Legoland Holidays in England, Denmark and worldwide

 If you are a Lego enthusiast, like a family we know in London who have an entire room of Lego for their three children, you may be interested in an afternoon out, or even a whole holiday in a hotel devoted to Lego. Where can you do this?

1 A Lego Cafe in Surrey

Just for adults wanting an hour or more to play with lego. The UK has three Lego cafes. One is in Surrey, for an afternoon away from London. Indoor cafe, open all year. 

2 Windsor

Another afternoon away, a trip to Legoland theme park in summer.

You can also stay in a Lego theme hotel.

3 Lego In Denmark

Lego House, Billund, Denmark. See details in Wikipedia.

For a summer holiday, a trip to Legoland in Denmark. You can stay in a Legoland hotel.

4 Legoland in Germany

5 Legoland in the USA

Useful Websites

The English Lego cafes

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/food-drink/article/rise-lego-cafes-uk-pjhwftcp7

Block Party Lego cafe in UK

https://www.thebrickerycafe.co.uk/

Lego shop website in Denmark

https://www.lego.com/en-gb?age-gate=grown_up

 Legoland in Billund Denmark (dk stands for Denmark)

https://www.legoland.dk/

Legoland theme park in Windsor UK

https://www.legoland.co.uk/

Lego House experience centre, Denmark

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_House_(Billund)

https://www.legoland.co.uk/short-breaks/accommodation/the-legoland-resort-hotel/

Getting from Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, to Legoland and Legohouse in Billund

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Copenhagen/Legoland-Billund-Resort

Getting to Legland, Windsor, England, from London

https://www.legoland.co.uk/plan-your-day/before-you-visit/directions/

Details on other parks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legoland#:~:text=Legoland

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Brick Stop, Lego workshop cafe, Caterham, Surrey, UK, (and more Lego cafes, and Lego theme parks in the UK and Denmark)

UK

In Caterham, something I have never seen before, fun for children and the whole family, a Lego cafe. It costs five pounds an hour and you can select from a huge variety of Lego sets to build your project.

Another called The Brickery is in Bushey Heath, Herts, near Watford.

DENMARK

If you can get to Denmark, you can see the HQ and a huge play centre called Lego House in Billund. Billund also has two other major family attractions.

 

Lego House picture from Wikipedia.

UK

But if you are in Britain, here's something nearer, in Caterham, Surrey, about 6 miles south of Croydon, about twenty miles from central London.

Useful Websites

The English Lego cafes

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/food-drink/article/rise-lego-cafes-uk-pjhwftcp7

Block Party Lego cafe in UK

https://www.thebrickerycafe.co.uk/

Lego shop website in Denmark

https://www.lego.com/en-gb?age-gate=grown_up

 Legoland in Billund Denmark (dk stands for Denmark)

https://www.legoland.dk/

Legoland theme park in Windsor UK

https://www.legoland.co.uk/

Lego House experience centre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_House_(Billund)

https://www.legoland.co.uk/short-breaks/accommodation/the-legoland-resort-hotel/

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Denmark and the Danish Language

Denmark on the European map, is east of Great Britain.

Look at the map and you will see that Denmark is pointing north like a finger surrounded by sea, with Norway and Sweden, the other Scandinavian countries, to the north. (Finland to the east of Sweden bordering Russia has a totally different language.)

How to Recognize The Danish Flag

The Danish flag is red with a white cross offset to the left. Look for it on flagpoles and Danish food in the supermarket of European and other countries.

Where You Can Read and Hear and Speak the Danish Language

How to Map Read

Danish to English 

Berg/bjerg is mountain. 

Hagen is harbour. 

Hus is house. 

Land is land. 

Ny is new.

slot is castle

English to Danish 

castle is slot 

hill is bakke

hilltop is bakketop

house is hus

land is land

mountain is berg/bjerg

new is ny

river is flod

estuary is flodmunding

stream is strøm

top is top

Danish is spoken in Denmark, but also spoken in Greenland and the Faroe Islands. 

What To See In Denmark

The capital city is Copenhagen. Hagen means harbour, haven. The city is on the water.

Hans Christian Andersen is known worldwide for his fairytales. His little mermaid is commemorated with a statue in Copenhagen on the edge of the harbour and is the most visited site in Denmark. 

Drive to Odense and you can visit his birthplace museum.

Danish Food

Danish bacon is famous in the UK.

Danish Drink

Carlsberg is a brand of beer. the name stands for the mountain of Charles. 

The European menu reader covers Danish. The pocket size book includes 14 languages. Danish is similar to Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, German and English.

On the streets you might pass a chemist (Americans say drug store) and emergency vehicles.

Useful Websites

Berlitz European Menu Reader

 https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Danish_phrasebook

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RyanAir View From The Window of Wind Farm's Wind Turbines, clouds and land between Stansted, UK, and Paphos, Cyprus

 

Ryanair wing, sea and land. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Wind Farm At Sea Off the Essex, UK coast. Taken from a RyanAir plane from Paphos Airport, Cyprus, to Stansted airport, UK. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I had the aisle seat but I knew what to do. Ask the person in the window seat to take a photo. You have to hope that they will not fall asleep. 

You see wind turbines on a  wind farm on the drive from London, England, up to Derbyshire on the M1.

Wind farms around the world are listed in Wikipedia, in the UK (England, Scotland and Wales), the USA, China, Japan, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. They are also listed by sea location, in the Baltic Sea, Irish Sea, and North Sea.

Useful Websites

Ryanair

https://www.ryanair.com/flights/gb/en/flights-to-cyprus

Wind Farms

History of one wind farm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfleet_Sands_Offshore_Wind_Farm

List of farms with number of turbines

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_offshore_wind_farms_in_the_United_Kingdom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_offshore_wind_farms

Elvis's Memphis Mansion Museum in Denmark

 

For Elvis fans in Europe. Drive to Denmark. You can fly from the UK to Denmark on Ryanair.

At the destination, you can visit the museum, which has one of his cars, then see a replica of Elvis's birthplace. Sit in the diner and eat an Elvis sandwich which contains bacon, (Danish bacon?), peanut butter, and banana. Buy Elvis souvenirs in the shop.

The shop is open 10 am until 6 pm.

Where next?

When I was in the USA, most major museums I visited seemed to have a souvenir of Elvis on display. A car. A disc. A guitar. A costume. A photo of a visit.

The Netherlands

Elvis in the Amsterdam Madame Tussauds.

USA

Graceland, USA.

Useful Websites

https://www.memphismansion.com/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/escape/article-10274413/Honouring-Elvis-Presley-Memphis-Mansion-copycat-Graceland-Denmark.html

https://www.facebook.com/memphismansionranders

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Mansion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley

...

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/top-places-elvis-presley-fans

https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/the-most-impressive-elvis-shrines-in-the-united-states/

About the Author of this blog, Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books, including: Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

I  also have a blog on comic poems.

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Debenhams department Stores: Which stores are closed? Why? What's open? What about toilets? And Deliveries!

Are you in Britain orwre pallning a trip back, or a staycation, or just a shopping trip and day out? What is on your list? Debenhams? The locations are all over mainland UK, Northern Ireland and Denmark. The buildings range from hsitoric to ultra-modern. Some were traditional family businesses bought up. Others were established in new indoor shopping centres.

Here I am wearing a smart tee-shirt with the label Principles. That is the own brand of Debenhams department store. I seem to remember I bought it in the Harrow Branch. Or maybe in Watford in Intu. 

I wish I had kept a dress diary, or a page at the back of my diary of all my year's purchases of clothes and shoes.

All over Britain there are Debenhames department stores in shopping malls and high streets. (Americans say main streets.)

Watford
The latest I read was that the Debenhams in the Intu complex in Watford is closing. that is a blow. I would come down in the lift from the car park next to the department store.

Harrow
But the Harrow branch is staying open. I wondered why the difference?

When I read that the stores in the Intu shopping malls were closing, I was surprised. I associated high streets with falling footfalls, mainly because of parking.

The flagship department stores bookend many indoor shopping malls, such as Watford's Intu. I thought, 'How can that be? Surely the big shopping malls are huge, their own business?'

Intu - In Trouble?
Then I read online that the rent is paid to the owner of the mall, Intu, which is itself suffering financial problems.

What About The Workers - and Customers
What does this mean for the customer? If things go well, maybe the Debenhams department stores will be bought up and restored under the same name or a new name. The shop workers might be rehired if still available. The shoppers will still have a department store.

What About Covid-19
Those stores which are still open have safe distancing measures. That is good news.

Toilets
Now for the bad news - toilets are not open! So, if you used to use the department store toilets, thinking they would be more hygienic, no chance of that. Go before you leave home.

Online Shopping
Meanwhile, Debenhams is still operating online. You might not be able to order online within the store. Nor to click and collect.

Delivery
But you can have items delivered. And you don't need to touch those hand-held devices for sign on delivery. Providing you give the deliverer permission to sign. You have to open your door and say so. (I have done this with other suppliers. The deliverer takes a photo of you and the goods to prove he or she has delivered.)

Debenhams has had more than 100 branches. At the start of this year they had branches in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland (Eire) and Denmark.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debenhams
https://www.debenhams.com/content/latest-updates
https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/shopping/debehams-stores-closing-list-store-closures-branches-uk-coronavirus-lockdown-end-425757

Useful Websites

OK, so you can go. Which airlines will take you?
https://www.skyscanner.com

About the author, Angela Lansbury

I and my family have lived in the UK, Spain, the USA and Singapore. I am a travel writer and photographer and teacher of English A level and English as a foreign language.

Please come to a Toastmasters International Club where the English clubs have a language evaluator or grammarian.  We also have French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and other language clubs based in Singapore and many more online around the world which because of Covid-19 are now meeting online.

I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced, meeting the first Wednesday of the month, Usually on Zoom. But the other Wednesdays have workshops on app learncool.sg

Incoming president Faith from Wed July 15th 2020 change dates and platforms so please contact the club.

Latest is only two meetings each month.

For meetings learncool it is quicker to type and easier to remember: 

 tinyurl.com/BHACOOL

Useful Websites On Speaking and Languages

https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club
translate.google.com
duolingo.com

https://www.duolingo.com/enroll/vi/en/Learn-Vietnamese

https://www.facebook.com/groups/polygotcommunity/

Other Useful Posts By Angela Lansbury Author

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogs
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-say-thank-you-in-several.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/05/introducing-yourself-in-english-spanish.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/01/second-set-of-portuguese-words.html 

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How to learn the Flags of Europe

Flags of Europe on the map of Europe

The Flag of Europe



How do you remember the flags of Europe?
I used the tinycards by duolingo. In a notebook I drew oblongs for the flags with horizontals or verticals and labelled the colours. I looked for links between the country name and the colours.

UK
The United Kingdom is easy, uniting three flags of England, Scotland and Wales, three crosses of different colours.


England
Separate them and what do you get? The red cross of England, you may recognize from the football team. Church of England, plus sign red cross.

Scotland


Scotland is blue. We would be blue if Scotland separated from England. Blue cross. Cross and blue, x for not wanting to stay in the UK, although they voted to do so.



Wales
Welsh dragon. It was George who slew the dragon, George's cross symbol of England, but Wales still has the dragon.

Austria



Belgium
Belgium has a black section, B for Belgium and B for black.


Author of Belgium flag superimposed on map of country, PavelD in Wikipedia. Creative Commons licence.


Croatia


Denmark
Denmark has the red and white. 


Estonia

Finland


Sweden
Sweden has e for yellow.

Romania
Romania i vertical (upright) lines, red, blue and yellow. R for Romania R for red.

Greece



Iceland

Luxembourg
Luxembourg has white in the middle, letter e in the middle of Luxembourg. Letter b for blue at the base or bottom of the flag. The letters e and r are also in the name Luxembourgh and appear in red at the top.

Bulgaria


Czech Republic
Czech has red, e in Czech and RE starting the word Republic.



Germany


Germany has black, red and yellow from top to base, letter er in Germany.
Black forest for the black at the top.

Belarus
BElaRus has a Big REd section at the top.

And a fancy pattern down the side. Bella, bella, belle of the ball, Belarus.

Croatia
Red white and blue from the top down, but in the middle of the white section is and Croatia's noughts and crosses.
See above.

France



Hungary


Iceland


Italy


Italy has the tricolor, which you often see on Italian restaurant menus, green, whit,e red, avocado, white cheese and tomato.


Netherlands


Poland


Not to be confused with Singapore, which added the Crescent and five five point stars.



Nor with Indonesia


Portugal



Spain




Ukraine



Lastly some more unusual ones:
Albania


Andorra


Armenia


Bosnia (and Herzegovina)


Cyprus

Easy peasy. If only all countries did this.

Latvia







Lichtenstein



Lithuania



Luxembourg


Monaco


Vatican City


As you might not be able to see the white flag against a white background, I include a photo of a table flag.



Their flag shows the keys to the city.

https://tinycards.duolingo.com/decks/9bruoMoN/flags-of-every-country-in-europe

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and teacher. Contact me for entertaining and informative workshops for colleges and schools.