Driverhuset News

2010-02-13T10:01:00.007+01:00

Deer in the dunes

I photographed these two deer between Tornby Plantage and the beach. As they discovered me the deer kept security distance but kept watching me.

2010-02-07T11:15:00.001+01:00

Snow and ice

2009-08-15T09:49:00.002+02:00

Ladybeetle invasion

In some summers the coast is invaded by ladybeetles. The beetles eventually end up in the ocean.

2009-08-05T10:57:00.005+02:00

Summer

2009-04-19T18:45:00.002+02:00

Easter 2009

Outdoors living most of the week, 10-15 degrees and sunny :-)

2009-01-04T10:54:00.005+01:00

Daytrip to Læsø. The 20km long island of Læsø - situated between Denmark and Sweden - can be reached by ferry in 1 1/2 hours from Frederikshavn. I was surprised to see how innovative the island is now using its salt - historically the most important business of the island - for creating some unique Læsø branded attractions and products.

The new Læsø Spa integrates an existing old church tower in a modern nordic architecture, with salt pool, and sea view. In Læsø Saltsyderi you can experience how salt has been extracted for centuries on the island. And a number of small manufacturers produce some really excellent local food product, which you can also enjoy in restaurants on the island: Spegeriet and Smagen af Læsø.

2008-08-10T09:15:00.003+02:00

Swimming at sunset - water 19 degrees C

2008-08-02T15:26:00.000+02:00

The new espresso cups

2008-07-29T12:17:00.000+02:00

Summer :-)

2008-03-22T09:33:00.002+01:00

Easter 2008. Again it is unusually cold!
With temperatures below zero most of the week.

2008-01-07T22:45:00.000+01:00

New Year 2007/08

It's getting light.. and it has been snowing

The beach looks like Antarctis

Nice to return home after a walk in the cold

2007-12-07T12:00:00.000+01:00

The bathroom in the house was renovated.. floor heating for cold feet :-)

2007-05-25T22:45:00.000+02:00

The ferry from Hirtshals to Bergen takes 18 hours. The first photo shows a part of Hirtshals harbour, the second the beautiful scenery before reaching Bergen, the third photo the center of Bergen.

2007-05-22T22:41:00.000+02:00

Kite surfers at Tornby Strand, the more wind the better!

2007-05-20T22:40:00.000+02:00

Grenen - the very top of Denmark, north of Skagen. Somehow all tourists in the whole of norther Jutland seem to be here.

2007-05-20T22:37:00.000+02:00

Seal. This poor little fellow was lying on the beach near Skagen.

2007-05-19T22:49:00.000+02:00

Golden sunset at Tornby Strand. Every time it's a different show of colours.

2007-05-19T22:43:00.000+02:00

Fishy lunch... Hering, smoked salmon from the fishmonger in Hirtshals, shrimps..

2007-05-13T22:19:00.000+02:00

Dinner on the western terrace. May 2007 wasn't all that warm. In Copenhagen they had 25 degrees, but we had only 15 degrees in Tornby. On the other hand it was really sunny, so on wind protected spots it was no problem to enjoy some outside life.

2006-08-26T13:09:00.000+02:00

The new sofa. Finally comfortable seating for everyone in front of the fireplace. Also works very well for an afternoon nap :-). The lamp doesn't fit in well anylonger - got to change it some time.

2006-08-11T13:17:00.000+02:00

The grey carpet is gone! The carpet in the living room had been annoying me for years, and this year there were many ugly stains on it. Now we have ripped it out. Exposed was the 36 year old wooden floor, with a nice golden colour. To protect the floor we are getting a sisal carpet which will cover only parts of the floor.

2006-08-10T23:07:00.000+02:00

Mackarels on the pan. Friends of ours went on a fishing trip last week with M/S Mille from Hirtshals (www.ms-mille.dk). They are no professionals but never the less caught two medium sized cods and about 20 smaller mackarels. Mackarel is something we usually eat smoked, but these small mackarels got fried and ended up delicious: marinate the fishes in a mixture of Worcester sauce and lemon juice and pepper for half an hour and then fry on a pan in oil at high temperature for 3-5 minutes on each side. The boat ride with M/S Mille was a real adventures for our visitors. A 4 hour trip costs DKK 200 for adults and half this amount for accompanying children unter 12.

2006-08-10T22:58:00.000+02:00

Sunsets in August. Two different evenings; two different shows.

2006-07-15T21:06:00.000+02:00

2007 calendar is now online. I have updated the Driverhuset website with a calendar showing the availability and prices for 2007. Driverhuset Website, Direct to 2007 Calendar

2006-07-01T20:34:00.000+02:00

Rødspætte (English: plaice, German: Scholle). Fried plaice is the "national dish" of Driverhuset. No holiday in Tornby is complete without one of these flat fellows on the plate.

You can always buy fresh plaice at the fishmonger in Hirtshals - it's the most common fish in the area and is therefore also not expensive. The fishmonger is located at Hirtshals harbour: turn left just before you get to the Colourline ferry terminal.

Plaice is easy to prepare. You need to buy:

One medium sized plaice per adult (the fishmonger sorts them into 3 sizes - the skin has already been removed)
Bag of breadcrumbs (buy that at the fishmonger as well).
Milk
Butter for frying.

1. Rinse the fish and dry it with kitchen paper. 2. Fill milk and breadcrumbs into two separate soup plates. Each fish needs to be turned first in the milk, then in the breadcrumbs - on both sides. 3. Fry the fish in butter for 5 minutes on each side. That's it.

With the fish you serve boiled potatoes, fried butter (as sauce), chopped parsley, and lemon slices. Give each person an extra plate - on for the fish and one for eating.

NB: don't make this dish for 10 people wanting to all eat at the same time, because each fish requires a lot of space on the pan!

2006-04-15T21:26:00.000+02:00

Skagen painter atmosphere. The colours on this April evening were wonderful. Subtle orange, blue, grey - the colours remind me of those famous P. S. Krøyer paintings of evening strolls along the northern beach in Skagen. Skagens Museum

2006-04-15T19:47:00.000+02:00

The open fireplace has been converted into a large stove - with a fireplace inset. At first I was not at all fond of this idea - I love watching the fire burning - but now that it's done I'm really happy about it. The big window allows an excellent view of the flames, and an open fireplace is just completely uneconomic. The manufacturers claim that an open fireplace generates just 20% energy from the wood and a fireplace inset 80%.

We were testing it over Easter and it makes quite a difference. When the stove was on there was no need for other heating in the living room. What is definitely an advantage is, that the heat in the room doesn't just slip out of the chimney - this was a problem with the open fireplace! One cool feature: the handle doesn't get hot - you can touch it with your bare hands.

2006-04-13T20:27:00.000+02:00

ADSL installed. Just before Easter the new ADSL connection was installed. For a long time it wasn't possible to install ADSL in the house because it's not exactly close to the central. But I guess TDC upgraded their network. It's a 512/128 Kbit/s connection and it works fine. I also brought my WLAN Router from Switzerland, so now it's possible to surf the Internet from a laptop in the living room or on the terrace...

2006-04-10T21:09:00.000+02:00

Dead seal on Tornby Strand. We found it lying on the beach - about 20 meters from the water - on a walk to Hirtshals. Maybe it got caught in a fishing net? The seagulls were having a feast - you can see the footprints all around the poor creature.

2006-02-15T19:29:00.000+01:00

Snow in Tornby! January and February this year were extremely cold with weeks of temperatures around -10 degrees in the night.

Because of the sandy, salty environment there's usually not much snow on the beach, but this year the landscape looked like an arctic scenery...

2005-11-15T20:11:00.000+01:00

Here's the new roof. In September 2005 the roof was replaced. Britta Munch took this picture for inclusion in her 2006 catalogue.

2005-10-15T20:18:00.000+02:00

Sunset in October. The weather in October 2005 was extraordinary, with sun and almost 20 degrees for two whole weeks. Wonderful to be able to sit outside on the terrace every day. Our two youngest visitors from Switzerland even went swimming in the sea -- Brrrr!!! In Autumn the sun goes down exactly in front of the house, so it's possible to enjoy it from the dinner table.

2005-09-15T21:42:00.000+02:00

Roof being replaced. After 35 years of duty the roof is being replaced. The new one looks exactly like the old one - black. We took advantage of the opportunity to improve the insulation under the roof as well.

2005-09-01T22:01:00.000+02:00

On this blog I'd like to regularly publish impressions and news from Driverhuset and Tornby Strand. The main website of Driverhuset is www.driverhuset.dk - there you can read about the house, see prices and availability, and reserve it for your next holidays.