Faaborgs in Faaborg: A Namesake Trip to Denmark
Jim and LaNette in Copenhagen.
LaNette Faaborg and her husband, Jim, took the trip of a lifetime when they jetted off to Denmark for an eight-day trip this past August, with their namesake town of Faaborg as the main destination.
“Ever since I met my husband, he has said the only place he wants to travel to is Faaborg,” said LaNette, a registered nurse at The Ghosh Center. “So we just decided to make it happen!”
They flew from Chicago to Copenhagen where they met with friends from Cedar Rapids who have traveled extensively, and knew the city. They spent three days enjoying the famous town square, canal, cobblestone streets, and architecture of Copenhagen with their friends before they headed to Faaborg.
Faaborg is a quaint harbor town of about 7,000 people on the island of Funen in Denmark. While they share a name, the Faaborgs are not aware of any relatives living in the town, but they felt drawn to travel there just the same.
Getting to Faaborg was an adventure. They took a train from Copenhangen to Odense, and then a bus from Odense to Faaborg. “Out of Copenhagen, the country is very rural, but the public transportation is very good,” LaNette said.
LaNette observed many differences between life in the US and in Denmark, including the healthcare system. Unfortunately, she had the opportunity to experience it firsthand because she was stung by a bee while she was there, and she is allergic.
“They have universal healthcare. People are taken care of,” LaNette said. “We made a friend, a guy named Jude. I mentioned insurance and he said ‘I hate that word’ because they don’t have to have it.”
LaNette paid only $100 cash for her urgent care-type visit.
“Never really having been out of the country, and seeing their culture of bike riding, the health system… it was a very different lifestyle,” LaNette said. “They live very minimally, but they’re taxed so high. One reason they ride bikes is because of the taxes on cars. You’re taxed 100 percent on a used car. It’s 180 percent on a new one.”
There are payoffs, though -- like a culture that honors a true work-life balance. “They work, but they’re always done at 5 p.m., even at restaurants,” LaNette said. “Life doesn’t revolve around work. Everyone takes regular holidays.”
She also talked about how safe they felt. “In Copenhagen, we went into the palace area to see the government. There were no armed guards, no metal detectors,” she said. “We walked right into the Supreme Court building not even knowing what it was.”
When asked what she loved the most about the trip, LaNette shared: “The food was delicious. With Faaborg being a seaside town, they had very good seafood, and fresh vegetables. And the shops and restaurants were all locally owned. We enjoyed talking to the locals and seeing a different lifestyle.”
She added, “It was quaint, we loved it. We would definitely go back!”
Photos below, L to R: the Faaborgs’ accommodations in their namesake town; a “Faaborg Chair” on display in the Faaborg Museum, of which there are two in the White House; Faaborg’s charming harbor.
