The original plan was to follow the North Sea coast and get the ferry back from Esbjerg but the ferry is fully booked until the first week in September. So after much thought as to how we could get home we have booked a train from Hamburg to Amsterdam so that we can get the ferry back from Hook of Holland. That leaves us time to do a loop around some Danish Islands and back to Hamburg to get our train.
It was difficult getting back on the bikes after our luxurious stay in Gluckstadt but we were glad to be camping again. The kids sleep much better in the tents, so we are thinking of putting them up permanently in the garden when we get home.
Our first night after Gluckstadt was spent in a campsite on the Nord-Ost See canal. This canal is a shortcut so ships do not have to go round the Jutland peninsula and it was odd to see ocean going liners gliding past the tent
The next couple of days we made good progress as we were wind assisted most of the time. However it has got increasingly wet as well. On Sunday night we camped at a very basic site although it had a very useful covered seating area with toy tractors to play with. We spent the afternoon there. We had arrived at about 2pm and it was drizzling. By 4pm it was coming down in sheets at a ferocious intensity. I ran to check the tents but to my horror they were surrounded by water and there was a pond in the porch. In the middle of the pond was Seb's clothes bag. Every item was dripping wet. The only dry clothes he had were the ones he was wearing, and those were rapidly getting sodden as he was having a great time splashing in muddy puddles.
By bedtime the rain had not eased. Seb had to borrow some of Emily's clothes, and he looked most odd in pink leggings and frilly top. So that he speaks to us in years to come, we won't publish the photo.
It was still raining next morning so we cycled into Flensburg, booked into a massively overpriced hostel and found a laundrette to wash and dry clothes.
Cycling in the rain although unpleasant for the adults is fine for the kids. The trailer - a Burley d'lite - keeps them completely waterproof. When they are both in it which they have to be on wet days there can sometimes be friction as they are quite tightly packed in. Seb falls asleep in the morning and Emily has been known to poke him awake. However they are generally very good together and arguments are always stopped by a chocolate biscuit. Burley could have supplied the trailer with better tyres as it has suffered one puncture. Luckily I had two very eager volunteers to help me mend it which sped the process up no end.
Next stop Denmark!
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