Tag Archives: Denmark

Day 19 – Iron Butt

Great start today. The reception was open unusually early, for reasons much to our liking: They had a small bakery here and just opened up after that work was done. So we started the day with a load of still warm breadrolls and in good spirits. We even managed to dodge the rain and pack up in near record time.

at least it was not pouring down – still everything was wet

All there was today was the road. Loads of it, actually. We pushed through the morning all the way to lunch time, missed our charger / lunch spot exit and decided to go 15 minutes further to the next one rather than take 12 minutes to go back. That meant that we actually left Denmark before stopping (by the barest of margins, the rest stop was disected by the border).

Lunch was a hurried affair. The bread was good, but our other stores were running low and the weather was far from inviting a longer rest. Before even finishing the charge, we decided to move on a bit further to Flensburg and stock up in our organic supermarket of choice. Bonus points for having another charger close by.

The Cheese Monster

A mere 15 minutes later, we were there and ready to strech our legs away from the rain a bit. We almost did not make it to the supermarket, as we had to witness a near bicycle accident avoided only by the mearest of margins. (Nina: What is it with Germany and bicycle accidents? And why is freaking NOBODY involved in them wearing a helmet?!?) A bit shaken, we filled our cart and used the break before heading out once again, stocked up for the remaining two day and fully charged.

Which leads straight to our big dilemma for the day: The perfect point to stop for the day would be the inner city of Hamburg. Not well known for its great camping spots. That meant to stop either a bit too early and have an extremely long day tomorrow or push past it (and the growing congestion of the Elbtunnel road works). As we have picked the last camp for tomorrow night specifically so that Number 3 could enjoy the offerings there, we decided to take it on the chin and give us more time tomorrow.

The dreaded Elbtunnel. It was probably a 25km long traffic jam

And what a blow it was. We probably added 1.5 hrs of stop and go & traffic jam to our 440km day. At one point, I took Google’s advice and “went around” on a 40 minute goose chase through city streets only to end up exactly one car behind the one we left when we turned off the motorway. Well, it was more interesting than that and at least we did not loose any time 😀

And so we arrived, shattered, past reception opening hours and almost at the kids bed-time. We were lucky and caught them leaving the office, so check-in was super quick anyway. Number 3 even got a golf kart ride to our pitch – which was actually really lovely, apart from the effects the all day rain had on the grass. We ignored the mud, had dinner and dropped as soon as we could.

  • at least it was not pouring down – still everything was wet
  • warm hands, warm belly
  • hehe, bought treats as well … for later
  • Then we took the bridge onto mainland Europe called Storebæltsforbindelsen
  • The offshore wind farm delighted Number 3
  • There is a little island in between the two parts of Storebæltsforbindelsen
  • It was raining heavily but the rainbow gave us hope that there had to be sunshine somewhere
  • Another bridge, I am losing context here. Flo informs me that this is Nye Lillebæltsbro
  • Ah yeah, back in Germany
  • Hm, bread rolls for lunch
  • The Cheese Monster
  • Time to stop and have…a coffee. Plus, we still had the surprise treats from the bakery this morning
  • Puru Hiko also had a coffee break with some great juice XP Number 3 is doing a happy dance
  • Like a pro
  • The dreaded Elbtunnel. It was probably a 25km long traffic jam
  • Car fun during the traffic jam. None of us wanted to be in a car any longer
  • WE ARE GOING THROUGH! HELL YEAH!
  • This time, there was a container ship being unloaded. Like in Number 3’s book.
  • So much better than the autobahn
  • Super late check-in
  • Number 3 was allowed to ride in the golf kart when we were shown to our campsite
  • Playground activities while Flo made dinner
  • Of course, the Agent had to get up there
  • Sunset at the campsite with the kids already asleep in the tent, Luckily, the ground was still okay at that point

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.

  • The kids were allowed to play for a bit…I mean, a long day in the car is just punishment for little kids
  • Sliding fun
  • Flat tire spray gel thingy *lol*
  • Empty trunk meant lots of our stuff at the side of the road
  • Critical gaze…yeah, nah…it’s not working
  • Then, an assistence car stopped behind us
  • 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
  • Flo as a passenger is a rare sight. Plus the Agent who’d stopped screaming at this point
  • Luckily, Dragomir was with us in the car and could give Number 3 a bit of comfort
  • Poor Puru Hiko on the tow truck, It is the second saddest sight…right after Rocinante on a tow truck
  • Super quick tire change in the workshop
  • Our kids’ moods soon improved: The free Blinky plushies certainly helped
  • The broken automatic tire pressure thingy taht we weren’t told about but the workshop left on our dashboard
  • Weird picture…but wait…what’s that in the distance? It’s the Öresund bridge! About an hour before we even got to Malmö, the bridge was already visible
  • Back on the road!
  • We pulled over at the same fuel station in Malmö as last time to recharge. A conveniently placed fast food shop might have made some money off us…they had a sundae with pancakes on offer XD
  • Exploring Agent with strawberry topping still visible around the mouth
  • Good bye Sweden! Crossing the Öresund bridge into Denmark
  • Denmark! Wooohooo!
  • I see…you have great weather here…
  • Setting up tent in a short pause of the rain fall