I can’t believe how time flies, when you have a little one! It is so strange, that changing diapers, feeding, washing, singing and playing can fill up a whole day. Sometimes when Frenchie comes home, I haven’t even had a shower or thought about dinner! Yes, things have certainly changed around here – but our love for little Clara certainly makes it all worth it

In an Uber! Nervous mummy – sleeping baby!

In my family it is very common to have our children christened. It is of great importance to me, so when Clara was born obviously she should have a christening too! At first I really wanted it to happen in the South of France, where Frenchie is from, and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make it happen. But the Catholics are not as easy as the Protestants – and to make a long story short, we decided to make it all happen in Denmark instead! My mother was thrilled – and offered to arrange the whole thing for us. The only thing we needed to think about was getting there! Clara is now 11-12 weeks old and it was her first real trip outside London, so I was a bit nervous

Heathrow Airport! It was a very, very warm day to travel! (Clara was still sleeping)

One thing that both came to us a HUGE surprise is the amount of things you need to bring, when you are travelling with a baby! We had also decided to bring our carseat and wayfarer pram from Silver Cross as Clara is still too young for a stroller and becomes unhappy, if I put her in it.

We travelled with British Airways and they were extremely helpfull! Flying with a baby is SO different than flying without one, so help is greatly appreciated! (Make sure to bring baby’s new passport! Bonusinfo: It can take a while to have a passport made – especially if its a foreign one like Clara’s passport. You need to contact your embassy about this)

I didn’t really know, how to carry Clara after the pram and carseat had been checked in! Luckily Clara is very happy with her Baby Carrier One from BabyBjörn and she took another nap in it, while mummy and daddy were getting ready for security! Bonus-info: If you are feeding your little one with formula you are allowed to bring just enough babyfood for her to get by! Sometimes they make you taste the babyfood! They didn’t do that here though – and Frenchie was pretty pleased!

Take-off – and Clara was sleeping (again) I could not believe how extremely well-behaved she was on this flight!

Finally in Denmark, where the sun was shining and we were ready for a bit of parent/couple time in my mother’s summerhouse! The summerhouse is located in Vejers in West Jutland. Vejers is a small holiday resort. It is mostly known for its long and broad beach, which is very popular with surfers, sailors and swimmers as well as riders

Lots of fresh air and beautiful unspoiled nature! This was just what we needed!

Lets go to the beach! (My mum’s summerhouse is ten minuts walk from the beach, so we spent many hours there – especially in the early evening hours, when it wasn’t too warm)

You won’t find such a beautiful sunset in such quiet surroundings in many places! This is my favourite part of Jutland… The long, long beaches!

Our Danish design watches were a gift from Nordgreen Copenhagen! (Get 10% discount by using this code: LOUISELOVESLONDON)

I wasn’t sure that the Silver Cross Wayfarer could handle the heavy sand (The wayfarer is made for big cities – not rough Danish nature), but it went pretty well  – as long as we stayed in the most flat areas! Clara loved her little naps in all the fresh air – and Frenchie went down to dip his toes in the sea!

As you can see, we spent A LOT of time with each other on the beach!

Coastal heather heaths and windswept pine woodland! Welcome to the land of Vikings! 

Back in the summerhouse!

Some people might find it a bit scary, but the German bunkers built during WWII have become part of Danish history. In some areas, the bunkers have been removed or covered up, and in other places sand migration has erased the traces of the bunkers. However, the larger part of the bunkers remain almost unchanged since the war. We use “our” bunker for storage! (I am not a big fan of spending time in there, so it is usually Frenchie who goes for drink supplies)

Well, what do you know! There he is with his little basket (He will kill me for posting this photo!)

Clara’s little strawberry dress from Jacadi was getting ready for my birthday! Everything in small sizes is just too cute!

One thing, I really look forward to, when coming back to Denmark, is enjoying Danish Smörrebröd and herring. (Luckily my mum knows that, so she had made sure, that there was more than enough for all of us)

Here is a thought! If the Danes are amongst the happiest people on the planet, I think smörrebröd must be the reason why it is so! Bonus-info: Danish smorrebrod origins back to the 19th century. As factory workers were no longer able to return home for a midday meal,  they packed a lunch of open-face sandwiches, which in their simplest form included slices of rugbröd (dense, dark rye bread) smeared with butter or animal fat, topped with cold meats, smoked fish or leftovers from dinner the night before. This tradition took hold over time, moving into the Danish mainstream. Families cultivated hand-me-down recipes, restaurants served more elaborate and creative variations, and the open-face sandwich secured its place at the table (Thank God for that!)

Heaven on a plate!

Simple interior and cute/ funny paintings by Danish troubadour Troels Trier

Eclectic collection of Danish design, souvenirs and antiquities 

Dinner with a view!

– followed by a little burp!

Daddy and Clara having a sweet moment!

Actually they had many sweet moments (but Daddy was sometimes a little bit tired, when Clara wanted to talk)

One of my favourite photos from our holiday. High quality family-time!

We also visited the little town of Vejers 

Just in case you forgot, that you were in Denmark!

Frenchie and Clara were checking out a store that had so many things, that they nearly got lost in the middle of it all! (Even though it rains a lot in London, I am not sure, that the green umbrella, Frenchie fell in love with, will do much good to protect us against rain)

The famous sweet factory in Vejers is quite a hit! You can see how all the sweets are being made at the back of the store – but even better –  you can buy sweets in almost every flavour your heart desires

Sweet and fruity…

Salty…

For the young ones…

 – and something for the adults! Mjöd /mead is probably the oldest known alcoholic beverage in the world

Bonus-info: I am sure that you already know, that The Vikings loved to drink alcoholic drinks, and not only did they brew their own mead, beer, and ale they also imported wine from areas such as Francia (France). Mead was NOT cheap to brew, and it was certainly not an everyday thing for the Vikings (unless they had the silver for it). Mead was most likely only for special occasions such as rituals and feasts.

 These are bottles with sweets/ bonbons that you mix with vodka to create a homemade hot shot version… I haven’t tried myself, but I love the looks of it

For my birthday my mum brought a homemade almond tart with creme fraice and blueberries! It was utterly divine!

My presents were among other things a beautiful selection of porcelain from Royal Copenhagen for our new home!

I must admit that it wasn’t the most healthy week in my life – but then again… The priest came around, it was my birthday and Clara’s Christening, so I think I had many good excuses for eating a bit of cake.

By the way… Isn’t it amazing that our priest came out to visit us in the summerhouse instead of us going to her for a chat about the Christening… Protestants rock! 

I will leave you with this wonderful photo of Clara with her great-grandmother (and my grandmother) Clara is her great-grandchild number twelve, so there is a lot to be proud of

In the next blog post we will celebrate a very special day… Clara’s Christening!  Clara was wearing a dress, that means a lot to our family, since we are many, who have been wearing it (I was the first!)

As proud as can be!

Want to know more about Jutland. Read more here!

X Louise