I know that it has been a while since I have last updated everyone, and for that I apologize. I have been a combination of busy/ lazy. It seems to me that the only free time I have had since leaving on our Easter Adventure has been spent relaxing and trying to recover from the past few crazy days. I am sure I will get along to all of that later, but now onto the interesting parts, and the reason behind this post: A road trip to Denmark and Sweden over the Easter Holiday weekend.
Our adventure started days before we actually left home. Of course there was the typical packing, checking fluids and tires on the car, and getting the house ready for our absence. This last step ended up being a catastrophe that I have just this week finally gotten rid of. It is very difficult to do dishes, wash laundry, and even shower, when none of the water required to do these activities will drain down the pipes. The water instead chose to run out all over the floors, and brought all household chores to a complete halt.... Oh the Joy! This all happened the day before we were slated to leave... we had nothing else to do other then call the owner, and leave on vacation. With the knowledge that I could do nothing about it, I forgot about it and went to bed, knowing the following day would be long, and just the beginning of our journey.
Day One: A Drive Through Germany With a Detour to Visit a Ship
We were up at our normal time and out the door by 9am to start our latest adventure. We were in good spirits due to the beautiful day we had awoken to. The sun was shining and the temp gauge read 60F before we even stepped out the door. It was an easy drive through North Holland, and even across the border to Germany, traffic was light. It was light enough that on a restriction free zone Mikkel got the BMW up to 220 km/h!!!! It is so fun to drive the car that fast!!! We made it to Emden by lunch time, which was nice, because that meant we got to eat lunch on his ship that was moored there! I got a little tour of the ship, and even met the Captain and some of the crew. It was all new to me; therefore I find it very interesting. As an added bonus, we got to eat a nice lunch. One thing I came away from this visit with is a little jealousy; the seafarers on that ship eat amazing meals. Due to the side trip and its consequential delay, we did not reach our cabin in Hundested harbor until midnight. It was about a 14 hour journey that day, and the following day was going to be busy, so no time to rest and relax, but you can always sleep when you’re dead right?!?! (Especially since there is always too much fun to be had!)
Day Two: Brunch, Drinks, and Hanging With Funny Kids
What a great day our second day was. I was so exhausted the day before that I slept like a log and awoke completely refreshed! Since we had a busy day, we showered and got dressed and then headed out the door. We met up with Louise and her family for a wonderful brunch. We had a nice meal, and our entertainment was the wonderful (although slightly under the weather) Frieda. She is such a little doll, and she got me laughing, and I think my laughter slightly encouraged some naughty but lighthearted misbehavior. Brunch ended with a good bye hug from Frieda, and we were off to our next adventure.
After Brunch we headed back to the cabin and then walked down the street to meet p with some of Mikkel's friends and have a beer. A beer turned into several as we all walked back to our cabin and drank the case of beer we had brought with us. Mikkel’s friend Rune had his daughter, Natasha with him for the day, and she is such a doll. I spent the remainder of the day trying to learn Danish from her, and she was so eager to learn all the English I could teach her. Sadly for me, I didn't pick up nearly as much Danish, but Natasha was a quick learner (and a very patient teacher!)
Day Three: A Car Tour of Copenhagen
Day three started with a wonderful breakfast eaten on the beach. Then we said goodbye to Hundested, and headed towards Copenhagen. We had a stop to make before we got to Copenhagen. Mikkel's friends Anders and Laura had just welcomed their baby girl Emily into the world, and we had gifts to deliver and a baby to cuddle! After a fantastic visit with a very adorable baby girl, we were on our way again. Seeing as how this was my first visit to Copenhagen, I had the pleasure of seeing some of the sites from the car. I also got to get out and see the little mermaid statue, and have my picture taken with it. With Mikkel's inability to handle crowds of tourist, I was so happy to be able to do this with him. After the quick tour, we headed to Mikkel's Mother's house. It was my first time meeting his mother, and it was nice. It was nowhere near as stressful as I had imagined it would be. His mother is a lovely person, and our stay with her was very pleasant!
Day four began with a lovely brunch at a nice little cafe with Mikkel and his Mother. After a lovely brunch enjoyed out in the sunshine, I was eager to spend more time out in the sun. ( It was truly the first day that I felt like summer was on its way!) Luckily my best friend's little sister Sam is currently studying in Copenhagen, and met up with her. We found a nice sunny place to sit along the canal, enjoyed several beers, and enjoyed catching up. It was nice discussing home with someone who knows it as intimately as me.
Immediately after meeting with Sam, we headed over to Mikkel's sister, Nikoline's house for dinner. Here again I was severely nervous, because it was the first time I was meeting his sister. Again, I had stressed way more about this then I needed to. Nikoline and her boyfriend Kim are fun, energetic, friendly people, and we had an amazing night. It was a great way to spend our last night in Copenhagen.
Day Five: More Driving, Sweden, and a Canoe Adventure
Day five we began by saying goodbye to Copenhagen and Mikkel's mother, and climbing back into the car for our drive to Sweden, and his Father's house there. The drive there took us about 3 hours. Here again I was nervous for our arrival, because this was my first time meeting his Father. His father and his wife were very welcoming, and put the last of my nerves at ease. Even their dog Tango quickly became my friend!
After introductions and a quick tour, Mikkel had the brilliant idea to take to canoe out for a quick paddle. It was a combined effort to get the canoe down to, and into the lake. That was where the team work ended. Mikkel decided he was better at "supervising", and left the major paddling and steering work to me! (Good thing I knew what I was doing!) After our canoe trip we headed back to the house, where we enjoyed a nice dinner of traditional Danish dishes prepared by Mikkel's Father. It was so relaxing there, that we didn't notice how quickly the time was flying by. At the completion of dinner so much time had passed that we all ended up heading straight to bed.
Day Six: Black Granite Quarry and a Long Drive Home
Day six began with a decision to drive home in our sweats. We figured that with all the hours of driving ahead of us, we might as well be comfortable! After we packed and got the car loaded, we had breakfast out in the sun! Thinking back now, I just cannot believe how lucky we were to have so many days in a row of beautiful weather!!! After breakfast, and a discussion about a bad habit of picking up cool stones, we decided to delay our journey home a few hours, and take a detour to a local rare black granite quarry, turned museum. It was really interesting, and nice to see some sort of site, even on such a short visit.
After about an hour of walking through the quarry, we headed off on our journey home. It was a long drive back, but seeing as how I got to drive back through Germany, I got to see how fast I could take the car. Sadly there was more traffic, so I only got to go 200 km/h, but that is still really fast, and really fun!!!!
Twelve hours of driving later we arrived home, close to midnight, and still no working plumbing. We were exhausted, and had busy days ahead of both of us the following day, so we ignored the plumbing and headed straight to bed! I knew that the following day I would get to meet the baby horse that was born while I was away, and that was enough to get me through.
I hope you have enjoyed my trip to Denmark and Sweden! I have another adventure to write about within the next day or so, that will pick up here, where this adventure leaves off! I am glad to share my adventures with you, look for more to come very soon! Until then, I wish nothing but happy wanderings and wonderings to all!
