Hirtshals - skallerup Klit 🇩🇰 return 40kms 🚴‍♀️

 My cup is full 😊

I reported at the kitchen for our 8am meeting where the chef's talk about the meals and assign duties.  I am on morning kitchen duties for the first few days.

Danish breakfast with porridge, fruit, home made breads, jam and cheese.

Then I was assigned to the dishwashing machine.

The morning whizzed by and it was morning tea time - hummus, breads, carrot sticks and a fresh type of white beetroot sliced and fruit.

Back to the kitchens to wash up all the morning tea and then I helped with food prep.  Made a huge coleslaw and chopped chicken ready for a salad tomorrow.

Then lunch - Luca the head chef is Italian and they have the main meal in the middle of the day.  He made an amazing pistachio and ham pasta and a carrot and apple salad.

Washing up again and a full kitchen clean down and my shift was done!

Friendly permanent kitchen staff, music kranked (like the best 'mixed tape' of 1960's-2000's hits) with everyone singing and dancing while working 😊

Then my Dutch roommate arranged a better bike for me and I headed off for a 40km loop through the rugged wild north of Denmark following cycle route 1 through dedicated bike paths, farmland, forests and a nature reserve with a cycle-through exhibit in a barn!!  And then I came across an Icelandic horse farm.  I stopped and went to the fence and started patting them and the farmer came past on his bicycle and we chatted for ages as he talked about the horses.  He uses them for traditional dress horse and cart events but none in the next month for me to see 😥

Then off to see the 'Inland sand dunes' which the area is famous for.  Huge mounds covered in grass and about 1km from the beachfront.

It was starting to get dark and the temp dropped and so I headed back. 

 

Dinner tonight was a selection of beautiful salads and home made breads and everyone made open salad sandwiches.

Then!  It's Mad Monday and so a group take the school bus to the beach at 7pm and run into the North sea at -5 degrees and out again.  The teacher and kids said it was my initiation and Kiri my Japanese room mate had done it and so I just had to.  I got up to my waist this week but aim to go fully in next week 😂. 

I have had a lot of time on my own over the last 7.5 months and apart from a week in Turkey with a lovely small team, haven't felt part of a family, team or group.  This is something, as an extrovert, I've missed and this month in Denmark is going to fill that void 😊 

Happy days 🎉