Caravan trip up north

This time we wanted to explore Scandinavia. The nice thing about these types of destinations is that you don't have to book anything in advance; for our family with a caravan, there is always availability somewhere at one of the many nature or beach campsites. We call it travel 'without an itinerary' of 'where the wind takes us'.

We had purchased the 'Camping Key Europe pass' in advance, which is useful to have and also pleasant as you get   discount, but it is not mandatory. However, some campsites are only accessible with a CKE pass, but you can always buy them on site.

Here is our itinerary (which was only drawn up after this trip) ⬇️

Sjaelland Denmark

As our children were still small, we decided to leave early so that they could sleep in the car for the first part of the journey. It is a more than 600-kilometer drive to Rostock in Germany, where we had booked the ferry to go to Denmark (Direct Ferries). Tired from the journey, we stayed overnight at a campsite near Rostock and the next morning we took the ferry to Gedser, a crossing of 2 hours.

We wanted to see Copenhagen, so we decided to spend the night at a campsite near Copenhagen and travel to the city by train. We found a campsite in Køge, which was about 100 km from Gedser (where we moored with the ferry) and we booked a pitch for 2 nights. This region is called Sjaelland. The next day we took the train from Køge to Copenhagen and which was about 40 minutes and ended in the heart of Copenhagen. We  spent a day in Copenhagen, which is a beautiful city, read here our blog.

Skåne Sweden

The next day, we drove on to Sweden. We reached Sweden via the Öresund Bridge, (known from the series 'The Bridge') which is 18 km long and connects Denmark with Sweden. What a cool 'crossing' this was, very spectacular. When we arrived in Sweden, this is the Skåne region or southern Sweden, we drove via the ring around Malmo and Lund to the Ringsjön Lakes, where we booked a pitch on the spot at a campsite for a number of nights.

The nice thing about this kind of campsites is that there are no measured or reserved spots; We could decide for ourselves where we were going to pitch, and of course we chose a nice spot with a view of the lake. Fantastic!

Ringsjön Lakes

Here we enjoyed the wonderful Swedish outdoor life for a few days (swimming in the lake, playing on the beach, BBQ, hiking, fishing, kayaking, etc.) and we explored the area, including a day trip to Malmö. Read our Malmö-blog here. 

After this wonderful 5-night mini break around the Ringsjön Lakes, we drove further north with the caravan and stayed for a few days in Mölle-Höganäs (First camp) which was a nice campsite with a swimming pool for the children. 

Kullaberg Nature Reserve

We choose this place as we read about the beautiful 'Kullaberg Nature Reserve', one of the most beautiful nature reserves in Skåne, located in the northernmost tip of this rocky peninsula north of Mölle on the west coast of Skåne. And it was, we took a beautiful walk here and were treated to spectacular views of Oresund, the Bay of Skälderviken and Kattegat. Below us we saw rocks, steep cliffs and coves, and in the distance a (sailing) boat here and there. They also saw Kullens Fyr lighthouse, where the 'Naturum' visitor center is also located.

Unfortunately our time in Sweden was over and we booked a crossing from Halmstad to Grenaa in Denmark. We stayed the last night in Halmstad (which is an hour's drive north from Mölle) and the next morning we left early with the ferry (Stena Line) to Denmark. This crossing took about 4.5 hours.

Midden Jutland: Silkeborg - Himmelbjerget

Back in Denmark we had two more wishes on our list: the region (middle) Jutland and Legoland Denmark in Billund.

Midden Jutland: Silkeborg - Himmelbjerget

Silkeborg is very touristy, but not busy. We booked a pitch for 3 nights at a campsite in Silkeborg and, among other things, did the 'Hjejlen', the world's oldest paddle steamer, a household name in this region. Since 1861, the old coal-fired paddle steamer has sailed on the Silkeborg lakes. We booked a ticket from Silkeborg to Himmelbjerget ('The Mountain of Heaven'). With an elevation of 147 m (482 ft), Himmelbjerget is one of the highest natural points in the Danish landscape. The hill and surrounding area has been a center for various gatherings and celebrations for more than 200 years and in 1875, a red brick tower was erected at the top.

That trip on the historic steamboat was very nice, we got on in Silkeborg (the stop was near our campsite) and got off at the Himmelbjerget stop. Here time seemed to have stood still. We then walked to the top in about 30 minutes (just over 1 km). The trip was quite strenuous but certainly rewarding, with beautiful views over Central Jutland.

Legoland Billund

After relaxing for a few more days in Silkeborg, we had another surprise in store for the children: a visit to Legoland in Billund. We had booked the Legoland Camping in advance for 2 nights with an accompanying 2-day entrance pass to the park. As Lego fans we could indulge ourselves here, we really enjoyed it, what a fanatic treat this was. 

Fans of Scandinavia

After this packed holiday in Sweden and Denmark it was time to go home. We drove the route from Billund in one piece, with of course the necessary breaks along the way. It was already late when we arrived home. What a memorable holiday this was. We are fans of Scandinavia.