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Light a Candle
Kirsten Pinto, born a Giødesen, is the No. 2 daughter of Asta and Erik Giødesen.
Memories of Bugten Bugten originally belonged to Imse and Ove Nauntofte who lived in Viborg in Jutland. We acquired Bugten from them because they thought it was too far travelling to and from every summer. It was during the Second World War, because of the rationing of gasoline. It was like a dream when we took it over. We enjoyed it. I remember it so clearly. I had stayed in the country every year with my family.
In the beginning we stayed at Strandhytten. I remember that each family could stay at Strandhytten in the period before all the holiday cottages were built, but we stayed there too while Grandpa and Aunt Ingeborg lived there.... Solbakken was built and they moved up there. I remember the mornings when we came down the stairs (we slept upstairs in the big room) and we arrived a little late and all the others were shouting "Good morning” and we felt so embarrassed. After breakfast we sat in the corner in a wicker chair and had "worship" with Grandpa and we sang hymns every morning. Outside on the flagpole a bell was rung for dinner, the first time a half hour before the meal and another time when dinner was on the table. It was very embarrassing to be late, so we had to always make sure to arrive on time. Our meals were prepared by a maid.
Inge Jorgensen, my cousin on my father's side, often came and spent summers with us at Strandhytten. We had a good time together. I remember so clearly at lunch time when cheese was brought in on a plate. One of the cheeses smelled so strong, and somehow Inge and I always laughed when the maid brought in the cheese. We called it "laugh-cheese". Grandpa could hear us laughing, though he sat at the other end of the table, and he scolded us. "You two girls go to the kitchen and laugh,” he said, “if you cannot stop laughing when the cheese is brought in". So our laughing continued in the kitchen.
A little red annexe was built near Strandhytten, which contained two rooms. It was just opposite the cave by the road. We were allowed to stay there. It was very cosy. Mom and I slept in one room and dad in the other. When it rained we played inside the big room at Strandhytten. The room was upstairs with the large skylight. We played there for hours while the rain was drumming on the window. Other rainy days we spent on the porch where Mom or Aunt Martha read a good book for us. We were big girls’ sitting with our needlework. It was very cozy.
We had to pick gooseberries, I remember, but we were all so quiet because we had more berries in the mouth than in the bowl, we had to fill. So Mom asked us to sing or whistle while we picked, and now the bowls were full in no time. We enjoyed gooseberry porridge at night, so we got our reward. I mentioned the cave earlier, lying opposite the Red annex, it was where afternoon coffee or tea was served at 3 to those who bothered to get up from the beach. There were always delicious cakes or gallop-pretzel. I loved the tradition with early midday-tea. It's weird to think that neither the annexe nor the cave exists today.
Also, I remember when the baker came in his car a few times a week, we would run out and I still remember the smell of the wonderful pastries and other delicious things. We often bought snails with cinnamon. We had to pay 6 cent per cake. Yes, we spent our pocket money on it. Yes, I’m that old! Many other vans came to the houses, such as the butcher’s and the greengrocer’s. Yes, those were the good old days.
We played hide and seek (“skjul”) around the house, sometimes with the adults. We had great fun. I remember I always went to bed half an hour before my sister Birthe. It was so hard to be in bed before her. I did not go to sleap before she came in, so I could not see why I had to go to bed earlier but Birthe felt "older" that way. (She is only 1 ½ years older than me.) And if I should be one quarter of an hour late, she wanted to be too. At that time the adults insisted the bedtime be respected - even in the summertime. I think the adults wanted it a little time for themselves.
For a long period I stayed with Bitten Baastrup a few weeks each summer on Grundtvigsvej while Karen and Johannes Baastrup built their house, "Kib" in the Sejeroe Bay. I had many wonderful summers there, I remember, and I am very grateful for being allowed to stay with them. I remember a specific incident that happened once: Johannes, (Bitten’s father) my Mom, Bitten and I had just seen Dad to the bus and when we went back, I ran the last stretch down the hill. Out of Solbakken was a large door, which was held back at each side with barbed wire, which I had not seen, and somehow I ran with full speed straight into the barbed wire. The barbed wire tore hold me and pulled me tremendously on the neck so that it bled. I was actually fixated until I collapsed under-neath. I remember how Johannes came running down the hill and picked me up while tears rolled down his cheeks. I don’t remember what happened next, but his house, Kib, was the only one with a telephone, so they called the doctor and I woke up with a large volume on my neck. The worst thing from a child's recollection was that I could not go in the water the rest of the summer. It was fortunate that nothing more happened.
I cannot remember what year we got Bugten, but it was very exciting. Between the dining room and the living room there was a wall, which made the rooms smaller. We tore down the wall and got a nice big room instead. My mother made a wonderful room for dad up-stairs with a lovely view of the sea with the evening sun, and Dad enjoyed it very much. Here he could be completely himself. Yes, these are only a few memories that came to me while I wrote.
The sunset, Strandhytten with the fireplace evenings, the bathing, cherry pit in the cave, bonfire at Midsummer’s night, thunderstorms, junket in the blue glass bowls, card games with Dad as well as trips to Asnæs. When Dad's family came to visit us, they enjoyed it very much, and Mom spoiled them beyond all limits. We had no TV or computer games, but we never found the time boring. We enjoyed ourselves with our books, handicrafts, as long as we were together. We always had something to do.
I clearly remember when we celebrated mom and dad's silver wedding in 1945. We had invited all of mom's sisters and their families with children, and two of dad's sisters, Aunt Gudrun and Aunt Karen and of course, grandfather and Aunt Ingeborg. “Happy days are here again.” Remember, the weather was just fine with a lovely sunset. We took a photo with all of mom's sisters and their children in front of Bugten on the terrace. Unfortunately Birthe and Bjørn are not in the photo. I would like to mention the title of Bitten’s article: "Imagine just one can be such a lot,” my grandfather said, when he saw the photo with all his daughters and their children in front of him. Yes, this is my impression of life at Bugten, as we all love so much.
When I married Tony Pinto, whom I met in Paris 1951, we came up frequently to Bugten during the summer. Tony was employed by the airline Air India at the time, so we moved frequently around the world; therefore it happened when we went to Bugten that we came from many different places such as Australia, Bangkok or Canada. We took our four children, Nic, Suzanne, Marianne and Glenn along. The children just loved Bugten with all the wonderful experiences. The children miss their big Danish family on a daily basis, so when they come to Denmark, they rejoice greatly to be with their cousins.
