Saturday 24th June 2017 – Aalborg, Denmark

Today was planned as our longest journey of our visit to Denmark. We were heading for Aalborg in Northern Jutland but wanted to take in some of the scenery of the west of Jutland. We had identified a castle and a couple of museums that we could take in on the way but decided to concentrate on the scenery instead. After going round Ebsjerg, we headed for the coastal side of the Ringkobing Fjord. I should explain that you mustn’t think of Norwegian fjords, Jutland is essentially flat and the fjords are essentially large lakes with a connection to the sea. The coastal strip is a huge sandbar with vast sand dunes and, in some areas, nestling in amongst them are large numbers of holiday homes. We wondered what their house insurance cost as there must be considerable risk of sand invasion or flood damage during winter storms. The area is very beautiful and we found a car park well away from the main road where we could easily walk to the sea. The weather was sunny but the wind was vicious!

We continued north past a couple of small fjords and then the larger Nissum Fjord before heading inland to Lemvig.

Just a few kilometres east from Lemvig, close to a vast area of sea called Nissum Bredning, we stopped for lunch at viewpoint with 360° views inland and over the Nissum Bredning to the land beyond. This is an important shipping lane right through the islands that make up northern Jutland. We continued north over a bridge and then next to more fjords and brednings until we arrived at Aggersund at the western end of Limfjord. Here there is a large Viking ring fort, built by Harald Bluetooth, consisting of a large bank and ditch that encloses a very large area used to house a settlement. The fort commands extensive views over Limfjord and Logster Bredning and is at the pinch point between them, giving control over any ships navigating between.

Using the bridge south over the strait, we then turned east, heading to Aalborg and Aalborg Camping.

Photos: Jane sporting a new hairstyle – caused by a vicious westerly wind; Nature in the raw and lots and lots of sand, inland as well as on the beach; We are very relaxed and don’t mind occasional minor delays and this one at a fjord’s opening to the sea was fun; Part of the 360° view from our lunch spot – you may just be able to make out a bridge raised in the background and this is the bridge that we crossed after lunch; Aggersborg Viking ring fort in its commanding position overlooking the strait.

Friday 23rd June 2017 – Ribe, Denmark

The other main attraction of Ribe for us is the Ribe Viking Centre, just south of the town. After saying goodbye to Andy and Glen and wishing them a good journey, we drove to the centre.

I am currently helping to build replicas of an Anglo-Saxon long house and a part of a Roman villa at the Avalon Marshes Centre on the Somerset Levels. It is fantastic fun, I am always learning new skills and the other volunteers are great company. We are led by Richard Brunning, an archaeologist who works for the South West Heritage Trust and his knowledge and leadership make it all possible. If you are in the area, do pop along and take a look, it is really impressive. The reason for this advert is that I think that our two buildings (there are plans for a third – an Iron Age roundhouse) are a great achievement but the Ribe Viking Centre has at least 15! They range from a massive Viking Long Hall, with its curved walls, and a wooden church (under construction – the first church to be built in Denmark was built in Ribe in Viking times), to a tiny sunken house used by a smithy. And that was what made it so interesting, there were Vikings all over the site – two blacksmiths, someone making glass beads (Ribe was internationally famous for these in Viking times), women in the long hall preparing a meal, farmers tending their vegetables, a carpenter building a replica Viking boat (it takes about one year for two people), two more carpenters building the church (wonderful carvings!) and the list goes on! Chickens, geese and two cats with four kittens all wandered around the farm and in the farm building. Pigs slept in one field and there were other fields that demonstrated the crops and herbs that the Vikings used. There was Viking warrior training for the children and an excellent falconry display. We could have had a go at archery and Viking games.

This is beginning to sound a bit like a theme park but it really wasn’t like that. It was really quiet and everyone we met and spoke to (they all spoke English), were keen and very helpful. We arrived at about 10:15 and left at 15:30 just as it was closing – it was absolutely fascinating. The cost of establishing the Centre must have been enormous and there was a long list of donors at the entrance. There were a considerable number of staff, only three people were volunteers when we were there.

I chatted to one of the volunteers, a blacksmith with a portable forge, which was very simple but very effective (see photo). He said that people tell him that his bellows are too small but he proved that they were all that were needed. The soapstone (from Norway) between the bellows and fire is carved with a representation of the Viking god Loki with his lips sewn up. This represents one of the Viking legends that Loki tricked a blacksmith twice and the blacksmith enlisted the help of another god and sewed together Loki’s lips as a punishment.

I suggested to the blacksmith that the Danish state must be paying a lot to keep the site going. Much to my surprise, he said that the site was self-funding, partly from the entrance fees but also from work placements. The Danish state is very generous and, if youngsters are having problems fitting in or can’t get a job, they can be offered a year’s placement at the Viking Centre. Some are public-facing and others work in workshops producing items for the Centre. There is no coercion and it was stressed to me that the youngsters are not mentally ill, they simply have problems. The Centre gives them the opportunity to gain confidence and skills and experience work and working with other people. What a great idea! I understand that most of the youngsters are sad to leave and really enjoy their time at the Centre. I was sad to leave too, I would have loved to stay for a few weeks to get involved in all their projects.

Photos: Painting the carving over one of the doors of the long house using a mixture of oil, water and egg with ochre colouring; Inside the long hall was incredibly dark – chalk or lime wash on the walls would have made it lighter but they told me that there was no archaeological evidence that it had been used; Building a replica Viking boat; This is the larger-than-life blacksmith (Viking blacksmiths have to this size and have beards and long hair) with his very small, portable forge; A workshop – there was lots going on inside and the numerous draw-horses in the foreground can be used by visitors and school groups; Teaching young Vikings how to fight – fortunately, the training didn’t extend to rape and pillage;

 

Thursday 22nd June 2017 – Ribe, Denmark

The alarm went just before seven and it started to rain. The outside temperature was 11°C and it felt positively cold – two days ago it was 37°! Then the thunder started and the rain seemed set in for the day. Fortunately, after four hours the rain stopped and we decided to risk the 20-30 minute walk into town. Our first visit was the Viking Museum and this proved to be excellent. Very interesting exhibits with much information in English. A temporary exhibition was based on a town in China in the same period as the Vikings in Ribe – an interesting contrast. The other advantage was that there was free wifi in the museum café and we were able to catch up with emails.

The campsite provided a free, comprehensive Ribe walking tour leaflet in English and we happily spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the very pretty town centre. I was intrigued to find that the cathedral offered free wifi! Most churches would want people to turn off their phones rather than encouraging them to use them!

We joined Andy and Glenn for pre-meal drinks before they headed off to town on their bikes for their last meal out in Denmark.

Photos: A model in the Ribe Viking museum showing Ribe as it was in Viking times; A typical old wood-framed house in Ribe – the two holes in the gable end used to be for owls!; This ceiling of an alleyway in Ribe has been decorated for the last five years with different scenes – this one shows the (entirely fictitious) Nazi siege of Ribe in 1940.

Wednesday 21st June 2017 – Ribe, Denmark

It was much cooler this morning and we were looking forward to a more pleasant journey. After some shopping in a local supermarket, we continued of the blissfully quiet A23 motorway and then more minor roads. We knew when we were approaching the Danish border as there were a number of large supermarkets on the outskirts of a small village. Everything, especially alcohol, is much more expensive in Denmark and many Danes travel across the border to do their shopping. We had plenty of time today so we travelled the 10 km over a causeway past salt mash to the Danish island of Romo. Romo, a base for the whaling industry in times gone by, which was interesting but, we decided, not interesting to spend a fortnight’s holiday. On then to Ribe and Ribe Camping, which turned out to be a large but very well organised campsite with some of the best facilities that we have seen.

We discovered that the next pitch were another English couple. Andy and Glen were at the end of their holiday and had just two nights before they were leaving Denmark for the journey home. We spent a very pleasant evening with them and I discovered that Andy was not only in IT like me but is also an amateur baker.
Photos: Travelling over the causeway to Romo; St. Clemens church - two photographs of the 17th century gravestones for sailors in the whaling industry.

Tuesday 20th June 2017 – Tornesch, Germany

It was another very hot day - 27°C before 09:00 but Henrietta showed no ill effects from yesterday as we travelled on towards Hamburg. There were periods of very slow-moving traffic, especially around Duisberg and Hamburg but we had no engine problems and by late afternoon we were heading north from Hamburg on the A23. Jane had identified a hotel in Tornesch that offered a motorhome stop and had a restaurant – ideal. Unfortunately, as we approached it, we realised that things had changed in the 7 years since the aires book had been published! We did manage to stay there for the princely sum of €5 but there was no restaurant. We could have tried the next option on our list but we were frazzled with the heat and a long journey and were just glad to be able to hunker down for the night. The good news was that the temperature was falling and a little breeze was blowing.

Monday 19th June 2017 – Turnhout, Belgium

It was hot when we left Horsley and it got steadily hotter, except when we had the cooling breeze on the ferry. We were early for our crossing and were lucky enough to be given a place on the ferry that left nearly an hour earlier. This meant that we had a good start from Calais and we followed the AA recommended route via Bruges, Gent, Antwerp, Eindhoven, Duisburg, Munster, Osnabruck, Bremen, Hamburg and north on the A23 towards the Danish border. The idea was to push through France and Belgium and get as far as Eindhoven tonight but luck was not with us. The motorways were busy, not a problem but it was fiercely hot, into the 30’s. Then we hit a major jam approaching Antwerp. We had 40 minutes of stop/start, mainly stopped, traffic, the temperature was rising and there was absolutely no breeze. It was 37°C inside the van and the outside thermometer (affected by the engine temperature) was reading over 52°C. The engine cut out at the worst possible moment. We were on the inside lane of our motorway but another very busy motorway was joining from our right. This meant that we were in the middle lane of seven lanes of traffic …….. and stationary. With the hazard lights on, I desperately tried to restart the engine. It would start but as soon as I put any load on it by letting out the clutch it would stall. We phoned our breakdown recovery company but were advised to phone the police because of our precarious position. At this point I was very glad of the emergency information on our Garmin satnav, which gave me GPS coordinates, nearest junction and nearest address so that I could tell the Belgian police exactly where I was. We were supposed to put out a warning triangle but, with six lanes of traffic flowing around us, that would have been a very risky procedure. After a few minutes I tried to start the engine again and this time I was able to let out the clutch without it stalling. Other drivers, aware of our situation, allowed us to cross the three lanes to the relative safety of the hard shoulder. We phoned to police to cancel our call and told them that we were no longer in a dangerous position. We allowed the engine to cool for a few minutes before starting off with the intention of getting out of the city as quickly as possible. We made it to the outskirts still on the motorway when the engine cut out again. With the warning triangle out, we stopped again for a few minutes before we could start the engine again and head for the services just a couple of kilometres away. There we stopped for 40 minutes in the shade with the bonnet up by which time the engine was considerably cooler. We decided to head for the nearest campsite at Turnhoot about 30 km away. The traffic was flowing well and Henrietta (the motorhome) drove beautifully, as if there had never been a problem. It appeared that the problem was simply caused by the extreme temperature – at least that is what we hope!

The Baaise Hei Campsite reception was closed and the entrance road barriers were down but, after a bit of detective work, we discovered that there was another entrance and area specially for late arrivals. And very pleasant it was too – peaceful, views across fields and electric hook-up and toilet block provided! We were knackered by this point and a simple meal and cold beer were most welcome.
Photos: The Banksy at Dover painted after the vote to leave the EU; Henrietta (in the background) was in good company on the ferry; The 'late arrivals' section of the Baaise Hei campsite.

Saturday 17th June and Sunday 18th June 2017 – Horsley, England

We left Dorset and headed for two nights in the Horsley Camping & Caravanning site. The original plan was to visit our son, daughter-in-law and grandson as they live nearby but they are keen on holidays too. They have taken joint maternity / paternity leave for the month on June and are on a tour of friends, relations and interesting places for the whole of June. We are not complaining as their tour brought them to us in Somerset for a few days. We decided to keep with the booking at Horsley as it is a lovely site and gave us a break on our journey to Dover. Amazingly for England, the weather was exceptionally hot – over 25°C.
Photos: View of the lake at the Horsley campsite.

On The Viking Trail

After a long gap, we are finally back on a genuine European Sojourn. After our 14 month Odyssey, we had always intended to have two sojourns each year and, for a while, we achieved that. However, joyous events such as our son’s wedding in 2015, the arrival of our first grandson in 2016 and great holidays with friends, rather interrupted the sequence.

This year we have embarked on a long-planned sojourn to Scandinavia, an area that we have not explored. Initial plans included Denmark, Norway and Sweden but we realised that this was over ambitious and we decided to limit ourselves to Denmark. That said, the plan is to see as much of Denmark as possible.