Day 22, Monday, August 6th: Rødvig – Udby (Møn)
Weather: sunny, warm, strong headwind
Kilometres cycled: 94
Route:
National Route no. 9 (about)
Rødvig, Lund, Lille Torøje, Fakse Ladeplads, Ronolte, Præstø, Roneklint, Jungshove By, Stavreby, Tjørnehoved, Rekkende, Kreagevig, Sandvig, Viemose, Kavehave, Lendemarke, Stege, Udby
This morning, I send the following mail on Hanne’s computer:
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Hej alle sammen! (Hello everybody) This message comes from Rødvik (Seeland). I have just had a big breakfast with Hanne and Jørgen. I did a 15 kilometre hike with them yesterday along Stevns Klint and spent the night with them. Up to now, I have had an unbelievably impressive time. It is really fantastic! The first week was rather hard. I had to get used to the hills (Denmark is definitely not flat!!) and the strong (head) wind. But after a week of saddle soreness, back and knee aches, it all got easier. Everything became lighter: my bike, my tent and even myself (I had to buy a belt on the way…). In general, language is no problem. Most people speak English and if we get stuck, we each speak our own language and discover that we often use the same words. For those interested, this is the route I followed: Now I am in Jørgen and Hanne’s house in Rødvig. I met them on a campsite yesterday. Now I am sitting at Hanne’s computer. At present, I have done 1350 km., had 3 flats, 100 midge bites, strong head-wind almost every day, a great number of interesting conversations, about 50 hills per day on average (someone said to me: maybe you call them hills, but I call them mountains! But she wore lipstick and high heels). The average distance per day is 75 km. If I act like a tourist and go to see everything, I do about 60 or 70 km. Just cycling, I do around 80 or 90 km. There is a lot more to tell but I want to save something for when I get back. I am enjoying every minute of it. O.K., there were also moments when I couldn’t bear to see another hill or feel the wind, but altogether, this is a fantastic experience. I hope to be back around the 20th, August 23rd at the latest. Veni Vidi Fietsie (= bike) På gensyn!! |
I leave at the beginning of the afternoon, waved off by Jørgen and Hanne. My aim today is the island of Møn. I must get there because there is not a single campsite on the route. To my surprise, I realise that, in contrast to the first week, a youth hostel is not an option. No way, I shall cycle till far into the night if necessary. What a jerk I was, that first week!
Jørgen had shown me some places where I could deviate from the route in order to cycle nearer the coast. This turns out to be a golden tip: a lovely little coastal path, where no cars may come, brings me to beautiful spots.
At one point, around three o’clock, I come past a house and am not sure whether the path is a public one. I have been cycling along a path for a long time but here there is only grass.
The door of the house is open and I decide to ask. I call “Hallo” and a dog comes out, wagging its tail. Somewhere upstairs, someone calls out and I ask if he speaks English. Yes, would I wait a moment. A little later, a man in a dressing gown comes down. I ask about the path and it does belong to the house and is not a public one, “but everyone may use it! A bit further along and you come to the coast again”. He wants to know where I come from, how long I have been cycling, what my plans are … Meanwhile, I hear a cough somewhere upstairs, and it seems to me that someone is waiting for him. But he takes his time and, after he has wished me a good journey, I get back on my bike.
Nice chaps, the Danes…
Here I wonder which road to take. I ask the gardener (or the verger, or the vicar…) the way to Præsto. Although he speaks no English, he understands my question and draws a map in the sand with a stick, complete with roads, side-roads, crossroads and roundabouts. In other words, a real work of art, enough to make a cartographer jealous.
With only a short rest in between, I have cycled non-stop from Rødvig and arrive at the campsite at 9 o’clock. Not such a good idea, looking back, I shall rue it tomorrow.
Day 23, Tuesday, August 7th: Udby – Liselund
Weather: sunny, warm, strong head wind
Kilometres cycled: 26
Route:
National route nr. 8
Udby, Borre, Liselund
Kerlby Kirke
The morning starts cloudy but soon clears up. My plan is to cycle right round Møn and perhaps cross over to Falster. But the going is hard and after yesterday’s over-zealousness, strong head wind and nothing but climbs, I just want one thing: sleep!
Round twelve o’clock, I arrive at a nature campsite in Krageskoven (skove = wood) which has room for two tents. The largest spot is occupied by a young (very young) couple that is just planning to leave. They need another half hour to pack up and since the smaller spot is really small and also on a slant, I decide to wait and meanwhile take a walk to the cliff. The girl tells me the easiest way to get there and gives me a map “You can keep it, we live here anyway”. I leave my bike behind ( as I now dare to) and, tired as I am, find it pleasant to walk a bit.
Møns Klint runs the entire length of Møn’s East coast. In the North, where my tent is, there is the Lille Klint (Little Cliff). To the South, the largest part of Møns Klint is the Store Klint (Large Cliff). Today I am walking to the Lille Klint, leaving the big one for tomorrow.
Walk along the Lille Klint. And to think that this is only a little one!
I put my tent up and discover I have hardly any water left. There seems to be a youth hostel nearby and I cycle to it (climbing, descending, climbing, descending, pff…) I use the toilet, clean myself up and fill all my bottles. Back at the tent, I put my sleeping mat on the grass, put suntan oil on and finally have the time to take a nap. My self-inflating mat feels like a real Hästens mattress. But before I can surrender to Morpheus, an enormous, really enormous bluebottle comes to keep me company. It is nearly three centimetres long and about 8 millimetres broad and makes as much noise as he is big: a really low buzz. I’ve never seen such a big bluebottle. Or heard one.
Sleep won’t come, I had better do that tonight. I write postcards to everyone who didn’t get an email, update the administration (yes, sure) and eventually fall asleep over a book.
Day 24, Wednesday, August 8th: Liselund – Lillebrænde (Falster)
Weather: cloudy, rain, warm, a bit of sun
Kilometres cycled: 56
Route:
Own route
Bike: Liselund, Busene, Busemarke, Råbymagle, Keldby, Stege, Damsholte, Store Damme, Nyby (Bogø)
Ferry: Nyby – Stubbekøbing (Falster)
Bike: Stubbekøbing, Lillebrænde
1 flat tyre
And there it is: but in a thick fog. And the tide is up
At the end of the afternoon, I take the ferry to Falster, via the island of Bogø.
This little ferry only runs during the summer months, once an hour.
I’ve just missed it.
And it’s raining hard.
And there’s no shelter…
It’s actually dry in Falster and the sun comes out. I am given a spot behind an old couple’s house. It is a large lawn, bordering on the neighbours’ land.
While I put up the tent, two women come along. They sit down at one of the picnic tables and light sigarettes. Then one of them comes up to me and asks the routine questions (who, what, where, etc). She tells me that she ‘lives’ next door, in the “House of Freedom”. The other woman comes as well. They have been in the drug rehabilitation centre for a fortnight, both addicted from their teens; one is 40, the other 26. In Sweden, where they come from, they have had all the treatment they can get; according to them, there is no more hope for them. Together with a group of 20 people, they are having special treatment here in Denmark.
They think I am very brave, on my own in a strange country, putting the tent up every day and cooking for myself.
But I wonder who is braver: meanwhile, they have been clean for two weeks and to decide to rehabilitate, in a strange country, fighting every day …
I tell them what I think and so we start on a very philosphical conversation about the fact that we are really in the same boat: on a long journey, not knowing what bears and lions you can meet on the way.
However, I think my trip is a lot easier and more fun.
Camp site in Lillebrænde with an evening abode
After they have left, I go and explore. I have been given the key to the “toilet building” and am curious to see what it is like. This used to belong to a sports club and had two changing-rooms, showers and toilets. On inspection, I get the impression that nobody has used it for a long time: toadstools are growing through the floor of the showers, the toilets are full of water, the washbasins are very dirty and the whole building is full of spider webs (with their owners). What now?
The answer came in the shape of two men: “Hi, Dutch cyclist”. Aha, apparently I am already famous/notorious in the area. They too are staying in the House of Freedom and the ladies have been talking about me.
They look inside the toilet building: do you have to use this shower? Is there hot water?
Well that isn’t what worries me most, it’s the flora and fauna. “You can have a shower at our place. We’ll ask the staff. Come on”.
Reluctantly I follow the boys. Apart from the fact that I need it, I would love to have a hot shower, but I wonder whether the staff will allow it.
When we arrive at the neighbours’, one of the two ladies comes up to me. “You’re not really supposed to come here, this is an anonymous house!”. I explain what the two boys mean to do, but that I would fully understand if the staff did not give me permission. But … they do!
It is strange, wandering around in a clinic, and it feels all too familiar, but the end justifies the means.
I turn down their offer to cook my meal there. They feel sorry for me, having to cook so primitively, but this time it is real luxury for me, as there is a little hut and I need not sit on the ground (see photo). In the course of the evening, several people drop by: all curious about the Dutch cyclist. I heard many a sad tale this evening.
Day 25, Thursday, August 9th: Lillebrænde – Saxkøbing (Lolland)
Weather: misty in the morning, warm in the afternoon
Kilometres cycled: 50
Route:
Own route
Lillebrænde, Maglebrænde, Nørre Tåstrup, Horbelev, Bregninge, Karleby, Sønder Kirkeby, Nykøbing-F, Saxkøbing
3 flats (or more, lost count)
New inner tube in Nykøbing-F
At 8 o’clock, I am waved off by a group of brave “travellers”.
Jørgen and Hanne had advised me to cycle along the south coast, since the rest of Falster is rather boring.
But it is so misty all morning that halfway I decide to go straight to Nykøbing and cross to Lolland from there. By the time I get to Nykøbing, the mist has lifted.
Exactly in the middle of the bridge between Falster and Lolland, my tyre is flat again and I walk to Lolland. I try to mend my tyre on a patch of grass, drying some towels and t-shirts in the sun at the same time.
Although the tyre is well-mended, it goes flat again as soon as I start cycling, three times running. It needs a new inner tube. I have one, but, as my unwieldy bike, with its enslosed chain guard, is not really meant for a cycling holiday, I don’t feel like putting it on myself. So I walk on to ask where the nearest repair-shop is.
I come to an industrial area, where two men are loading a lorry. I ask them my urgent question, but they speak hardly any English and fetch their boss.
By accident, I have come to an organisation which trains young, disadvantaged people. The department where I have landed up, repairs wheelchairs, tools and Zimmer frames for the Third World. One of the boys has worked in a cycle repair shop and, before I realise it, my bike is unloaded and taken to the workshop.
Meanwhile, the head of the department, Arne Kjærsgaard, gives me a cup of coffee and a guided tour round the MultiCenter Syd, a training-college for disadvantaged young people. There are various departments:
- an international department
- a music department
- a cookery department
- a creativity department
- a handwork department
Each department teaches them a skill.
The International Department has connections to “Gered Gereedschap” (Saved Tools) in Amsterdam. Like most foreigners, Arne cannot pronounce the name and I have no idea what he is talking about. I ask him if it is written down somewhere and it is. “Oh, Gered Gereedschap, I’ve heard of that”. Arne says: “Yes, that’s what I said!” I’ve had this sort of pronounciation problems with Danes before.
After a few hours(!), my bike is ready. The new tube is put in and I can go on. There is only one small problem: only the first gear works.
On the Internet, Arne finds the nearest repair-shop, prints out the map and at leisure (I can’t do anything else) I cycle to Saxkøbing.
Cycling 15 kilometres in first gear, without having to climb, is rather frustrating but, on arrival in Saxkøbing, I am greeted by a friendly smile from the water tower.
My day is made.
I find the shop but this turns out to have closed for good a few days ago. As it is already late in the afternoon, I start looking for a campsite. Further tomorrow. To my horror, the nearest site is about 20 km away, beyond Maribo. An elderly couple tells me (in Danish) that there is an ‘ordinary’ campsite near. I thank them in Dutch ( we even understood each other) and look for it.
In Denmark, as in Sweden, you can only make use of a campsite if you have a camping-pass. You can buy one on arrival but this is rather expensive if you only plan to stay one night.. The owner of the site, a grumpy man who does not speak English or German, says I may not camp there without a pass. He calls his wife, who does speak English and, after my sad tale about a broken bike, I am allowed to put my tent up without a pass (“But definitely not longer than one night!”).
However, a real campsite once in a while is quite nice: a hot shower, cooking in the kitchen on a proper cooker, a picnic-table next to the tent. What else could one want?
After supper, during the washing-up, I get talking to a Danish woman who lives in Spain and comes to spend the summer in Denmark. Maybe her husband could have a look at my bike? Of course, looking can’t hurt. As I expected (though I didn’t want to be pig-headed), he can’t mend it.
But he does know another repair-shop in the village and offers to come with me tomorrow.
When I walk through Saxkøbing that evening, I find the shop and discover that it doesn’t open till 10 o’clock and I have to be off the site by 10. That means I have to take all my stuff with me and just hope he won’t take too long. It would be easier if I could leave my luggage at the site, but I’m sure the grumpy owner wouldn’t agree to that.
Back at the campsite, I tell my dilemma to the Danish/Spanish man. “I’ll sort it out for you” and a little later my Saviour returns: “You may stay all day tomorrow”.
Day 26. Friday, August 10th, Saxkøbing
Weather: rainy
Kilometres cycled: 20
Route:
Saxkøbing, Maribo, Saxkøbing
Around 10, I cycle towards Maribo. The shop in Saxkøbing was unable to help me and advised me to go to Maribo. My Danish/Spanish Saviour then persuaded the owner of the campsite to let me have all the time I needed and even stay another night.
The repairman in Maribo is a nice young man. He thinks it is terrific that I have cycled round half of Denmark on this bike. “Ah, that’s a really Dutch bike! Beautiful. It’s an honour for me to fix it!”. Well, O.K. Go for it.
Meanwhile, I wander round Maribo. Unfortunately, it’s raining, but I enjoy myself nevertheless. I have a nice conversation with a bookseller about Danish and Dutch writers. I know more Danish writers than she Dutch ones (and I only know three, one of whom wrote fairy tales and the other is a philosopher).
I return to Maribo Cykler and the man has both good and bad news: the gears are working again, but the outer tyre is too bad to use for another two weeks’cycling. “It’s your choice; it could be alright, but then again, you might have another flat tomorrow.” The tyre does indeed look the worse for wear and it seems to me more sensible to replace it. I ask him to put a good anti-puncture tyre on (it seems like heaven, never to have another flat tyre).
The repair man does a good job. As extra service, he oils the chain, adjusts the brakes and fixes the handlebars. For nothing. And …during the rest of the holiday I have no more flat tyres!
Day 27, Saturday, August 11th: Saxkøbing – Emmerbølle (Langeland)
Weather: drizzle in the morning, then dry, sunny in the evening
Kilometres cycled: 102
Route:
National Route nr. 8 (approx.)
Bike: Saxkøbing, Maribo, Bandholm, Keldernæs, Hejringe, Lindet, Vesterborg, Halsted, Nakskov, Sandby, Tårs
Ferry: Tårs – Spodsbjerg (Langeland)
Bike: Spodsbjerg, Stengade, Botofte, Lejbølle, Emmerbølle
Near Ravnsborg Castle in the North of Lolland, my kilometre indicator breaks down. It has had enough.
Luckily, for the rest of my trip I have maps that give the number of kilometres if you follow the exact route. A piece of string is also a useful aid.
But from now on, the number of kilometres is not quite so accurate.
On the boat, I meet a German boy who is also on a cycling holiday on his own.. Only he does twice as many kilometres a day. He camps rough and that means you can only stay somewhere between sunset and sunrise. He sleeps from 11 to 5 and is on his bike for the rest of the day. On arrival, we have a cup of coffee together in the restaurant and then each go our own way.
Camping in someone’s garden, right opposite the path to the sea
Day 28, Sunday, August 12th: Emmerbølle – Søby (Ærø)
Weather: cloudy in the morning, sunny and warm after 11 o’clock
Kilometres cycled: 84
Route:
Own route, regional routes 92 and 90
Bike: Emmerbølle, Tranekær, Frellisvig, Tullebølle, Simmerbølle, Rudkøbing
Ferry: Rudkøbing – Marstal (Ærø)
Bike: Marstal, Rolpested, Kragnæs, Lille Rise, Ærøskøbing, Borgnæs, Skovby, Søby
As it is Sunday, the ferries only go four times a day. I have to wait an hour and during that time the weather gets beautiful.
Loading the ferry takes a long time because of all the fitting in that has to be done. When I saw all the waiting cars, lorries, cyclists and pedestrians, I thought they would never all fit in, but to my astonishment, everything fitted exactly.
I plan to ride along the north coast, from Marstal to Ærøskøbing, and expect to have the sea on my right and to keep left.
Just beyond Rolpested, I see the sea far off, but there’s something wrong: it appears on my left. As I don’t seem to want to acknowledge the problem, I keep to the left and after a bit, I come back to Marstal.
One more try, then.
I come to the same spot again, where the sea appears on my left. I also see that the sun is in the wrong place and my compass also points in the opposite direction. Normally, I first trust the sun, then the compass, then myself. But for some reason, I do it the other way round today. I turn left again and land up in Marstal again.
What am I doing wrong? Once more, then.
Suddenly I see what has happened, The sign for route 92 is missing. Both the previous times, I took the wrong turning because I saw the sea in the distance. But the island is only 2.5 / 3 km. wide there and the sea is equidistant on both sides, but can only be seen on the left and not on the right.
I go to the right and, surprise, surprise, there is the sea too, but the right one this time. The signs show me the rest of the way to Ærøskøbing.
As far as I’m concerned, this is the most beautiful island in Denmark (up to now). The varied, idyllic landscape is enhanced by the cheerful colours of the 17th and 18th-century houses. The island is only thirty kilometres long and nowhere more than eight kilometres wide.
Aeroskoping (1000 inh.) is the capital of Aero. The city centre is a protected monument. After a fire in 1629, which destroyed the entire town, it has not changed much.
Ærøskobing
Click here for beautiful pictures of Ærø and Ærøskøbing.
I have lost track of what day it is. I know the date, because it is on the screen of my mobile, but I don’t always look at that. I want to do some shopping today, but everywhere I go, the shops are shut. So I realise it is Sunday today. Luckily, Søby is quite touristy and has a supermarket which is open on Sundays.
I do my shopping and then ring the address where I want to stay the night. This time, it is again a private person who has a big garden. I have a guidebook with all the addresses and if it says, ring i forvejen, it means you should ring beforehand, though it isn’t often necessary.
I get to the place, put my bike down and am immediately “ambushed” by my host, who shows me the shed with photos of his ancestors and his forestry project on Ærø. His name is Hans Aage Pedersen and I don’t understand everything he says, as he speaks English, German and Danish all mixed up. But, in my own words, Hans Aage has developed a nature area near Søby, of which he is very proud, and wants to show it to every tourist who comes to camp on his land. Before I know what is happening, I am sitting in his car on the way to it. It is really rather an awkward situation: I am still wearing my cycling clothes, I’m hungry, and just get into a car with a strange man (I realise he is old and probably not as strong as I am).
Here are some photos of Hans Aage’s nature reserve. I must say, it really is beautiful: woodland and marsh with beautiful trees and plants.
He is a vain man and wants me to take a photo of him in front of the entrance to the wood. The pillars are yellow and look a bit pale in the evening sun and Hans Aage cannot easily be seen. He tells me where to stand and I take him from various angles. He wants to see the screen each time to see how the photo has turned out.
We then drive on to the southernmost point. There are golf links on the point and a lighthouse at the end, Skoldnæs Fyr. Hans Aage says it is no fun on that bit of Ærø if there is a strong wind.
From his stories, I understand that he is very proud of the island. And, it is true, it is a beautiful one. When I ask what it is like in winter, he is silent for a moment and then says: cold….
