Farewell Denmark (for now).

Leaving on the Hirtshals ferry to Stavanger - there were thousands of seabirds following us out of the harbour, it was quite spectacular and you get a sense of the beautiful sandy beaches and heaths of North Jutland from this angle too.

------- warning long journal coming up ------------


The ferry itself is fairly small but we have a nice cabin (with window this time!) And we enjoyed some good live music with a few cocktails and a spectacular sunset from the foreward lounge.

As the ferry leaves quite late we ate before boarding at a lovely cafe terrace looking out over the harbour. It was a bit breezy but nice and sheltered and in the sun. Unusually for Jutland there was some decent vegetarian food on the menu, including something called Oumph which was delicious and more or less indistinguishable from spicy barbecued chicken. I must find out where to get it.

We had a wonderful day at the Nordsø aquarium in Hirtshals, really an astonishing place, the sun fish is the local celebrity but I really enjoyed the whale section and the sealarium, the kids liked the sensory ponds of course! But it was mainly interesting learning about the north sea wildlife as if it's something exotic. We tend to forget about it as if it is boring as we're so used to it.

I took a bike ride in the morning to the top of a local hill (only 89 m above sea level, but it was a surprisingly steep pull to the top) with my eldest. There was a gorgeous view over the rolling dales and hills and all the way out to sea. It reminded me a bit of Cornwall and Devon with skylarks singing the whole way and fields of wheat and barley almost ready for harvest with wild flowers all along the bike lanes, then back through the fragrant pine and mixed forests. Really a life-affirming morning.

We were ready for the generous breakfast buffet when we got back though, and the rest of the family went for a swim while I packed up.

So all of this is a long way of saying I was spoilt for choice for a blip today! In the end I chose this though as it seemed to sum up a lot of the good things about North Jutland that I enjoyed but I'm also looking forward to the next part of the trip in Norway.

One other reason I chose this picture: the Danish flag, the Dannebrog, is quite clearly visible, this is my first trip travelling on a Danish passport since I got my citizenship at the start of the year. So I think that should be celebrated too.