Although they have school year-round here in forest school, which is a great help when trying to plan a summer for toddlers, it doesn’t mean we don’t get in those lazy summer days. You know, the kind where everyone sleeps in just a little…when you can buy yourself an extra snooze as a parent with a few cartoons…when the heat sets in and and you make a batch of smoothies in the blender and ultimately you decide to go spend the rest of the day at the beach?
We recently had a few of those days a couple of weeks ago. The summer weather here in Denmark is…shall we say, variable…so when the sun comes out and the temperature rises, people really do drop everything to take advantage of it. We’re lucky because there are a few great beach towns in the area and one of our favorites, hot weather or not, is Hornbaek.
Quaint, flat, and on the seaside, the picturesque cottages house little restaurants as well as a few cute shops (Danish designer Ilse Jacobsen practically owns this town). We always grab some lunch first, and have the inevitable stop by the mini-golf course for a few rides on the electric cars.
The water is chilly, not that matters much to the kids, but the sand and beach are very clean. When you have forest schoolers in tow, they naturally want to collect just about everything on the beach: shells…sand…crabs, dead or alive. Lucky for us, it buys us a bit of time to enjoy the beach while our toddler stays busy. Hornbaek beach also has one of the coolest playgrounds as well, right on the beach with natural wood structures. I didn’t get pictures of it this time around, but check out this post on Hornbaek for more.
Ice cream is also de rigueur and a stop at the Hansen’s if you want to go Danish, or at Ben & Jerry’s if you’re feeling homesick, does the trick – we always enjoy ours while watching the boats on the little harbor. The best is around the five o’clock hour when most Danes head in early to get ready for dinner – we can enjoy the beach nearly entirely to ourselves for just a little while longer…
Headed to Hornbaek? Be sure to check out:
Ilse Jacobsen’s Flowers on Hornbaek
and if you’re headed to Hornbaek without the little ones, Pool Day on Hornbaek
Your photographs are absolutely wonderful, and so are their subjects!! I’m glad your daughter’s bear got to ride with her in the yellow electric car. The shot of her at the beach just radiates curiosity…a true child!! I’m glad your time in North Dakota turned out to be so much fun. Having a delightful rest of calendar-summer, Leslie
Thank you so much Leslie! Yes, there always seems to be an animal of choice that rides around with us, north dakota, electric cars or otherwise!
Hope you’re having a great summer in Oregon!
[…] beach days aren’t just about swimming and sunshine (though we like that too – ahem, Hornbaek, ahem). These days we’re more apt to learn from her rather than she from us – telling […]