Liver, Lego, and a new plan

Trip Start Nov 28, 2010
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Trip End Sep 29, 2011


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Flag of Denmark  , Jutland,
Wednesday, July 20, 2011

We were all excited to have arrived in Scandinavia when we crossed the border into Denmark. For a long time it was touch and go whether we would make it here at all on this trip or if we would run out of time, but thankfully we made it in the end.  Our first two nights were spent in Denmark's oldest town, Ribe.  It is a lovely old town and we enjoyed walking around and having lunch there, though our first taste of Danish food was less than exceptional.  But then perhaps I shouldn’t have ordered liver.  The campsite on the other hand was possibly the finest campsite in all of Europe.   Or perhaps not, but it was certainly the nicest one we’ve seen so far in our eight months of travel.  The boys loved it for its bikes and petting zoo.  Though "zoo" may be a somewhat generous term since it contained only goats.  The kitchen had multiple ovens and microwaves with two widescreen TVs, where normally there are just a few sinks for dishwashing.  The showers were in private bathrooms
Bedroom Picture #206
Bedroom Picture #206
.  With music.  And on top of all that it had a very nice ambience.  After spending two lovely calm days there it was time for something slightly less calm – Legoland.  For those who are not aware, Lego was invented in Denmark in the 1940s and the Legoland here is the original one, though there are now three others around the world.  And for friends of Leo and Stefano reading this, another one is opening in Florida in October.  One last little fact, since the boys have constantly been asking me – Lego comes from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning “play well”.

Legoland is an hour north of Ribe and we left our lovely campsite before lunch, planning for a relaxing afternoon at the next campsite, and Legoland the following day.  However, when we arrived we saw that Legoland was only 400 metres from the campsite.  Since the sun was out and the forecast for the next few days was not great, we decided to go and spend the afternoon at Legoland.  And perhaps things would be somewhat less manic the following day, not having to fit everything into just one day.  The boys were rather pleased.  “Excited” doesn’t really come close to describing their reaction when we told them they wouldn’t have to wait until the morning.

The park was more than merely miniature Lego cities, though there was a large area devoted to that
Welcome to Scandinavia
Welcome to Scandinavia
.  But there were also many rides and rollercoasters, almost like a mini-Disney World.  And as so often happens at Disney World, I was suddenly overcome with a heart condition that sadly prevented me from riding all the rollercoasters.  One highlight, for the boys, of our two Legoland days was traffic school.  They got to drive around for twenty minutes in Lego cars, stopping at lights and Stop signs and driving through car washes and gas stations.  At the end they received their own driving licences.  The photo section for this post is veritably awash with Legoland pictures, but since the boys’ friends will enjoy them I decided to include rather a lot of them.

After Legoland we headed for Copenhagen, stopping for one night along the way close to the city of Odense, birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen.  The weather now turned positively dreary, with almost constant rain and grey skies for two days as we made our way to the capital.  With luck it will perk up a bit in Copenhagen, though the forecast does not bode well.

Finally, an interesting development involving an exciting change to our itinerary.  We’re going to Russia.  Though we had originally decided against it when planning this trip and thus did not get a visa for Russia, I stumbled across an alternative the other day.  There is a ferry that runs from Helsinki to St. Petersburg which allows you to stay there for 72 hours visa-free.  We will leave the campervan at a campsite in Helsinki and spend two nights in St. Petersburg, and we are all rather excited about it. But first comes Copenhagen, and then Sweden.
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Comments

claudette on

Beautiful pictures. I've already seen print ads for Legoland and have marked the calendar. Looks cool.

carole yashus on

Loved all of these.Hard to pick a few.Didn't want to take up all the comments.And Thank you Heather for the Post card.Got it yesterday.I have a P.O. box #,so may take a little longer for me to get them.But thank you for thinking of me.I love the cards.And I think Holland would be a great pick too for the best so far.

PEKK on

Leg Goht was a question on who wants to be a millionaire the other day.. And what heart condition?? It's called Chicken Sh..!! LOL
Love you guys and am counting the the days..

PEKK on

* That was suppose to be Leg godt!!

Courtney on

Glad to see that a BIG bag of shopping seemed to make its way back to the camposite from Legoland! Looks like great fun. I'm still loving following your journey; hard to believe that it has been 8 months! Lots of love!

jane grelecki on

I am so enjoying your adventures, Denmark looks just lovely. The boys are geetting so big, love your time together, this is so very special. I can not wait to
see you all. much love Jane

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