Danish Dynamite - or: I can’t help it

What should this title tell us? It has a double meaning. On one hand, I'm quite the savvy accountant when it comes to costs. On the other hand, I am quickly enthused about handball.

Point 1. We should have thought about this beforehand. You can only reach Copenhagen by land if you use one bridge or another. This includes the 17 km long Storebælt Bridge over the Great Belt. The fees blew me away:

Overview of toll fees for motorhomes (one way)

Over 6 meters to 10 meters in length (Standard rate / without contract) 645 DKK (approx. 86.50 €)

This means that for our visit to Copenhagen, we would first have to pay a considerable toll. And then we would have driven back the same way. So 170,- €.

The costs can be reduced if you

• enter into a contract with Storebælt

• register your license plate on an online platform

• conclude the digital toll of the provider Brobizz

• leave your credit card details

and hope that you have thought of everything.

Or you already ordered a transponder at home that saves you all the registrations.

But we didn’t.

So we visit Copenhagen another time.

This naturally gnaws at us, as we had chosen the visit to Copenhagen as one of the highlights of our trip to Denmark.

On top of that, we faced the difficulty of finding a suitable parking spot. There are very few in Copenhagen, and the good ones are booked up long in advance. We had to find that out too.

Postponed…

New plan: we’re going to Aarhus and visiting Denmark’s second-largest city.

Near the city center lies the marina Marselisborg, which also offers a motorhome site. We find a spot at the end of the first row and would have a sea view – if the dike were transparent. Instead, we look at the dike hill and guess that the water is behind it. It’s only 2 km to the city – we take the bikes. Which, given the rain that started, might not have been the best decision.

Aarhus in drizzle isn't exactly pleasant. Annoyed, we wander through the pedestrian zone, always searching for a department store or a passage.

Eventually, we find one in the Salling department store, which boasts a rooftop terrace with a Roof Top Bar. And this is something grand – a huge rooftop landscape with various areas, stage, restaurant, observation decks, and a fantastic view over the city – at least in nice weather.

Not today.

The rain doesn’t ease up, so we want to head back to the motorhome.

And then the incredible happens – Simone has a flat!

The second one on this trip. This can’t be happening.

It was close, and the wheel could have ended up in the harbor basin. Stay calm….

But pushing 2 km in the rain is not really uplifting.

The mood is at rock bottom. The first thoughts of going home creep in. The vacation is under a very bad sign.

Aarhus is a very young city, with many students and young people. That's really noticeable. And they all seem to be doing some kind of sport. I have rarely seen so many young people jogging in the city in such bad weather. Maybe we shouldn’t link our bad luck with this city.

Then a ray of hope – while researching online, I discover that Aalborg Handball is playing at home against Paris St. Germain tomorrow night in the Champions League.

And Aalborg is only 120 km away.

So we come to point 2 (see title) – I can’t help it.

Apparently, there are still tickets available.

Overnight, the thought matures and the next morning, the decision stands – we’re going to Aalborg.

When we stand in front of the Sparkassen Arena, we want to book tickets online. But there are only a few scattered seats left. We can’t find any contiguous seats.

So we head to the hall – maybe there will be a ticket sale.

Eventually, we find a large office in the basement, where some employees are sitting and working on the PC keyboards.

A friendly employee takes our request and actually conjures up 2 contiguous seats.

The mood improves.

There’s still plenty of time until the game starts. We could easily fix the rear wheel and put in a new tube.

Easy - yes, yes.

After an hour, I’m only cursing. This darn tire won't come off. I also don’t have good tools with me.

After 2 hours, the tube is in, but it doesn’t hold air. That’s enough; tomorrow we will go to a specialty store.

Now we head into the hall. The masses are already pouring in; the game is sold out. And almost everyone is wearing a red Aalborg jersey - Danish Dynamite indeed.

And as we stand in the catering area, I can hardly believe my eyes.

Suddenly, my old handball teammate André Müller shows up with Anja and the whole family next to us. What a coincidence. They are on vacation at the North Sea coast and had already chosen to visit the game at home.

The game delivers what one would expect from this encounter. Two European top teams spare no effort.

Juri Knorr is in a playing mood and is hard to stop.

Still, the 1st half goes to Paris. Aalborg, however, counters and turns the game around.

In the last second, Paris is awarded a penalty shot, which is also converted. 33:33 is the final score and we saw an excellent game.

Back in the motorhome, we lean back and observe the chaos while leaving the parking lot. We have our bed here and will stay.

After all this big city hustle, we now need a few days of peace. We head to the East Sea coast near the Limfjord. Right behind the pier lies the well-equipped motorhome site with sufficient toilets and showers. We are looking forward to beach walks at the nearby East Sea beach.