Denmark! The land of hygge, good design, clean air, Scandi noir. And we've had some of all of that (well, not the Scandi noir, that's just my imagination!) But first we made use of the industrial north of Germany and managed not only to buy new, swap and dispose of the old leisure batteries for Archie, but also find a perfect gas mechanic shop to sort out the leak on the LPG tank - a simple tightening with a wrench and the lovely chap gave us a deep bow and didn't charge us anything! This is the unglamorous side of #vanlife!

We needed to make headway north, skirting Hanover, and on to our next lovely campsite - pitched by a lake near Belau. I braved a swim in the freezing waters! We could relax, read, Lance sketched and I tried watercolours for the first time in 40+ years (safe to say I'm not going to challenge Lance in the art skills!) and we treated ourselves to kaffee und kuchen and later beer and pizzas in the little café. The app Komoot is proving invaluable as we find places to give Nala a proper walk - this time through fields and forest to a little lake.

And then north again - surprisingly we had to cross a proper border into Denmark, waved through a checkpoint by police. Leaving behind the neat, timber-framed small holdings of Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein for more undulating, water-logged landscape of fir trees; larger 'homesteads' with low, windowed barns and homes around courtyards; and manicured industrial estates outside small towns.

We've had two great campsites - the first in woodland by a lake where we had heavy overnight rain but could walk in the woods and share with the lovely owner, Torben, the delights of leaving behind corporate life and embracing a different kind of life - the second, right at the northern tip of Denmark near Skagen - tucked behind high dunes which back an endless white sandy beach. Looking out to sea we can see a long line of tankers waiting their stop over at Skagen port. We almost have these places to ourselves!

In between we have stopped at the museum in Silkeborg to see Tollundman - a profound experience to be in the presence of such an ancient being so well preserved he could almost be alive today - his sleeping, bristle-bearded face belying a tortured end; ancient rune stones which mark the beginning of Christianity in Denmark; a troll church - dolmen deposited at a high point in fields; and German WW2 bunkers, part of Hitler's Atlantic wall.

We've snugged up against cold winds in the evenings, candles on and food from the familiar Lidl. Archie is truly a home from home.

Tomorrow we sail for Norway!