Odense, Denmark

I'm a bit behind in posting for Oma's back-to-school, but I'm really loving everything I'm doing.

Here's the prompt for last week's travel lesson:

~Where is your ancestral home? Most of us have roots in several places. Pick one city or country you'd like to visit, find it on a map, and explore some travel websites, just for practice. A few of my favorites are: multi-map, Rick Steves, Cheap Flights, Budget Travel.

photo of Odense, Denmark from here

Hi, I'm Kiasa.
It's pronounced, k-'eye'-sa.
It's one of my ancestor's names, from Denmark.
It is spelled K-I-A-S-A...K-I-A-SA.

Well, that's what I always say (always!) when I meet someone new. But come to find out, just as I was doing some research for this, my name is actually a Swedish ancestor's name. For 30 years I've been telling people it's Danish, but it is Swedish!

I've always wanted to travel to Denmark. I know I'm part Swedish, Danish, Scottish, German and English, but Denmark has always called to me the most (probably because I thought my entire name, Kiasa Keri Larsen, was Danish). My dad informed me that my Danish roots came from a city called Odense (map). (Click here for pronunciation.) One time I even went on a date with a guy who spoke Danish fluently, and I was sure he was the one, just for that reason.

It has been so fun to look up information and photos of Odense, Denmark. It was the birthplace of Hans Christian Anderson. My great-great grandfather is Christian Larsen and his father is Lars Anderson, so maybe Hans Christian Anderson is a cousin of sorts. It's a beautiful city (the 3rd largest in Denmark). The castle. And museums. Here's a nice article.

I loved this little bit of research. I've learned more of my ancestry and can't wait to visit Odense now!