But then we got away a little late, joined a bit of a Saturday mass exodus from the Amsterdam region and then joined a similar queue in Northern Germany. Although not summery warm by our standards, clearly the coastal areas of most countries are more pleasant than the cities.
So by the time we entered Denmark it was late afternoon so we figured we would stay the night. Just need to find a nice town….
Julia once again excelled herself, randomly picking a town on the map that appeared to be on the coast, kind of an island and not too big. Sunderborg.
When we got there it wasn’t long before we were wondering if we should stay 2 nights………..this part of Denmark (the only part we have seen!) is absolutely magical. History, castles, tall ships, street malls, green paddocks down to the water, lots of stone and lots of sailing boats of all shapes and sizes.
And then we went for dinner…….wow, it is true what they say about Scandinavia being expensive. Things were suddenly twice as expensive and as we had arrived quite late, we were left with few choices. So being in Denmark we thought we should have some traditional fare…..Mongolian BBQ!!
The Hotel had an indoor pool, the best breakfast in a hotel for ages and was in a great spot by the water so we stayed a second night. We figured we all needed a day to catch up. We were a little surprised when asking about local shops that the hotel staff suggested everything would be closed as it was Sunday. Sounds like the perfect excuse to do nothing!
Our quiet day in Sunderborg became a trip in the countryside when Julia read about a local village that was hosting a “tilting at the ring” festival. We headed across to hopefully see local horsemen and horsewomen charging through the town with lances, spearing small steel rings hanging from poles. But 6 loops up, down and around the little village failed to find anything at all so we figured it was rained out and headed back to Sunderborg.
By late afternoon it was warm enough and dry enough to sit outside, watching yachts come back in as the sun set across the water. We met a German couple who were doing the same thing and once again found that German tourists are incredibly polite and friendly, ranked alongside the Dutch we think for “friendly tourist” awards!
Before we knew it it was our third day in Denmark so time to head for Germany!