Janet and Steve's TRavel Blog

Getting there

The overnight crossing to the Hook of Holland (close to Den Haag) meant we started driving at about 09:00. The drive to Hirtshals is 1,040 km, so likely over 12 hours with the ‘van, so we split it with a break in Hamburg, and then in Viborg in the north of Denmark.

Hamburg

The drive to Hamburg was uneventful, apart from the hourly stops to allow my right leg to move (and get rid of sciatic pains) / use the loo / walk the dog / buy a coffee / change driver / etc. One other challenge – how fast are we allowed to drive while towing in different countries?

Elbecamp, Hamburg

Campsite advertised itself as being on the beach of the Elbe river, which links Hamburg to the North Sea. I guess we hadn’t realized that the sand was so soft that pitching a caravan meant handing it over to a young man in a large tractor to pull it to the location! He then left us, just as we realized the van wasn’t on the level and there was nothing we could do about it!

There was a nice walk, and swimming for Daisy, on the bank of the Elbe. You can see the container docks in the distance on this photo, and we saw one ship sail through as we walked.

Denmark

Day 3 starts with going to see a German vet – Daisy needed a worming tablet, endorsed by a vet, to be allowed into Norway. We can then start the 365km drive up across north Germany and most of the Danish Jutland mainland to get to Viborg, where we will stay for 3 nights. I had arranged to meet Finn, who is an ex-colleague/friend who lives there.

Snapsting Festival, Viborg

Snapsting is a music / cultural / sports festival, that takes place in Viborg annually, and happened to be on during our visit.

We saw cyclists arriving in town. They were doing different distances (some very long!), all ending in the city centre and ready to pedal along the red carpet. Interesting that it was all sorts of people (sporty types to children and grannies), and types of bike (racers, MTBs, and even electric bikes). Typical Danish inclusiveness.

We came back later to see what was on, and saw a Danish rock band called Halberg & Friends – the locals seemed to know most of the words!

Trouble at Camp (part 1)

It was in Viborg that we learnt how easy it is to lock yourself out of a caravan (in pyjamas!!). All money, keys, phones safely inside the van, although we both and Daisy were outside. After some hard thinking about solutions, and a visit to camp reception, the owner came out with a piece of metal and between us we managed to force open the kitchen window. The owner then reached round to open the main door – all sorted (or so we thought – see later in Norway…!)

Travel to the Skagerrak

So Monday morning we set off to Hirtshalls, northern port of Denmark, for the ferry to Norway! Daisy stays in the car this time.