What? You think that two guys travelling across America photographing a green couch everywhere they go requires explanation?? :)

Fair enough. The only problem is... we're not sure we have one. The idea just sort of came to us. Like a vision. The whole "Field of Dreams" thing, y'know?

And why not, really? Admitted, we can be hard pressed for an explanation of exactly why we decided to drive a sofa across the country. But we definitely don't regret deciding to do it! It makes it fun to visit all those touristy destinations -- as well as the ones more off the beaten path. And it makes people smile. Everyone looks surprised at first. Then the ones that understand it laugh with us and wish us good luck, while the ones that don't quite get it walk away shaking their heads, yet still smiling sympathetically at those two dopey characters wheeling around the green couch.

So how do we do it? As can be read elsewhere, we tracked down just the right couch at a Goodwill store in Winston-Salem, NC. We then set about dismantling the legs and mounting wheels under it, in order to make it easier to get it in and out of the van and to make it possible to wheel it up and down sidewalks etc. The van that we've made our home for this trip is a 10-year old Ford Club Wagon that we bought and registered in North Carolina. We've fitted it out with two good pieces of foam that fit next to the couch and serve as a mattress for one of us, while the other person sleeps on the couch.

To make the idea of an ongoing web travelogue possible Dan prematurely invested all of his savings in a laptop computer and a digital camera that he will use later as he enrolls at the Danish School of Journalism this winter. With these tools in hand we are able to enhance and update this webpage from the road, and publish the pictures we take as we travel across the country.

Dan Andrew Brendstrup

20 winters ago, Dan was delivered into the world in that faraway northern kingdom of Denmark. He was born a half-breed; his father was a native Dane while his mother was born in Evanston, IL, on the other side of the world. He has visited friends and relatives in America several times throughout the years, and even spent a year at New Trier High School, IL, some 5 years ago. The rest of his life has been spent in Denmark, and he will return there to study at the Danish School of Journalism this winter.

Embarking on this journey he has left behind his parents, three younger sisters and a wonderful girlfriend.

He shares Jens' junk-fetisch, although not always to the same extremes. He is the main narrative voice behind this travelogue and the technical mind behind it's construction. A frosty mug of root beer and a good Mexican dinner can make him sell his soul to the devil... :)

Jens Schwartz Jensen

Unlike Dan, Jens is of pure Viking blood. His blond hair, fair skin and tall figure makes him stand out as a foreigner everywhere we go. He too has twenty years to his name. Though he has travelled extensively in Europe, this trip marks his first journey to the USA.

Back in Denmark Jens has a family consisting of his parents and both a younger and an older brother.

He is a yard-sale fanatic and a Goodwill store Preferred Customer card-holder. On this trip he has added golf and baseball to his long list of sports-interests to make him a bit of a "jock-of-all-trades". All-you-can-eat buffets and free refills on root beer are the Sirens of American culture that lure and tempt him the most.