Easter trip 2016 – Debbie Young's Writing Life

Two Days of Living Danishly

Posted on May 21, 2016July 18, 2016 by Debbie Young

A post about our trip to Denmark at Easter

Cover of The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell — Essential reading before our trip

In preparation for my first ever visit to Denmark as part of our two-week Easter holiday in our camper can, I read The Year of Living Danishly, in which English journalist Helen Russell recounts what she learns about the country’s customs and culture while accompanying her husband on a year-long business posting to Legoland’s Danish headquarters. (Nice work if you can get it.)

I’ve reviewed the book over on my book blog here, and now thought I might share a few observations of my own…

Continue reading “Two Days of Living Danishly” →

Travel, Writing

Expecting the Unexpected

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Debbie Young

A post about chance encounters on our most recent holiday in our camper van
(Originally written for the May 2016 edition of the Tetbury Advertiser)

Giant Dutch Master painting reproduction with flower arrangements in front — We knew the Dutch had mastered tulips, but the displays at Keukenhof Flower Gardens near Leiden took our breath away, both figuratively and literally (that’ll be my hay fever kicking in)

As always, the highlights of our Easter holiday are the things we do not plan. The chances of being surprised on our travels are always high, because we are notoriously bad at planning our itinerary before we set off. We once embarked on a month-long tour of France with neither a country map nor a guidebook. Continue reading “Expecting the Unexpected” →

Travel

The Green Hills of Home

Posted on May 3, 2016July 18, 2016 by Debbie Young

From the May issue of the Hawkesbury Parish News, a post about coming home from holiday to our Gloucestershire village

Panoramic photo of hills around Hawkesbury — **The Somerset Monument that towers above my village, Hawkesbury Upton**

It’s always good to come back to Hawkesbury after any holiday, no matter how enjoyable. This Easter was no exception.

Gordon and Laura on path by Baltic — Somehow wed expected our first sight of the Baltic to be cold, grey and wet

We’d just spent two weeks in our camper van, touring the flatter parts of northern Europe. It was unnerving to know we were often driving below sea level, but the flip side was it made cycling a joy. Taking our bikes off the back of the van to go for a family cycle, we didn’t so much pedal as glide. The level roadways provided the perfect surface for lazy, unmuscled cyclists like me. Continue reading “The Green Hills of Home” →