Denmark - 4

DENMARK - 4

Saturday 18th - Saturday 26th August 2017

On the ferry

Thursday 17th - Saturday 19th August 2017 

The crossing from Seyðisfjörður to Hirtshals in Denmark takes 50 hours and for the first 24 it was very choppy so the cleaning crew were kept busy, but luckily I didn't suffer and Lucy didn't have time to feel sick. She was so busy that she didn't even sit in her usual widow seat.

 We stopped for about an hour at Tórshavn at 3am on Friday morning, but I slept theough it. When I woke up Lucy told me that she had taken a photo and been ashore to say 'Hello' to Tora at the Guest House where we had stayed. The photo shows how the nights are drawing in as it was almost 24 hours of daylight in Tórshavn when I stayed there in June.

Once when I returned to the cabin I found Lucy sitting on my bunk knitting an Icelandic sweater. I didn't even know that she had got any wool. She worked out the pattern from a postcard that I bought and I am amazed at what a good job she made of it considering that she is all  'sheep fingers'.

Finally we arrived in Hirtshals and after about an hour standing by the bikes waiting to disembark we were back on Danish soil and ready to start pedalling South. I said goodbye to the other cyclists. The Columbian student who was riding this heavily laden bike was heading for another ferry to take him to Norway and the other two were off to the station to get a train to the South of Germany. Nearly everyone I spoke to on the ferry had very long drives ahead of them to Paris, Amsterdam and London etc. as they had to get home in time for work on Monday. I was so glad I could just get off and have a leisurely cycle ride.

Nordjylland (North Jutland)

Saturday 19th - Tuesday 22nd August

As I rode off the ferry it started to thunder and rain heavily, but luckily it was just heavy showers. I managed to shelter each time it rained  so I didn't get too wet. Everyone I spoke to mentioned the dreadful summer they have had in Denmark. No hours of sunshine were recorded for the whole of July and so far August has been strong winds and storms. Luckily the children went back to school on Monday so the sun came out. I think it had more to do with Lucy arriving here and the weather has steadily improved as she headed South. But some of the off-road paths were still muddy or had streams running across them. 

 My original plan had been to keep to the coast, but I changed this and did some coastal rides and also headed inland to visit towns and learn more about Danish culture. Lucy discovered that there was a reconstruction of a Viking settlement (Vikingegården Fyrkat) at the end of the Mariagerfjord. The Vikings sailed up the fjord from the Kattegat. There is also a Viking Circular Hill Fort (Fyrkatborgen) near the village. This was completed in 980 AD by King Harald Blåtand. So I did a detour along the muddy track pictured above so that Lucy could visit them. She had a quick look, made a pot, said hello to some Viking sheep and spent the rest of her time playing in the 'Viking Playground' while I cycled up to the fort, which is very impressive, like a mini Maiden Castle. 

The Limfjord

I read a book that described Denmark as looking 'quite odd on a map' as it is mainly a collection of islands.  Jutland, or Jylland as the Danes call it, is the only part attached to mainland Europe, and even that is cut in two by the Limfjord, which the Vikings used to get from the Kattegat to the North Sea. It isn't a fjord in the geographical sense but the Danes call all inlets fjords. I rode over the Limsfyordbroen at Aalborg and digital sign told me that I was the 621st cyclist to cross that day. 

Cycling to Live, not Living to Cycle

Cycling in Denmark is a pleasure as nearly everyone cycles. The cycle paths are clearly marked and people ride bikes as a means of transport with rarely a helmet or any Lycra to be seen and car drives respect you and wait for you to pass. As they do in Germany and Holland. It took me ages to get used to cars and even buses and lorries, reversing at junctions so that I didn't have to stop. I passed a couple of cyclists lay- bys with air to pump up tyres, cycle tools, and seats and toilets. 

Apparently it hasn't always been so cycle friendly and in the 1980s Copenhagen was becoming choked with cars and the now pedestrianised Nyhavn was essentially one big car park. Jan Gehl, an urban planner, changed this and introduced open-plan streets and cycle lanes to the city. He is sometimes referred to as 'the patron-Saint of cycling'.

Legoland - Thursday 24th August 

For weeks Lucy has been dropping hints about visiting Legoland and bought some Lego on the boat to make a Lego Lucy,  but as I kept telling her, it is in the middle of the country and too far off our route. 

 

So she was really surprised when instead of cycling one day her dream came true. I hadn't told her that we were going there. She loved it, but wouldn't go on any of the rides if they didn't look as if they were made from Lego. She loved the Lego train, monorail, the Lego towns and playing in the creativity area. 

Strange Accommodation

While I was in Denmark I stayed in some strange rooms including a half-built leisure centre.  One night I think they gave me a child's room. Lucy loved it as it had bunk beds and every wall was painted with a fairy tale scene. I also stayed at an inn with a very small room and a toilet shared by about 15 people. It was less than a metre wide. The lock didn't work properly and once when I did manage to lock it I couldn't unlock it again. It took me about ten minutes to get out. 

But I am pleased I stayed there as I met Elizabeth who was cycling her daughter's bike back to Germany. We had a good chat over our evening meals and breakfast. (A message for Elizabeth: 'I hope you got home OK and were able to avoid that busy Route 11 to Tønder with all the motor homes returning to Germany. It was good to meet you.') 

And on to the German border

I spent several sunny days cycling South towards the border with Germany following cycle paths, on and off road, along disused railway tracks, quiet country lanes and occasionally on busy roads when there was no alternative route. The farmers were busy making use of the better weather and often the only vehicles I saw for many miles were agricultural ones. Many of the fields were lined with wild flowers and there were lots of butterflies. 

Wellington III BK 368

Lucy stopped to pay her respects to the memory of the crew of a British bomber that was shot down in March 1943 when Denmark was occupied by Germany.

Knallern forbudt

One day I rode for miles along a cycle route that, in my head, I was calling The Knallert Forbudt. Until Lucy suddenly raced past on a Vespa laughing at me. She said that the sign means no mopeds, but doesn't say anything about scooters. In Denmark, Germany and Holland you can ride mopeds on most of the cycle paths. 

Arriving in Germany - Saturday 26th August

And finally our time in the various Scandinavian and Nordic countries came to an end as we crossed into Germany. This was going to be the end of Lucy's Grand Tour as I had planned to go by train from the Danish border back to The Hook of Holland, but I am enjoying it so much that I decided to see how far I could cycle, and then get a train for the last leg.