My December 2022: A teary goodbye to Lolland and a Christmas at home

With December came my goodbye to Lolland after two wonderful years. A teary goodbye with so much to be thankful for. I went to Lübeck for some Christmas fun with my family and then travelled home to celebrate the holidays and get ready for my big upcoming move.

Destinations visited in December 2022

Denmark

• Lolland (Rødby, Rødbyhavn, Nakskov, Store Vejlø Skov, Lille Vejlø Skov, Kappel, Holeby, Hoby, Kramnitze)
• Falster (Nykøbing F)
• East Jutland (Hov, Odder, Horsens, Aarhus)

Germany

• Lübeck

Top 3 favourite new destinations

1. Kappel Stubmølle, Lolland, Denmark
2. Vejlø peninsula, Lolland, Denmark
3. …that’s it for December!

Daily life

The last weeks on Lolland

December’s arrival is always full of joy for me. I love Christmas with all my heart, and I am always so excited to see the decorations around town. My host family went all out as always and decorated the house beautifully. It put me in a Christmas mood immediately! Endless gloomy and dark days characterized the beginning of December until the snow finally came on December 8th and turned the landscape into a beautiful winter wonderland. Oh, how I love snow and cold frosty days!

I spent a quiet Saturday wandering around cozy Rødby, doing a bit of Christmas shopping in the local thrift store and a pop-up second hand store that I randomly stumbled upon. I found some great gifts and decorations for next to no money! I took the dogs along the following day for a slow walk through Rødby, discovering little alleyways that I hadn’t spotted before. It surprises me how I can keep discovering new places in tiny little Rødby! I always love walking through the town as it’s always eerily quiet. It’s a very special atmosphere I haven’t felt elsewhere.

My last weekend was spent soaking up the last bits of life on Lolland. I attended the annual Christmas party with my colleagues (with British Christmas foods and lots of fun!). I went for a Saturday cycling adventure (read below) and visited my colleagues and friends who recently moved into a farm that’s as if taken out of a fairytale. They’re located in the countryside of Lolland, far from any busy road, with views of endless farmlands and forests. We went for a walk in the closest forest and met four deer, a hare, pheasants and a cat, and then went to have a look at the nearby manor, Binnitze from the 15th century!

Everything I did during my last week on Lolland registered as the last thing I’d do while living there. It was frosty and cold, and the snow still lay on the ground from the previous week’s snowfall. At work, the photography sessions continued, but I also got to change it up a little with some registration and packing of artefacts. Quiet, slow and cozy days with lots of hot chocolate! During the last week, I got to spend one last day working outside; on a preliminary excavation near Kramnitze – a cold yet incredibly beautiful and fun day but with no finds whatsoever. At the farm, I enjoyed the last dog kisses and cuddles, watched Christmas TV calendars with my host mum, took a trip down memory lane looking at old pictures and packed my stuff for the journey home.

Christmas and New Year’s at home

On December 16th, it was time to leave Lolland. Saying goodbye to my life there was not an easy thing to do, and I miss Lolland so much already. I will keep the precious memories in my heart forever and always, and of course visit as often as possible.

With a month-long Christmas holiday at home in East Jutland, I got to fully enjoy exploring my hometown again and relaxing with my family. I spent my time sleeping in, cuddling my kittie Holly, working on the blog, watching Christmas shows, baking Christmas cookies and trying my luck with mock duck (still haven’t nailed it – yet!). The house was full for Christmas Eve, and it was lots of fun watching the excitement and joy of my 3,5-year-old niece and 1,5-year-old nephew as they met Father Christmas, ate all the festive snacks and opened their many presents.

I spent the next few days cleaning out my room, sorting through clothes, walking in my hometown, exploring abandoned houses in my hometown with my younger brother, going thrift shopping with my mum and grandmother, playing Christmas bingo with my family, and celebrating my older brother’s 31st birthday. On December 29th, I travelled to Aarhus and spent the next many days there as some friends of mine had come to town, and we were spending New Year’s together with my younger brother and some of his friends. We had a fun time and a festive evening with pizza, good music and fireworks!

Travels and local adventures

The last adventure on Lolland, cycling to Kappel Stubmølle

Although I mostly just wanted to sleep after the Christmas party with my colleagues, I knew I’d have to go on an adventure the following day as it was my last chance. And there was still one place I wanted to see on Lolland – Kappel Stubmølle, one of the oldest post mills in Denmark from around 1730.

I slept in as much as possible and left myself just enough time to get there before sunset while also allowing enough time to swing by the two small forests of the Vejlø peninsula. I started my bike ride in Nakskov, the largest town on Lolland, and biked out to the peninsula where I was rewarded with a lovely view over the fjord. I lingered for a while, enjoying some snacks in the peaceful environment that I had all to myself.

From there, I continued to Kappel in a hurry as the sun was getting ready to set. I met a lone horse roaming the trails of the Lille Vejlø forest, curious to see me. I later spotted his friends on a pasture between the two forests, also seemingly roaming freely. Several kilometres of country road biking later, I arrived in Kappel shortly after sunset and finally got to see the old mill in the last light of the day. Then I biked the long way back to Nakskov in the dark, ending at 28 kilometres in total. A nice and frosty last adventure on Lolland!

A Christmassy weekend in snow-covered Lübeck

From Lolland, I travelled straight to Lübeck in northern Germany where I met up with my family for our annual German Christmas markets trip. We usually go to places closer to the Jutland border, but this year, I’d persuaded them to go to the well-preserved medieval city of Lübeck. I first went to Lübeck in the summer of 2020, and I remember thinking to myself how beautiful the city must be at Christmas time. And I wasn’t wrong.

Lübeck is the ultimate Christmas city. With markets around almost every corner, and a vast array of stalls with everything you can imagine of crafts, Christmas foods and hot drinks, it was indeed a great choice for our annual trip. And there was even snow on the ground which only added to the magical feeling. I think it’s our first Christmas markets trip with snow!

New on the blog

Most popular post

• My November 2022: An autumn trip to Switzerland – My monthly recaps are always popular with you guys, and this entry was no exception!

The other posts

• A weekend in Brussels: How I unexpectedly came to appreciate Belgium’s diverse capital – All about Brussels, a vibrant and misunderstood city
• An abandoned world: The architectural masterpiece of Sondrup Bakker, Denmark – A fun and interesting post to write about a hauntingly intriguing place near where I grew up
• Goodbye Lolland and hello Aberdeen: Returning to uni life – All about the big change that’s about to happen in my life
• A joyous time in Lübeck, the Christmas city of the north – If you are still in the Christmas spirit, head to this post about my time in Lübeck!
• My travel year of 2022 – A recap of everything I got up to in 2022!
• My favourite new destinations of 2022 – From Belgrade to the Bernese Alps, these were my favourite new places I visited in 2022!

Most popular Instagram picture

Happy New Year to everyone out there!

Vis dette opslag på Instagram

Et opslag delt af Mel (@north.trotter)

Coming up in January 2023

ABERDABERDEEN!

I can’t believe it’s finally happening. I’m moving to Aberdeen to continue my studies, and I’ll be studying my dream course: a Master of Science in Archaeology of the North! I’ve received several scholarships to cover the costs of studying in the UK (which is no joke, let me tell you!), and I’ve already started packing for my move on January 13th, so I feel well prepared. I’m just so excited for this new chapter in my life. I hope it will be as amazing as I imagine it to be!

BUT before I get on that flight to my new home, I’ll be spending some more days in Aarhus with my friends and at home with my family in my cozy little hometown. I’m really enjoying this downtime and I look forward to much more of it!