torsdag, maj 25, 2006

Pre-road trip road trip


In June, Thor will be driving to Le Mans, a trip which inspired him to get his driver's license. In order to break in this new license, he's borrowed a friend's car. Which means, pre-road trip road trips for us. Which is an odd idea really. I don't think I've been in cars more than a dozen times since moving to Denmark. But it's a good odd, I think.


Our first full day with car was a holiday (Kristi Himmelfartsdag, Ascension in English), and we took advantage of this by exploring a bit of North Zealand (Zealand is the largest of the hundreds of Danish islands, and where Copenhagen is located). Our first stop, Fredensborg Palace, the Danish royal family's spring and autumn residence.


The palace itself and some of the gardens are only open in July, but other parts are open year round. We walked along immaculately groomed pathways under tunnels of trees. Everything is green in Denmark this time of year. The weather was indecisive, sunny then windy then sunny then a bit misty, but it let us enjoy the palace fully before turning to rain.


After that, we drove along the North coast, and then moved downward back towards Copenhagen, using the rain as an excuse to keep the camera put away. Highlights were a working fishing village (Gilleleje) a touristy fishing village (Hornbæk), and the coastal road (Strandvejen) home, through some of the priciest real estate in Denmark, with views of the sound and, on a clear day, Sweden. The big question now is, where are we going next?

8 kommentarer:

Devil Mood sagde ...

How lovely it all looks! So green...I love it. Roads trips are a lot of fun, when you don't have a timetable and you can stop anywhere to visit and rest. :)

Stranger sagde ...

Have you been to Dragør? Of course you can reach it by bus, but it's easier by car. I couldn't believe that this picturesque little village is located on Amager!

x sagde ...

what i love about the landscapes there is that everything looks cared for and looked after and there is no chaos and everything is neat and pretty like a nice little house.
for some chaos -i don't recommend it-come to the Mediterranean.

Anonym sagde ...

Gorgeous pictures! And I think your friend's idea is great. I too am going on a very long road trip this summer and don't have my license yet. Ha ha. Better get on that.

utenzi sagde ...

Michele sent me, Kim.

Those are some very attractive pictures, Kim. My father was born in Denmark but I've never been over there. Seeing your pictures, and hearing about your roadtrip makes me want to go and visit.

It seems so odd to read your posts and see the focus on bicycles instead of cars. If only that were true here!

Rich Dunbeck sagde ...

Those are some lovely shots! You're lucky to get to see such beautiful places in person.

kimananda sagde ...

Ms. Mood, I love road trips, and haven't had the time to go on nearly enough recently. That will change very, very soon. :-)

Mr. American, I haven't been to Holland at all except for the airport in Amsterdam. Maybe I'll go there next? Well, it'd be a long drive, so maybe not.

Jackt, I recommend it. There's a lot of understated beauty in Denmark.

Kelly, I had heard of Dragør, but haven't been there. That may well be our trip for tomorrow!

Chloe, it is very well tended that garden. But when I'm further South (like Portugal and Spain), I find things equally charming. I'm not so fussed by chaos and dirt.

Roro, well, my friend's friend (which whom he is going to Le Mans) basically said 'I'm not driving all the way to France. You're doing some of the driving whether you have a license or not'. So, that was pretty motivating.

Utenzi, thanks for visiting! I would recommend a visit...though you'll find a lot of cars here as well. We just focus on bikes 'cause that's how we get around, when we don't have a borrowed car, that is.

Maddy, I'm glad you liked it! We didn't take too many photos, but a surprising number of them turned out well.

Rich, thanks! I should feel luckier...there are some very subtly beautiful places in Denmark.

kimananda sagde ...

I have only been to Sweden a handful of times, and I'd like to see more. Good idea!