14 – Saturday

Easy bike to the city centre and it really is easy.  Every street, and I mean every single one, has a double width cycle track in both directions.  You follow the dedicated cycle traffic lights at junctions and stop to let people cross over the cycle track to get on and off busses.  Incrediably easy and safe.

Joined a free (tip what you think at the end) walking tour with Maria, a 6 foot red head from Yorkshire, quite a Viking look.  She focussed on the central part of Copenhagen and explained a lot about several fires flattening parts of the city, the Royals and stories from WW2.  All most excellent.

Indecisive gold lady barometer: comes out on a bike if fair and with an umbrella if not

Walking tour coffee break

Bishop Absalon should have been on a pony, but the sculptor thought it did not look impressive enough and gave him a big’un

At NyHaven

Nyhavn used to be the red light ditrict, but now a humming cafe and bar area

Nyhavn

After a Burger King lunch for J (missing his chips!) we cycled back to Chardonnay with the intention of spending the rest of the afternon in the Carlsberg factory. Slight change of plan …. we’d been robbed !!!  The buggers had got in through prising open and breaking the three fastenings on a window, broken into the laptop store and pulled loads out of cupboards.  So instead of sippling beer, we spent the afternoon in the Central Police station!  The very efficient police officer said on hearing our story, ‘thats a real bag of shit!’ They were very supportive and efficient. Thankfully it is only ‘stuff’ they have taken and we were not here, but it is inconveneint.  They left all the booze :).   We have now bought a Chromebook so we have USB to upload images and play DVDs, but it is  a poor exchange for the Mac Book Air, Ipod, Ipad, James camera, small cash… but they left our passports and our external hard drive with all our photos and our mifi internal wifi router…

For you Latin scholars, non illigitimi carborundam…..

We eventually found a lovely campsite just east of Copenhagen to hole up in until we could get the window fixed.

15 – Sunday

A profitable day – two loads of laundry, showered ourselves and did an exterior (much needed) wash of Chardonnay.  A walk to local shops and we bought:

1. a six pack of Carlsberg, as we still needed to drink some
2. meat for a BBQ – our first of this trip
3. a wine box for £14, just to top up our supplies.

The really helpful young man at the desk also identified no less than 4 caravan repair / service companies for us to try.

Closed the day playing with the camera tripod, a BBQ and fire log.

Using the tipod for a selfie

Proud of our clean Chardonnay, and then it bloody rained and a tree dropped crap on her

15 – Monday

Early start and drove to the outskirts of Roskilde where the really lovely workshop chap only charged a tenner to replace the three window catches.  And then we were on our way …. off to Sweden as we have to be in Stockholm on Weds to meet the Aged P’s.

Despite the break in, we still really like Denmark and the Danes and will be back!

The Oresund crossing was a first for my very own bridge master.  First tunnel and then bridge.

Denmark and into the tunnel

Crossing into Sweden in the middle of the Baltic Sea

Cable stay part of the bridge

Rather than bomb up the motorway, we hugged the coast as much as we could.  Changing scenery … flat and the best aggricultural land in Sweden ….  rolling hills and rocky outcrops … can tell is is damp here as the mosses and lichens are amazing colours … forests of pines and silver birches carpetted with spring flowers … beaches and holiday resorts / small fishing ports.

Sweden has a right to roam and you seem to be able to park up pretty much anywhere.  There are also a LOT of motorhomes around, predominently Swedish and German.  We spent the night in Kalmar, right on the sea, next to a beautifully maintained graveyard and fortress castle.