has been three times as a tourist. LA is her
favorite city. I was really pleased with the
ovation the students gave Helen when she entered
the room; this being her very first ReDiscovery
Tour event! They also asked me some wonderful
questions regarding what Americans think of
Denmark, how I liked it here, why the President
sent me here, and “why can so many people not
get health care in America”. This is something
I have heard before, and convinces me that there
is in this country a very incorrect impression
about health care coverage in America. These
young people are very aware of the world around
them, and are all watching the American
Presidential campaigns with interest.
My new friends from Toftlund School rode with me
for a few km toward Bredebro, but the rain and
the narrow busy roadway cut their trip short and
I reluctantly bid them farewell not far from town
(but I hope to see many of them again in a few
weeks for our July 4 finale in Copenhagen!)
In Bedebro my first stop was at Ecco Shoes, the
amazing Danish success story that is one of the
largest shoe companies in the world. Helen and I
had a very nice visit with Dieter Kasprzak, the
CEO of the company, whose wife Hanni is the
Chairman, and daughter of the founder Karl
Toosbury. It was great to walk in and see a
picture of two of my favorite people on the
screen; President George H. W. Bush, our 41st
President, and his wife Barbara. The President
had written a letter praising the Ecco golf shoe
he had received. This reminded me what a great
thing it was to visit the President at Camp David
two years ago and see him in a pair of Ecco Track
2s! (Director Claus Kjersgaard asked me to let
the President know that the Track 3s were now on
the market.) The history of this great company is
fascinating. The company was started in 1963 and
quickly moved to this small Jutland town because
Karl Toosbury couldn’t find enough ‘healthy
and reliable workers’ in Copenhagen.  The
founder’s innovative spirit and commitment to a
family atmosphere soon put the company on the
“right foot” (no pun intended). But his
technological development in the mid-70s really
was the “pivotal point” of the company’s
history Claus said, when Karl developed a
technique to directly inject the sole onto the
upper shoe, providing extraordinary comfort. This
was a revolutionary development at the time, and
is reflected in the poem that the company uses as
its motto: “We trust in man but still we use to
shape our feet to fit the shoes. A future world
with less conceit will shape our shoes to fit our
feet.” (poet Piet Hein.) Ecco is the only major
shoe manufacturer that owns its own factory, and
ensures that its family-oriented Danish values
are reflected in each one if its locations. You
can sense their values in the building; which
Klaus describes as being Genuine, Passionate,
Uncompromising, Impatiently Curious, Authentic,
and Danish. Their newest line of running shoes
are going to feature Yak hide, which Klaus
describes as three-times stronger than
conventional leather, they have discovered.
Ecco’s largest market is in America.
Our next stop was the Tønder Rådhus where Mayor
Pedersen escorted us up the 150-step high old
water tower to what is now a scenic overlook of
the town where we met with the media and were
served us a very nice lunch. This town has been
in the international spotlight recently because
of the Royal Wedding of Prince Joachim and
Princess Marie at Schackenborg Castle which is
just 5 km down the road from Tønder. The Mayor
presented us with a very nice book that the Town
has printed to commemorate the occasion, and gave
us a “birds eye tour” of the town from the
scenic perch. The area had a stormy past with
Germany, and of course is the only part of
Denmark which actually “voted” to be Danish,
in 1920. Thus, the Mayor says, this area has the
strongest nationalistic feeling of any area of
the country.
As we walked back down the steps of the tower
Helen and I enjoyed looking at the exhibit of
chairs designed by the famous Danish designer
Hans J. Wegner. These are incredibly beautiful
designs, and included the “Classic Chair”
made famous when it was used by John F. Kennedy
and Richard Nixon for the first televised
Presidential debate in American history, in 1960.
They have a picture of that historic occasion in
the lobby. There is a wonderful exhibit of Danish
antique furniture in the Museum, which Museum
Director was kind enough to show us through.
Helen was really disappointed that we could not
spend more time at the antique furniture
exhibition, but we had to get down the road to
Schackenborg Castle were at 2:00 we were received
by the smiling newlyweds, His Royal Highness
Prince Joachim and his lovely bride, Her Royal
Highness Princess Marie.  The delightful and
energetic Royal Couple have just returned two
days ago from their honeymoon and I think we were
among the first guests to visit with them upon
their return. Princess Marie and Prince Joachim
have captured the attention of the Danish public,
and it is no surprise, as they are a warm and
engaging couple. (We have met on a number of
prior occasions, including when I was honored to
witness Prince Joachim capture the title in a
classic motor car race last year, but it is the
first time Helen and I have visited with both of
them together and the first time we have been to
Schackenborg.) Princess Marie and her Bichon
Frise ‘Apple’ have clearly brought a great
vibrance to the estate, (though I look forward to
seeing how Apple gets along with the Prince’s
cocker spaniel ‘Churchill’).  Over coffee,
carrot cake, brownies and biscotti (yes, this
peloton travels on its stomach) the Prince shared
with us the very impressive operation of his 1000
hectare estate, and the “Five Farms” brand
that he launched several years ago. The estate is
a fully-integrated agricultural conglomerate, and
produces everything from Christmas Trees to beer.
Their newest undertaking is the beef business, and
with the Prince’s innovative leadership, they
have quickly become the largest beef-producing
operation in Denmark.
After coffee, we hopped in the Prince’s Land
Rover and headed off for a tour of the massive
and diverse farming operation.  As we were
leaving Princess Marie was not too happy to learn
that Apple, as we left the room, had helped
herself to the uneaten carrot cake and brownies.
I think Apple was probably just showing off for
Emu, our stuffed mascot who Philip had
unceremoniously plopped down beside her for a
priceless photograph. (Over a later private
dinner with the Royal Couple, Helen and I were
relieved to see that Apple was not suffering from
the sweet indulgence.)
In addition to seeing the beef, Christmas tree,
wheat (for beer), and potato production of Prince
Joachim’s expansive farming operation, the
Prince took us to two very special nearby sites.
The first was the town of Rudbøl  right on the
border between Denmark and Germany. The divide
between the two countries is marked by granite
markers running down the middle of the town’s
single paved street, and we took photographs to
commemorate the moment. (I probably risked an
international incident by stepping one foot over
the line without first obtaining permission from
my counterpart in Berlin.)  The second site was
one of the most unique and important in the
history of Denmark, and though I had heard of
what had happened here, I had no idea the site
was in this part of the country. A few meters off
the main road stand two large rock sentinals, each
about two meters high. These large monuments mark
the sites where in 1694 a local farming woman
walking home, stumbled upon the first of the
“Guldhornene”, the Golden Horns that are
considered the most important cultural artifacts
from ancient Danish history. The second Golden
Horn, virtually identical to the first, was found
about thirty feet away 96 years later, in 1790.
The Horns are believed to be older than 2,000
years and contained striking figures in gold of
humans and animals in a variety of poses and
actions, along with brief text in the ancient
Ruinic language. Tragically, the original horns
were stolen and melted down in the late 1800s,
but we know exactly what they looked like from
two life-size paintings done of them around the
time they were first discovered. These paintings
now hang in Shackenborg, and I got goosebumps
when I gazed at them later in the evening. (I got
even larger goosebumps when Prince Joachim brought
out and allowed Helen and me to handle and examine
the two exact replicas that were made 100 years
ago and presented as a gift to his great great
Grandfather King Frederick VIII.) These are a
priceless part of Denmark’s ancient past, and
suggest a remarkably advanced civilization that
had mastered the meticulous craft of intricate
goldsmithing. It is believed that the Golden
Horns must have been cast into the bog, which
this part of Denmark used to be, in some sort of
religious rite; most likely to appeal to “the
gods” for relief from a pending weather-related
catastrophe. Prince Joachim provided us one of the
great highlights of the Tour, and our time in
Denmark, with his gracious hospitality, and this
special encounter with Danish history.



Ambassador Cain 11 June 2008
from Day 27, Esbjerg - Toftlund - 82 km (1814)

We started the day under threatening skies in
Esbjerg, where we had left off last week. The
weather looked bleak for biking, but in fact we
needed the rain because the past six weeks had
been the sunniest May and June ever recorded in
Denmark. I was joined today for the entire day by
Stephen Brugger, Executive Director of the
American Chamber of Commerce in Denmark, and Paul
Schofield, Managing Director of Hess Denmark, and
a member of the AmCham Board. Paul’s company
has a major presence in Denmark as a result of
their North Sea operations, and much of the
staging is done from the port at Esbjerg. In
fact, I learned later from Mayor Søttrup that
Esbjerg is known as the “City of Oil” because
over 10,000 people here are employed in the
offshore-related industries.
Given the offshore and maritime focus of this
region, our first stop was an appropriate one;
Viking Life, the global market leader in maritime
life saving equipment. Kjeld Amann the managing
Director of Viking Life and his colleagues
Christian, Lone and Elizabeth (a Bostonian) gave
us a great tour of the manufacturing facilities
from which this company produces rafts, ranging
in size from two-man to 200-man in size. Started
in 1960, when there were 700 fishing boats in the
Esbjerg harbor (now there are less than 30), the
company has grown to 46 locations and 1200
employees. This is an impressive niche for this
Danish company, but as Kjeld said to me
“Denmark is such a small country that we have
to go out into the world and do big things to
feel bigger!” (I really like that one) the
company now has 41 service locations in the US,
and does significant business there, though they
would like to increase their business with the US
Navy. I was surprised to see how much of the
actual manufacture of the rafts is done the old
fashioned way, by hand. But they have not yet
designed a machine that can glue the rubber seams
together as effectively as human hands.
Leaving Viking we were joined by a great group of
25 riders from the Babcock & Wilcox Vølund
company that was to be our next stop. We rode
together for the six or seven km, during which
time I had a good conversation with several men,
long time residents of the area who had never
been to America but who had strong impressions of
the country. My friend Peter said that his strong
impressions had been formed by watching the TV
show Bonanza as a child. (In black and white, and
dubbed in German). But he loved the “Cartwright
values”. He also reminisced about the great
games of “Cowboys and Indians” he played as a
child. (perhaps I should introduce him to my
friend Jørgen at Texas Country and Western in
Farendløse.)

Arriving at Babcock & Wilcox Vølund, I was
greeted by country manager John Veje Olesen, also
a member of the Amcham. Before going inside for a
tour of their facilities where they manufacture
components for waste-to-energy facilities, I had
a chance to visit with the 25 riders. These were
mostly adults between the ages of 35 and 50. I
got some interesting answers to my three
questions. To the First Question, their
impressions of America included “freedom”,
“power” and ‘big.” One nice lady said
“Hillary”. (I hated to tell her that Senator
Clinton was not still in the Presidential race.)
The Second Question elicited even more
interesting answers. “We would want Americans
to know that we like to pay taxes” one said. I
had never really heard it put this way, and
probing a little bit, they agreed they liked what
they got for their taxes. When I discussed the
revolt that would likely occur in America if the
government tried to impose the kind of taxes that
Danes happily pay, one said “but you don’t get
anything for your taxes. We get something for
ours!” That is certainly an inaccurate
impression of America, but one that I fear is
fueled by the negative impressions that come
across on the TV screens and news coverage.
Another lady said “we would want America to
know that we value freedom of speech.” Another
younger member of the group said that Americans
didn’t value free speech like Danes do, because
there are some things in America “that you
can’t say”. We discussed why that was, and
spoke about the diversity and tolerance that was
at the heart of the American experience. ‘I am
not sure we are a very tolerant place’ another
said.
To my third question, as expected I received
virtually all 8s, 9s and 10s to the first
question, and 10s to the second, except for the
young man again who said “2” to the first
question. He felt that we were no longer close
allies because we disagreed so much on the Iraq
War, but he did give us a 10 on the second
question.
Touring the Esbjerg Babcock & Wilcox Vølund
facility, which is now a subsidiary of an
American company after a merger with a Danish
company,  I learned about the innovative strides
that have been made in recent years in the area
of waste to energy systems. In the mid-90’s I
worked with a client that was trying to build one
of these systems in my home state of North
Carolina, but there were technological problems.
Those problems have now been solved apparently,
and within the EU the business is booming because
the EU prohibits the permitting of any new
landfills. Thus municipal waste is incinerated.
This system is very expensive, and appears to
really  only be efficient where you can use the
heat produced, such as in Demark where there are
District Heating systems. It will be a challenge
in America where there are few such systems, but
the market is certainly looking for this kind of
alternative facilities. I will say one thing
though, the Danes have figured out how to make
waste disposal facilities aesthetically pleasing,
because the plants that I have seen, including the
‘E2D-90” plant in Esbjerg are architectural
beauties. It looks like the Black Diamond library
in Copenhagen.
Leaving B&W V we arrived at the Town Hall where
Mayor Johnny Søttrup and Municipal Director Otto
Jespersen met us and fed us a wonderful
Smørrebrød lunch. Mayor Søttrup is a very
impressive leader who has been mayor in this city
for 15 years, surviving the consolidation with two
other towns a couple of years ago. We had a great
conversation about America, where he had spent a
year in high school on an American Field Service
exchange program in Utah. He describes it as
“having the most important impact on me of
anything I have done in my life.” His kids are
now following in his footsteps, as are Otto’s,
whose daughter Marie is heading to work in New
York at the Danish consulate. Leaving Esjberg
Paul and I had a great conversation about the
value of these wonderful programs that send young
people to America. He and I agreed with the Mayor
that there is no better program for sustaining
America’s relationships in the world than these
programs.
Esbjerg is one of the youngest cities in Denmark,
planned only about 100 years ago. It is a
beautiful city, and had some great modern art,
and is a great contrast to our next stop Ribe,
which is not only the oldest city in Denmark, but
apparently the oldest city in Scandanavia. We
arrived at the beautiful Cathedral, built around
1100, after a rainy and windy 25 km ride from
Esbjerg. The Dannebrog atop the Cathedral was
blowing beautifully in the wind, and our engaging
tour guide Richard explained that it does not fly
from there every day, but that it was today “in
honor of the American Ambassador”! The Cathedral
is remarkable. It is the most beautiful interior
of any I have seen in Denmark because much of the
painting, whitewashed out at the time of the
Reformation in 1536, was replaced in the last few
hundred years. The color scheme in many ways
reminds me of the Alhambra Mosque in Spain.
Richard explained that the Spanish church had a
great influence on the Danish Church in centuries
past. The Cathedral has a fascinating mix of the
old and the “new” with a very modern art nave
with glass mosaic panels and stained glass created
by the famous Danish artist Carl Henning Petersen.
Although they must have been very controversial
when they were first installed twenty years ago,
Richard made a good comment that “at the time
all the art was installed in this Cathedral, it
would have been considered “modern”.  The
Cathedral also holds the remains of two of
Denmark’s Kings, Erik Emune and Christopher I.
Although most of Denmark’s kings are buried in
Roskilde, those who are murdered, Richard says,
are buried in the town in which they were killed.
Erik was killed here when he tried to raise taxes
in Denmark from 10% to 11%. I guess in those days
Danes didn’t like paying taxes as much as they
do today.  Ribe also is the home of the famous
Dane Jacob Riis. Jacob Riis was honored by
President Roosevelt as the “Most Influential
New Yorker” when he was recording his
photographic impressions of America 100 years
ago.  I have visited the Jacob Riis home and
museum on prior trips, and was pleased to have
the chance to pay tribute once more.
After a quick bite of delicious ‘sponge cake”
in the sunshine at the beautiful and historic
Hotel Dagmar, by coincidence the oldest hotel in
Denmark (where we will stay for the night), we
began the vigorous 27 km ride to Toftlund. We
made the ride in about 40 minutes, at one point
hitting a sustained speed of 54 km as we passed
through the small town of Højbro. (It was quite
a thrill to see that speed pop up on the
automatic traffic control as we passed.) I have
to confess that we had a pretty good tail wind
for much of the trip, but it was still a vigorous
workout. Peter, the biking body guard of the day,
was a great riding companion to have on the trip
today, and helped keep the pace up. The only down
side of moving that fast is that I missed much of
the beautiful countryside here in this southern
part of Denmark, which of course at one point in
history was actually the northern part of
Germany. I was moving fast in part because I
wanted a good workout, and also because I was in
a hurry to get back to Ribe because at 19:30 my
wife Helen is arriving on the train from
Copenhagen! It will be her first experience on
the ReDiscovery Tour, and I cannot wait for her
to join me!



Ambassador Cain 03 June 2008
from Day 26; Henne Strand – Esberg - 47 km (1732)

The beautiful day began on Porsmosevej after a
night at the Hennemølleå Badehotel, a famous
beach hotel designed by architect and designer
Poul Henningsen. We were joined by a number of
officers  from  nearby Oxbøl Army Base along
with Minister of Development Ulle Tørnæs and
Hans Christian Thoning, head of the Defense
committee in the Parliament. The Minister was a
delightful riding companion for the scenic but
windy tour through the part of Jutland in which
she grew up. She is “in training” for a 1200
km, 12-day bike trip from Fyn to Paris so we kept
a brisk pace.
As we headed into the massive Oxbøl military
training ground Lt. Colonel Jensen gave the Minister
and me a briefing on the history of the area,
which is comprised of land taken by the national
government in the 1930s from farmers to create
this impressive facility. The wide sandy beaches
were apparently considered by the Germans during
the occupation to be a likely spot for an
amphibious Allied invasion of Europe, so they
were heavily fortified during the occupation.
Along our way through the base Forest Manager
Ulrik Lorenzen from the Forest and Nature Agency
introduced us to the 2000-strong herd of “Red
Deer” that makes this facility popular for
tourists year-round. He also surprised me by
telling me that this area, and in fact most of
Denmark, was covered with ice only a mere 10,000
years ago.  In more recent times this area has
been the site for training for the Danish Army.
Today it hosts the Army Combat School. While
there is still much evidence of training in
conventional warfare, most of the training today
consists of skills to fight the modern enemy,
which is unlike the enemies of old. (I actually
visited Oxbøl about two years ago to visit a
battalion of Danish soldiers getting training in
winning the “hearts and minds” of villagers
in rural villages in Afghanistan.)
At the Base Command headquarters Minister
Tørnæs and I were briefed by Brigader General
Lund on the Danish army’s  strategy of
“Concerted Planning and Action”, to maximize
the effectiveness of all Danish resources in
conflict areas as we move away from conventional
theatre war to more stabilization operations. The
General described the strategy as something he
learned a great deal about at the US Army War
College, focusing on the three-pronged approach
of countering destabilizing operations,
supporting stabilizing elements, and providing
framework operations. The Danes are employing
this strategy to great effect in Afghanistan, in
cooperation with Ulla Tørnæs’ Ministry and
others, and the General is optimistic about the
potential for future progress in Afghanistan; an
area where he says that the local population is
genuinely committed to working to improve their
institutions.
General Bundsgaard then met us and gave us a tour
of a live 5-day war game  (Exercise Yellow Knight)
that just started on the Camp. It was an honor to
meet General Bundsgaard because he has been
selected to lead Nato Response Force 14 (NRF 14),
a critical Nato resource that the Danes, for the
first time, will command. He is currently
organizing the force, which will be comprised of
resources from 14 countries, including many
troops from the US. We were allowed to see the
“War Room”, with a bank of approximately 50
computer screens, as well as the impressive
mobile command posts, and communications
trailers. The General then hosted us for a
conversation regarding the CIMIC components of
the operation, and the civilian-military
coordination plans for NRF 14. I was pleased to
meet Rikke Ishøj from the International Red
Cross who was here to observe the exercise. The
IRC is a valuable ally in most NATO theatre
operations. I was also impressed to witness the
effectiveness of the camouflage techniques
employed by the Danish army, because I had not
even noticed two soldiers hiding in the grass
nearby where we were having coffee, until one of
them scratched himself!
My numerous conversations with members of the
Danish military , the Minister and the Parliament
member gave me a chance  to get a better sense of
the Danish reaction to the terrorist bombing of
the Danish embassy in Islamabad yesterday. I was
pleased to see that the unanimous reaction was
that Danish resolve would be even strengthened in
the fight against extremism as a result of this
heinous act of evil.
We decided it would be smart to get off of base
property before the “full scale attack” began
at noon, so after taking photos in front of the
American and Danish flags, which were flying
proudly above the Christian V bell that was cast
in 1670, we headed away from the base for the 30
km ride to Esbjerg. Although the strong
ever-present winds made the ride challenging, it
gave me a good opportunity to learn from Minister
Tørnæs more about how the strategies of the
Ministry of Development have changed in recent
years from ‘charity” to “security”. The
Minister is doing a great job of representing
Denmark on the global development stage, and has
been particularly active in the cause of
empowerment of women and young girls in the
developing world and the Middle East; a cause
America embraces. Delightfully, we ended the day
at the Minister’s family home overlooking the
North Sea across to the Island of Fanø. I was
honored to meet Ulla’s father Laurits Tørnæs
who had served as Minister of Agriculture in an
earlier government and has been a prominent
political leader in Denmark.
We had to get off the bikes and head toward
Odense for two important events; a live interview
at TV2 regarding the bombing in Pakistan, and a
visit to the Vollsmose neighborhood for the
launch of our “GAM3 Street Basketball and Hip
Hop” program. This is the fifth or sixth time I
have been to Vollsmose, and I was pleased to be
here to join two American basketball stars,
Michael Pietrus from the Golden State Warriors,
and Jennifer Azzi from the San Antonio Silver
Stars. Michael and Jennifer are great Ambassadors
for America and for the power of team sports to
change the lives of young people. There were
around 100 young people, mostly of ethnic
background, who joined our American guests, hip
hop artists, and Odense Mayor Jan Boye and me for
the kick-off of the clinic. The enthusiasm of
these young people for living life in Denmark in
a full and involved way, being part of the
society around them, was a stark contrast to the
attitude of hatred and insecurity that motivated
the attacks in Islamabad yesterday. I continue to
be impressed with the spirit of outreach,
volunteerism and compassion shown by the leaders
and volunteers of the Danish NGO GAM3, and
sincerely believe it is one of the best programs
any American embassy anywhere has been involved
with. It was an important symbol for the mayor
and me to be out there on the court with them,
and it was great fun.  (And I really hope the
local TV caught the two straight three-pointers
that I shot!)



Ambassador Cain 02 June 2008
from Jutland

Clyde!
I look forward to seeing you and your colleagues
from NC Central!!

Welcome to Denmark.

J. Cain
U.S. Ambassador



Ambassador Cain 02 June 2008
from Day 25 Herning to Henne Strand - 90 km (1685)

I love returning to Herning. Here I know I can
count on my friends to be great hosts to our
Team ReDiscovery. I was certainly not
disappointed during our dinner co-hosted by my
friend Mayor Lars Krarup, at the famous A
Hereford Beefstouw. Lars is a remarkable mayor, a
passionate advocate of expansive ideas and
expansive public projects. Under his aggressive
leadership, Herning is in the midst of at least
four major public projects; the new Herning
Museum of Art, planned by the American architect
Stephen Hull; the Sports and Cultural Center
Downtown, the Lake Holing Project, with 950
homes, a man-made lake 2km by 1 km and a Steen
Tyning golf course, and the new Herning Arena.
Taken together, these projects represent a more
than $300 million (1.5 billion Danish kroner) of
public projects. This is a remarkable commitment
to public “quality of life” projects in a
community of a little over 100,000 people.

This commitment to public art and culture was
nurtured by Aage Damgaard, a textile magnate who
ran his business from here starting in the 1950s.
Aage began by inviting artists to come work for
him for two years, and subsidized their artistic
work during the project. The result is an amazing
collection of private and public art, and a public
spiritedness of support for the arts that is
beyond anything I have ever witnessed. Aage’s
son Lars Damgaard has continued this public
spiritedness and now chairs the Committee
developing the striking new Museum of Art. (I
hope to return for its inauguration in 2009.) Of
equal importance for my immediate purposes, Lars
is also the owner of the A Hereford Beefstouw
restaurant concept. The Hereford Beefstew chain
has 23 locations in Denmark, and although I have
visited their flagship location in Tivoli, I was
honored to visit this their first location, and
to learn that Lars’ father was inspired in-part
by the steakhouses of America when he opened this
unique chain (featuring a 50-item salad bar, a
fabulous wine list and the best steaks in
Denmark.) After the delightful meal we were
invited to tour the 150,000 bottle “wine
pyramid” that Lars has built to warehouse the
wine for his 23 locations. He is opening soon in
the Hong Kong Airport, and is centralizing his
beef operations on a ranch in Australia that he
has recently purchased. Lars is a remarkable
entrepreneur. And he is also a collector of
profound art. I enjoyed seeing and hearing the
story about the 14-ton bronze statue of Lenin
that Lars showcases out front of his office. He
acquired it in Latvia after the collapse of the
Soviet Union and it lies on its side, propped on
two stands specially designed by a Danish
artist.
Our long and busy ride Monday morning started in
Tjørring, on the outskirts of Herning, where we
visited the Tjørring School. This is one of only
a few “village schools” left in Denmark, has
been recognized for its innovation by the EU, and
happens to be where Mayor Krarup went to school.
The 200 students, ages 6 to 13, and their
principal Jens Ole Mogensen enthusiastically
greeted me and allowed me to join in an
experiment in solar energy (I got to see Pikachu
Pokemon riding a train powered by the sun.)
After visiting all of the upper grades, I was
charmed by the 6th graders who had prepared some
great questions for me; (How are Danish kids and
American kids our age alike and different? Why
did you want to be an Ambassador in Denmark? Why
are you riding your bike around Denmark?) There
has been a school on this site for 250 years, and
they are celebrating their 100th anniversary of
this building this year.

We were joined at this point by riders from
ReeLight, a Danish maker of battery-free bike
lights. The remarkable lights are powered by
magnets and require no other energy source. They
emit a flashing light, which is a big advantage
because studies show that there are 32% fewer
accidents from bikes with flashing lights that
with constant lights. The company is currently
expanding their distribution into the US, which
CEO Kenneth Linnebjerg describes as difficult
because the market there is fragmented and the
biking community “does not talk to each
other.”
The Mayor, our friends from ReeLight, my
colleague Henrik Jepsen and I then headed to the
Herning Sports Arena to say hello to my friends
at the Herning Blue Fox Ice Hockey Club, the
newly-crowned repeat champs of the Danish Hockey
league. I was pleased to see my old friend Coach
Todd Björkstrand, a native o f Minnesota and to
get updated on the potential of young Danish
players in the National Hockey League in America.
(Todd believes that a young Dane named Bødker
will be drafted in the top 10 this year). The
Blue Fox have won the Prince Henrik trophy 14
times. It is no wonder that Herning is the hotbed
of hockey in Denmark, and I look forward to a
return to cheer the team on in the future.

On our ride to the Sports Center Mayor Krarup
took me by the Holing Project, a residential,
commercial and golf community being built around
a man-made lake (yet to be dug). Within 10 to 15
years almost 1000 houses are expected to be built
here. During our discussion, Mayor Krarup
explained that they needed 444 new homes in
Herning each year to keep up with the growth.
Almost half of that is coming from people who
move in from outside Denmark. Lars told me one
story of a new resident from Poland who said to
him: “Herning is the American Dream come to
Denmark!” (He explained that his ancestors once
went to America to pursue their dreams and
opportunity, but now he is telling them all to
come to Herning!)

At the Messe Center my friend Georg Sørensen
briefed us on their plans to expand their
already-impressive complex to include a 12,500
seat arena next to the SAS football Stadium. If
anyone in this country can pull off such a
massive project, and do it successfully, it is
Georg. I call him the ‘Minister of Magic”,
because of what I have seen him promote at the
Messecenter, including an incredible
“Genesis’ concert and show last year. (Georg
has three components of his business plan; fairs
and shows, culture and sports events, and meeting
and conferences. Currently he appears to be
hitting on all cylinders, which explains in part
why the Minister of Culture selected him to Chair
the “Visit Denmark” Organization. I would like
to introduce Georg to my friends in the
International Association of Arena Managers,
Chaired by my friend Larry Perkins who used to
work with me at the Carolina Hurricanes.) Georg
and Kirsten hosted us to a terrific brunch,
including Danish pancakes that prepared us for
the long and arduous ride to come.

From the MessseCenter it was a 23 km ride to the
Arla Cheese Factory in Nørre Vium. Arla Chairman
Ove Møberg and Site Director Peter Møller and
Executive Director for International Markets Tim
Ørting Jørgensen, met us and showed us around
the impressive facility. As I told a local
journalist who was with us, the “Denmark’s
Finest” Brand, under which Arla sells in
America, has stood for quality for a generation,
but I had no idea how advanced Arla was on the
technology front. At this facility, which is
amazingly automated, Arla produces over 130,000
tons of cheese per da