Our weekend in Sweden with a visit to Denningarums Gård started out a bit hectic. Friday, Mads had to pick up the girls from the daycares, get everything packed in the car, and come by and pick me up at work, where they were supposed to come up and see the office. I work in central Copenhagen, and whereas the office is like most offices, we have this roof terrace that gives you a great view of the city. I was really looking forward to showing the girls my workplace, but that’ll be on a different occasion, because there just wasn’t time. Mads and the girls had been stuck in traffic all the way to the center of Copenhagen, and we agreed that I should meet them in the street. Everyone’s patience was stretched to the limit as we headed out of the city – towards Sweden and the tranquility of Denningarums Gård.

After a two hour drive we arrived at our destination; Denningarums Gård in Skåne. The sun was low in a blue sky, and everything looked wonderfully idyllic! The girls immediately ran off to the nearby playground, and Mads and I were welcomed by the friendly host couple of the farm. They showed us to our cabin, a primitive wooden cottage with four bunk beds, facing the stream. We unloaded our luggage, and while we had a look around the place with the girls, they lit the barbecue and brought us baskets with barbecue-ready meat, salads, drinks etc. – mmmmmm.

We had a delicious dinner on the cabin terrace in the evening sunshine.

It sounds almost over the top, I know, but it was great. The girls left the table to go play when they had finished, and Mads and I enjoyed the tranquility of the place. After a while of playing by the stream, we all went to bed early after a long day.

Next day after breakfast we went out on the stream on one of the roofed rafts. We brought a basket with coffee, cake, and juice for the girls – Ulf (the owner) gave us brief instructions, and then we took off down the stream.

We were out sailing for a few hours and it was absolutely brilliant! The girls brought sticks and spent a lot of the time “fishing” – actually, come to think of it, they spent most of the day splashing sticks into water someplace or another.

The rest of our Saturday there, we did nothing but relax. The farm has pet rabbits, emus, llamas, pigs, ducks, and besides all the animals they have a very impressive fruit and vegetable garden. The girls loved the place, and really it’s just a great place to get into a slower pace than what is usual for a family with children like ours.

So far the weather had been slightly chilly, but still very nice. However in the afternoon, when we had gone out for a walk, it began to rain, and as the girls were also starting to show signs of tiredness, we decided to say goodbye to Ulf and Karin for that day and head on to Pappersbruket, where we would be spending Saturday evening and some of our Sunday. More about that in my next post.