A one day holiday

We have always loved to be beside the seaside and for the last nine years we have been fortunate enough to live no more than ten minutes away from some very special beaches. Here in Copenhagen we are spoilt for choice, go further up and you can find little gems trailing along the coast road. Upon the very north coast of the Island is Hornbæk, fifty kilometres away from Copenhagen and a mere half hour drive away. It was to Hornbæk that we headed today. A long stretch of white sand snaking along the coast, the beach is watched over in summer by a team of lifeguards. There are clean toilets and a kiosk serving all the usual ice creams, hotdogs and coffee.

The first time we visited this beach our middle son was the age that our youngest is now and the way in which we use the environment has changed accordingly. One of the big attractions for the boys in Hornbæk is the channel that crosses the sand on the far right of the beach. The end of a stream it provides a natural water feature that creates literally hours of entertainment for children no matter their age. Three years ago we stuck to tradition and planted ourselves front and centre by the sea but unable to see the children who naturally gravitated towards this area. These day's laziness has overtaken and we automatically set up camp right next to the channel where we are able to observe from a horizontal position the progress of our varying in age offspring.

Today being no different we pulled the pushchair across the sands and carried the acquired on arrival picnic over the dunes to our spot. It was not the best start, the clouds were threatening to take over and we judged the removal of our clothing according to the window of sunshine opportunity. The children were reluctant to venture off and as always seems to be the case, were immediately hungry as soon as we arrived. The toddler then awoke from his nap halfway through thus eliminating the need for the book I had rather opitimistically taken with me. Just as we began to think we ought to cut our losses and head home, the sun started to emerge more triumphantly from it's cloudy curtain and began to warm us back up to summer.

We ended up staying at the beach for seven hours, the boys were free to venture off and explore the sand dunes that divide the beach from the road and town behind. They played happily in the channel creating dam's to hold the water, running the length of the route to the sea and swimming about in the not too cold water. At one point the eldest returned clutching a handful of blackberries they had found hidden in the golden hills, a gift for his littlest brother who greedily and gratefully swallowed them up as intended.

Realising we had reached the point of no return where a journey home would result in three sleeping children and a subsequent early morning for us, we took a little stroll along to the harbour for some dinner. There are several eating places to choose from along the seafront depending on your sensibilities and many of them looked full and content with customers. We chose to visit the fish kiosk, mostly because we had tired children and preferred a stress free  al fresco meal rather than a sit down dinner but there were certainly places we might like to return to another time. We had an okay fish and chips, nothing to be excited about but they filled hole and today that was the point for us.

Behind the harbour is a children's playground with plenty of wooden equipment to occupy the boys prior to heading home and we spent a while sitting in a boat sailing to Australia captained by a happy four year old and his ship's mate.

Of course you can't visit the seaside without having an ice cream and there are plenty of places to choose from in that respect. This time we went West and had a Ben and Jerry's in the harbour but normally we go closer to home and visit one the Hansen's kiosks, especially the shop that makes it's own waffle cones out the back.

The weather was excellent , the children were content so therefore we were content and it long ago felt like we were on holiday. Satisfied, we headed home and by the time we returned we had two sleeping boys and a third, grateful to fall heavily into bed ready to sleep the sleep that comes after a long day at the beach.

26 Crabs

Last week I was surrounded by vast quantities of enthusiastic anticipation that only small boys can muster. So keen were they to go crabbing that they went to bed beautifully and arose the next day ready and refreshed at 6 a.m for the days activity. A little too early perhaps for me but I was able to utilise their good behaviour and by the time we went out bedrooms were tidy, clothes were folded and the dishwasher chores complete.
Rather handily the hedge in our garden is made of bamboo and has seen the end of its days, I dispatched the A Team to find four poles as high as their chins to be used for fishing. Three minutes later they fell through the front door with ten poles far taller than themselves, their bucket, some pegs and the packet's of prawns we had bought the day before. We were ready.

A little creative car management, we have the smallest car in the world and off we went. One of my favourite roads to drive is Strandvejen, stretching from the city all the way up to Helsingor in the north, I love to drive next to the sea and often choose the 'long way round' rather than sticking to the fast and efficient motorways. The boys enthusiasm had diminished slightly as we'd had to drive with the roof down in order to fit all our procured fishing equipment in with us, it was then rather cold but we were at least on the road to Espergærde.

Espergærde, is a seaside town just south of Helsingor but without any of the hustle and bustle one feels in a busy port city. We often go there when the weather is good to sit and play on the safe little beach, maybe take a swim and afterwards enjoy the fish kiosk or burger bar. I parked up and extricated ourselves from all the poles, buckets and blankets and headed down to the jetty to meet our fishing companions.

Our crab poles were made thus, one long stick with a metre long piece of string tied with a good knot. I did ours but have absolutely no idea as to the name of the knot I used as it came to me in a flash of inspiration and I was just glad to see it actually worked. Attached close to the end of the piece of string was a small rock, heavy enough to carry the weight of the pole to the bottom of the water and then finally a peg ready and waiting to hold the bait. We had selection of bait between us, prawns, bacon and polser, the bacon proved the most attractive to crabs and would also be the cheapest option too.
The now two mummies had four excited boys, one inquisitive toddler and a six month old baby ready to perch alongside the jetty to catch crabs. There followed nearly two and a half hours of entertainment, we laughed together, we celebrated when each of us caught crabs, we shared the anticipation of the catch and the children worked brilliantly in teams with one having the pole supported by his team mate ready with the net to swoop in and secure the catch. It was such good fun.

Okay, so one of the smaller boys fell in waist deep after sliding down the jetty on the green algae but he was fine and paved the way for two further slips by others during the morning. The toddler rapidly found himself back in his pushchair, contentedly bribed with a combination of fishcake from the kiosk next to us and a travel pot of nutella. It was his job to reside over the rapidly increasing pot of crabs we had gathered and very happy he was to do so.

When we had caught 26 crabs of all sizes we decided to let them race back down the jetty, each choosing a crab to be the victor. A little surprise for one of the mummies when a rogue crab headed up the jetty rather than down and landed on the end of her flip flops. A final roar of excitement as the grateful crabs slipped quietly away and four satisfied boys felt great about their mornings work.
The fish kiosk serves Danish fish and chips as well as fish cakes and other seafood all presented with fries and salad. We ordered a celebratory meal soon to be devoured in moments having had a slightly long wait for the food to arrive.

Our day finished at the beach next door, some swan whilst others built sandcastle's and we enjoyed the last day of sunshine for the time being. All in all we were in Espergærde for six hours and not once did we hear the words, "I'm bored".
I have on the other hand, heard the words "Can we go crabbing", plenty of times.