How cute is this?

In town after Danish town, half-timbered buildings have survived since medieval times. Some are grand, and some look as though a wolf should be huffing and puffing at them. Some of them appear to be bulging out at the bottom. Others slide down the road as if they're about to drift off to sleep. Many are painted to show off their longevity and their lack of affectation. Looking at these houses is like viewing puppies through a pet-shop window − you see every one as a fresh face. You can't stop taking pictures of them. Here are some of ours:

The happiest place in the world

With apologies to Disney World...it turns out that Denmark is the happiest place on earth.

Two separate studies, one called the World Map of Happiness and the other the Database of Happiness, concluded that Danes were the happiest people on earth, at least from 2006 to 2008.

Denmark strikes an enviable balance between celebrating the old, while incorporating the new. These houses are often remade into shops, restaurants, and, of course, museums. Some people are lucky enough to live in them. Old windmills are preserved so that we can look at them, while modern windmills provide about 20% of the country's power and 25% of its capacity.

When in doubt, decorate the country with wit. We saw the following sign at a railroad crossing. For a place that runs high-speed rail all over the country, it seems like the warning about it shouldn't make you think "choo-choo."