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.

Birthday celebrations - guest post

My birthday was recently and, being the complete opposite of the party animal and not having high quantities of party entertainment, I chose not to throw a party. This was, in my opinion, an extremely good decision. Instead, we had a formal dinner with my mother's friend, who was stopping by on her way to Sweden. We had twice-baked potatoes, artichokes (for the first time in around a year),

and skillet-baked eggs and asparagus. Then, I opened presents. I received many nice gifts, including a pencil case and pencils, a subscription to Macworld Insider, and both The Sims 3 Outdoor Living Stuff and The Sims 3 Generations.

I was very excited about Generations, due to its many new features. These include imaginative play for kids, rebelliousness and pranks for teens, and memories for all ages. After that, we had a delicious flourless chocolate cake, and I played Sims for the rest of the evening.

We won!

We visited the Roskilde tourist office  to learn more about an event they were promoting and decided to fill out a form to win tickets to the local music festival.  Yippee!  We won!  Two tickets to the Roskilde Festival, each costing about $330!  Last year the headline performer (headliner?) was Prince and this year some of the big bands include Iron Maiden, Arctic Monkeys, and Kings of Leon.  The festival is also known for attracting smaller groups from a variety of genres and all get to play concerts, not just a number or two.

The festival is one of the six biggest in Europe, attracting over 80,000 attendees and over 20,000 volunteers.  It is run as a non-profit event with volunteers earning money for the local organization they represent (soccer team, theater group, Scouts).

The festival is also known for its camping, which opens several days before the first concert.  Our neighbor's teenage daughter has been working all year to save up for a week of camping and drinking with friends.  I'll pass, even though the tickets we won include camping.

And according to Wikipedia

Every year, on the Saturday of the Festival, since 1998, Roskilde Festival Radio organizes a nude run around the camp site. One male and female winner will receive a ticket for the next year's festival.

Emergency vehicles

When I heard a siren today I realized that it was maybe the second or third time this year that I had seen an emergency vehicle with its lights and siren on.  Life is different here.

In our area the ambulances have beautiful license plates, but most other communities seem to have standard plates.