Delphinus

With hire car arranged we set off to Copenhagen. Between Sweden and Denmark is the famous Malmo bridge/tunnel, the Sweden side starts as a bridge and half way between the two countries it heads down into a tunnel to Copenhagen. We had a bit of a shock when we discovered it cost £50 each way! but was a great experience.
We had some lovely family time in Copenhagen visiting countless museums, watching fantastic street entertainers and enjoyed a great evening in Tivoli park. Daredevil Lily went on some of the scariest rides I have ever seen. After a lovely few days we headed back to the boat by now the winds had settled and we were off. Next stop to the SW tip of Sweden, Falsterbo, to meet up with Jo who had to take a train journey down from Gothenburg to meet us. Falsterbo turned out to be a well known spot for migratory raptors, loads of birders were lining the canal and we hovered around for a while watching dozens of buzzards and an Osprey fly over. Then back down into the Kiel canal and a quick stop in Rendsburg and within a couple of days, back out into the North Sea. With a stop along the way to the wonderful Friesian Island of Norderney we were finally making good progress home. Earlier in the year we had been advised to try and avoid sailing around this chain of islands but we experienced some lovely calm seas. After an overnight stop in Den Helder we were finally on the last 150 mile leg of our journey home. Approaching the Norfolk coastline after an incredibly calm but busy night through some extremely busy shipping lanes, we had an unexpected welcome back by Her Majesty's Border Force (customs and excise) a couple of officers politely asked if they could board the boat and after giving a short statement, they checked our boat papers and passports and we were off. We enjoyed a leisurely sail up the river Orwell and passed through the lock at Ipswich Haven marina just as the sun was setting. Pizza and beers followed and a well earned early night to bed.