Aabenraa - Mimizan

From north to south at a comfortable pace.

This trip is a constant flow of rhythms, fast then slow, physical and mental. Usually our minds race whilst our bodies are still, occasionally the opposite occurs. It’s rare for the motion to align so that we’re thinking fast and moving faster, too much to process, too little time.

Whilst traversing Germany and France we found a comfortable balance, we moved at our own pace and our thoughts followed suit. We covered many miles from north to south but at no point did we feel rushed. Having an end destination gave us a pleasant purpose whilst the lack of time restraint kept the target in sight but never in focus. We dotted our way diagonally south and found ourselves in locations we would likely never have discovered had it not been for the luxury of time and a ‘who knows’ attitude.

Early on we visited Jan, Victoria and Akita in Frankfurt - another new city experienced from the perspective of locals. We ate at a traditional restaurant and burned off the calories at the climbing wall the next day. Though without doubt the highlight was the home-cooked food we were treated to before we left. It’s unlikely we’ll find a meal all trip that will exceed it, made even better by the company of old friends.

Amongst the many lessons we’ve learnt on this trip none feels more important than the art of hosting. At the end of each visit our parting phrase is always ‘you’re welcome to visit us any time’. When we eventually have a home it is our hope that it will be a busy place, full of guests and visitors who will experience the same kindness and hospitality that we have along this journey.

After Frankfurt we took three nights to reach our destination of Mimizan on the south-west coast of France. We stopped at a farm, a lake and a river, each place beautiful and strange in it’s own way. We chanced upon a live band performing at a community hall and made the most of the €1 drinks, partly from thirst and partly out of novelty. The next day we washed away the hangovers in the river and momentarily forgot we weren’t still in Sweden.

The final part of the journey felt nostalgic - reminiscent of family holidays from our childhood. Summer pilgrimages to France were a mainstay of our youth - kids, tents and sweeties in the back, adults up front. Back then our parents would drive through the night whilst we hibernated or listened to Winnie The Pooh audiobooks. Now it was our turn to drive and to sleep, navigate too. Still kids but in adult bodies.

From north to south we moved at a comfortable pace, a week that started in Denmark ended in France with Germany in-between. Never before had travelling felt so relaxed. The check-in times, waiting lounges and tired eyes that we usually associate with long journeys were replaced by an odd sense of calm, slow and steady, what will be will be. We reached Mimizan and felt a moment of warmth wash over us when we finally understood this wasn’t the end destination, merely one more stop in a zoomed-out view of the road.