Summary of article in Billed Bladet #30, 2014.
Written by Trine Larsen.
Trine Larsen has always had a close relationship with Joachim's family and it was her BB dispatched to France to interview Joachim in particular.
I will devide this into two segments:
The familiy holiday at Cayx and the bit about Schackenborg in the Schackenborg thread.
It was a blitering hot day, 38 degrees C in the shade that day at Cayx and the activity level is accordingly. I.e. chilling out next to the pool.
The place means a lot to Joachim in particular, he has come here since 1976, when he was seven years old so the chateau is very much a part of him and loves coming here. Not least since there is a lot of family nearby.
Q: Family! Is that one of the things you do... visiting your French family when you are down here?
J: "Yes, that's a sure thng during the holidays. It's something we have also experiences ourselves when we were little. That when you come to the area you let it be known... and sometimes you go uninvited (*) over and visit the others and say hi and how are you? Because the door is always open to family and vice versa.
Suddenly there can also come family here, because they have noticed that something is going on here... thus lives goes along in a lovely relaxed manner down here".
Joachim adds that spontaneous visits are not common within the DRF.
He also explains that his children have very much embraced Cayx and in contrast to what you might thing they are not bored, because there is always something neaby to explore and there are other children in Nikolai and Felix' age group to spend time with.
Athena is
not a shy and quiet girl! She is a bundle of energy, explains Joachim.
Our Marie laughs: "And then she's her daddy's girl. She
loves her dad. Of course I'll do too, but it's her dad who is the favorite. And the older siblings".
And a moment later 2½ year old Athena says: "I'd rather have real closed shoes". While removing a pebble from her sandal. Impressing the reporter!
Marie: "Well really, who did invent such sandals. - Look, I'm wearing sandals too".
Athena: "But really, I get stones in underneath all the time and it hurst my feet".
Marie: "Yes, we are also daily surprised over her vocabulary. She speaks really well, considering her age".
Joachim laughs: "She also talks a lot! It may be hard to convince outsiders of that fact, but she talks incessantly. From the moment she opens her eyes in the morning, and she asks about
everything".
There is apparantly no such thing as "baby-language" within the DRF, the youngest are talked to in the same manner as the older. (Which is always a sound thing to do)!
Bette Henrik also has an impressive vocabulary and it seems Trine Larsen brought a bag of sweets to the children. When Athena "forgot" to say thanks, the big brother surface: "Athena... You must say thank you".
The sweets is a bag of fruit gum (Jelly) and bette Henrik is that fond of it: "I'm not that fond of jelly because they taste like lemon". So dad has to select a red fruit gum in the hope that it will suit the young master's taste.
Athena has in the meantime gone over to Niko, aka Nikolai, and want's be lifted up in his arms, a wish that is promptly fulfilled after which she gives her older brother a hug and a kiss and gets a kiss in return.
The photographer takes pictures in during that process bette Henriks decides to sit next to Felix: "I wanna sit with you". But, when you are five years old, a younger sister can be the ultimate spoilsport and Athena decides to sit on Felix' lap, something bette Henrik isn't that pleased with: "Hey, that was my idea".
Felix celebrated his twelfth birthday in France and Trine Larsen had a brief chat with him.
Actually Felix is celebrated twice, partly during the holiday with either his mother or father and with his mates either before or after the summer holidays.
She told Felix that: "I was actually writing about it when you were born, so I simply can't get around that you now turn twelve". - Suddenly feeling pretty ancient!
Felix' polite response is however a little comforting: "Yes, but time does go by quickly".
Felix is generally describes as an easy going, sweet and cheerful boy. But there will be no layered cake on his birthday, whipped cream simply won't do in the heat, but he will get another cake instead and he will be celebrated (loudly!) by loads of local cousins.
The reporter notice that Athena's eyes are light golden brown.
In contrast to the boys her hair will be allowed to grow long.
Physically our reporter thinks she resembles her mother, but her curly hair she has inherited from her dad.
(*) That goes very much against typical Danish nature, and it is something most foreigners notice about us. You don't just visit someone unannounced, good heavens no! That's considered a little akward and let's be honest, a bit rude.
No, no, you make a call first to ask if whoever have coffee on the pot and then give them at least half an hours notice. - That gives people time to either lie: "Sorry, no can do, we are currently shopping at the North Pole". Or give your hosts time to shovel the worst mug into a room and lock the door and then change into to something without holes in it.
The best thing is of course to
arrange a spontaneous visit, preferably a couple of weeks before, so that the host can be completely preparred with a quickly made pot of coffee and a cake...
(..)
However, the J&M branch of the family turned on the cuteness factor way up in their recent shoot in France, so if you think you can handle it, here is a pic of Athena with Nikolai, right after Athena gave him a hug and a kiss:
https://app.box.com/s/rikedlmo81bk3fza45tp
Happy Posting! 
thank you Muhler
