Hockley Heights Gazette

Hello and Happy New Year to you all! We are back from our Scandinavian sojourn and I apologise in advance for the length of this blog - I will attempt to condense seven days into one blog, but don't be surprised if a few memories/photos make it over to future blogs.

Saturday 23rd: Heathrow was supposedly fog-bound and up to it's smelly armpits in disgruntled passengers, but after a taxi ride to Wickford, then the Underground to Heathrow terminal 3, we sailed through and had a very pleasant and short flight to Copenhagen. I had foolishly hired a car (which was nicely upgraded to an Audi wagon) so we set off with me on the wrong side of the car (and road), in rain on unfamiliar roads driving north around Copenhagen to Skodsborg where we had rented an apartment. See map of the journey (marked in pink). While I was white-knuckled trying to cope with the situation, Kym and the boys were rolling around in the car laughing at the Danish signs about "Fart Kontrol" (Danish speed signs). The entire journey, taxi, train, plane & car took 8 hours.

Sunday 24th: We had managed to secure breakfast food at the airport, but today we drove into Copenhagen and found a supermarket to stock up on food. Shopping in Danish is an interesting experience, but luckily most of the locals not only speak English, but are happy to help confused tourists. In the afternoon Kym took us on a massive walk up the coast and inland into the forest (see picture) and that night she cooked a magnificent beef roast to celebrate Christmas.

Monday 25th: We headed north to Helsingor (also known as Elsinore) and after stopping in the town square we spotted a castle further north. To our complete surprise and delight it was Kronborg Castle, probably most famous as the setting for Hamlet. See picture of Kym dwarfed in the middle of this castle, which is still used today for aristocratic balls and other official functions .

Tuesday 26th: From our apartment we could see Sweden across the Oresund so today we drove past the Copenhagen airport on the E20 on our way across the Oresund bridge to Malmo . It was a £40 bridge fee, but no passport control as we crossed into Sweden (and no stamp for the passports). After wandering through the ciry we ended up at the Malmo Museum, which had a sort of underground zoo! Upstairs was a display of the viking history. Across the road at the Science and Technology museum we crawled through a submarine. The picture you see is outside the museum and you can see the famous "turning torso" building in the background.

Wednesday 27th: A huge drive today, westward initially to Frederikssund, then south through Roskilde, Ringsted and finally to Naestved and then back to drop off the car at Copenhagen Airport. In hindsight this was a great day because we saw so many areas that are way off the normal tourist routes - a much better way to get an idea of the country. We then purchased 72 hour Copenhagen cards, which gives free access to all public transport and quite a few attractions around the capital.

Thursday 28th: Into Copenhagen on Denmarks VERY impressive train network. Clean, quiet and ontime. In hindsight we did not really need to hire a car as the station is about 200m from the apartment, and services run every few minutes in both directions. We could have even picked up this train all the way to Malmo! In Copenhagen, the boys spent 6 hours at Tivoli Gardens, throwing themselves up and over various high speed rides. Kym and I visited them every couple of hours for hot chocolate breaks and bright-eyed tales of the attractions. In the meantime, Kym and I trekked over to the National Museum and caught up with quite a bit of Danish history and some modern displays of Danish life. The picture is of Kym and I in front of a reconstructed instrument Tycho Brahe used to plot celestial bodies. It gave us quite a bit of pride to walk back to a previously agreed spot at a specific time and see two boys waiting - they are really growing up and taking quite a bit of responsibility. Mitch suggested he could find his way back from Kastrup Airport to Skodsborg by himself, let himself into the apartment and be happily watching DVDs and shopping at the local corner store for Danish pastries for some number of months! That night we dropped into Horsholm for an ice hockey game - fast and furious - the boys loved it!

Friday 29th: Back to Copenhagen and today Kym's plan is to outdo her local walks, this time with a marathon four hour session all around the capital. It makes me wonder why we bought the free transport pass! Anyway, we saw the famous canal system (see picture) and even late in the day the little mermaid by the foreshore. We visited the botanic gardens, the planetarium and Rosenborg Castle (taking in the crown jewels). We got a real sense of the city just walking around and dropping in to various shops (and conversations). Finally we railed back for the traditional Peck Friday fish and chips meal and packing up for the return journey.

Sat 30th: Once again a very smooth trip, the worst part being the crowded English underground - really quite a change after a few days on Danish rail! We were happy to be back in our own beds, but also sad that our Scandinavian experience was ended. The final picture is from the balcony of the apartment looking south along the main road in Skodsborg (note the cars on the right side of the road) - on a clear day you can see all the way down to Copenhagen.

Over the next few days I will get Kym and boys to post a few comments about their escapades in Denmark and Sweden - I'm sure you will appreciate the different perspectives. Please do leave comments and feel free to ask questions. Certainly many of our preconceptions of this part of the world have been swept aside - it has been a truly memorable few days!