20 May

Today was a very different day.
I arose at 7 and had a shower, then was ready for breakfast about 7:30. I had a typical Danish breakfast of bread and cheese (apart from the vegemite I put on the bread).
Gitte then took me on a drive through to Thorsminde, where there is a museum dedicated to the shipwrecks along the coast and the Battle of Jutland. On the way we went through typical areas between Fjelstervarg and the coast, with forests planted about a hundred years ago and some replanted since then (the older trees are showing signs of age and need to be trimmed/removed). Some of the area was growing crops (winter and spring wheat and maize, mainly as cattle fodder and canola) and some was devoted to dairy cattle (of at least three types; fresian, ? and jersey which gives much higher butterfat content) and a little devoted to cattle for meat.
As we approached the coast, the land became sandier and dunes were visible. There were a few summer homes (holiday houses) on the coastal side and we approached a harbour, which was Thorsminde. There were sluices and a lock on the harbour between the sea and the inland area (also saline, where the mussels require salt to live). We parked, had a look around the harbour and then looked around the Strandingsmuseum. This has exhibits from the HMS St George, a former Nelson flagship. It also has exhibits from U-boats lost on the coast and from the Battle of Jutland, including some dioramas. There were two short videos we watched on the Battle of Jutland and the recovery of artefacts from the St George. Then we walked up the dunes and saw the beach area and the area used for fishing, and I heard about the number of tourists who died there because of not observing elementary safety precautions.
We went south to the village of Ringkøbing. After parking and setting the time clock (a plastic clock on the window, in front of the passenger, a P-timer) we walked through an old street down to the harbour. This has been revitalised since the old boatyards went. Then we returned to the centre along another old street, where the style of houses was seen to change from those built on stone foundations to those on brick to those on concrete. Also the bricks changed from hand-made brick to manufactured brick. Then we looked into the Tourist Bureau and got some information before Gitte showed me the old County Council chambers upstairs where the County council used to meet and there were photos of all the councillors.
We had lunch at the old hotel in the square before driving back to the house in Kinæk. Along the way we saw more planted fields and more typical farmhouses, with large barns and very large stalls for the animals (which need to be kept inside during winter).
After returning home we looked over maps of where I had been (and I noted the names of where to visit, so I won’t get lost tomorrow – Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark, and Friedrichstade in Germany) and Australia.
Then we had afternoon coffee in the summerhouse with the builders and discussed a little of Australia. I got a tour of the garden and an explanation of how it was developing (and the new garden storage building was a new part of it) and the growth of the house.
I did a little writing up while Gitte was out doing some shopping.
After, Peter arrived home and soon we had tea. Over coffee after we talked about travel in the middle east and things to see and what to be careful about, I talked about the things I had done which were successful and I would note down in future blog pages for others (if they were interested) and eventually we all headed off. I said thank you to Peter and Gitte and went off, to finish this blog and process the photos and eventually get to bed.