
2008 Rediscovery Tour

Day 25 Herning to Henne Strand - 90 km (1685)
Today Ambassador Cain rode from Herning to Henne Strand, stopping at a number of sites along the way. Below you can read about the events of the day in Ambassador Cain's own words.
Ambassador Cain's remarks
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 day, from 1.2 million liters of milk. They export to America from this facility, although they also have production facilities in the US in Wisocnsin. I was particularly pleased to hear of Arla’s strong commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility in Denmark. With an ownership that consists of 4,000 Danish and 4,000 Swedish farmers, this can be a leading force for positive social change in the region. I was also pleased to hear of their “Bike to Work” program, and to be joined on my ride by the guy who heads up the program.
Ironically, it was while I was at Arla, only a few moments after I had asked Tim Jørgensen about the impact of the Cartoon-related boycotts on Arla’s sales, that I learned that the Danish Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan had been attacked this morning by a suicide bomber. The news is not good, with reports of 8 people killed, including several Embassy workers. I would spend much of the afternoon and evening getting updates on the tragedy from my Embassy and talking to the Danish media to ensure Denmark of America’s continued support, if necessary, to protect Danish diplomatic assets.
Leaving Arla through the beautiful landscape of western Jutland, we made a short stop at the Skjern Å Wetlands area for a briefing from Marianne Linnemann from the Danish Forest and Nature Agency about the remarkable wetlands restoration project here. In 1962 the political leaders decided to “straighten’ a 26 km meandering river in order to create more intensive farming land. The project turned out to do more damage than good as the Rinkøbing Inlet, which is fed by the river, got polluted without the “clensing” attributes of the river and the inlet ‘died”. Between 1999 and 2002 the river was restored to its original banks, after the removal of 2.7 million cubic meters of soil. To date, it is the biggest land restoration project in the EU (and perhaps the world), and is visited by experts from all over, including the US. As we enjoyed the scenic view, which is in some ways similar to the outer banks marsh of Eastern North Carolina, we saw spoonbill, heron and ducks in abundance.
Our final ride was a 30 km stretch, in beautiful but warm sun, with a slight headwind, toward the coast. We stopped at the home and studio of artist Ole Halskov and his wife Tut Nielsen for a delicious respite of Danish coffee, coffee cake, fresh bread with home-made honey, cheese and brownies (Why am I gaining weight on this bike tour?) the food was great, as was Ole’s colorful artwork. But I was particularly intrigued to learn of the geothermal heating system that Ole had recently installed in his home. Thomas Bergholdt of the company Stiebel Eltron who installed the system, was on hand to tell us about the 500 meters of pipe required for the system, and the 60% cost savings over heating by oil and gas. Ole is very pleased with his investment. He reports that he had been spending 30,000 DKK per year $6,000) on oil. The system cost him 110,000 DKK ($22,000) to install, and he spends about 10,000 DKK per year ($2,000) on electricity now; thus he calculates a 5-year payback on his investment; with a system that is guaranteed for 25 years. I expect that this will be a growing market in the US with the price of oil at all-time highs.
We left Ole’s and Tut’s home for the short ride down to the picturesque Henne Mølle Å Hotel that borders the wind-swept dunes and wide sandy beach of western Jutland. I could not wait to get out to take a dip, my first ever on the west coast of Jutland. The sand was the whitest I have ever seen on a beach, and the water was cool and refreshing. But I did not like the jellyfish! I found the best spot for writing my blog that I have yet to discover, but first had to check on the situation with the Danish Embassy in Pakistan and talk to the Danish media.
The day was a great one from a biking standpoint, but the tragedy in Islamabad reminds us of the lengths to which the evils of extremism will go to stop the spread of freedom. America has experienced this before, with the attacks on our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. For the Danes who read this blog tonight, let me assure you that, as we did when violence erupted two years ago against Denmark’s embassies and assets around the globe, America stands ready to protect and defend our Danish allies whenever help is needed.