You know you are a Hard Rock Café pin addict when…
by Bill

I was deployed to Europe in support of the Bosnia mission in January of 1997.  I spent most of my time in Germany with a few ‘field trips’ down range into Bosnia and Hungary.  While in Germany, I had the chance to visit a few Hard Rock Cafés and pick up a couple of guitar pins.  I visited the Heidelberg HRC (renegade) several times as I was living in a suburb of Heidelberg call Ludwigshafen.  I visited the Paris Hard Rock Café because a few friends and I went to see the Paris air show one weekend.  I also had a friend pick me up two guitar pins from Berlin when he took a tour of the city. 

Nearing the end of my nine-month rotation, my fellow soldiers and I started to make a list of things to do and places we wanted to see before we left Europe.  One of the places I wanted to see was Legoland in Billund, Denmark.  Lego always fascinated me when I was growing up.  I broke out the maps to plot a coarse to Billund.  I noticed that Copenhagen was not too far from Billund – just across the North Sea.  As I looked at other maps, I saw Stockholm.  I told myself that this could be done in a long weekend.  You have to be Hard Rock Café pin addict when you plan a trip like this.  Memorial Day was fast approaching and would be the perfect time to see all three places.  I was looking for a driving partner but my friends either had other plans or they had duty that weekend.  So it looked like I was on my own.

I decided to go first class and I rented a red, two door, Fiat Barchetta convertible.  What a nice little car!  Although I obtained currency and I had had my route planned as to which Autobahn and which ferries I was going to take, I didn’t make any hotel reservations nor did I know the exact address of either HRC.  I thought that would be part of the adventure.  I set out early on Friday morning and headed north through Germany.  I had the top down, as it was a very nice day.  I decided to make good time and good use of the sports car.  For a while I was cruising along the autobahn doing 90 mph (145 kph).  So I opened up the little car to see what she could do.  I got up to 165mph (265 kph) and my hair started to whip me to death!  Even though I had a short military haircut, it still hurt.  I slowed down, pulled off to the side of the road, and put the top back on.  I thought it was more important to make good time than to enjoy the weather.

I made good time despite the 40-minute ferry ride from Puttgarden, Germany to Rodbyhaven, Denmark across the North Sea.  I made it to south Copenhagen by 5:00pm on that Friday.  I drove through the middle of town hoping to see the Hard Rock Café, find an information booth or a policeman to ask for directions.  A short while later I was in north Copenhagen.  I was running low on gas so I stopped at a gas station.  At this moment I realized that I didn’t speak any Danish.  I knew some basic German and I wondered how different the languages were.  I asked the attendant if he spoke English (in German).  He said, “But of coarse!  Everyone in Denmark speaks very good English and everyone is very friendly.”  I thought he was being overly polite but later his words would prove to be true.

He gave me a map and showed me which streets to take to get to the Hard Rock Café the fastest.  I paid for my gas and I was on my way.  I got to the Hard Rock, poked my head in, went to the merchandise counter and bought the goods.  I didn’t have time to eat.  I needed to get on the road to Stockholm, as it was 370 miles (590 kilometers) away.  I left Copenhagen and headed to Helsingor, Denmark where I caught a ferry to Helsingborg, Sweden.  It was a short 35-minute trip and I was soon off the ferry and on my way to Stockholm.  One thing I noticed as I was driving to Stockholm was that the map showed I was on an autobahn, yet I was on a two-lane highway (one in each direction).  There were portions where it opened to be a full divided highway with a typical autobahn feel but the speed limit signs where only 120 kph (72 mph).  I wondered about this but it wouldn’t be until the next afternoon when it would be explained to me. 

It was getting to be 10:30pm and I was getting tired.  I found a hotel to stop at in Jonkoping, Sweden.  I got an early start the next day and I was in Stockholm by 12:30 PM.  Once again I had trouble finding the Hard Rock Café so I asked for directions when I purchased gas.  I made it to the HRC with little problem after that.  I purchased all of the items I needed on my shopping list.  Then I remembered my friend asked me to buy him a Monopoly game for his son from each country I visited.  I asked the girl at the counter and she gave me directions to a nearby department store where I found a Swedish Monopoly game.

 I was back on the road heading toward Copenhagen.  I remembered that I forgot to pick up a T-shirt for my step-mom from the Copenhagen Hard Rock Café.  This was no big deal as I knew where the Hard Rock Café was now located and I could ask about a Danish Monopoly game too.  As I was making excellent time heading down the autobahn, I came upon five cars in the right lane.  As I got into the left lane to pass them, I saw the second car was the Polizei (police).  I quickly hit my brakes and downshifted to keep me from passing the Polizei.  I was able to slow down and stay in the Polizei’s blind spot until the next exit where he turned off.  Then I took off again thinking the Polizei had other business to attend to.  I was so wrong.  I quickly got the car back up to 220 kph (135 mph).  About 5 kilometers later, I was descending a rather long hill.  As I was about 2/3 the way down it, I saw a car in my rear view mirror crest the hill.  The car had two light domes on top for it was the Polizei.  I immediately downshifted the car to slow down as to not have my brake lights come on.  He quickly caught up to me and pulled me over.  He asked me for my license, and asked me to step out of the car.  He put me in the back seat of his car and gave me a Breathalyzer test.  I passed, of course, and I saw that in the middle console of the car were a video tape recorder and a video camera on the passenger side dash.  I thought I was going to jail for sure.  Instead, he wrote me a ticket for doing 180 kph in a 120 kph zone (he must have caught me when I was slowing down).  He explained to me that Sweden’s national speed limit was 120 kph, even on the autobahn.  He also told me I could go to any Swedish bank to pay the ticket.  I told him I was on my way to Denmark and I didn’t think any banks would be open on Saturday afternoon.  He told me that I could pay it at any European bank through electronic transfer.  I was on my way and driving 120 kph.  It seemed like an eternity to get through Sweden.  I made it back to the Copenhagen Hard Rock Café around 6:00 PM.  I bought my step-mom’s T-shirt and asked about the Monopoly game.  The girl at the counter told me that all stores are closed on Saturday nights and Sundays too.  I truly thought that I wouldn’t get a Danish Monopoly game for my friend. 

 I was back on the road heading for Korsor, Denmark where I needed to catch a ferry to Nyborg, Denmark so that I could make it to Billund.  I had to wait for an hour for the next ship so I took a nap in the car.  I awoke to hearing a lot of cars starting.  Shortly thereafter I was driving my car onto the ferry.  I found a seat in the lounge area where I had a soda and chips.  Two young ladies in their early twenties sat next to me.  They were talking about the Michael Jackson concert they just saw in Copenhagen.  They were speaking in Danish but I could make a out few words – especially ‘lip-sinking’ since there isn’t a Danish work for it.  I began to chuckle when I heard them say lip sinking since I saw Michael Jackson a few weeks earlier lip sink his concert in Hockenheim, Germany.  One of the ladies asked me why was I laughing at them (in Danish).  I said I didn’t understand and if they could speak English (in German).  She said she speaks very good English (and they both did).  I told her I was laughing at the fact that they thought Michael Jackson was lip sinking and I explained that I saw him a few weeks earlier at a concert.  A woman jumped up from the audience, kissed him on the lips for several seconds, and yet he never missed a single word!  They agreed as they said a similar incident happened at their concert.  I told them they spoke very good English.  They told me all students in Denmark have to take 12 years of English in school.  The Danish government conceded that English is probably the best translation language so no matter what country you come from, more than likely English will be a common language between the two countries.

 Soon we were landing at Nyborg.  A few hours later I found my way to Billund.  The Legoland hotel was full so I stayed at a nearby hotel.  I fell asleep with CNN on the television.  I awoke the next morning with the headlines that Princess Diana was killed in a car accident.  That will be a day and a place I won’t forget.  I ate breakfast and headed to the park.  I was truly amazed at all of the buildings and monuments made of Lego.  There were Lego ships, airplanes, trains, trucks, and cars all animated.  I shot over 55 minutes of video.  By mid afternoon I decided to head to the Legoland store to purchase some Lego for my nephew for Christmas presents.  I went to the checkout counter and there were three ladies, Merta who was in her early twenties, Sylvia who was in her forties, and Bereth who was in her sixties.  I asked the ladies if they knew where I could get a Danish Monopoly game.  They talked back and forth to each other in Danish for a few seconds.  Merta asked me if it was called Matador.  I was very polite when I said, “No, it is Monopoly - where you buy properties, build houses and hotels, and charge people rent when they land on your property.”  She said, “Yes, Matador!”  I asked, “OK, where can I buy a Matador game?”  All three told me that all of the stores are closed on Sunday and that I wouldn’t be able to buy one.  I joking said that Legoland was open.  Then Bereth asked me how much longer was I going to be in Billund.  I told her that I had planned on going home after I was finished shopping.  She asked that I come back in 30 minutes.  I thought she was going to give me the name and phone number of a store that I could call to order one.  I agreed to return.  I went to my car to drop off my goods, went back in the park, grabbed a bite to eat, and returned to the store 45 minutes after I left.  When I walked in I saw a brand new, shrink wrapped game of Matador sitting on the counter!  I was completely surprised.  I asked Bereth how did she get it.  She told me that she had a friend who owned a toy store in Billund, he went to his store, picked up the Matador game, and delivered it to the Legoland store, all in 30 minutes.  I paid for the game and gave Bereth some extra money for her and her friend’s efforts.  I was soon on my way back to Germany.  Later in the week, I wrote a letter to Legoland management telling them the story of Bereth and her efforts to please a Legoland visitor.  I received a letter back from Legoland stating that Legoland trains their employees to go the extra mile to make their visitors happy and that Bereth received a citation for her good deed.  So the Copenhagen gas station attendant was right when he said the Danish are very friendly!

Bill and Mark's Excellent Adventure
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