Lathams News: DAY 18 – SATURDAY 22ND DECEMBER, 2018…

This morning we were up early as we needed to be on the road by 9.30am so that we could get to Sjaelland Odde by 10.45 am so that we were in plenty of time to board the ferry which would take us across to Aarhus. Sjællands Odde is a 15 km long peninsula on the northwest coast of Zealand between the Kattegat and Sejerø Bay. The drive from Copenhagen to Sjaelland Odde was approximately an hour, and then we had an hour and fifteen minutes on the ferry before reaching Aarhus… and then just over 2 hours until we arrived at Maria’s parents farm just outside of Hjorring in Jutland.

We woke to snow and ice all over the cars this morning..

Ready to head north to Jutland

It was quite cold this morning as we left, and we came downstairs to find snow on a lot of the vehicles in the street. Steve was a little nervous about driving again particularly as it had snowed through the evening and also as he hasn’t done any on the right hand side of the road since we were last in Denmark a couple of years previously. However, it didn’t take him too long to get into the swing of it, and other than one lapse of a moment, he did pretty well. The snow tyres gripped the road well, and pulled up immediately you put the brakes on…. As we were driving out of Copenhagen it started snowing again… we were quite mesmerized by it and if we hadn’t had a ferry deadline, we probably would have stopped to enjoy it a little more….

It had snowed last night so the ground was covered in snow...

We arrived at the ferry in good time… it was a pretty easy drive and we only had about half an hour to wait until it was time to board. This suited us all fine as we all needed a toilet break, and it gave Maria a chance to feed Theodore…

As I am a little slow moving about, the moment we were on the ferry and parked, Pete took off to go upstairs and get us a table…. Everyone heads rather quickly up to find a table… He managed to secure us all one. Fortunately, we had cooked extra pizza the night before, and this became our lunch today, along with a little fruit we had bought along… We didn’t really have water views for the crossing today, as Pete didn’t have a lot to choose from when he got upstairs. The ferry was packed, so I stayed with our belongings. Steve did manage to go outside for a look, but it was a pretty cold, wet and bleak sort of day so he didn’t see too much.

Driving through Aarhus

We arrived in Aarhus just after lunch, and basically just drove straight through town heading for the farm…. We had a two hour drive from Arrhus up to Hjorring but it was a pleasant drive. Theo slept the whole way. We saw more evidence of snow as we travelled this afternoon, and I took numerous photos of the countryside as we travelled along it….

It's snowing... a Winter Wonderland

By the time we got to Hjorring, it was a picture of a winter wonderland, with snow everywhere, on the rooves of all the houses, all over cars and covering the ground. This was like a dream come true for me who had been looking forward to a white Christmas. (It was a little unseasonal, as normally the snow doesn’t come to the new year)

It was mid-afternoon by the time we arrived at the farm, but it felt like a lot later as the sun had already set for the day. Everyone else was home, we were the last to arrive… We were welcomed with open arms and all showed our sleeping quarters. Steve and I had the front bedroom, where Sarah and the children were last time. The room was huge and the view sensational.

We met downstairs for a cuppa and a good chat up, as Dudi and her mum prepared us a scrumptious meal of lamb, vegetables, and amazing broccoli salad. (one I definitely scored the recipe for).

We were spoilt with a wonderful meal...

The evening was quite pleasant and relaxed, with some nice red wine and lots of general chit chat amongst us all. Maria’s parents were delighted to see Theodore and he was the star attraction. Steve and I spent some time chatting to Maria’s dad.

By the time we went to bed, the snow had started falling. Of course, there was huge excitement for Steve and I and we were probably a little enthusiastic in our appreciation of it, as Pete came in from the room next door to remind us that they had a sleeping baby. Mind you he had a grin from ear to ear on his face also….