A cottage on the lake in Lundo

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After our stay in Copenhagen we booked a car (An Opel Corsa which is a Holden Astra, and I must say it drove just brilliantly and didn’t skip a beat on the way) and drove 400kms to a cabin in Lundo on the banks of a massive lake called Limfford. The drive was absolutely incredible. The scenery was beautiful and because the traffic wasn’t too bad we could actually look at it and appreciate it without worrying about crashing. We basically drove from one end of the country in the South to the other end in the North. On the way we crossed one of the biggest suspension bridges in the world (from watching discovery channel about a bridge being built in China we know it is either Number 1 or 2) and Claire actually got some good shots of it as we crossed. A CF of 10 to me for not running over some poor innocent granny on a cross-walk. Also on our way to the cabin was stopped in a town called Viborg to do some food shopping. It was interesting. Since arriving in Denmark we have found it difficult to pin-point supermarkets, which is very different to the situation in Finland and Sweden. After driving around for about 30 minutes we gave up and pulled into a petrol station to find out if a super market existed. One did and we were sent in the right direction. It was a BILKO and it was massive. It was in an area that was basically dedicated to shopping. However there were no ATM’s anywhere to be found. When we asked the workers about it they said the only ATM’s were in the city centre. This is a common story in Denmark.

Our place was a real old style Danish summer house. It had a thatched roof, was double story and had 4 bedrooms. There was a sun room on one end of the house. It was great to be able to spread out and have separate rooms. As I said the drive to the cottage was pretty easy but it took a lot of concentration to remember to stay on the right hand side of the road (and I only hit the curb once). We managed to do it though and only took one wrong turn. That was easily fixed. We just jumped out of the car and talked to some locals who were at a wedding having a few drinks. They had a good laugh and sent us in the right direction. As the lonely planet said the people up this way are very friendly and sturdy. We realised that we were a bit of a novelty up this way as far as tourists go. Up this way tourists are mainly from Denmark or Germany. Although English is wide spread in Scandinavia, there are not native speakers of the language up this way. The lady who gave us the key to the cabin just said that we were “a long way from home”. Our cabin is in an area that has numerous summer cabins, yet it was still very, very quiet. There were a few people around but as the summer holiday season is at an end and school has restarted most people are back home. Lundo is in an agricultural area. There was a lot of harvesting going on, hay being shifted for the winter and lots of farm animals running around. The town was very old and nearly all of the buildings had thatched roofs. A little bit like the town in the T.V. show ‘The Vicker of Dibley’. A CF of 8 for a picture perfect cabin near a lake, great pick Jo.

It has been great. We have basically done nothing. We have watched movies, done washing, watched a lot of shows in German, played games on the lawn (the cabin had a fully stocked shed of toys and games for the kids) and just relaxed. Claire, Jo and I have had a lot of chats about our travels. Many of these chats discuss the differences between the countries we have been to and what it is like back in Oz. We also talk about the difference between what we hear about a country back home and what it is like when you travel there. Claire’s stories about the Middle East are very interesting. She talks about how safe she felt travelling through there and puts a lot of it down to the fact that they were Muslim countries and they did not have alcohol. Obviously being a female travelling to those countries may be different to living there but you can only go on what
She has to say. She said that at no stage did she really feel unsafe. We have also talked a lot about what we could take home from the countries we have visited that would make Australian an even better country. There are quite a few things but one thing I do know is that Australia is in a brilliant position to truly be one of the best countries in the world. Obviously from the recent election as a public we are not really sure what we want. I would say it is time the unwashed masses need to really push our pollies to get there acts together and stop being so short sighted and only chasing the easy, instant vote. But really where are we heading if we are relying on Bob Katter to help form a Government. I’m not quite sure if he is all there though so a CF of 1 to our major parties for not getting their acts together enough to get a clear win.

Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to make my way to Belgium to watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Spa. With Scandinavia being so expensive I just had to cut out this little side trip. Spewing. However I did get to watch it via the satellite connection. The only problem was that it was in German or something. Didn’t understand much of what they were saying but I could understand the tone of their voices when Seb Vettill crashed a couple of times. Go Mark Webber you Aussie champ you. Would have loved to have been there live but still loved seeing Mark come in second. He is still a huge chance for the championship so now, finally, Red Bull might throw a few bones his way instead of everything in Vettill’s garage. Fortunately I will be able to follow it closely through the rest of our trip. So a CF of 10 to Mark Webber for doing so well in such a highly competitive sport.

I am also looking forward to following the finals series of the Australian football league. Fremantle have made the finals for the first time in ages (sucked in West Coast, and to you Sandy a wooden spoon from Sweden is on its way) so hopefully they get through the first week and I can track down an ex-pat bar in Vietnam to follow their push for glory. A CF of 10 to all those Freo supporters who may just be about to be rewarded for their years of suffering. (We won’t even get onto the subject of a certain Hawthorn player who only got 12 weeks for his third drug offence. Not quite the same as the year suspension that Ben Cousins got without a single positive drug test. Sure Demitriou is not biased towards the Melbourne clubs!).

Scandinavia is a great place. Very expensive though like most of Europe. I would love to have the opportunity to work and live here for a year or two though. From our investigations it is not impossible. As a personal experience it would be great, but it would also be a great opportunity on a professional level as a teacher.

So would I recommend Scandinavia to people as a travel destination? Well it all depends. Do you like beautiful country side, magnificent buildings, great museums, an abundance of history and lovely people? If the answer is yes then it is a place for you. Just remember to pack a lot of cash. But a CF of 10 for the wonderful experience in such a small geographical area.

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Photos

Our little cottage
The coattage was very rustic but clean and beautiful.

View from Phoebes window.
Phoebe just loved spending time in her room at the cottage. With a view like this who could blame her.

Hughe bridge to cross.
This bridge is either the longest or second longest suspension bridge in the world.

Games at Lundo cottage
The kids loved playing many games at the cottage. You can see our little Opel Corsa that we used for 850km without a problem.

A building in Lundo.
We stayed just outside of Lundo village. It was very quiet and small with many buildings well over 150 years old.

Embracing the back packer lifestyle.
Slumming it with Claire at a backpackers. We didn't have any cups for our vodka so we had to cut plastic water bottles in half. Did the job.

Scene from a sci-fi movie.
Claire thinks she might be going to America so is trying to get a portfolio ready for work in the movies. Just love this artistic shot.

Thatched window.
Our cottage had a thatched roof. Amazing the work that goes into one, and its maintenance.