Category Archives: posted by Nina

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Day 13 – Goodbye Donegal

We were ready nice and early, having slept right next to the cliffs of Sliabh Liag. The Lonely Planet suggested to drive to the upper car park and then walk for about 500m to get some nice views. That sounded like a short stop with a great photo op. However, when we got there, the upper car park was closed off. The wardens told us that it’s a 2km walk to the upper car park or we could wait until 10am and take up the first shuttle bus. Waiting till 10am wasn’t an option and Flo was against taking the bus anyway.

The Agent of Entropy was carried in the baby carrier, Number 3 walked and we “hiked” up to the upper car park. It wasn’t too bad except for the fact that hiking on asphalt isn’t the greatest kind of fun.

We were the first ones up at the upper car park. The coffee and souvenir trucks hadn’t even opened yet but Flo already spotted “The sober bar” which sold non-alcoholic beers. Starting the actual hiking track was fun as most of it consisted of steps made out of natural stones. We soon realized that the views onto the cliff were best from the car park and we didn’t intend to do the whole ridge walk with two small kids. The next nice viewing area was our snack spot and then we turned around again, just in time for the first shuttle bus to arrive.

far enough for us, time to head back down – after snacks

It was lovely that we’d beaten the crowds. Bus after bus started to arrive at the car park. Since we’ve already been as high up as we’d go, we now sat down to have a tea, a cookie and that non-alcoholic Guinness that Flo had seen the night before.

Though this stop was more involved than we’d thought, it was a great one. Sliabh Liag is a cliff, going 600m down into the sea and is thus higher than the cliffs of Moher. The view onto the wall rising out of the water into the clouds was pretty amazing, though I can imagine that the views from the cliff top down are even more spectacular.

From here, our next planned stop was the beach at Rossnowlagh. But first, lunch. “The Rusty Mackerel” only started serving meals from 1pm onwards which was too late for us. Looking out for a bakery along the road, I checked the recommended cafes in Killybegs. Cafe Ahoy was recommended for its seafood chowder. That line alone triggered Flo’s taste buds so we passed the bakery and went there.

Happy to find a table quickly even if it was inside, we decided what to order. Being asked for our drinks order, the waitress told us that she can’t take our food order yet as there are a couple of tables before us. That was an odd statement without any further explanation. We sat there for 30 minutes with our drinks, without ordering food. Literally the second that Flo wanted to get up and leave, the waitress took our order. Hoping that now it would speed up the process, we spent ANOTHER 30 minutes there without any food. Seriously pissed, we finally got up and left. That was seriously shitty customers’ service…please let your guests know if there’s a long waiting time ESPECIALLY if they have young kids who will clearly starve if they have to wait for an hour.

An hour had passed, we still needed food, the kids were crying because they were so hungry. So we did what we should have done in the first place: We went to the bakery. It turned out to be a bakery/deli so we even had Sheppard’s pie, quiche and pasta salad for lunch and were done in 15 minutes. Cafe Ahoy, you might have been lovely but that was just not acceptable.

Finally, finally, with the kids asleep in the car, we drove to Rossnowlagh. It’s a beach along the way where you can drive your car right up to the water so it made the kids and Flo happy. To be fair, the kids were ecstatic to put their feet into the ocean again. Number 3 wanted to learn everything about jelly fish as this was the first beach where some of them had been beached.

like a dive-in movie. Extremely bizzare. Plus, everyone in camping chairs …

30 minutes later, we had to leave again as the tide was coming in. Some car owners didn’t make it quite fast enough and that their cars bathed in salt water from beneath. Not really a good thing…

But, we were also leaving county Donegal, the first county of the republic of Ireland that we’ve been to. It’s been quite a ride. Counties Sligo & Mayo are beckoning. Well, they will be tomorrow. Today we pulled up in a lakeside caravan park that was overpriced, basic and really nothing special. However, we had a long distance gaming session scheduled and needed power and reception for that.

So proud of how much good care he takes of his sister

Day 12 – Castle and bog

We got up, ready to go back to the beach. Both kids had loved running along the beach, feet in the water so saying goodbye to the beach was a high priority. But first, breakfast. We took the easy route as this campground had a mini kitchen for campers to use: toast and a boiled just saved us quite a bit of time, so much in fact that we even got to use the other facilities and had a lovely shower. Right before caking the kids in sunscreen, sand and salt water. XD

We left the beach later than Flo wanted but too early for the kids so I call it a fair compromise. Our next destination was the Glenveagh National Park although we didn’t have a good idea about what to do there. I already had a hike through Poisened Glen planned for the afternoon and the Glenveagh Castle was closed today.

In the end, we just went with the flow. The Glenveagh Castle Visitor Centre had a charger which we could use without cost, the shuttle bus to the castle cost 6€ for all of us as a return ticket and according to the wardens in the centre, it was great to just explore there for a while. Plus, Number 3 got to ride another – fully electric – bus and was happy.

The walk that caught our eye was a 2km loop to a viewpoint with a view down to the castle and the lake. In the beginning, it led through the outer parts of the “garden” with exotic plants and an Italian terrace but then it meandered up through more native landscape. Both kids were really good throughout the hike. Number 3 had no choice but to walk it all while the Agent of Entropy was carried uphill and then demanded to walk a section of the path downhill.

Nina on the viewpoint, looking down on kitsch “castle”

It was past lunchtime by now but the cafe in the castle was pretty packed and didn’t have a lot that I count as “food”. We rather took the bus back to the Visitor’s Centre and had a pricey lunch there, right next to a playground. Still, for 6€ plus free charging, this was definitely a win.

From here, it was just a short car ride to Poisoned Glen but the Agent still feel asleep. She’s done almost 2 hours longer than her usual naptime so that was quite impressive. Number 3 also was tired but he wasn’t allowed to sleep as he needed to walk more as soon as we stopped.

The way to the Glen was scenic already with a view to Errigal Mountain to the right and a sort of bog landscape all around. Parking next to a ruined church, the “rough hiking path” turned out to be a hopping from stone to boulder and back through the bog. Given that Ireland is having a heat wave with 23 degrees and multiple days without rain in a row, the path was pretty dry with occasional patches of bog or a small stream running over it. Flo was instantly happy. The Agent of Entropy slept through most of it and Number 3 was an amazing mountain sheep (he doesn’t want to be a goat). It was described as a 4km round-trip and we got a good stretch in when suddenly, we decided to go back. Number 3, who was very tired by now, had slipped and put a foot in the bog. When he pulled it out, his shoe stuck. It was a catastrophe for him, while Flo had a laughing fit. Of course, we managed to rescue the shoe and Flo cleaned it enough that Number 3 could put (a now very wet shoe) back on.

Back at the car, we embarked on a longer ride to Ardara and over Glengesh Pass. Another really scenic drive though by now, we’ve all had a long day and weren’t as wowed by the scenery anymore. When we arrived at the campground next to Sliabh Liag, I was pretty tired. Just a simple dinner of bread or muesli had to do and then we brought the kids to bed.

Since it was kinds early still, Flo arranged our makeshift baby phone and we went the 300m to the nearest pub “The Rusty Mackerel”. It was lovely as a location, all food looked really good but the kitchen had closed at 8pm and I was a little twitchy because the kids “were so far away”. However, we discovered that Guinness now produces a 0.0 beer which is an important information on a road trip.

Day 10 – Carnival of Colours

It actually was a bit hard to leave Maddybenny’s in the morning. The playground was just so convenient and both kids played so well with the other kids, even though the Agent used exactly zero words to do it. Flo and Number 3 did a goodbye lap so Number 3 could give a wave to all the kids he’d played with. Despite all these extras, we were on the road early, even too early for our first attraction as it turned out.

I had picked the Downhill Demesne and the Mussenden Temple as my next “want to see” spot. The area featured in Game of Thrones and is said to be beautiful on its own. However, when we turned up at Lion’s gate, it was still closed. It would open at 10am which, obviously, it wasn’t yet. Flo drove on into the town of Downhill but the cafe there was closed too. While turning, we saw a tunnel leading to the beach though and discovered to our surprise that you actually drive onto the beach if you go through the tiny tunnel.

I tried to debate but Flo wouldn’t even listen anymore so we ended up with our car on the beach. It was fine as the sand was quite well compacted (obviously, a lot of cars had been here) and the location was stunning. Both kids loved to run around barefoot in the sand while I enjoyed that the Mussenden Temple was already visible from here.

Shortly after 10am, we pulled into the almost empty parking lot at Lion’s Gate. The Temple is closed for the public so National Trust only charges 5 pounds for parking. Walking by the coffee place, we couldn’t resist first getting hot beverages and baked goods before we actually looked at the place. I enjoyed wandering around, enjoying the views down to the beach and the ocean, the wind and the kids running around, discovering things on their own.

Pretty house, Lord Bishop – we really should eat the reach.

It was an A+ morning with the unexpected beach and the expected grounds. On to the city of Derry for lunch and then a walk along the walled city which has never been breached. Plugged in the car, walked to my pre-picked lunch place…and discovered that it only opens at 1pm which was too far away to just wait around. Poor hungry Number 3 but we switched things around and went on the walk first. The wall is pretty impressive even though a lot of it has been incorporated into the city by now. The walls are 9m thick which makes it a nice stroll to walk the whole length. The canons along the way were a highlight for the kids with the Agent demanding to walk a good part of it, rather than sleeping in the carrier.

Leaving through the Shipquay Gate again, we walked into the Carnival of Colours which is a festival in Derry on August 6^th and 7^th this year. There were food stalls, stages with performances and people in costume moving about. A lady in a butterfly costume impressed both kids a lot when she told me all about the programme of the carnival. We still decided to have lunch first as we were pretty much starving by this point and then come back for the carnival.

The queue of the face paint was too long for my taste so we negotiated to watch two shows (acrobats with staffs and jugglers, a lady doing gymnastics on a ring) and a streetside magician/juggler. Both kids were in awe of all the things and the second “Rummel” we’ve encountered in a couple of days.

From Derry we went up north, as our campground was already on the way to the northern most point of Ireland. We arrived quite late, fortunately, as it was the lamest campground we’ve been on so far. It was just a long road of caravans, one next to another and us right at the end of the lane with a walking distance feeling like 1 km to the toilet.

Surprises good and bad, two festivals and a very defensive population. — Some sneak preview from below – this was a scene in GoT, btw …

Some sneak preview from below – this was a scene in GoT, btw …

Day 8 – Giant’s Causeway, the obligatory stop

It rained a lot in the morning. In fact, it rained pretty much ever since last night, with differing intensity. It made breakfast a cold affaire. At this point, I was quite tired and on the lookout for a place to stay an extra night. This was not it. Too few people to keep the kids entertained, a tiny playground and Flo had itchy feet. After the “catered” experience at Carrick-a-rede, Flo really wanted to do the longer hike towards the Giant’s Causeway.

Instead of paying the fee for parking and the visitors’ centre, we decided to walk from the town of Bushmills. The Lonely Planet advises that you can walk along the heritage railway line for 2 miles and thus see the Causeway for free. In total, one way would be 3 miles as it is another mile from the visitors’ centre to the actual Causeway.

With the kids, it felt like a bit of a mission. We broke down our camp in the rain, drove the 20 minutes to Bushmills and assembled our kits: From sunshine to storm, you must cover all your bases. Starting the hike, Number 3 was delighted to follow the tracks, or rather walk in between the tracks. The railway only operates on weekends and as it was Friday, we were confident that no train would use the tracks. We were wrong though. Luckily, the train was moving only very slowly and no one could have missed it coming down the tracks but it spoilt Number 3’s fun of walking on the tracks for the rest of the day.

The train tracks wound their way through a golf course and along a beach to an intersection: Go left and along the cliffside or straight along the tracks right to the Visitors’ centre. Since it was a return hike, we opted for the cliffside walk now and the straight track on the way back. The kids were already hungry, and the Agent looked quite sleepy in the baby carrier.

souch a pretty walk, and mostly to ourselves

We turned onto the cliffside path. It started with a small crossing over a stream, continued with a narrow path through brambles and gorse and led to the stunningly beautiful cliffside. It was well worth it to take this hike. Number 3 also enjoyed it as well, but by now, he’d slowed down a bit. Flo kept us informed how long we still had to go until we reached the picnic tables and thus our lunch break.

The Agent made it to our lunch spot but didn’t eat a lot as she was so tired. Everybody else was cheered up and refreshed by the food and break and we continued to the Visitors’ centre, right around the corner as it turned out. The picnic area is already a part of the complex. A fact which Flo hadn’t pointed out on the way here. Right after our lovely little lunch break, we walked headfirst into busloads of people, and overflow carpark and queues at the toilets. It was a bit of a shock to the system, I have to admit.

lavaflow, cracked when cooling down, filled in and then eroded …

From here, it was another easy mile down a bus operated road to the Causeway. As we had seen from a distance, it was crawling with people. Well, with as many people as were allowed in today as the National Trust also sells tickets for this attraction and not too many people did the hike.

Taking our time, sitting down, letting the kids roam, we got to take the sight in. The Causeway’s hexagonal stones are quite amazing. Number 3 climbed all over the place and even the Agent demanded some leeway for climbing and walking through puddles. Flo and Number 3 moved towards one of the edges, talked to one of the wardens there and then explored a big puddle where some sea-life could be observed.

At some point, I had to face the fact that we had to hike back. Number 3 was starting to get tired after roaming around and climbing all sorts of stones. In the end, I convinced Flo to take the bus up the one-mile-long road to the Visitors’ Centre. It gave Number 3 an unexpected bus ride, saved us a mile of walking and it was just so damn convenient for a pound a person.

This time, we walked along the railroad tracks all the time. It dragged. Number 3 was still walking but slowly now. Distracted by a conversation about his next birthday party, we finally made it back to the car. Yippie! No rain showers, mostly sunshine, a couple of clouds and a great day at the Causeway was over. I was ready to head to the campground and call it for today.

she was so proud to be in the driver seat

Flo and I had a brief exchange about having coffee somewhere as a reward for the kids and I managed to put “Koko” in Portrush into our Sat nav. Great coffee and maybe a slice of cake sounded lovely just about right now. Driving into Portrush, we were taken by surprise by two things: The coffee place was about to close and only offered take away – which were still top notch. Number 2 there was a big fair at the waterfront with a building full of rides right next to it. Both kids were determined to go have a look even after we told them that we’d spent our last coin on the bus ride.

Since they were so good during the hike and the café had closed, they got two rides worth of tokens each and we headed inside. They rode carrousel horses and a fun bus before we left. Number 3 got a special bumper car ride all by himself as an extra as the Agent did not meet the height requirement. She and I waited outside so that it wouldn’t be too hard on her.

Now we were more than ready to go. Just…one more thing. A stop at a grocery store to pick up supplies for breakfast.

Our pre-arranged campground turned out to be lovely. We got a grassy pitch, electricity, a playground, and LOTS of kids to play with. In fact, it was so lovely that we asked to extend our stay for another night and I finally get my rest day tomorrow.

this came in seconds, Nina and the Agent got caught out at the loo

Day 6 – On to Eire

And with that, our time in Scotland had come to an end. If we hadn’t pre-booked our ferry, I’m sure we would’ve stayed for another night. It was just such a lovely campground. The owner was nice, the landscape super pretty and our neighbours easy to chat to, plus they liked having Number 3 around.

We packed everything up with time to spare and headed off to the small town right next to the ferry port. Flo’s plan was to charge the car, spent a little time and then head on to the check-in. The first charger, however, was out of service. By the time we’d gotten to the next one about 3 minutes later, me (and with me Number 3) had gotten nervous about missing the ferry. By unforeseeable happenstance, Flo listened to me and we drove on to the ferry port…where we logically stood in line for a while. 😀 We were by no means the first ones at the port but I got A LOT of shit for our waiting time. Not even a coffee and two muffins made a real difference.

Leaving the campground, we had told the kids about leaving Scotland and continuing to Ireland. The Agent of Entropy said “nochmal Schottland bitte” (Scotland again please) which she always says if she enjoyed something and would like to repeat the experience.

slightly worried, AoE might get blown off her feet

Alas, time continues to go by even when you’re just waiting around and we were allowed to board eventually. The kids were raving with excitement. Everything was big and loud, it was windy outside and there were toys to play with. I think, the Agent of Entropy has found her calling as a being of the wind. She probably feels kinship to it as it also brings a lot of entropy into the world.

For us adults, it seemed like another ferry ride, mostly like the one to cross Cook Strait: Waiting time, overpriced bad food in the restaurant, people battling for the comfiest spots. Since this ferry ride though, both kids really want to go back onto a boat, but please for longer next time, okaaaaay?

At 1.30pm we arrived in Belfast. The Agent hadn’t slept on the ferry instead she’d been all over the place and was thus exhausted. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep in the car although we just drove from the port to a charger in the inner city. Flo managed to gently put her in the kids carrier so we could go and explore Belfast a bit. Number 3 still is a city exploring champion. He walked everywhere with us, through the rain, from coffee time until dinner.

We started with a bit of a tour around the quarter that we ended up in. There were murals to look at and little lanes to take. We came across many a pub that looked lovely but it was neither the time nor the circumstances to go into one. Instead, we found our way into “Established coffee” for a coffee time break. By that time, the Agent of Entropy had woken up again and graciously agreed to a chocolate cookie and a babyccino.

Around the corner there was a cathedrale which had a spike coming out of the middle of it. It piqued Flo’s curiosity so we went in. Unfortunately, it was about to close. They let us in for five minutes but we couldn’t figure out why the spike was there and what it meant. Number 3 was happy though as he got to light a candle in the church, something he really wanted to do in Aachen already. I loved it too, as a kid.

From here, we took the “scenic” route to our car, still debating how to proceed with the day. We were toying with a couple of options i.e. having an early dinner in town or setting up camp and then taking the bus back to Belfast for dinner. We decided to go for the first option as both kids seemed to be over a certain threshold already. Unfortunately, Number 3 had listened in to our conversation and demanded a bus ride in the 100% electric, pink double-decker buses which we simply couldn’t work into our plans today. Proving our suspicion that the kids really just needed to go to bed, he had a full-on tantrum. Many words of comfort and a promise of a bus ride in Dublin later, we went to dinner in Yügo. Asian fusion at its best, the plates to share were right up our (and the kids’) alley. I had miso-grilled corn and fried rice, Flo had duck truffle rice, Number 3 opted for blackened salmon and the Agent chose and ate the chicken spring rolls all by herself. As all food was just so good, we decided to order another round with dumpling, kimchi buns and last but not least, milk chocolate ganache as a dessert which my kids ate more of than me.

Round bellies and sleepy eyes shuffled back to the car and we headed for our communal campground, only 15 minutes Belfast city centre. It turned out to be just what we needed with a patch of grass, facilities and a code-operated gate which kept everyone outside who was not camping.

Just when everything was set up and the kids in bed, we realised that there were a washing machine and a dryer set up here to comfortable use. It was just too good to pass on so Flo took it upon himself to manage our laundry while I just went to bed.

P&O goes to Larne, we are heading for the Stena Line Terminal

Day 4 – Holidaying

With the longest of the pre-planned days and definitely the most stressful one (for me) behind us, we can now slow down a bit. It manifested by us lying in our sleeping bags a bit longer even with the kids awake; and Taking our time to make breakfast without starting to pack at the same time; with being happy that one of the other kids showed up with a card game (Dobble) that he wanted to play with Number 3 and actually taking the time to play two rounds; and also, having a bit of a forest exploration detour before leaving the campground.

primally natural – Flo enjoyed the cuddles

We found rabbit holes and empty snail houses and unripe hazelnuts, much to delight Number 3. The Agent of Entropy seemed to need cuddles more than anything as she simply refused to walk.

Luckily for (me) us, the sun was shining this morning and it got warm quickly. Flo had been grumbling about summer being over now that we started this holiday into a cold and wet country. And England had been true to the stereotype, greeting us with grey skies and drizzle. Today, even Flo enjoyed the weather (at least in the morning).

We hit the road for a short drive to a fast charger. With only 250km to go today, we could allow for more stops and a leisurely pace. Since we’d taken our time on the campground, it was close to lunch time by now and we had to feed the tigers. That was no problem with the standard highway rest stop, greeting us with our pick of fast food to choose from.

Back at the car, we realized that charging hadn’t worked the way we wanted but it had stopped prematurely. Slightly fed up with the whole charging situation in England, we opted for Fastned with we knew would be good. The nearest one was another 40 minutes away but we just had had lunch and Number 3 had asked for ice cream as dessert. So we even had another excuse to stop.

we are here for the carge, not the familiarity, promised

Fastned worked as well as it is known for. There was a Lidl next to it so we got some shopping down in the meantime. Number 3 got ice cream, the Agent got to push one of the fun sized trolleys and there was even a toilet to boot. All the things you could ask for with small kids. >.< It wasn’t quite as nice as the coop yesterday though. #battleofthesupermarkets

Loaded up with (now slowly melting) ice cream in the car, we drove towards the campsite. Unfortunately, it was another 1.40hours away due to a small traffic jam in the middle. There was no good opportunity to stop and enjoy some ice cream, instead we were really glad when we arrived at the campsite.

Nobody greeted us. Even after the phone call we weren’t much better off as the person on the phone had said that the internet was down and she would check later if we’d booked and paid as we said. Slightly confused, we had half-molten ice cream on our blanky when Flo read his conformation email again. It cleared up everything. It said: Please call to let us know you’ve arrived, then proceed to choose a tent site to your liking, set up and we will get back to you as soon as our work allows us to do.

Easy enough to follow. It is a great campsite on a working farm. There are many, many sheep, lots of horses and our good old neighbours, the cows. It was an instant hit with the kids. The words “farm”, “horses” and “cows” were uttered a lot, mostly by our youngest one.

By now, the sky was grey again and a chill wind blew in from the west. We are just a stone’s throw from the Scottish border after all. We got our lovely dinner done before the rain set in. Friends of ours had given us the cook book “two pans on the road” a while ago and for this trip, we’d actually remember to take it with us – thanks Number 3 for going and picking out a few recipes. Thus, the first recipe was followed and tasted great! 🙂

Good morning sunshine, porrige to get started

Day 2 – Cows in fog or find the best pastry in France

After a good night’s sleep, where the temperature dropped to surprisingly low 14 degrees, we were the first ones to get up at the campground. Everything was covered in fog. Our new neighbours on the pasture were hard to spot but their young ones had breakfast at the barn and they delighted our kids.

The calfs get some good hearty vegetarian breakfast too (small bugs not counted)

Even after breakfast, we were the only ones moving around the campground so we tried and failed to get the kids to be quiet. I feel like this is going to be a thing on this trip, especially with the Agent of Entropy. Either she’s going to be asleep, or she will get out as many words as she possibly can. Given that her repertoire is limited…that means a lot of repetitions.

Though we took a bit of time, we hit the road nice and early. Arrival at the Atomium in Brussels was 11am, but we hadn’t booked anything, not for the restaurant or even going up the tower. All the people there plus the queues convinced us to put “Belgium” on the list for a shorter holiday some time else and just look at the Atomium from the outside today.

it will take you more than a few moments to realise that he is not actually looking at any part of the structure

An overpriced grilled sandwich later, we explored the nearby park a little bit while walking back to the car. So far, we’re still in the pre-planned, getting-to-Ireland stage of the holiday and don’t have as much leisure as we’d usually have. Another 2 hour drive was looming for the afternoon to get us as close as possible to Calais as we’d booked the le shuttle through the eurotunnel for tomorrow morning, our best shot to get through the channel quickly.

Number 3 fell asleep in the car but since the Agent had already slept in the morning, she was wide awake and sang “Happy birthday” for about a 100 times.

Shortly after 3pm, we stopped at a cozy little bakery. Flo had googled a nice place for us to get coffee time treats as well as bread and a quick up-and-go breakfast for tomorrow morning. We all opted for pain au chocolate which will still be delicious, even a day old.

The campground this night is called “al la plage” and while I can’t see the beach from here, Flo and the kids have gone to explore how close you can get to the sea.

An hour later, they came back. Dinner was made from things we brought from home and we progressed into the evening routine.

Day 20 – The weirdest melange

It had rained the whole night. The damp meadow that we sat upon had turned into a muddy bog. Yuck, is the word that comes to mind. Flo took out the first chair to set up for breakfast, looked at the mud, looked at me shaking my head and said “hang on a minute”. Luckily, he found a wooden picnic spot with table, benches and roof about 100 meters from our tent. Right next to the playground in fact. It was such a relief that we didn’t have to put all our stuff into the mud and then clean it before putting it back into the car. J We had to carry things there but they did not get muddy. In fact, while Flo was wearing his jandals, he suggested that I should just stay barefoot as I’d ruin any pair of shoes that I’d put on anyways. I did. It’s been a long time since I put my feet in the mud like that. 😀 I had a bigger problem with the slugs though…barefoot.

Good bye to you too – I hope the next one is as nice …

Anyhow, we ate and then started to pack. The Agent of Entropy decided to bring more entropy to the table. She sat down in the mud, splashing both her hands in the puddles, looking like a little piglet before I could even get to her. Oh well. She stayed that way until we were finished with packing. Then, I took her to the showers to clean my feet and her.

Finally, finally, a bit later than we’d wanted to, we were on the road. Since we picked the next campground close to Düsseldorf, we had a shortish day in the car. Maybe 3.5-4 hours of driving. We aimed to get to the campground around 3ish. From there, we picked a lunch spot that was in a good location, time-wise and in terms of the kilometres we’d already done. It turned out to be a rest stop on a bridge so both sides of the autobahn could access it. One more fast food stop it is then. This one didn’t even have the vegetarian option that we (even Flo) usually go for, just fries and chilli cheese nuggets. (Flo: yeah, PBWopper – now eating junk does not have to come with a side of tortured animal any longer :D)

A rather disappointing lunch and some time on the playground later, we got back into the car. We still had a way to go. I tried calling the campground but their reception was closed from lunchtime till 3pm. So we just drove to the Kerstgenshof campground. There were quite a lot of people in the parking lot, probably all waiting for the reception to open. Flo managed to be second in line and we got a campsite with electricity.

we can do basically the same, right? Thats AoEs attitude to playgrounds with Number 3

Setting up, actually just stopping there, we realized we’d have unusual neighbours. Almost all of the people in this row were families with kids or retirees with their campervans. Not our neighbours. They had a beer pong table in front, three tents pitched on one campsite and a speaker in every corner of their site to listen to bad music. I was not quite happy with it until Flo made me aware that my attitude was in line with all the retirees who openly glared at the younger people. I mean, yes their music was not good but not even overly loud. Yes, their conversation was tiring but we’ve all been young. We probably wouldn’t have chosen a kid-friendly nature camp to party for a weekend though.

We went on a walk to the playground until it started raining and then hid in the facilities, showering the kids and so circumvented a lot of their out-of-line-ness. Back at the camp, we had dinner listening to their music but once we started getting the kids ready for bed, they also packed up their things and left. In fact, that was the last thing I heard from them. They managed to return sometime during the night without waking us up. I had dreaded the night (and potential wake ups and grumpy kid) and now was seriously impressed.

Day 18 – Full throttle … to a halt

Time to leave Sweden. It will take us a couple of days to get back to Frankfurt as we choose not to drive that long with the kids in the car. Gothenburg is about 2-2.5 hours from Malmö so that’s doable. In Malmö, we cross over the Öresund bridge into Denmark, get around Copenhagen and find a nice campground. That’s the plan.

The kids were allowed to play for a bit…I mean, a long day in the car is just punishment for little kids

Rain was forecast for today but only later in the morning. Number 3 and I bought bread rolls in the shop on the campground which made our breakfast quick and easy. Looking at the sky, we decided to pack up quickly while it was still dry. With no awning, the tent was packed up super fast, thus we decided to take advantage of the kids’ bathroom. Everybody got a shower or bath. There was even time left to explore the playground a little.

As soon as it started drizzling, we hit the road. Both kids were tired out from bathing and then playing and fell asleep right away. Flo and I got to listen to our audio book, look at conveniently placed charge point and even discuss if we’d manage to find a restaurant that serves köttbullar for lunch time.

Critical gaze…yeah, nah…it’s not working

About 24 minutes before our lunch break, we heard a loud noise. It certainly startled me, Flo probably too. We couldn’t see anything straight away but it just sounded as if a tire blew. The car, however, was still running without any swerving. Flo checked the tire pressure and we were losing air fast in one of them. Time to get over to the shoulder of the road and stop. Warning light came one, warning vests came out and both our kids were still asleep. By the time Flo had emptied out the trunk to get to the repair stuff, the Agent woke up and complained that it was cold. And it was cold. Freezing in the chill wind, Flo tried to fix the tire with spray but it didn’t do any good (no more spare tires in new cars).

A road side assistance car stopped behind us and from there on, things sped up again. The tow truck would be there in 20 minutes to take the car to the workshop. Once it arrived, we all went into the assistance car and drove after our poor Puru Hiko. Number 3 was very excited about the tow truck but also anxious that we were grounded for now. The Agent simply screamed for the most part: It was cold and different and strange men were handling her car seat and wtf was going on?!?

They closed off one lane to make it a bit safer for us to tranfer into the assistence car. Number 3 was…not sure how to feel

The workshop had a matching tire available so we could have it changed right there. In no time, we were ready to be on the road again. I didn’t do anything in all that time other than look after the kids. By this point, they were also quite hungry. Number 3 had asked to have his dragon plushie with him which we thankfully managed to take. The workshop also managed to produce two plushies called “Blinky” so every kid had something to cuddle with. In the meantime, Flo had called around. ADAC, our insurance or mobility guaranty with Kia…who would make sure that we could go on now? He’d managed to get someone on the line who guaranteed that the costs for the repair would be paid but Flo should NOT pay upfront. They wanted to deal with the workshop themselves. The guys from the workshop were unhappy about it because in their experience, that just took time. In the end, they were right. It took until 3pm to get the e-mail saying “We will definitely cover the costs” to the right hands. Lucky for us, the car dealer had a restaurant so at least we had proper lunch. *le sigh*

The broken automatic tire pressure thingy that we weren’t told about but the workshop left on our dashboard

It will still haunt us in Germany though as the workshop broke one of the automatic tire pressure thingies on the tire they changed (Flo: TPMS). BUT we could continue back home! With only 2-3 hours lost!

When we finally, finally got to Malmö, I seriously suggested that we could camp here for another night. But we had to cover more distance. So we crossed over the Öresund bridge. By bye Sweden, you are such a lovely country! Thank you for our holiday!

Headfirst into Denmark, the first thing you encounter is Copenhagen right on the other side of the bridge. Trying to get around it, we hit a bit of a traffic jam and then the problem that there were no campgrounds in the city. Our originally picked one was probably still our best chance. I looked at the website, saw that they had their own bakery next to the campground and said “go!”. If everything failed, we’d probably still be able to get food at the campground. We arrived there at 6.15pm, about 15 minutes before the kids’ bedtime.

Asking for bread rolls, Flo was given four bread rolls from this morning for free. We chose our site, set up the tent in record time, ate the bread rolls and put the exhausted kids to bed. Man, what a day! Our poor kids. And poor Flo. This was not how we had envisioned this day at all. But we’ve made it. In Denmark now with a full belly and another looooong day in the car ahead tomorrow.

Day 16 – Almost Norway – Off to the west coast

We’ve had a great time here in Högsbyns with our extended stay. However, our holiday is almost over as we can count down the days on one hand now. We made fast progress with packing and were almost ready to hit the road…when Flo managed to talk up our neighbours again. Our kids had briefly played with Oskar yesterday so today, he had no qualms about hanging out. At some point his father came by and Flo got into a serious conversation about travelling. It’s always good to meet fellow travellers’ and, due to the pandemic, none of our usual meet-ups had happened. So we were quite starved for this kind of conversation.

Number 3 checking out the jumpstart cables on our car

Once we were completely packed up, we stayed maybe another 20 minutes. I took the garbage out and when I returned, Flo already looked embarrassed and a little stressed. From far away, he called “Don’t hurry, the tiny battery is flat again”. Oh right, I had completely forgotten about this as it hasn’t happened on this trip so far. Once we camp somewhere for more than a night, we have to deliberately recharge our tiny 12 volt battery through having our car “running” or risk a flat battery. Obviously, Flo had forgotten that this is a problem (and might have left an interior light on). So it took us another, I don’t know, 45 minutes (?) to first ask our neighbours, then try a motorbike battery and then have Jan, the owner of the campground, drive his ancient Passat to our car to give us a jump start. Of course, we were somewhere on the hillside where no regular campervan would could go to help out. Oh well. Apart from the time loss and me trying to keep calm, this flat battery didn’t do any harm.

Today, we had planned a visit to one of the Unesco World Heritage Sites to look at Bronze Age stone carvings. Since we started the day so late, we got to the place and raided the cafe “Bronze” first to satiate our hunger. The lunch menu included fika aka coffee/tea and cookies which I found extremely satisfying. The little museum explaining things about Bronze Age culture here and the carvings and also the connectedness of the European world at that time was really cool. It had great gimmicks to keep the kids engaged and occupied before we took a hike to see carvings. Well, you pass the playground first so we had to pretend to be on an ocean voyage for a bit. 🙂

Unesco World Heritage listed rock carvings from the Bronze Age

The hike was pleasant but overshadowed by a little pain. I had gotten many mosquito bites on my ankle and it turned out that I am also allergic to Swedish mosquitoes as well, so they all swelled up to ridiculous size and made walking itchy and painful. Plus, Number 3 was tired and not up for a lot of walking. Once we got to the site, it was cool to see the carvings but they also looked incredible fake to me. As if someone had painted them here yesterday. It’s a disputed restoration choice that the carvings have been painted in a deep red tone. It makes them incredibly visible but also looks as if they’d been done recently. All the wear and age of the place seems gone.

We hiked up to a cairn, which was as far as Number 3 was willing to go. Up there, he started to complain a lot and even fell down unfortunately. With a scratch on his palm, he started crying. Our saviours came in the form of a cookie monster plushy. A boy and his family hiked up as well and he had his cookie monster in the hood of his sweater. He then even entertained Number 3 and the Agent with a little cookie monster impersonation and shared his cookies with our kids! Munching happily even the walk back to our car was doable.

Another short ride later, we stopped in a village on the west coast called Fjällbacka. It’s only 80km from here to Oslo and somehow, it also starts to look Norwegian already. The village is famous for Ingrid Bergman having spend her summers here in retreat. It’s a cute place with wooden houses, right at the sea – a little bit of a resort feeling but them we didn’t stand out too much in our outdoor gear either. We got here just in time for our second fika in a cafe. The Agent was naughty, again, as she now started to pour out every drink in her cup right onto herself or the ground to see what happens. It was only water but it still is annoying. Especially when she then started complaining that it’s getting cold.

We strolled down the main road but then decided we were better off buying some things for dinner in the supermarket and start driving towards Göteborg. Tomorrow, for our last real day in Sweden, we want to spend another day in the city.

Fully stocked up, we drove along the coast, checking out potential free camps. At some point, we came across a basic “ställplats” which had everything except for drinking water. It even offered electricity so we put up the tent and stayed for the night.