Bonnie Bornholm, the final stretch

In general, most of the locals we met were fairly reserved as most Danes are, while many of the people who approached us to ask about our long bike were from Germany or Poland.

a beautiful rest stop after not going to Rispebjerg

The campground office/store opened at 08:00 to a long line of people waiting to buy fresh bread for the day.  We enjoyed our breakfast of warm bread, pålægschokolade, and fruit in the hostel before heading out to find Rispebjerg, an ancient astronomical site similar in concept to Stonehenge, but made from wood and mounds of earth.  Unfortunately, the route we plotted did not really exist and given the consequences of missing our ferry, we decide to move on.

For lunch we went into Arnager and stopped at the smoke house in town.  It was 2. pinsedag, the Danish Whit Monday holiday, and the restaurant had a wait, maybe because it was the only one around for quite a stretch.  

The over-the-counter sales had no line so we bought some smoked fish and went down to the beach to have our picnic, enjoying both the views and the chance to go in the water.

We rolled out again and rode to Rønne, in some cases on the cycle path parallel to the road, and in other places back into the trees away from the roads.  We passed a mother riding with two small boys and appreciated how it was for them not to worry about riding near cars.

After finding only closed stores we found one market that was open and were able to buy dinner before checking in at the ferry at 16:30.  We had no trouble getting nice seats for the ride to Køge and enjoyed our dinner and time to read on the five hour ferry ride.

With help from the ferry administrator and some well-placed signs we found our hostel in Køge, which had a large covered cycle parking area.  That was great, as it actually rained in Køge that night, but not until the bike was under cover and were in our room.

The Køge hostel was great and included a playground (soccer ball supplied), games, puzzles, and a buffet breakfast the kids were disappointed to skip.  We made our own breakfast in the kitchen before packing for the ride home to Roskilde.  We took a completely different route out of Køge riding on smaller roads without a cycle path, but through several small towns.  We pulled into our own driveway about 11:30, in time for Judy to ride another three miles to catch the end of Danish class, which was important since we have our module 2 test this week.

Overall, we had a fantastic trip covering about 115 miles (185 km) with no significant rain, no mechanical issues, and wonderful views, great experiences, and delicious foods.

(Ed. note - time to start planning the next trip!)

Bonnie Bonholm, part IV

We intended an earlier start on Sunday, but while we were eating breakfast at a bakery along the edge of the harbor we saw carloads of people in period costumes unloading right in front of us. It turns out they were Swedish dancers who were there for a public performance, so we stayed and enjoyed the pinsedag (Whit Sunday) celebration.

At the same time, behind the Swedes, there was a huge barge with two giant backhoes doing their own dance dropping piles of rock into the water outside the harbor.

on the way to the rocking stone

resting after trying to rock the stone

We cycled southward toward the Paradise Hill (paradisbakken) forest to find rokkestenen, the rocking stone.  After failing to budge the several tonne stone a Danish couple joined us.  We stepped out of their way and the husband came right up and rocked the stone!  He even allowed David to help him rock it a second time.

From there we cycled to Nexø for lunch and rode south through the small towns of Balka and Snogebæk.  We stopped to enjoy a beautiful white sand beach on our way to the hostel and campground in Dueodde.

We went to the extremely wide beach with shallow water and miles of extremely fine white sand.  Judy and A. swam in the pool afterward while R. and David cooked dinner in the well-equipped kitchen.  Our cabin had two bunk beds, a private bath, and dutch door.

Bonnie Bornholm, III

Despite the seagulls the kids slept in on Saturday. Three of us went down to the Baltic Sea for a morning swim where Judy managed to jump in off the high dive (see yesterday's photo). After a picnic breakfast we rode north towards the town of Gudhjem. We stopped near Bølshavn, a few kilometers outside of town, to explore the rocky coastline and rampart area on foot. Both kids enjoyed climbing around the rocks by the water, but both stayed dry.

The terrain was hillier as we moved north on the island. We stopped at Baltic Sea Glass  to see a wonderful demonstration of glass blowing.

Pete, the co-owner came over to talk with us, and immediately broke into perfect English even though he has moved from Kansas 34 years ago. We all enjoyed his company and the studio has a back door that goes down right to the water and rocks on the coast.

picnic with beautiful view of the coast

We left and went up to Gudhjem where we stopped for another picnic lunch with fresh fruit, bread, Nutella, cheese, jam, tomatoes, etc. We explored the harbor and all seaside shops, including a stop for local ice cream. 

Østerlars church

We made our ride a loop by going inland to Østerlars to see the largest of the thousand-year-old round churches for which the island is famous. We were pulling in around 5pm to the church, and were prepared for it to be closed. Fortunately for us there had been a wedding there, and the bride and groom were just leaving as we walked up.

view from the church

After the bridal party left, we had a great chance to go inside, and see the clearly dual purpose fortress/church in its entirety, with 3 levels, frescoes, all beautifully restored.

Svaneke water tower

We rode back to past the water tower again and into Svaneke and headed to the smoke house/restaurant, right on the harbor, trying several different types of fish meals.

dinner at the harbor

smoked herring

 After exploring some local galleries and shops we headed back to the hostel.

wire art

Bonnie Bornholm, part II

Friday morning  we rode into town and stopped at a bakery that was open for fresh rolls and hot chocolate for breakfast.  We had our first realization that English was not going to be as common here, but we were able to communicate.  

We made our way out towards Svaneke using the cycle trail that took us away from the roads past a golf course, through stands of trees, across some farm roads, and into the forest.  We had a nice morning break among the trees at a spot with a picnic table. We followed the path until it came to an end at a gravel road on the edge of the forest.  This was a bit confusing and not shown on our map.  The sign indicating a 10% grade worried the kids, but no hill is so big it can't be walked!  When we came out to a paved road and were lucky to find a friendly driver who directed us back toward a known main road. 

We stopped again where the road and bike path merged and enjoyed a nice playground.  Back on our cycle path we encountered a tractor clearing fallen trees.  He politely made way for us and we rode farther.  After so many stops we decided to make things easier for ourselves and returned to the main road to ride from Almindingen to Svaneke.  

We stopped in Østermarie and had a comfortable picnic on our blanket in a spacious grassy park near the church.  After lunch we rode on rolling hills past a the famous water tower  (famous to us because it is on a 20kr piece) and into Svaneke, our destination for the day.  We stopped to get oriented in the town square and discovered we were at the candy factory!  

We watched them making the candy right there, 

including free samples of the still warm candy.  

The hostel was great and within walking distance to a lighthouse 

and a swimming area.  

We ate at the only brewery on Bornholm and tried 40dL of the local beer.  The meal was excellent, although the number of vegetarian options in all the places we looked at were slim.  Later we made a conscious decision that on this trip we would eat some fish, and that broadened our options considerably. 

Bonnie Bornholm, by David

I had heard from a few people about the island of Bornholm and its reputation for beautiful landscapes, beaches, forests, fishing villages, ruins, and hundreds of kilometers of cycle paths.  Most Danes seem to have had a class field trip to Bornholm in their youth and some have vacationed there later in life.  In past years we have taken the quad on bicycle rallies and tours in CA, the San Juan Islands, and Ohio and this year I decided we should try Bornholm.   I planned the trip and my family accommodated me as it represented both my primary birthday present and father’s day gift.

Bornholm is southeast of Sweden and is a small island, about 30 km wide and 40 km long.  It is one part of the more extended realms of Denmark, which once included much more territory. Bornholm is actually closer to Sweden, Germany, and Poland than to the rest of Denmark, but it firmly identifies itself as a Danish outpost. 

our ferry (the next morning in Rønne)

The standard route to Bornholm from the west is by ferry, from Sweden, northern Germany, northern Poland, or from the Køge bay, which is 30 km south of Roskilde.  We could ride from our home to Køge, take the ferry and arrive in Bornholm with our bike.  The ferry only runs once a day, and leaves at 0:30, arriving about 06:00 in Bornholm at the town of Rønne.  The return ferry leaves Bornholm at 17:00 arriving around 22:30.  We booked a hostel room in Køge for our return.  This meant we had two 30 km rides to bookend our trip on Bornholm itself.

We were fortunate to borrow and old Burley trailer (there are many of them here) that had been converted from a child trailer into a kayak hauler by our neighbors.   We got some XXL Ziploc bags (thanks, Lois!) to protect our gear if it rained, and loaded them into a duffel bag that fit nicely in the trailer without much trouble.  We pulled about 60 pounds (about 27 kg) of gear and entertainment for our family of four in the trailer on our trip. 

exploring our cabin

Thursday night we had a dinner at home, and started on the road to Køge.  When the cycle path ended unexpectedly before the city we got some help and made our way into the harbor after about 18 miles arriving about 22:30 while there was still some daylight left. The ferry was tightly packed.  Our room was very nice and the only disappointment was that the ferry was bound for Germany so we could not stay in bed upon arrival, but were ushered out by 06:30, after boarding around 23:30 the night before.  

it's easy to fall asleep at midnight

Maintenance hole covers (fka manhole covers)

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Rainy Day Serendipity

After being inside during a rainy Saturday we decided to head to the harbor and see what there was to see. Our first bit of luck (good luck, unless you think of it in terms of packing) was finding a yard sale at the adult home near our house.  We all found some treasures including a magic set, a woolen Danish flag, a tripod, and a batik shirt.

our friend trying forging

After dropping things off we were off again.  We stopped in the glass gallery just past the harbor, which had unusual pieces, but not what we were looking for.  The Viking Museum was a hosting the Danish Knife Association's annual meeting and championship competition for knife makers.  It was fascinating to see the raw material for knives, including beautiful woods for handles, metals for blades, and leathers for cases.  I had no idea there was such a variety.  We had a chance to watch forging, carving, etching, and sewing.  It was also different to see the vendors sitting around smoking and drinking beer while people shopped.

While we were watching our friend make a knife it was hard to miss a group in orange suits walking by and then jumping into the water.

We learned they were training for their three week sailing trip to Gotland.  The water by the museum is warm enough for swimming without a drysuit, but they will be farther north and the Baltic Sea is much colder.  Here is the translation of the information from the website.

Ottar sail to GotlandFrom the moment Ottar throw the last mooring in the Harbour Museum on 25 June and the returns around 7 August, you can follow the ship on our website.On board the ship is fitted with communications equipment that makes it possible to follow the ship sailing with information about the course, speed and position. The information sent from the ship via satellite to the website about. every 15 minutes.The boatman aboard Ottar, Helene Bjerregaard will write travel letters along the way so it becomes possible to experience pulled completely into the room. Travel letters you will also find on the map, marked with a yellow icon.Finally, we have some information about historic places in the map. In this way, we hope that you will be well entertained on the voyage as it is today, and with tales of Vikings.

I hope we'll see them off next weekend, unless we find other surprises to distract us.