Days 160-161 – Brejning Strand, Denmark
Next morning we awoke to pouring rain. I have never been so glad to be in a tiny cabin in my life! It would have been an absolute nightmare to wake up in the tent and try to pack up camp in the driving rain. It really was quite relentless and even packing things into the car was difficult (for Steve!) I had other jobs to do as part of renting the cabin such as sweeping, mopping and cleaning – I’m still in shock over that. I can’t believe they expect people to clean a campground cabin before they leave it and when they have only slept in it for one night. In Asia I would have just done someone out of a job!
Anyway, the kids watched tv, Steve packed the car and I cleaned and we hoped for the rain to ease. It did a little and we were able to leave the cabin and drive north to Brejning Strand to see my old Rotary Exchange student friend Gitte and her family.
We only had about 100 kms to drive today so we weren’t in a hurry. It rained the entire way and when we got to the nearby city of Vejle we decided to check out the local mall with 2 hours of free undercover parking. We treated the boys to Burger King; a change from eating Swedish polkabrod (circular bread) and cheese, ham or jam. Steve and I bought some 10 kr sandwiches from the Kvickly supermarket. After our two hours of free parking was up we left the mall and drove to the small town of Brejning, close to Gitte’s house and had a tour of the local woods and water. It continued to rain the whole time we drove.
Gitte and Anders, with their 3 little children Sophia 4, Julius 3 and Johannes 2 and live-in super nanny Yanna, live in a fantastic house (photo to come soon … here it is) overlooking the Vejle Fjord. This was the best photo I could get sitting in the car as it poured with rain!
What a great place to live. We sent up camp in the children’s playroom for the night; certainly not good weather for camping in a tent. Our boys enjoyed sitting in their ‘Fatboy’ bean bags and watching TV. Gitte had bought some traditional Danish pastries for afternoon tea and we caught up on 18 years; apart from Facebook in recent years we hadn’t kept in touch at all. When Anders came home from work we got ourselves ready to drive the short distance to the marina; if it wasn’t raining we could have easily strolled down to the restaurant in 5 minutes.
We were treated to a delicious dinner with Gitte, Anders and the two ‘big’ kids. We got a set menu that included lobster soup or licorice and raspberry icecream with fruit; and lamb cutlet and vegetables; with plenty of red wine to wash it down. Yum! By far one of the nicest meals we have had in our travels. Tack! The boys enjoyed sausages and chips and an icecream for dessert.
As the kids were all getting tired, we headed back up the hill to their house for coffee and chocolates. We talked til late, but as our hosts both had to work the next day we said goodnight. Anders was to head to work early in the morning before we would even wake and take Johannes to nursery with him. You may have only counted to Danish children … yep, missed getting a photo of Johannes and also Yanna.
In the morning we woke to fresh bread rolls with cheese and ham or thinly sliced chocolate; a traditional Danish breakfast. Gitte had been up early and driven to the bakery for us. We ate breakfast together before she had to rush out the door to work with two little kids. Whilst the rain continued to pelt down, we enjoyed the leisurely surrounds of her house; the boys watched TV and played Playstation; I sat at the kitchen bench for a few hours catching up on the website and booking some accommodation in Germany. The weather forecast wasn’t holding much promise of dry weather so it was better to book a room ahead and not have to worry when we arrived in our next destination.
We ate some lunch before we hit the road on our drive to Hamburg; fueled up the car, which cost 580 kr for 50 litres of diesel; and headed off in the rain. When we crossed the border into Germany it was suddenly dry! The roads were really busy with many trucks, caravans, motorhomes and cars; much busier than Swedish roads. We arrived in Hamburg as peak hour traffic was starting up; found our hotel/hostel easily and got our car park.
We stayed at the Meininger Hotel/Hostel in Hamburg. I didn’t realise at the time how popular it was. When we arrived it was packed. We settled in our comfortable room and were able to cook dinner in the guest kitchen. We set off for a walk after dinner and found the local ‘Toom Markt’ supermarket. Geez it good to be in Germany; the groceries are so much cheaper than Sweden and Denmark and the wine and beer (which didn’t invest in).
Well, another day done. A brand new country again for the next week and more adventures to come.
Hi to you all,
It must be so nice to catch up with all your friends. Glad you were able to avoid camping in the rain – not much fun. Enjoy Germany
love, Mum and Dad
Guten Morgen!!! Have a great time in Germany. I hope your travels are lots of fun. Let me know what you want me to do for Patrick’s birthday – spending money??
All is good with us. Michael is starting to say more words – Eh for Erin and Nanna, DaDaDa etc. Very cute.
Cold day tomorrow 13-15 degrees! Love Simone