Returning on our cruise ship (see photo from our outward journey) to Svendborg where we hope to find our car. I am quietly quite worried but we will find out if it's still there in half an hour or so. We had a lovely time in Ærø - the day we arrived was very sunny.  We had coffee and cake with our hosts and then walked to the local brewery - every town here has one.  We tried a few brews and stocked up for our two day stay.  Our second day was NOT sunny but we did manage to ride to the village of Søby with a 6km walk around a lake on the way  before the rains came down.  It is a really nice island to bike around - more slugs everywhere (will have to research them) and lots of birds but didn't take our binoculars so couldn't really see them. We got to our chosen lunch place just as the rain started to find they weren't open for lunch! A speedy diversion to Ærøskibing and we were at (IMO) the best place we have eaten since we got here.  I even had a nice French Sav and a nice French Syrah (old habits ...). The journey back was very wet - we wanted to be like you guys (drenched in rain). We spent the afternoon drying out and reading before our host sent us of to Lindsberg to see a hilltop site of a long barrow and two passage graves.  Always takes time to get your head around how old everything is.  We also looked at the 'museum' of our host Max, he is an antique collector and was really amazing to see (and Damian could touch!) the many things collected and have some of their history explained. 

And this is from Svendborg - an interesting light in the shopping street.  Also, Dad - the impossibly cute coloured houses continue (so much so we have stopped photographing).

Internet has been flaky the last few days.

Last night we stayed in Tønder which is about 5km from the German border. We visited Ribe on the way here; once again, lots of history. 

Today we'll head to Aarhus via the old town of Tønder, a bird sanctuary and Esjberg. We're thinking we might even detour south across the border a bit just because.

This morning we walked around Aarhus a bit and visited the ARoS Art Museum. Getting a bit tired of museums but this one had some cool things. This boy is by an Australian artist and is posed like an aboriginal person watching the plains.

There's a rainbow-coloured ring walkway on the top of the museum that messes with your vision after a while.

Yesterday we drove from Aarhus to Skagen stopping along the way at Randers where there is a zoo which consists of three big domes that are hot and humid with lush plants and all kinds of animals, many of which are out in the open (which was a bit freaky with the snakes which I presume weren't poisonous and maybe only a bit strangly).

The three domes were Africa, Indonesia and South America.

Skagen is at the very top of Denmark and is where the North and Baltic seas meet. There were a LOT of ant-like tourists making their way to the tip along the beach but it was gorgeous weather and worth the outing.

Here is a 360° view of the place we stayed at in Ærø. Might only work on mobile phones.

This guy, the Tollund Man, was hung or strangled around 400 BC and thrown in a bog. His last meal was porridge.

Today we drove from Aarhus back to Copenhagen, dropped off the rental car and now we're on a fast train to Helsingborg in Sweden. The train crosses the sea between the countries first by going under the water and then it emerges halfway on an artificial island and continues on a bridge under the roadway.

OK so I'm slightly late with some words but here we go .... (this is very long so mainly just a reminder for Damian and I - don't feel you have to read!!!!)

We got back to our car mid morning last Sunday and the car was fine (Damian is such a worry wart - I don't know what all the fuss was about).  

We drove to Tønder (pronounced Tuna) in the rain - was quite a long drive so a bit of a shame.  We stopped at Ribe on the way and had a wander around and some lunch but the weather wasn't great so we only had a short stop. Onto our very small accommodation - about the same size as our storage space at Lynda and Paul's - with double bed, shower/toilet, kitchen and lounge! We walked around the town a bit but it seems Sunday's are a bit quiet here.  We also had our first and only AFD in Denmark!

On Monday we headed off to Aarhus popping into Germany on the way so that Damian could add a new country to countries 'visited'. A lovely drive up the coast stopping at the Wadden Centre - which was a very nicely done museum on the Wadden Sea that is dedicated to migratory birds.  I am pretty sure I read that I would be surrounded by birds and I would take part in a migration, so I was expecting to end up somewhere exotic like East Asia or Awara Bay but instead we just ended up back in the car to continue our journey. We stopped for a lunch (and a beer for me) in Esbjorg which is another nice city before landing in Aarhus.  Our AirBnb was five floors up (no lift) but we enjoyed the exercise. Not the best one we've been to but very cheap so you can't have everything! We were able to catch up on washing before heading into town to check out the Mikellar Bar (no dinner required as we had a big lunch).

The next day we walked into town to see the ARoS museum which was very nice.  We had a nice lunch and retired to our house with the intention of biking to Mosegaard and then to the brewery.  This never happened.  We had developed an unhealthy addiction to watching a downloaded tv series (over now). We headed out to the supermarket for supplies and popped into a little wine bar and had a Sicilian Syrah (winemaker was Danish) that was outstanding.

Now it is time to hit the 'top' - where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea's meet.  We stop at Randers on the way which was surprisingly good.  It is quite fun having monkey's and birds and turtles and funny rodent things just doing their thing all around you (not so keen on the bats and snakes though). We stopped to check out the beach and were horrified that there were cars on the beach - not driving - just parked up so that their occupants didn't have to walk from the road to the beach (about 2 mins). When we arrived in Skagen we took to the bikes and cycled out to Grenen which is where there is a lighthouse and the sea's meet.  I think we arrived at the same time as a cruise ship (or similar) as the walk was like a pilgramage - we made it to the end though and was nice to dip our feet in the water. We cruised back through town and went to check out the local brew - all the brewery's seem to close very early so this must be a rule.  We went to a lovely place for dinner for a 3 course set menu which was a step up from what we had been eating so was quite a nice change.

Next day - Aalborg - rainy again.  We stopped for breakfast where I had a small focaccia roll (there was scales in Skagen) and Damian had a mammoth brunch special the included ....everything (lucky for him he shared his chocolate brownie with me). The receptionist at our hotel, Rune was very helpful and pointed us in the direction of the town hall - where the building next door has little faces moulded into it with disrespectful expressions (tongue's out!) toward the town hall. He also recommended a place for dinner which was in a similar vein to the one in Skagen - we have got a taste for the highlife. This one is eight courses and had now usurped last nights dinner as the holiday favourite.

Next morning an early start back to Aarhus stopping at Silkeborg on the way to see the Tollund man. We also made a stop at Mossegaard but just looked at the roof rather than going through the musuem.  Back to Aarhus and we walked around the waterfront and had found a new number 1 dinner spot - set menu (you get what you're given) but it was sooooo good (mushroom tart / steak / strawberries)!

Early start for a long trip back to Copenhagen. No smelling of roses ..... arrived just before midday and then got tickets for us and bikes to Helsingborg in Sweden. This proved slightly difficult and could have put an end to the holiday but Damian and I are very mature and no grudges were held. Lovely hotel - we checked out a few bars (definitely not going to be as good as Denmark) and then just ate at the hotel.

Woke to the best hotel breakfast I have EVER had. Was beautifully presented and you could go on a journey of discovery as new and exciting things were spread out over lots of different benches and spaces.  Amazing - AND had scrambled eggs and baked beans which is a must in any top notch buffet.  Today is Sunday - and despite having a buy-line that everyday is like a weekend in Helsingborg - nothing is open and it's also raining.  So a chance to catch up on this stuff - which is why it is so ridiculously long) and finish off our tv series (I am not sure the ending was satisfactory). We tried to find out some info on our cycle trip but not much around.  Hopefully we'll just follow our noses tomorrow and all will be well.

Hotel laundry

Denmark in a nutshell-

Bikes

Beer

Grain

Coloured old houses

Too much smoking

Wind turbines

Porridge

Expensive coffee

Slugs

Kirkes and Slots

Beer

Today we start our 8 day bike ride from Helsingborg to Gothenburg. 370km so will be taking it nice and easy each day.

End of the first day and we're staying at a campground in Mölle. Nice, cruisy 53km ride with plenty of smelling the roses along the way.

Our first Swedish fika  (Flickorna Lundgren På Skäret) experience. Delicious! We were hoping to lose a bit of weight but I guess that's no longer on the cards.

[edit: 49km today though so better than nothing]

63km from Vejbystrand to Halmstad today. The biggest hill is now out of the way. Lots of beach holiday houses and some nice forest cycling.