Day 5, Saturday, August 9th: Sønder Longelse – Sandager
Weather: sun, very strong wind. Around noon a heavy shower
Kilometres cycled: 108
Route:
National route no. 8, Regional route no. 38
Bike: Sønder Longelse, Pederstrup, Spodsbjerg
Boat: Spodsbjerg, Tårs
Bike: Tårs, Sandby, Lindelse, Nakskov, Langø, Ydø, Maglehøj, Kramnitse, Rødbyhavn, Brunddragene, Bjernæs, Sjæltofte, Egelund, Bremersvold, Sandager
“Do I have to get off on the other side?”, I ask the two crew members. Not such a silly question, because that was where I got on and after leaving the harbour, the boat has turned round. I would like to know if I will have to turn my bike round.
“Ha, ha, hear that?” the bearded man asks the one without a beard. He turns to me again. “Do you want to get off on the other side? And then? Swim across? You’d better stay on the boat, we will go back again, at least you can keep your feet dry, ha, ha!”
Jokers. I’ve lost my sense of direction, the boat has turned round again meanwhile and the door is already opening and I see a large gap through which I may ride off first.
The tourist office in Nakskov is in a former apothecary. Part of the building is an apothecary’s museum and I decide to kill two birds with one stone: look at the museum and get information about route 38, which I want to follow on Lolland.
A friendly lady tells me that the route has been changed and now runs entirely along the coast from Nakskov, instead of only part of the way. She promises me two things: that it is a very beautiful route and that the weather will remain good today.
On a map, she draws the way from the town to the route and before I realise it, I am back on the bike. Museum forgotten...
Tourist Office in Nakskov / View of Nakskov
I take a wrong turning and only realise it some 10 kilometres further on (I thought it took a long time before I saw the coast again...). As the lady in the tourist office said that the coastal road was lovely and I shouldn’t miss it, I go back.
Just before reaching Nakskov again, I see the missed sign and now go the right way. But lovely??
It looks more like a deserted building-site. The road is unmetalled and muddy after yesterday’s rain. Have I ridden 20 kilometres for this? It takes some time before I eventually come to a nice road, right round the Nakskof Fjord.
But then it becomes cloudy and the (head) wind gets stronger and stronger.
The ride along an idyllic path along a beautiful fjord becomes an extremely gripping business!
The strong head-wind makes it difficult to stay on the narrow path. Driving rain obstructs the view. Every now and then, I get off the bike and walk, otherwise I would probably be blown into the sea.
Path along Nakskov Fjord / View across Nakskov Fjord
Gradually it clears up. It is still blowing hard but I know I will have the wind behind me later.
Suddenly I hear barking behind me and, from afar, I see two dogs running towards me. What now? I’m not afraid of dogs but, for safety’s sake, make a sprint. Meanwhile, I am wondering where my Dazer is. It usually hangs on the handlebars... It’s probably in the bicycle bag but I’m not going to stop now.
A Dazer is an apparatus that emits a high note when you press it. (Almost) inaudible for people but a horrible noise for dogs. Its use is obvious. Thanks to the Dazer, I still have calves – very useful for cycling and walking.
But now my calves are in danger and I race like nothing on earth over the idyllic path along the beautiful Fjord. I’m really being put to the test but at the moment that seems to me better than being bitten.
They now appear to be enormous monsters that will probably not be satisfied with just my calves. Can I see froth on their muzzles? And sulphur coming out of their ears?
While still riding, I try and open the bag and, by a miracle, I immediately find the Dazer. I point it backwards and press the button briefly (I think longer would be cruelty to animals). One of the dogs stops immediately but the other carries on. Probably deaf...
I press again once or twice, even for longer, but the dog goes on running and is fast getting nearer. When he reaches my bike, I start talking to him: “Good doggie, good”. And then...
He runs past me! I look at him with astonishment, get off my bike and look back. The other dog has resumed his mission and is only a few metres from me. “You’re a good dog too. You are!”
Then the dog stands still.
Glug...
Suddenly I see a tail wagging and look straight into two twinkling dog’s eyes. He begins to run round me, barking. “So you only wanted to play?” The other dog comes back and joins in.
They have changed from very dangerous monsters to playful young dogs. Whew! With a sigh of relief I join in the game.
Then their boss comes trudging along. “They won’t hurt you. Big mouth but a small heart. But obeying, oh no; if they see a bike, they just have to chase it”.
Does he think I hadn’t noticed?
The Albuen Peninsula is the shape of a long tail and can only be visited on foot. At the end of the peninsula is the tiny village of the same name.
A kilometres-long cycle path runs along the whole of Lolland’s south coast. I realise that I am now very lucky with the weather: it is now fine and I have the strong wind behind me. It must be a terrible path in the rain and with a head-wind. You are right next to the sea and get all the wind without any shelter.
I get a wasp for company. Normally, I enjoy having some company with me for a bit, but this is really forcing itself on me and I am not amused.
There are a lot of wasps this summer; you can hardly pick up something to eat without being attacked by a whole horde of them.
I see that the wasp is still flying with me and I am cycling at 30 kilometres per hour! It seems set on stinging me and stays dangerously near my head. Hmm... this requires other tactics than the dogs. The buzzing sounds menacing, it is obviously cross.
Suddenly all is quiet and I breathe a sigh of relief. I have never been stung by a wasp and, since an allergy for insect-bites has been diagnosed, I am extra careful. I still have some inflamed spots from insect-bites I got last year in Denmark.
Au...!
I suddenly feel a prick in my neck and see the wasp hurriedly disappearing.
Help, what now? I’m just coming past a house and see a man behind the window. I get off the bike and sit down on a bench between the sea and the dyke and wait. Should I feel ill or if my neck swells up, I can knock at the door. I look up wasp in my little dictionary. That turns out to be ‘Veps’. I can remember that.
In my imagination I can see myself knocking. The man opens the door, sees my swollen neck and hears my ’veps’ from foaming lips, immediately rings the ambulance which brings me over the narrow dyke to the hospital with sirens blaring. A few days later his photo is in the paper as the saviour of a Dutch cyclist in clogs. That is the freedom the Danish press surely have too.
Luckily, none of all of this. I stay on the bench for a quarter of an hour and none of the disasters happen. Relieved, I cycle on.
Bicycle path along the south coast of Lolland / A blue house near Errindlev. Eh, a blue one? Many will follow.
Far off, I can see the Lalandia Holiday Centre, described in the travel brochures as “The holiday park where you always have a summery feeling. With the largest swimming-paradise in Denmark, where the children amuse themselves while you can relax”.
I always get the jitters from this sort of holiday amusement. Not for me. Give me a bike, then you can really get to know Denmark. Out of doors all day, feeling, tasting, smelling...
All very well! These holidays I have often wished I was warm and dry in a holiday cottage in Lalandia.
Camp spot near Sandager harbour. The first pictures of my new tent...
Sandager Havn. A lovely camp-site right on the water. When evening falls, I look at floating fishing boats while the sun gradually sets.
Day 6, Sunday, August 10th: Sandager Havn – Nykøbing F.
“Day of rest”
Weather: rainy, windy
Kilometres cycled: 45
Route:
Regional route no. 38
Sandager, Øllebølle, Herritslev, Nysted, Roden Skov, Frejlev Skov, Fuglsang, Nagelsti, Nykøbing F.
It’s raining cats and dogs and has been since about two o’clock. And yesterday’s strong wind has developed into a storm. This was my second night in the tent and both have been stormy, literally.
The site has a roomy and clean toilet with a porch over the door with just enough room for a bit of the bike. As I already smelled rain in the air last night, – it’s true; if you spend your time out of doors, you can prophesy rain – I had put the bike there and left the bags on the carrier. It looked like a dry solution. But, alas, the porch was not up to sheltering anything in this violent storm.
Taking the tent down takes some doing. First I put everything from the tent in the toilet. My tent is about five metres from the toilet and I have to run to get everything there dry, or almost. Then I put the stuff in the cycle bags (which were luckily dry inside) and put them on the bike. Now the toilet is empty again.
I quickly pull all the pegs out, lift the entire tent up and put it in the toilet. This is so that I can dismantle and pack the tent without getting the inner tent wet. There is nothing worse than having to sleep in a wet tent. A wet outer tent is not so bad, but if the inner tent is wet, you can’t keep anything dry.
I am now ready to go. It looks as though it will never clear up, so it’s no use waiting. I’m just about to get on my bike when a car stops at the harbour and an old man gets out. He comes to me and begins a long story.
"Unskuld, jeg taler ikke Dansk – I’m sorry, but I don’t speak Danish”. Of course, you shouldn’t say that in perfect Danish because then it doesn’t ring true.
So the man goes on talking and I understand that he thinks I shouldn’t go cycling in the rain. I can wait in the workshop till it’s dry and eat my breakfast meanwhile. At least, that is what I can make of it.
He unlocks a door and I go in behind him. I would never do that in Holland or anywhere else in the world, but this is Denmark, where you needn’t immediately be suspicious. Here there are people who mean well.
Actually, I have already had my breakfast (in the toilet!), but I stay for a bit so that I have the chance to study the map and set a route out of the rain. When I have finished, I get on my bike, leaving the old seaman shaking his head.
The workshop on the harbour where I may shelter from the rain / I look out of the window. Quite different from last night.
Took the wrong turning, but this brings me to a little place with a very funny name / Roden Skove. Saw large stags here
I cycle through Roden Skove (= messy wood). It is actually dry and smells lovely. Why is this wood called messy? And when is a wood tidy, then? No idea, maybe my translation is wrong, but messy wood sounds like a fairy tale.
Suddenly, 25 metres away, I see three enormous stags with large antlers. Wow... I stop immediately; surprising that they didn’t hear my creaking and squeaking bike.
I want to take a photo but am afraid they will take fright if I make any movement or noise. Fascinated, I go on looking. They go on grazing. When I eventually decide to get my camera, they take fright and run away. A pity, but it was a wonderful sight – three large stags running.
I think that’s enough for today. At 2 o’clock I arrive in Nykøbing, where there should be a shelter. That sounds like a good idea, then I can dry everything.
Actually, I think a day of rest is due to me, it’s Sunday after all.
I look in the mirror to see how my neck is. Yesterday evening it was red and swollen. Now everything is back to normal, though it is still blotchy.
With a number of wasps for company, I spend a quiet afternoon reading, writing and planning the route for tomorrow.
Camping spot in Nykøbing
Day 7, Monday, August 11th: Nykøbing – Sortsø
Weather: warm, strong wind
Kilometres cycled: 94
Route:
Regional route no. 40 “Around Falster”
Nykøbing, Idestrup, Væggerløse, Bruserup, Skelby, Gedser, Gedser Odde, Gedesby, Bøtøby, Marielyst, Teglskov, Mellemskov, Helnæs, Korselitse, Østerkov, Søborg, Ore, Stubbekøbing, Sortsø
Last year, I praised Denmark for its beautifully marked cycle routes. I only missed the signs twice in my entire holiday (all the routes are marked by signs, very handy).
This year I have gone ‘wrong’ several times already and I haven’t been on the road for a week yet. But that could be my own fault. Sometimes I go back, fearing I might be missing something special, and sometimes I carry on and land up on the official route by myself. Like today. I meant to go along the coast, but in Nykøbing itself I land up on another road. This leads to the interior of Falster and I come across lovely little roads.
Last year I arrived on the other side of the island, wanting to follow the coastal road. As it was very misty and I didn’t want to waste time on misty views, I crossed straight over. Now I don’t want to miss this chance, with today’s lovely weather and a following wind.
The southernmost point of Denmark, Gedser, is on Falster. Under it lies Gedser Odde (odde = peninsula).
Gedser Odde, the southernmost point of Denmark
Church in Gedesby / Beach near Bøtø
Strandkirke (= Beach church) in Marielyst. Everything in this touristic little coastal place contains the word 'Strand' (= beach) / House of the outskirts of Teglskov
Well, then you come to a deserted beach and with this lovely weather it is the ideal spot for a quick swim, to wash my hair and clothes.
No-one in sight, I quickly put on my bathing suit and walk into the water. Brr... cold. Bravely I walk on. Eh? All these plastic bags...??!!
I have another look. Some of the bags are white, others pink. They are all transparent. I look again. Hmm...tentacles.
Hellup, jellyfish!!
I can already see myself surrounded by hundreds of jellyfish that can’t wait to come and tickle me. I don’t know how quickly to get out of the water.
So the bath was a short one but I blow up my basin and, on a tree trunk, wash some cycling shorts and shirts in the salt water. They can dry under the luggage straps later.
Mellemskov, forrest along the east coast of Falster. A beautiful place
Just beyond the Korselitse Østerkov / Near Næsgård
However friendly and hospitable the Danes themselves are, my experiences with Danish fauna this week are not so positive. Menaced by dogs, wasps and jellyfish. Stags that run away from me. But, in spite of that, I am happy here and if I had a tail I would wag it!
Camp-site at Sortsø harbour
