We woke this morning to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. We have made it to Denmark. 

We’ve actually been on the road for two weeks. It has been a bit of a faltering start to the trip. We traveled North to Holland for the first week, but the weather was bitterly cold and wet, except for one day when the sun put its best foot forward and we visited the stunning Keukenhof Gardens, to see the majestic displays of Spring flowers. If you haven’t this place on your radar and you are a lover of flowers, nature and/or all things gardening, I would definitely recommend it. And top tip; get there early, the morning light is amazing and we had a large part of the first hour or two almost to ourselves, later the crowds were three deep try to photograph tulips.

We did get some breaks in the rain to enjoy biking and strolling through the tulip fields, spotting a windmill or two and a bike ride along the canals into the lovely town of Leiden. In the past my encounters with Amsterdam have been mixed. It is a wonderful city, with so much to explore and enjoy, but it can be overcrowded and a bit ‘messy’, especially around weekends. Leiden on the other hand, a small university town not 50km to the south west of Amsterdam, has all the charm, beauty and canals of the capital without the crowds and mess.

From Holland we headed East back into Germany and spent a few days in Bremen, a beautiful Hanseatic city on the Weser river, it shows all the hallmark of the prosperity associated with a major trading hub. Its large market square, surrounded by ornate buildings, an impressive city hall and cathedral. The statues of Roland which dates from 1404 and the Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (from the Grimes fairytale, “Town Musicians of Bremen”) are a real draw. It was lovely getting lost in the narrow side streets and finding ourselves in Bremen’s oldest district the Schnoor quarter. This area is old world and quaint with a thriving art scene and lots of cosy cafes and eateries. 

And so we head north, we are just south of Aarhus, Denmark for a couple of nights, we drove from Flensburg, Germany yesterday. Our very fitting first stop in Denmark, was at the UNESCO World Heritage site at the Jelling Monuments. Considered the birth place of Denmark, this viking burial and memorial site consists of two mounded hills with a church between them and two large rune stones, upon which the name Denmark is first mentioned. These stones have a reverberation in modern culture, erected by Harald Bluetooth, he was considered to be a skilled communicator, in his bringing together warring factions and so modern technology has adopted his name for bluetooth technology.

We will enjoy our short stay in Denmark as Norway beckons by the end of the week. Even after this short encounter, I feel like Denmark is a place we will be returning to in the future, for a more in depth get to know you session.