It’s Friday and we’re home already. No adventures but a really nice break. Plenty of sky (and enormous breakfasts)!
It was surprisingly warm enough to sit on the beach, despite the appearance.
And ice cream
And the end
1st to 4th September – Aldeburgh
It’s a funny old year, so grabbing a few days away where we can.
Staying at the White Lion in Aldeburgh and hooking up with Sheila and Alan and family in Thorpeness from time to time.
Breakfast great but far too much so need to walk it off. Not hard.
And we are on holiday …
Tuesday 4th – Deal
We know it and like it and enjoyed it.
Back in a little over 2 hours. Sad fact – we both decided we prefer anonymous, comfortable, air-conditioned 4 star hotels to quirky ones 🙃
Monday 3rd August – Tea and Takeaways
It’s shaping up to be a weird summer, especially with quarantining coming and going. That means that everyone seems to be holidaying at home in the UK, so there’s not a lot of places to rent. So rather than days out, we thought we’d go a bit further afield and have two days out. Hence Kent.
First stop – Leeds Castle. We were last there in mid-March, just before lockdown and surrounded by daffodils. It looks good in summer as well.
If we follow a general rule-of-thumb that government subsidies that end up with us must, by definition, be a bit daft, then how about afternoon tea at half price. It was yummy though!
Then on to Margate, and quite a quirky hotel set up as a museum from the 30s.
Beach was lovely, and empty. But because of the virus the kitchen was closed, so we were able to order a takeaway and have it on the terrace.
Wednesday 22nd – Home
800 miles over 2 days, but made it (albeit rather tired).
– the whole of Northern Europe’s landscape is unbelievably dull. And so although it was very tedious, I guess it was effective. Very few hold ups.
– speed limits in the Netherlands are annoying. Higher at night, and the satnav seems to think you are using these higher speeds, so arrival time is impossibly optimistic. And they change frequently so you have to stay on the lookout.
– service stations are universally dire.
– adjacent countries do things differently, even though there are effectively no borders. So masks in Germany and Belgium but not the Netherlands.
– everyone speaks English (of course), except when I tried to get a haircut.
– staying in a hotel means breakfast is the best meal of the day by miles.
– Denmark is expensive – might have mentioned that.
– it’s a very long way to drive!
Monday 20th – Highlights
Breakfast (mildly chilly but fantastic)
How could this be anything but a highlight???
Pant (Danish deposit system on cans, bottles etc. I’d been lugging our recyclables around for a week in order to do this. £4 if you’re interested.)
Watering can (bought in Copenhagen)
And the rest
Sunday 19th – On the Move
But first we liked this. Any ideas?
Yes. It really is a crab-racing track.
And one takeaway from Denmark is the food really isn’t great, especially when combined with the prices. Did I say Denmark is expensive???
But the hotel breakfasts have been great. Shouldn’t really take photos of food, but here’s an exception.
Decided not to splash out on a bag of crisps ….
…. at £3 per packet.
Another really dull drive, and somewhat surprisingly it got as high as 28 degrees which didn’t add much to the comfort.
But Skanderborg is a nice little village about 15 miles from Aarhus on the edge of the Lake District.
And dinner with a view.
Saturday 18th – Being on Holiday
Not sure Denmark is top of anyone’s list for a holiday, but in mid-summer and nice weather it is suitably diverting.
Main event today was to Helsingør.
Even closer to Sweden than anywhere else
But really the main reason is that, as everyone knows (now) the castle is the setting for Elsinore in Hamlet.
And the town is ok too.
And the beach.
Enjoyed this view first thing in the morning.
Friday – Louisiana
No, I’d never heard of Copenhagen’s world famous art museum either, and it’s about 20 miles from Copenhagen, but that was the main event today. It’s beautifully located.
And just enjoying the beautiful day at the beach.
And the gardens at the Karen Blixen museum next door to the hotel.
And the masterclass in selfies as usual …
Thursday 16th – Moving Again
Said au revoir to Jo until we’re back in Aarhus and headed north for a few days.
Although the biggest news of the day was that I didn’t get a haircut! All ready to be snipped and remembered to ask about payment – they only use mobilepay which I can’t get. So the shaggy look continues.
Anyway, satnav took us right through the centre of Copenhagen which was great (and easy) and can add that to the cities we have driven right through (remember New York and Marrakech for example).
Took a detour (although in reality distances are tiny compared to what we’ve been used to) to Hillerød and the summer palace Frederiksborg Slot. Fantastic gardens and palace.
Then to the hotel at Rungsted (see map above) with a nice balcony.
Appalling dinner on the marina but lovely beach.
