Our Spontaneous Southern Road Trip

This year, we felt it was time for a new road trip. We debated whether to head north (Norway, Lapland, Finland) or south. It turned out we never really decided, so we ended up driving south, essentially without any planning, just taking each day as it came. And that's not a bad way to travel! Unfortunately, we had some bad luck with the weather, so we adjusted our plans on the fly quite a bit.

In this blog post, I'm going to recount our little trip, day by day!

Day 1: A Rainy Start and Malmö Stopover

We started our first day by packing the car in pouring rain and set off after lunch, not really knowing our destination, but heading south nonetheless.

Traveling with young children, in our case, ages 2 and 5, requires an immense amount of patience. Questions about "Are we there yet?" constantly barrage us, and various squabbles and shouts are a near-constant soundtrack, except when they're asleep. Something new to add to our patience list today: the 5-year-old needing to pee all the time! So, our first stop was actually at Björketorp Vägkrog, which is a standard stop for us when traveling south through Sweden, as it's a good distance from Borås. After a potty break, bribing the kids with ice cream, and some rather nasty coffee, we rolled on. Our next stop was OKQ8 in Glumslöv, so the drive south was manageable with stops. After many more kilometers, we arrived in Malmö and decided it would be good to stop for the night before the next day's adventures began. I pulled out my phone and did some searches on hotel booking sites, Trivago being my favorite. I saw that Scandic St. Jörgen had a good offer, booked a room, and we continued on. We parked in what felt like the world's narrowest parking garage for the evening. The room was good, with large beds that fit everyone. For now, booking "sleeps in parent's bed" works, but it's probably only a matter of time before we'll need to book a separate bed for our boy. The evening ended with the kids enjoying a mocktail each, and us adults having a nice drink.

Day 2: Denmark Bound and Ferry Fun (with a squeeze!)

We started day two, much to the children's delight, with a hotel breakfast. I must say, the breakfast at Scandic St. Jörgen was really pleasant, and nothing was really missing, except as my wife pointed out... there was no brie cheese, which usually features at all Scandic breakfasts. But that's a minor detail! After wrangling our way out of the garage under the hotel, we drove towards the day's adventure.

Our route first took us to Toftanäs where we bought some travel provisions, and then we drove to Jula to buy an extension cord for the 12V outlet so we could use our cooler in the car. It's possible to retrofit an outlet in the car's trunk, which is something we plan to do, but until then, an extension cable will have to do. With food and water for unexpected stops, we continued our journey.

The Øresund Bridge looked as magnificent as ever, and without incident, we passed Copenhagen, continuing towards Rødbyhavn. After a few kilometers, the little one, of course, needed to pee, so we left the highway for Circle K Nordhöj, Køge. You'd be hard-pressed to find a fresher stop; both Circle K and the accompanying Burger King restaurant looked 100% spotless, and the restrooms were super clean.

After our stop, we once again headed south towards Rødbyhavn but took a small detour to Lalandia, not for swimming and fun, but for a quick meal break and, of course, a potty stop! The food at Lalandia isn't cheap; you almost feel a bit ripped off paying close to 1000 SEK for a hamburger, a Caesar salad, and a children's portion of fish and chips. But it was tasty, and it is vacation, right? We booked the ferry between Rødbyhavn and Puttgarden, then drove to the port and joined the ferry queue.

We managed to get on the very next ferry, about an hour and a half before the one we'd booked, which was great, but the real challenge came after we drove onto the ferry. I don't think they accounted for large SUVs and people who can't park correctly in the lanes. Once we'd parked on the ferry, only my wife could barely squeeze out of the car. I had to climb out and exit on the passenger side, and my 5-year-old also had to climb out. We got the 2-year-old out the right way, but it wasn't without difficulty, and my wife squeezed herself so badly that she had a large, noticeable bruise that evening.

On the ferry crossing, we each bought a coffee that the receipt called "Starbucks," but that was probably wishful thinking. It was truly awful coffee that we later had to pour out. As we approached the port again, we took the elevator down to the car. Once again, the 5-year-old had to climb into the car, the 2-year-old barely squeezed in, and I, agile as a refrigerator, climbed over to my side.

After we left the boat, the 5-year-old announced he needed to pee. Well, what do you do? Immediately turn right and pull into the parking lot next to the Bordershop, not the Bordershop parking itself, but the one for "typical Germans." No problem driving in there. The 5-year-old pees, and I go to pay for parking so we can leave. But here's where our luck ran out: only coins were accepted, no card payments. "Oh my god, we're stuck," I thought. I went back to the car and then drove closer to the exit to try and find someone who could help us. Then I heard someone call out to me, "Swedish?" I clearly understood his thought: "Dumb Swede driving into the wrong parking lot, and without coins too..." He was wearing a high-vis vest with "Bordershop" on it, so I put two and two together: he works here, and his job is to let out Swedes who drive into the wrong lot. "Yes," I replied. He pointed to the barrier and instructed me to drive out. His internal training course on letting out Swedes only included the word "Swedish" in English, but that was enough, as I drove to the barrier, he pressed a remote, and we were out. I, for my part, used pretty much the only German word I know, saying "Danke" to him, and continued our journey... until the first standstill queue.

Day 3: Hamburg, Legoland Dreams, and a Good Meal

When we left the ferry, the plan was to drive down to northern Italy. I'm not sure how we thought that through, but anyway, when we were around Hamburg, we got a bit tired of two children who only complained, but also because the weather was bad in Italy. We realized that such a long trip might require a bit more planning, but at the same time, it's just as far down there as it is to northern Finland.

After many kilometers on the autobahn, we still decided to stop for the night. We looked at hotels nearby and found a Good Morning Hotel in the village of Bad Oldesloe, which is located a bit outside Hamburg on the map. A family room was booked, and after a while, we arrived at the hotel. It was us and... pretty much only Swedes. The hotel and room felt quite run down, and the hotel room didn't smell particularly good. The stairwell smelled of radon, but we slept well, and the breakfast (with all the other Swedes) was completely okay, but I suspect this hotel will be deserted in a few years.

We started day three with breakfast, as mentioned. It was a pretty good breakfast with both bread and yogurt, fruit, eggs, and sausage. Of course, I had to try most things, including the sausage, but I probably won't be eating Nürnberger sausages again. The day consisted of a visit to Hamburg. We arrived in Hamburg quite early, but it was still incredibly difficult to find parking. Finally, we figured out that there was a fairly well-located parking garage from where we wanted to start. In front of us was another Swedish family who we'd seen driving around a bit like us. After 3 floors in the parking garage, both cars found parking on the 4th floor. The floor was called Cologne, and it was a very fresh parking garage right in the middle of Hamburg. We parked in Speicherstadt. As usual, our 5-year-old was in need of a pee. I told him to pee in a bottle because there were no restrooms here. To my surprise, he did it and looked very pleased. A little sheepishly, I took the bottle and told myself not to forget to throw it in the nearest trash can.

We began our Hamburg stroll by walking from the parking lot to the city center, looking at some sights. It's a very large city, but we managed to see a small part before my wife asked what we were going to do for the rest of the road trip. After some back and forth, we decided to go to Legoland, as we'd talked about visiting it and felt it was time to do something fun for the kids. I pulled up Trivago again, but couldn't find any good hotels. I checked Scandic and my bonus nights, and it turned out I had a night at Scandic Olympic in Esbjerg. I booked a standard room, and after a short while, the hotel called and said their beds weren't very wide and offered me a Superior room for 300 SEK. It was really nice of the hotel to call and explain, and also to solve the problem for a small fee for an upgrade. I thanked them, and our next accommodation was set.

As we approached the end of our Hamburg trip, we stumbled upon a bit of an uproar. It turned out that a new stamp had been released, so both TV and newspapers were there, photographing some old man holding up the stamp in front of the object depicted on it. Always fun to see proud people talking about their creations.

Germany is said to be a difficult country for gluten allergy sufferers, and now we were hungry. Would we really find something my wife could eat that was gluten-free? I pulled out my phone and did a simple search. It turned out there was an Italian restaurant right in the block we were in, and we headed to Rudolfs.

Imagine an authentic Italian restaurant with the most delicious pizza you've ever eaten – yes, we went all-in on pizza. Of course, there were other dishes like pasta and other Italian specialties, but when we saw that the pizza maker looked Italian, the choice was simple. They also served gluten-free options. Eating out is usually a lottery, especially in Germany, where one hears it can be quite a challenge for gluten-free dining, but my wife didn't experience any symptoms afterward, which is a really good sign. Our pizzas were also very tasty, and the visit was satisfying; everyone was full.

After our visit to Hamburg, we started heading north towards Kiel. There, we went to a submarine my wife had seen before. The submarine was called U 955, and it was an interesting visit; the atmosphere around the submarine was also charming. It was a small cove where many Germans were probably vacationing. The beach was nice, and there were some places where you could eat and drink well. Unfortunately, we didn't try either the drinks or the food. After our little detour to U955, we drove towards Denmark, with a stop at Scandinavian Park. It's like a Bordershop but on land, but the concept was the same. We didn't buy much, but we did get some Danish flats, of course, and some candy.

Before we continued, we took the opportunity to try some German fast food at Burger King. The kids got their Burger King version of a Happy Meal.

The road towards the Danish border was quite good, and the views were very nice. All of a sudden, we drove across the border; no police in sight, just kept going. After a few kilometers, however, we encountered some flashing lights, but they weren't interested in us, but rather a group of young people who had bought a bit too much at Scandinavian Park.

It was quite nice to finally be on Danish soil. Denmark is also very beautiful. On the way to Esbjerg, you see the sea occasionally, but mostly fields. Something I liked on the way to Esbjerg was that you drove through all the villages. Of course, we also stopped at some rest areas here because the 5-year-old needed to pee, but it was worth it because the air smelled so fresh and clean.

After a while, we arrived at Scandic Olympic. The idea was to finish the day with a nice drink, but we were all so tired that we just had a cozy time in the hotel room with Danish candy bought in Germany.

Day 4: Legoland Adventures and a Return to Malmö

Breakfast started the day, and a Danish Scandic breakfast in Esbjerg is something I can highly recommend. The coffee was good and the bread was fresh; everything else was really good too. The children also ate quite well, but of course, pancakes and fruit were the most tempting here too.

After breakfast, we booked tickets to Legoland. I found a discount code that worked on the Danish Legoland website, giving us a 50% discount, which was perfect. We packed everything into the car and drove on. Not directly to Legoland, but we took the opportunity to visit the "Men by the Sea" statues located just outside Esbjerg. It was actually quite impressive to see. The Men by the Sea were very large and fun to see. We even saw them later at Legoland, but in Lego form...

I think we will visit Esbjerg again; it was very beautiful there, and we haven't explored the area enough yet. After our visit to "Men by the Sea," we began the journey to Legoland. It was about an hour's drive, and we arrived around 11 AM. We, and a few thousand others...

We chose to spend one day at Legoland, but in hindsight, we realized that's not enough; two days are needed to ride all the attractions and explore everything there is to do. The whole family had fun, and the 5-year-old got to ride an attraction by himself for the first time. We managed to go on many rides, but unfortunately not the ones with long queues. The positive thing was that most things were suitable for everyone, and it truly caters to all ages. By the way, the Swedish family we parked near in Hamburg? They were also at Legoland. Unfortunately, we only saw them from one of the rides and then didn't see them again, but it would have been fun to say hello.

After Legoland, we decided to drive to Malmö. Guess who had an urgent need to pee? We took the first available exit and stopped at an entrance road. The 5-year-old did his business, and just as we were about to leave, another dad with that "potty break" look appeared, also from Sweden. We greeted each other and both laughed at the humor of the situation.

On the way to Malmö, we passed the Great Belt Bridge, a very beautiful bridge with a wonderful view of the sea. I actually think the Great Belt Bridge beats the Øresund Bridge in terms of the driving experience.

A few hours later, we were back on Swedish soil and had a booking at the same hotel as last time, Scandic St. Jörgen.

Day 4-5: A Relaxed Departure and Home

We arrived quite late, so the challenge of parking in their garage was even harder now than a few days ago, but everything went well. Unfortunately, we had a rather late breakfast as the early times were fully booked, but it was quite nice to sleep in a bit longer in the morning. After breakfast and packing the car, we decided to head north, home, with a stop in Varberg for some sun and swimming.

We concluded our little road trip with a visit to Thai Silk in Borås.