On to Copenhagen

What a neat little settlement north of Struer – about halfway up Denmark’s largest western most island.  We drove up the coast route which is very similar to Netherlands except just not quite as low, but they still have dyke style dunes surrounding the West Coast.  You could be forgiven for thinking you were in Holland still as they also grow a lot of similar crops and there are few hills and the same smelly cow sheds and thatched houses. The thatched roofs of the houses look quite cool and the thatch is about a foot thick.  We heard that it is slightly more expensive than tiles and it only lasts for about 20 years, but people do it to be trendy.

The camping ground is close to the beach which is an awesome round calm bay – perhaps swimming material tomorrow if not too cold.  It’s the middle of summer, but it’s like the middle of winter in Australia.  Temps are down to about 11 degrees at night and 18-20 during the day, with a little chill  on the wind.  We went for a long walk around the bay and will be up early tomorrow (sure we will :-)) to have another walk and perhaps swim.

Saturday July 18^th

So much for an early rise and swim.  It was windy overnight and cloudy with a little rain, plus I woke up feeling miserable, low, unwell and just plain awful.  I guess grief had caught up with me and the stress had put me at a really low point.  Poor Scot, I just wanted to curl up into a little ball, cry and hide from the world, but we had places we had to go which is maybe just as well as I had to pull myself together and face the day.  We went for a walk along the beach which at least got us started for the day and it was really pleasant in the bay – just a shame it was really just too cold for a swim and really too choppy.  If I had been doing tri training in this water I would have only wanted to swim in one direction to avoid copping mouthfuls of water.

We hit the road – me driving as I couldn’t face having to make a decision as to where we were going to head to for the night.  It was easier just focusing on the road and nothing else.  Scot made the decision that we would drive to a lovely area called Laven in the middle of the island where there was a lake.  The countryside starts to change as we head away from the west coast and has more hilly areas, valleys and lovely views with forests.  There wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road which was quite calming and we could relax and enjoy the drive.  We passed through a place called Sejs on the lake just out of Silkeborg which was a beautiful place with very expensive houses along the lake front and there were a couple of great wild camping areas, but it is illegal here in Denmark and I had wanted to see the camp ground I had pegged in Laven as it had looked lovely – supposedly on the lake front.  However the campsite wasn’t quite on the lake front but did overlook it above the little village and was pleasant.  We stopped there for the night but had to endure a couple of middle aged love birds that couldn’t keep their hands or lips to themselves and had their sex covering music going till late…..lol.  It was funny watching other campers walk past their tent and gawk at the spectacle they were confronted with (not the sex part).  Scot wanted to tell them to get a tent (or a room).  We have been quite surprised in Denmark as there seems to be far fewer campervans and a greater amount of caravans and tents.  Not sure why.  And it seems that maybe people don’t have lots of money to spend as a lot of the campervans and caravans appeared to be much older than what we have seen in all the others places we have been so far.  Maybe the Germans are wealthier as they always seem to have new vans.

I talked to the owner of this camping ground whilst Scot was in checking in as he came over to tell me that my steering wheel was on the wrong side …haha.  He was a pommie.  I didn’t realise at the time he was the owner until he told me he had paid 2.5 million pounds for the camping ground 11 years ago.  I guess it is worth quite a lot more now.  It had about 300 campsites charging about 300dkr/night and was very full.  300dkr is about $60 aud at the current rate.  A decent amount of money and most of the caravans were stored there year round.  The campsite is great for kids though as it has a great pool, and huge play area, mini golf, trampolines etc.  We walked into the village but couldn’t find a coffee shop or bar, in fact absolutely nothing retail at all.  The Danish don’t seem to be very big on cafes or even pubs like the Dutch are.

Sunday 19^th July

We made a decision that because Scot wants to go to the Swedish round of the world cup speedway that is on in Malilla next Saturday night we would have to limit our time in Denmark so had to make a decision on where to stay for the next few days.  So today we drove over to the middle island of Funen where Odense is the major city, but we decided we would rather be by the water and I read that it is lovely down in the south of this island.  We had quite a long drive ahead of us so used mostly the highways to get down to the bridge joining the islands.  We were quite surprised by the amount of caravans and campervans that were on the road travelling the other way.  Literally hundreds and hundreds of them, but I guess due to school holidays being on for another 2 weeks everyone is taking advantage of this and getting away.

We flicked right over the little bridge through Middlefart and headed down the coast route towards Faarborg which is a major port here on this island with ferries going to other destinations.  However we passed a little camp ground that I had marked down in this area on the way to Faarborg so decided to go back and stay there at Falsled.  It was lovely and quiet right on the lake.  We met some lovely Danish people there who enlightened us on some of the local customs.  We had wondered why we couldn’t find any fish in the supermarkets we had been to – nothing at all except for frozen stuff and even then it was limited.  Apparently fish gets sold in fish markets mainly at the wharfs as is too expensive and others can’t afford to bid for it at the auctions.  We didn’t find the price expensive compared to what we pay in Australia, but these people said they couldn’t afford it.  We bought some on our way through Faarborg – some fresh and smoked salmon.  I have been quite interested in the price of things in Denmark (and will be in the rest of Scandinavia due to all the comments of how expensive it is) so I check out different foods and compare prices.  Some things are cheaper than we are used to, some are the same and some are more expensive.  And it depends on the supermarket you go to.  I like the super Brugsen here which is like the Albert Hein in Netherlands and provides a great variety, but we priced a packet of chips there and they were 35dkr – $7Aud which we were shocked at, but if you go to the Aldi type stores of course they are a fraction of that price.

We stayed two nights in Falsled and again hoped we may get in a swim but the wind has been too strong still and the water choppy.  We just chilled a bit, went for a walk to the Marina close by to have a Danish ice cream…yumm.  We did the boring things – washing, housework etc as you do and went for a walk around the little village – but like previously couldn’t find a café or anything to get a coffee.  It was relaxing though and just what was needed.

Tuesday 21/7

Today we drove from Falsled back through Faaborg along to Svendborg and up to Nyborg to take the bridge over to the most Eastern island of Denmark. On the way we stopped at a local Chocolatier and had a coffee and a few free samples of the chocolate.  Everywhere we have driven in this area there are little stalls at people’s gates selling fresh produce which at the moment is strawberries, cherries, red currents, fresh peas, potatoes and we have indulged in all of them.  I haven’t had that many fresh red currents since we grew them in our garden when I was a kid.

I would like to have spent more time down near Svensborg and below there but we just don’t have the time – maybe we will come back and see more of Denmark.  The bridge from Nyborg to Halsskov is a gobsmacking 20km long.  No wonder they have a toll on it which cost us 360dkr ($60aud) – only because we lied about the weight of the van otherwise it would have been much more.  It was a pretty awesome bridge and the second part is really high – the photos don’t show how high it really is.

The countryside around most of the country apart from the very western side is very staw coloured when looking at it as everywhere they seem to grow grain.  Not sure what the grain is used for – whether for cattle or for commercial use – flour etc.

We are stopping just outside Copenhagen so we can have two days just in Copenhagen itself.  So we are stopped in a camping ground to the south west of the city.  The campsite isn’t much but you don’t expect a lot from them when you are wanting to see a major city.  We are only here to sleep essentially as we will spend the major part of the next two days in the city.  We are near a beach though so we parked the van and went for a bike ride to the beach.  As we were walking along we found the local life saver with the flags out and just beyond that we could see what looked like an awful lot of skin and no clothing.  We were looking at a naturist area which there seem to be quite a lot of in this country – there are even camping grounds that are Naturist.  So we decided it wasn’t a good idea to keep on walking but it was quite warm so Scot went for his first swim in Denmark – in the Baltic sea, in his undies – he didn’t quite want to go naked like the naturists just up the beach.  He was worried about the fish getting the bait worm…lol.

Earlyish night tonight and early up in the morning for a day of exploring.