Money Exchange Tips

Hi family. I was asked for tips on international money exchange. Just in case anyone else has the same question here are my recommendations:

CREDIT CARDS

Especially in Europe it's a lot simpler to use your credit card when you can, rather than carrying cash.

*You should call your credit card company before you leave the country, tell them the dates of your trip and what countries you will be going to. That way if your card gets stolen and a charge shows up in Italy and you didn't name Italy as one of your destinations, they'll automatically stop charges. That's really nice.

*You should also ask them if there is an additional charge for using your credit card in another country. Some cards don't charge and some charge a big fee every time you use it, so just make sure.

CASH

You will need cash sometimes. The best thing for that is to get travelers checks before you go, then when you get to Denmark you should go to a bank and have the money changed there. There are often little kiosks or places at the airport where you can do that. However, if it's not a branch of the bank the exchange rate is often much higher than it would be at a bank.

*You should ask at the information booth at the airport what they recommend. Have them recommend a bank for you. Not every branch will exchange foreign money. Usually just large branches will do that.

*Likely you'll need to exchange at least some of your money at the airport to pay taxi fees or something. But if you use your credit card, you don't have to worry about that immediately. You can usually buy train tickets with your credit card and they usually have trains/subways leaving directly from the airport.

Hope that helps!

Guest House Address

Dear Family,

The Guest House addresses in Blokhus are:

Ferren Syd 114
Type A3
DK-9492 Blokhus

Ferren Syd 68
Type A3
DK-9492 Blokhus

Ferren Syd 76
Type A3
DK-9492 Blokhus

And the office address where my dad will collect the keys and where you will collect your linens is:

SONNE UND STRAND Blokhus
Aalborgvej 31
DK-9492 Blokhus

The office phone # is 45 98 248788. Mr. Lars Carlsen is our contact. Anyone should be able to help though if you need directions or whatever. The contracts are under Kari Meyer with a note that Leonard Petersen will be picking up the keys.

Please speak with my dad, Leonard, for your house assignments. House assignments had to be made as only 2 of the 3 houses allow babies, and only one per house. So the Bryce Petersen group and the Kent Petersen group each have to be in one of the houses that allow babies. My dad has a copy of all that information and will let you know where you need to be. The houses are all within wallking distance of one another. So, if you're just trying to mapquest this, it doesn't matter which address you enter.

Things to Keep in Mind

LINENS:
Blankets, sheets, and pillowcases are not provided at the guest house. You may either bring your own or rent them at the Guest House Office for 10 DKK per person for 1 week. The office does close by 3:00 P.M. If you will be arriving in Blokkhus after 3:00 p.m., please give your 10 DKK to a family member who will be arriving earlier. I'm sure they will be glad to pick up the linens for you.

PHONE CALLS:
Although there are telephones in each of our guest houses we ask that you DO NOT USE them please--either for incoming or outcoming calls. It is VERY expensive for us to use them and we will be billed for them at the end of the stay. The contracts for all 3 houses are in my name, and as you all know I will not be joining you in Denmark, but staying in Virginia and having our first baby boy, so please be kind to me. I don't want to receive any phone bills from Denmark. Calling cards are fairly inexpensive and we ask that you use those instead. Before using those at the Guest Houses, please check with the office and make sure that you won't still be billed for using the phone. If you will be, I'm sure they've got telephone booths in the area. THANK YOU!!!

LAUNDRY FACILITIES:
For those of you who have been wondering, there are washing machines and "tumblers" in each of our Guest Houses. I believe they charge per cup for the laundry detergent. When you get there you may want to check on the price. If it is too expensive you could go in with the other family members in your house and buy a box of laundry soap at the store. That may save you some money.

UTILITY CHARGES:
As you remember from September when you all sent me your money, utilities such as electricity, water, and gas WERE NOT included in the price. The meters on each house will be looked at upon checkout and the final charge will then be made. Based on estimates given me by the office, I added some money to each of our final prices which should cover the cost. However; depending on the euro to dollar exchange rate from last September to our trip this July, and how much energy we use it may or may not cover the total charge. Hopefully, we won't have to pay anymore, but if the "utility fund" that I am sending with my dad, Leonard, does not cover the energy costs, each of you will be asked to divide the remaining bill amonst you and pay your portion. UTILITY COSTS IN SCANDINAVIA ARE VERY HIGH. PLEASE BE CAREFUL ABOUT LEAVING LIGHTS ON, ETC. WHEN YOU ARE NOT IN THE GUEST HOUSES.

Itinerary for the Denmark 2007 Petersen Family Reunion:

Saturday, July 28th:Travel to Blokhus; meet at our guesthouses

Sunday, July 29th: The Fun BeginsGo to Frederikshavn for church (10 a.m.), visit the Fladstrand kirke (church), walk around the oldest part of Frederikshavn (where Fladstrand begins), walk the street where Ane Birgithe grew up.Then up north to Elling, where we will visit the Elling kirke and three areas where our ancestors lived and worked.

Monday, July 30th: SkagenGo up north to Skagen (one of our ancestors was born here) and visit the northernmost point of Denmark, Grenen, where two seas meet. Visit Tilsandede Kirke, hidden by moving sanddunes except for one steeple, and visit Raabjerg, where many of our ancestors lived.

Tuesday, July 31st: South of FrederikshavnBack to the Frederikshavn area, today we will visit the area of Fred W's birth and ancestors: Gaerum, Flade, and Understed. In the morning, we will visit Bangso Museet (a manor house and farm- now a museum- that one of our ancestors worked in as a young man!), and climb up a tower so that we can get a birds eye view of our ancestral villages. In the afternoon, we will visit churches (many of our ancestors were married here, and burial grounds are traditionally adjacent to churches), and farm sites as well.Also a drive to the Lendum church, where one of our ancestors was christened.
(This sounds like a lot, but all these towns are so very close together, so hopefully we can do it.)

Wednesday, August 1st: Thisted AreaBike with us (or drive) up the Limfjord to see the Sennels and Oslos parishes where Mikkel Christensen and ancestors lived. Hov (part of the Sennels parish and just north of Sennels, the town) is the location of our ancestor's Norgaard farm.

Thursday and Friday, August 2nd and 3rd:These days are flexible. Take a drive through Nibe (another ancestral home) for a half day.Use the rest of the time to visit the areas in which you need more time, or go fishing on the Limfjord or the lakes by Oslos. Other options include: a visit to a Rennaisance Castle, shopping along one of many pedestrian malls, or relaxing if that what suits you. We want this to be your dream vacation, so enjoy this time! (Y'all are welcome to "tag along" with others if there is nothing in particular that calls to you)

Saturday, August 4th:Travel to Copenhagen. Possible stop-offs: there are a couple open-air museums which show life in Denmark as it once was. One called Hjerl Hede south of the Limfjord, and one in Arhus (in a direct route from Blokhus to Copenhagen). Another idea: Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Anderson

Sunday, August 5th: Uncles Leonard and Mark take over on this part (thanks, you two!)Copenhagen Ward, visit the Copenhagen Temple grounds, for those interested—attend services at the Church of Our Lady, etc.

Monday, August 6th:Take the group to the Fredericksburg Chapel, boat tour around Copenhagen, changing of the guard at the royal palace, etc.

Tuesday, August 7th:a day trip to Sweden for anyone interested (it is only 3 miles across the channel)

Wednesday, August 8th:Everyone departs for either U.S.A. or other destinations

Train/Bus Schedules

Train and bus tickets can be purchased up to 90 days in advance (i.e. not yet, but soon)

Copenhagen Airport - Blokhus: just under 6 1/2 hours, departs many times throughout the day, price is not listed yet, but will be around $55.00

Blokhus - Frederikshavn (the area where many of our ancestors are from, we can easily spend two days here):
around 2 1/2 hours, tickets cost 72 kr ($13.00)
Tickets from Frederikshavn around to our small towns nearby are around $5 for each ride to Gaerum, Lendum, Elling, Understed

Blokhus - Thisted (the other area where our ancestors are from): 2 1/2 - 3 hours, tickets cost 88 kr ($16)
Thisted to Sennels and Oslos and around to our specific areas will cost around $24 total round trips

Renting a Car:
check out these websites:
DanskAutoRent.com
www.AutoEurope.com

I found a 9 passenger van, renting from 28th July through 6th of August (I figure in Copenhagen, we won't need a car),
for $1280 total.
Economy cars are $427. (fit 4 adults)
These prices include everything but gas.

Copenhagen to Blokhus: 284 mi, 4 hours 40 min
Blokhus to Frederikshavn: 60 mi, 1 hr 15 min
Blokhus to Thisted: 50 mi, 1 hr 24 min

It usually takes less time to travel by car than by bus or train, but an international driver's license is required.

According to my calculations, the prices for train travel or renting a car are very close, but I think it all really depends on how much gas really costs there. I will let you know when I find a more definite gas price.

Think about it and please let me know which you are thinking. It will help me plan our days better while we are exploring our ancestor's homes!!!!

FYI

I think everyone already knows, but just in case not: Nat and I won't be attending the Denmark Family Reunion after all. We will be having our first baby during that time instead! So, we wish you all a wonderful trip and ask that you enjoy it double for us!

Also, so that all of the work didn't land on Kenna I've asked that Uncle Mark help in my place. My dad (Leonard) is also willing to help as needed. If anyone has questions here is their contact info:

Kenna Merretta: kenna@kawzoo.com
Mark: petersenmm@comcast.net
Leonard: leonardpetersen@msn.com

And if needed I'm still willing to help out with any questions at karilenmeyer@msn.com

Airfare

Hello family,

Though it is only February it is time to start seriously looking at airfare! Prices to Europe always go up about $400 or more after April 1. Booking no later than March 15 is probably a really good idea.

We mentioned earlier the possibility of group airfare discounts. However, after talking to everyone it sounds like lots of people have travel plans in addition to Denmark. Unless at least 16 out of 20 people all intend to have the exact same travel route from beginning to end the group discount won't work. So, it will be best for everyone to work on their own travel arrangements.

Discounted Airfare website suggestions:

A good site that I have found is 1800flyeurope.com. Travelocity.com with the flexible option used to be the best, but they have discontinued the flexible option on international travel so it is very rarely the best site for airfare purchases anymore. Another good site is travelzoo.com. This site allows you to search multiple discounted airfare sites at once. (Be sure and choose the flexible date option! Prices are almost always less than when you choose the exact date option.) If you intend to do more travel in Europe another good site is www.icelandair.com. With Iceland Air, be sure to go to the website and get the phone number and call! For some reason the website quotes way high prices, but when you just call an agent it's always a lot cheaper and they're usually very helpful.)

If anyone finds a really great deal go ahead and post a comment on the blog or email and let everyone know where to look. Good luck finding some cheap tickets!!!