Leaving Holland we were keen to get to Scandanavia so headed kinda directly north. Our last stop in the country was for lunch along the way at a beautiful village called Giethoorn, that had canals instead of roads. Lovely.
Then we crossed the border into Germany. A nothing overnight stop there as we pulled off the highway and parked up in a residential street. Lots of stares and a not particularly friendly vibe so we were keen to put some kms behind us the next day. And so we did. Threw James the map and the camperstop book and he came up trumps – calculating our speed & direction and entering the coordinates of a well placed stellplatz for the night. It turned out to be the carpark for a swimming pool so next morning, in the bright sunshine, we all went for an early swim befire starting schoolwork. A slide and a couple of very, very high springboards provided nervous entertainment for all of us!
Next day we crossed into Denmark, viking country, and immediately headed for Ribe – a historic centre for Viking culture. We visited the Viking Centre there which was an excellent setup. It was a village laid out how it would have been 1,000 years ago with the right type of buildings, farm enclosures etc.
The village was populated by people living the Viking life. These weren’t actors (some were paid, most volunteered) but Danes who were prepared to immerse themselves in the culture and live and breathe as a viking would. So they cooked over fires in traditional methods, grew veges, kept and slaughtered livestock and practised hunting and fighting techniques.
It was apparently very authentic and the only thing they had shipped in was beer and vegetables to supplement their diet. Oh and they skipped the raping and pillaging as far as I could tell.
After an eventful afternoon, we literally set the compass for West and headed for the coast. Found an utterly remote and beautifulplace to wildcamp for the night. The total traffic that passed by was 1 car, 2 sets of cyclists and one dog walker. Middle-of-nowhere stuff.
Of course, with kids, the number one destination in Denmark is Legoland. By chance we weren’t far so next morning we headed there and munched our lunch in the van before headed in. Prices were already markedly higher than the rest of Europe so packed lunches and lunch in the van are the go! Legoland was great – as you’d expect a theme park with the usual rides and some massive lego displays (some with bricks running into the millions).
That night we found a spot about 20 minutes away in the middle of a farming area. Again a very peaceful spot (until the combine harvester came by fisrt thing next morning… what are the odds we parked up night before the harvest!).
Washing needed doing so next day we stayed at a campsite in a place called Viborg, on the way to the North coast where we were due to catch a ferry to Norway. Nice campsite on the lake, exclusively occupied by Danes with caravans (except us!) and we both did a run round the lake in the morning (and a quick swim).
Then it was time to head for the ferry at Hirtshalls so we headed North and awaited boarding in the queue for our 9:30pm departure.
The ferry was excellent – had been dreading 15.5 hours especially as there were no cabins left when we booked last minute so we were confined to upright seats for the duration (Frosty was off limits too). However, after asking at reception, it turned out they had a no-show and a cabin was available. Just 47 Euros extra and we snapped up the cabin and beds for the night. Additionally, the boat, being just 5 months old was like a cruise ship (to us!). Kids activities, bars and restaurants everywhere and plenty of room. We loved it!
