What a blissful nights sleep in that hotel bed. Felt very rested. And equally luxurious was the ensuite shower which I stood under for ages. Lovely. Then downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast, a fairly standard continental affair with the addition of some kind of pancake. All three kids enjoyed the pancakes, and even Jason made a game effort at breakfast considering he'd woken with a bad stomach and had already been to the loo about four times. Since arrival I'd been looking forward to using the hairdryer so that was my first job after breakfast. Second was to go out to the chemist and pick up some immodium for j. I took felix and we walked up the pretty pedestrian paved main st together. Very clean, low profile and pretty town. Most shops were either design, unique or high end - no touristy tat. A few cafe's and ice cream parlours not yet open. And yes, wonderful light. I think the 'light' as such and the seeming expanse of sky comes from the landscape being flat, the buildings low profile and the flora also that low by the seaside type. The aura, or light, of the place reminded me of Gotland, and even Perth.
I managed to look at a few other shops besides the chemist and came back with two new tops. I like the Scandinavian sense of style. Much more classic colours than the uk, but much funkier and unusual designs. Kind of modern gypsy, some of it!
We had to check out by 11, but it was such a beautiful day that we went looking for a place to rent a bike. Jason stayed with felix for their morning nap - and to be near a toilet. Me and the girls were very excited to get our bike and trailer for a few hours. The two of them sat in the trailer - a much better design than the one in the new forest - and, equipped with a map, off we went! It was wonderful to be doing something active, out in the sunshine with a refreshing breeze. I cycles over to Gamle (old) Skagen on the other side of the peninsula a few kms away. Apart from a strong headwind it was pretty easy going as the Land is so flat. Old skagen was not as idyllic as I had thought. It was lovely - but not much different in appearance from the 'new' town. Houses same design, painted yellow with White trimming. And without any commercial businesses it lacked any vibrancy. The beach was long, deserted and the north sea was tossing itself ashore. Although I was desperate for a drink, the one beachside cafe wasn't open so we headed back through the back roads. I was much quicker getting back and we rode around admiring the pretty houses before finding the boys. On returning the bike, we stopped to get the girls an ice-cream complete with guf and floedeboller per lucy's suggestion, and at a bakery to get some brunsviger. Yummo to that. The girls, surprisingly, weren't keen on the guf (a sweet meringue) so I had to clear that off for them!
Next stop was Grenen, the northernmost tip of Denmark and the end of a sandy peninsula. We had a quick lunch then I took the kids up to the tip on the Sandormen, a tractor pulled carriage which waits for you then brings you back, saving a 30 min walk. Meg sang loudly all the way there, to the amusement o the other passengers. The Tinkerbell soundtrack is a favorite at the moment, especially Gift of a Friend. The beach tip itself was lovely, drenched in sunshine and breezy but not too much. All the kids enjoyed playing in the sand.
Once back at the car em, felix and I walked up top of the dunes for a while, then we set off for Billund, home of Legoland. We had planned on spending two days at the park, but when we arrived at Legoland camping we discovered that the park was closed for the next two days! Such is life. Seems to be a running theme. We decided to make the most of an enforced rest and stay there for 3 days. Since we had forgone the hotel as it was too expensive, we booked into a lovely hut at the campsite. They are very new with 2 bedrooms (very narrow beds), kitchenette and tv area, large deck and ensuite bathroom. The bathroom was kind of necessary for poor j. The campsite itself is big and totally geared towards kids. There are 6 playgrounds, the biggest of which is at the back with two jumping mats, a flying fox, an adventure play area and an obstacle course. there is also an animal area, mini golf, space balls, a cafeteria and loads more to explore tomorrow. J went to bed and the kids and I had an easy pasta dinner. I even found Legally Blonde on tv so watched that which felt like a real treat. Looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow.