Are We Really Still in Denmark? Camper Van Escapades 2026 - Season 2 - Aarhus

The summer continues, the sun is still shining, and it's time for more adventures.

And we’re off again… I’ve been counting down the days to us leaving on another van trip. I couldn’t wait to get back to that simple life. And remember this is coming from a woman who would have sold the van without blinking back in May! Now you have no chance of prying it from my sticky fingers and they are VERY VERY sticky!

After we came back from the ‘big’ trip back in May / June the van has been off on its travel without us. It was so strange that the drive was empty for a couple of weeks.

First, it went off for a weekend of fun with some friends - a trip in the van was their wedding present from us when they got married last year. Luckily they liked the gift and didn’t think we were insane.

And it then spent the rest of the time with our lovely repair guy who had to fix a bunch of stuff, including leaks in the water system and a wonky switch for the outdoor shower.

While it was with him it also got a ‘horn’ upgrade. Yes, you read that right! The original version that Mercedes has installed was pathetic to put it mildly. It sounded like something you’d have on a tiny moped. Total embarrassment every time you used it. The new one isn’t exactly Dukes of Hazard and the General Lee level, but it’s a heck of a lot better. You can see the red horn ‘bits’ through the front grill, and it’s apparently just below the legal limit. Now we can beep at others drivers to our hearts delight!

So now the van is back, it’s stocked and ready, and we’re itching for the off.

This time we’re exploring Denmark and heading over to Aarhus in Jutland. I’ve never been there and Kim, even as a Dane, has only been there once in the dim and distant past (as far as he remembers!).

Here’s five quick facts about Aarhus to set the scene:

1. It’s the second-largest city in Denmark, with a population of 300,000 people, located on the east coast of Jutland and the Kattegat sea.

2. It has Viking roots and was originally called Aros - an Old Norse term for ‘river mouth’.

3. It was founded in the 800s, and is one of Scandinavia’s oldest cities.

4. Marselisborg Palace - between our campsite and Aarhus itself - serves as the summer and Christmas residence for the Danish royals.

5. And finally it has a big university, with over 40,000 students living in the city. So it’s lively and vibrant.

(Thanks to Google Gemini for help on the research of those facts - just as an FYI I may use AI for my research, but all the writing and spelling mistakes are very much my own.)

Google Maps: our drive from ‘home’ just outside Copenhagen, across the big bridge (The Storebælt Bridge) to the island of Fyn, and across the little bridge (The New Lillebælts Bridge) on to Jutland and up the east coast to Aarhus.

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Below you’ll find a a copy of the notes that I’ve posted each day and a few of the pictures - all taken by me as always. If you’d like to see all of the pictures that I’ve attached to each note then just click on the link at the end.

I’d love it if you’d add a like and a comment on the notes themselves.

Thanks in advance and enjoy!

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Day 1 - July 23, 2026 - Copenhagen to Aarhus, Jutland (310km)

Camper Van Escapades - Season 2 Episode 1 😎

And we are off again for a few days to the other side of Denmark. 310km, a bit under a 4 hour drive, and we landed just south of Aarhus (those Danish double aa’s again!) and right beside one of the most expensive areas to live in all of Denmark - Højbjerg.

Houses up the hill right behind us are on the market for almost £2M to £3M! Which makes the £150 for 4 nights at the campsite even more reasonable when we’re closer to the beach and have many more bathrooms! 🤣

But the whole trip almost went out of the window the night before we left. Evie loves chasing and eating flies. Disgusting, I know. But she decided to try doing the same with a wasp. Surprise, surprise it didn’t end well and she got stung on the right side of her mouth. Luckily some ice and painkillers helped. But we were holding our breath there for a few hours and had visions of another emergency run to the vet. Not what she needed when she’s still recovering from her dental surgery.

But she’s happy van dog today especially as I was a total sucker after our last trip and bought her a foot stool of her very own to sit on. I got a bit tired of her stealing mine! Now she has the perfect spot to survey the world or take a nap in comfort. Why lie on the floor when you have a gullible human that you can manipulate into spending money on you?! 🥰🤣

Here’s a link to the original ‘note’ with additional pictures.

Day 2 - July 24, 2026

Camper Van Escapades - Season 2 Episode 2

Even on a near full campsite it’s peaceful. Except for the evenings when the kids hit the trampoline!

First order of the day, a forest walk with Evie and the joy of finding a beautiful hidden beach. 🌞

It was bike day #1. Time for Kim to properly test out his electric bike - he’s had it almost a year and hardly used it so at least now it’ll have a bit of dust and grime on it when he takes it for its annual service in a couple of weeks! 😎 And time for me to work my legs on my old (old) school bike.

A chance too for Evie to get strapped into her new dog basket. The look on her face gives away just how much she loved it - not! But she managed to survive another silly idea concocted by her humans. 😉 She made so many people do a double-take, many smiled, and some German tourists even commented how ‘cool’ she looked!

A 5km cycle into Aarhus allowed us to join the copious quantities of passengers from two cruise ships who were wandering around. And take a few pictures of Møllestein - one of the oldest streets and the most photographed. So many hollyhocks!

Then it was off to see the Aarhus version of London’s Docklands, all swanky apartments, loads of glass, and buildings more reminiscent of Miami - called by chance ‘Docklands’ - before we headed to a marina restaurant for lunch.

And finally we braved the rolling hills back to the campsite - not something we’re used to in Copenhagen. The hills that is not the campsite! And collapsed for the rest of the day…😴

Here’s a link to the original ‘note’ with additional pictures.

Day 3 - July 25, 2026

Camper Van Escapades - Season 2 Episode 3

And back on our bikes to visit Aarhus Street Food. It was dog friendly so Evie was bike dog and along for the ride aka out to steal our lunch. 😉

Think of a big old warehouse filled with shipping containers. Each brightly painted and converted into a bar or restaurant. There was coffee, tea, soda, beer, wine, cocktails, or shots - a bit early for most of those considering we got there at 11.30am!

There was Mexican food, Thai, Japanese - sushi, bao, and ramen - bagels, pita, Vietnamese (two), everything imaginable made from duck, fish and chips, pizza, old school Danish classics, one place that just did all kinds of chips (fries to those over the pond), and even Himalayan food. Plus juices, smoothies, cakes, ice creams, and handmade ice lollies… 🍦🍰🍹

The choices were endless, but finally we went for burritos from Mad Mex. And we were definitely not disappointed. They were THE best, by far, that we’ve ever eaten - generous and tasty - and Evie approved the nachos!

As you walk in not only are you ‘welcomed’ but you get a huge (and I mean huge) sign pointing you to the toilets. Always my first priority to know where they are… Love that you don’t have to hunt for them. Even those were made from yet more shipping containers - painted deep blue this time. And just check out the cool door!

After lunch and a bit of shopping it was back on the bikes. Going by the grimaces, along with the huffing and puffing, I think Kim’s nether regions have done as much cycling as they can stand for this weekend! So it will be me cycling to the bakers in the morning. 🤭

Here’s a link to the original ‘note’ with additional pictures.

Day 4 - July 26, 2026

Camper Van Escapades - Season 2 Episode 4

Beach day.

A short walk down to the sea at the bottom edge of the camp site. Turn right. Walk south. Keep going. Scramble over rocks. Keep going. Take a dip in the sea. Keep going. Climb over a fallen tree. Keep going. Until we’ve gone far enough.

Have we been teleported to some exotic, far away island during the night? Double check - we are definitely still in (incredibly beautiful) Denmark! 🌞😎

Here’s a link to the original ‘note’ with additional pictures.

Day 5 - July 27, 2026 - Aarhus to Copenhagen (328km)

Camper Van Escapades - Season 2 Episode 5 - The Season Finale!

One last trip to the beach, in the sunshine 🌞, for Evie dog. It’s an absolute pleasure to see her joy at being free to run around on the sand, climb on the rocks, and have a fantabulous time.

Then it was back to the van for breakfast before we started our drive home. 300km feels like just a hop and a skip after the thousands of kilometres we did as part of our ‘big’ trip earlier this year.

But we won’t be home for long. In 3 weeks and 2 days we’ll be off again…

Here’s a link to the original ‘note’ with additional pictures.

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If you missed them here are the previous doses of Camper Van Escapades 2026…

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Thank you for reading along. If you liked this post then I’d love it if you would click on the heart and add a comment about what resonated for you – it means a lot to me to hear from each and every one of you.

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In case you missed it, I published my book - Hold My Hand: A Journey Back to Life - for FREE here on Substack last year. If you’d like to read it then you can find each chapter by clicking HERE and you’ll go directly to the webpage dedicated to the book.

Or you can dive in right here:

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