This is the final leg of our roadtrip last September, covering 14 countries (7 new ones in my list of been-to countries). We left Germany and drove through Denmark, visiting a relaxing 14-hectare botanical garden, the Geografisk Have, or Geographical Garden, with a greenhouse, antistress gardens, animal enclosure, and a mini-replica of the city, Kolding. We crossed the Lillebælt and the Storebælt bridges which connect the bigger islands of Denmark, and then the Øresund Bridge, which links Denmark to Sweden. In Sweden, we went shopping in Gekås Ullared – winter clothes and stuff.

Here’s the route for the entire roadtrip, c/o Google Maps:

We had a good night’s rest in Hotel Seeblich Fösterhaus in Owschlag, and had a quick breakfast before leaving at 8:30 am. Ou review of the accommodation: “Spacious room, free parking, nice ambiance. Simple breakfast.” They served several fried options on the breakfats (breakfast, I mean) buffet.

And then, we were back in good, old Scandinavia, starting off with Denmark. You know you’re in Denmark when you see lots of people biking. It’s part of the culture in the bigger cities.

We checked out Kolding, a seaport city located before the Lillebælt bridge. It has a population of around 62,000 (as of 2023). Interestingly, Drammen is one of its sister cities. We visited the refreshing botanical garden – with plant species from all over the world.

The Garden was founded by Aksel Olsen in 1918, and started out as an experiment to see if plant species from other countries could survive the Danish climate. The Garden was divided in different sections, depending on their origin, like Japan, China, North America, and Europe. The inner child in my husband went free when we reached the bamboo section. He ran and hid around them, like the Flash. The bamboo species they have there was the smaller version. I was used to seeing bigger and taller bamboo grass where I came from.

There was also a Rose Garden, but by September, they were not in their best blooming season. We saw grass-cutting robots, and decided that if ever we have a lawn, we would name our mower “Robert”. Our robot vacuum is called “Monica”. She helps maintain the house clean. We love her!

Then, there was the Jungle section. Lots of spider webs, both on plants and on the paths.

Another feature of the Garden was the Anti-stress gardens, which was brilliant, I think. Who would want to just sit there and meditate, or enjoy a conversation with someone? There’s also community libraries, and an herb garden which smelled so good!

The small replica of Kolding (by the way, the “d” in Kolding is silent, but you have to roll the “l” when pronouncing), is also a popular attraction in the Garden. I enjoyed pretending like a huge monster in a city. However, the 400 miniature houses seemed delicate that I wasn’t so sure if small children would enjoy it.

“Help the bees, and the bees will help you” was a slogan in the Bee-keeping section.

Lastly, we visited the animal enclosure, where it was possible to pet goats, and chickens. This, I think, would be enjoyed by children.

The Geopgrapic Garden is open all week, and here’s a link for the entrance fees and other information: https://geografiskhave.dk/priser-abningstider/.

After Kolding, we crossed the bridges that needed to be crossed to get to mainland Sweden. I wrote about the bridges in previous entries as well, during the roadtrip in 2022. We paid the toll in Denmark by card, and the Øresund bridge online.

We reached Hotel Erikslund in Ängelholm a little before 4 pm. Sweden is Carl’s turf and we visit there often, so we just decided to rest in the evening, saving our energy for the shopping spress that I scheduled before finally going home. Gekås Ullared is Sweden’s biggest department store. I like shopping there once a year, for winter needs and more. So, it has started to become an annual thing. The store also became popular after it was featured on a Swedish TV show, which was about the Swedes enjoying summer camping and shopping in Ullared.

The next day, on Day 14, we made it home, safe and sound. We missed the kitts so much, although the owner of the cathotel posts pictures of them daily. They also seemed happy that we were back.

As I’ve written on my facebook page, the whole trip was another eye-opener. The Balkans was somehow demystified. I’m super glad that we did the whole trip, and I’m excited for the next ones to come! ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ON THIS BLOG ARE MINE. Cheers! 🙂 #spreadloveandpositivevibes