October 13th 2022
We took the ferry from Helsinborg to Helsingør which lasts only about 20 minutes. It’s a nice and easy ride. They have a duty free shop in the ferry where you can buy alcohol only when you are away from the Swedish waters which gives you only 10 minutes to choose, pick, and pay.
So here we are in Denmark heading from Helsingør to Helsinge. It is funny that The trip began in Helsinki, we had a stop in Helsinborg just to cross the water to Helsingør, and finally to drive to Helsinge.
Helsinge
We arrived at Masoud’s place at around 4pm and we went straight to business: opened a bottle of wine and started eating right away: Ghorme sabzi, Kashk bademjoun, chicken, hummus, etc. The table was covered with food and snacks.
Masoud was extremely kind. We couldn’t believe how much food he prepared and how hospitable he was. He had prepared two big bedrooms for us so we can have our own space and privacy. We talked, drank, ate, and snacked until we could no more.
Copenhagen
October 14th 2022
After a substantial breakfast, we start getting ready to take a 40-minute drive to Copenhagen in Masoud’s beautiful Tesla. Copenhagen is charming and has a nice architecture. Of course, we headed to the downtown and explored the main sites.
- Amalienborg: The royal palace,
- The old town and the round tower,
- The Little Mermaid and Kastellet,
- Sortedams Sø,
- A few pubs, cafes, and restaurants.
For lunch, we went to a middle-eastern/Iranian restaurant. Oh, was the food great! Oh boy, it was. There was so much food that we could not finish them all, so we had to take the leftovers home. That made us a great quick lunch on the road. That made us so full that we were not hungry until the next morning’s breakfast!
And of course, we headed to a bakery that looked really sketchy on the outside, but amazing inside to try some sweets. You can guess what the consequence was! We left with a big box of baklava and other sweets.
After the whole feast was over, we headed to Sortedams Sø for a walk and a quick stop at an Irish pub, because why not!
Helsinge to Tønder
October 15th 2022
The morning started with the same routine. A lazy wake-up and a big breakfast. I think by this time, it is not a surprise to just sleep in and wake up slowly. We started packing and putting the stuff back in the campervan. And Masoud so generously stocked us up with foodstuff and goodies. By the time we put everything back into the campervan, we realized that there is probably enough food for 3-4 days, not to mention all the beer, drinks, and nuts we got! There are no words to describe how amazing the stay with Masoud was and how much both Mel and I enjoyed it. Even though there was a bit of a language barrier between Masoud and Mel, they still loved each other’s company. Mel kept repeating that they are all invited to visit her in Australia and stay with her.
We again hit the road towards the German border to the little town of Tønder.
Tønder
At first, the town looked like a ghost town. The main walking street downtown was absolutely empty. All the shops were closed and there was practically nobody in the streets. It even felt a bit out of place. Afterall, it was a Saturday evening. We took the car and parked it in a better place and prepared for the overnight stay. After quick and light dinner, we went back to the town hoping to see some action. There were a few pubs and restaurants that were open. As we walked around, we heard loud chattering and what sounded like a billiard table came from a building that apparently had a bar inside. We enter and get a big surprise. There was an ordinary country pub with mostly middleaged men and women drinking and chatting there. What surpised us the most was the fact that it was allowed to smoke inside. We were simly shoked! We thought most countries have banned smoking indoors in establishments such as restaurants, pubs, and such.
We had a few drinks and obviously we were the odd-balls in the town. So the locals were interested in us and what our story is. They were surprised to learn that some tourists from far away lands were actually visiting their little town.
The pub had live music. It was fantastic. They translated many original English music into Danish and it became a game for Mel and I to try and guess what the original musics were. There was even a politician that was running for some kind of election, probably the council or parliament, in the bar and they had a live news section from the pub for the national Danish TV. We might have been visible somewhere in the background!
later, we heard from some locals that there is another bar that’s open and it could be more interesting. After a while, we thought it might be good to go and check it out. It was closer to Christina Camperlust and on the way. We thought why not? We can have one more beer there. The other bar was also quite nice. The bartender was an Estonian-origin girl who was very kind and talkative. We asked her about the smoking indoors in restaurants. She explained that in Denmark, if the size of an establishment is smaller than a certain size, it’s allowed to smoke indoors. It’s a bit counterintuitive, but who are we to judge? After a drink and a bit of chitchat with a few locals, we decided to call it a night and head back to the parking and go to bed. Though, didn’t we smell like smoke? It was ok, we had a great time. We just needed to sleep well to prepare in the morning to start the big ride and cross to Germany. Quite spontaneously, we thought of splitting the ride and drive straight to Amsterdam. It would be a long trip, but totally manageable.
Here is a short clip that sums up our stay in Denmark.
Good night, next stop: Amsterdam!