July 2026

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3rd - Jumping for joy that the Oldies are still away on the other side of the planet? ‎In France Paulie and Stephen visited the Jardin de Quercy near Verfeil . .
The display of Australian plants 4th - Cam and Olivia continued their sailing course with the aim of being ticketed captains The real test is set to be February 2027 when they will be skippers for Paulie & Stephen in New Zealand. They'll all be there for a family wedding. The duo were invited to a Fete Gourmande at the small village near Puycelsi. The band made for a nice auditory backdrop.
. 6th - Paulie & Stephen headed to nearby Domaine du Barry - there was no "Barry" but Cyprien took good care of them. . Pal Jon Outridge and Stephen had visited before and they liked his reds, his Syrah rosé and one of his whites. Stephen hadn't been fond of Gaillac wines before, but was sold on what he tasted
7th - the Adelaide pair made it to Victor Harbor Meanwhile in St Antonin , Julia & Michael made it to La Cachette 11th - A break from cycling up a sizable hill 12th - Olivia flew up to rural Queenslad for her pal's baby shower
. 13th - The next day was Fete Nationale. Time to celebrate. . A drum extravaganza. AthoCinema on this site captures some of the sounds and sights.
Kids joined in as did a "Hen's" gathering. . 16th - a more sedate afternoon gathering for an art opening (venisage) at Porte Bleue 18th - Back in Queensland Pauline's niece, Shari, and husband Pete have nearly finished their project. Father Jim visites
Their "weekender" in the subtropical forest near Woodford is pretty much off the grid and by all accounts lovely. Paulie & Stephen looked forward to visiting Shari on safari. Starting the road trip north whilst the house is rented out for a month. The goal was set (and achieved) to get to Copenhagen before the end of the month .
Laroquebrou, in Cantal, France on the way to Claremont Ferrand Hydroelectric plant and dam, Brt-Les-Orgeus . Pitching camp at Loubeyrat
. 19th- - first thing and the duo decided to hit the road on their bikes. 6:30 cycle- the 1,465m high volcanic Puy-de-Dome in the distance .
19th - Up and ready to visit the mountain. . A train ride up. And the skies were busy
. 20th - Another early moring ride before heading further north to the Alsace area. The Germanic French region reached for a hotel night in the wee wine village of Itterswiller Village was explored
. 21st - Stephen had a morning pedal through the vineyards . And back in Adelaide the guys continued their active life
Later that day, the duo crossed into Germany. They went for a stroll up the Philosopher's walk (Philosophenweg) in Heildelberg . A lovely view of the Neckar River and castle That day was Chris Atherton's birthday. Given there was a plan for a September visit to France, the duo felt that some rules were required.
22nd- next stop was Eisenach and Wartburg . Quedlinburg was an overnight stop .
. . 23rd - In Luneburg the guys stayed in a converted farmhouse. Lovely A few nights in comfort was appreciated
A cycle into town for coffee and they discovered a lovely town centre 24th - Into Denmark and a few nights camping in Ballum in Jutland All set up .
25th - breakfast on a cool morning- so different from SW France The duo decided to head for Romo island- now joined to the mainland by a 5km bridge and causeway Arrived at Romo Strand 24km away Ribe Cathedral was a mix of styles. No surprise - as Wikipedia states "It was founded in the Viking Age as the first Christian church in Denmark by Ansgar, a missionary monk from Hamburg" So it went from Catholic to Lutheran post reformation.
. . A spin to Esberjerg to see Svend Wiig Hansen's work, "Men at Sea". A tribute to man's contemplative nature. 26 - 27th- Meanwhile in Prague the Oxford lads checked out the St Nicholas church and surrounds
. The Royal Garden A local Musk Rat that looks similar to a coypu (Paulie & Stephen met a few in Uruguay in 2010) The Powder Gate Tower
26th - Back in Denmark it was the start of a lovely day So the duo visited Kolding's aptly named Koldinghus (one of 'ye old Royal Castles) Tasmania's-now- Denmark's Queen Mary drops in once and a while as there are many of husband Freddie's ancestors belongings. Then to the site of the "birth" of Denmark (or at least a first written reference to Denmark) - on the Jelling Stones .
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27th - the oldies check out Aalborg's Viking history. Pagan folk who only gained interest in Christian ways care of German missionaries around King Harold Bluetooth's reign. Decendant of Harold Bluetooth, Princess Paulie Wi-Fi of (New) Zealand visited the Viking burial ground. . The guys then visited Aarhus and it's ARoS (Aros Aarhus Art Museum)
. The guys share Proust's belief that the point of every trip is not new sights but new eyes. In this case he was spot on.... Green eyes Yellow eyes
Red eyes Then to Moesgaard Museum... ... to meet Pete the Peat man The Oxford lads, on the other hand, were still exploring Prague.
. 28th - The oldies had made it to Denmark's Funen Island to check out Egeskov Castle . .
. It also had an interesting collection of.. well, a lot of stuff. . That evening the duo headed to a converted farm in near Fuglebjerb on the island of Zealand for the night and took to the roads
. . . 29th - setting off for a moring walk to the lake. The guys had a small apartment in the barn for a night.
. To their lake access En Route to Gisselfeld Castle, they stop at a small village church .
Gisselfeld Kloster Hans Christian Anderson is said to have been inspired to write the story "The Ugly Duckling" when he visited the castle and saw the swans and cygnets in the lake. . Then no visit is complete without a visit to Stephen's Cliffs at Hojerop
The local kirk set on the cliff (interesting how the Scots also use the term "kirk" for church) The duo checked out the beach . and then climbed up again.
. A quick visit of St Nicholi Church in Koge for a mix of Catholic and... . ... later post-reformation Lutheran asthetics
30th - In Brisbane Nick gets up and heads to the kitchen to make spanakopita . . Meanwhile in the Copenhagen's outskirts at Ishoj, the guys had set up camp for a couple of days.
A hearty breakfast needed before jumping on the train to the city On the walk to the train, Stephen spotted his long long Turkish relative Then it was time to look about town. Paulie and Olivia had been here back in 2019, but Copenhagen was a first for Stephen. The Copenhagen City Hall was a recent build (1892 - 1905) Christiansborg Palace was spotted from a boat cruise
Down through the Christianshavn area The Royal Danish Opera The hard workers ponder the statue of Bishop Absalon, the city's legendary founder rearing up on his noble steed above them The much photographed Nyhavn district
. . Lunch in Nyhvn. A Danish Scottish pub owned run by Argentinians. Paulie had recommended the David Collection of Islamic art to Stephen so whilst he visited , she put her feet up in the Rosenborg Castle gardens across from the gallery until he joined her
. . 31st - Exploring Roskilde where there was an impressive Viking gallery and site. The duo spotted some contemporary vikings who were travelling on their boat .
So the guys got into the Viking Spirit. The collection at the Vikingeskibs museet (Viking Ship Museum) included replicas and wrecks from the good old days The long ship was a military chieftan's ship and carried over 60 crew. This was an ocean-going cargo ship from Sognefjord in western Norway
Paulie got to captain this vessel , Roskilde Cathedral This is where Danish royalty has been buried for generations. Ornately
Modestly paediatrically . Although still alive, the abdicated Queen Margrethe II took part in designing her sarcophagus made from materials from Denmark and it's territories, such as Greenland and the Faroese islands (photo from "The Art Newspaper", 4 May 2018). Glass because constitutional power is transparent in this democracy.
The guys set up camp to the north of Copenhagen in Nivå. Sweden was in view . . .
. All ready for another cycle the next day on at the start of August to see the Louisiana Modern Art Museum.