Day 8, Tuesday, August 12th: Sortsø – Rødvig
Weather: Rainy, nice at the end of the day
Kilometres cycled 104
Route:
National route no. 7, Regional route no. 56, National route no. 9
Sortsø, Nørre Alslev, Virdingborg, Ørslev, Ugledige, Præsto, Fakse Ladeplads, Lund, Rødvig.
In the evening: to Højerup and back to Rødvig
Sunrise at the camping-site in Sortsø
Today I’m going to Jørn and Hanne! I rang them last night to see if it was alright. I hope to get there in time because Hanne wants to go to a concert with a friend and I can come too if I want to.
Of course I want to! I quite forgot to ask what sort of a concert it was but it doesn’t matter. Knowing Hanne, I trust it won’t be a pop-concert.
As it is a long way, I leave at 7 o’clock. It’s raining again, alas.
At 12 o’clock, I am already in Fakse Ledepladse, 12 kilometres from Rødvig. I can be in Rødvig within the hour but am not expected till the end of the afternoon. I ring Hanne to ask if I can come in an hour.
It is a pleasant reunion and I am treated to a tasty lunch. The rain has meanwhile given way to the sun and I have a lovely afternoon.
Jørn offers to mend my bike. As I know from experience, Jørn can do anything – at the moment he is making a new bathroom – I thankfully entrust the job to him.
On Jørn’s bike, together with Hanne and her friend, Brigitta, we ride to Højerup where the concert is in the Gamle Kirke (= Old Church).
I was also in this church last year, when I hiked to Stevns Klint with Jørn and Hanne (see diary 2007).
Gamle Kirke in Højerup with a view to the Baltic Sea
The Gamle Kirke in Højerup is a very remarkable church. It was built round 1250 and from 1600 on, the edge of the cliff came nearer every year through sand shifts. According to local legend, this happened every Christmas Eve. The church was no longer used after 1910, as one feared it might collapse at any time.
On March 16th 1928, at 5 o’clock in the morning, there was a landslide round Højerup. That happened quite often, but this time was special: the choir collapsed into the depths. Shortly after, it was decided to strengthen the church to prevent further collapse. Today, the church sticks out above the edge of the cliff. A balcony has been placed in the ‘hole’ in the wall where the choir was, giving a beautiful view over the Baltic Sea.
The concert is wonderful! An ensemble of Swedish musicians plays medieval music on (copies of ) medieval instruments. There is also singing. It is really beautiful and I love it.
In between, we sing Danish and Swedish folksongs ourselves, accompanied by a violinist. Of course I join in too. The audience consists of the locals and one tourist (me)
Day 9, August 13th: Rødvig –Køge - ...
Weather: sunny, rain in the evening
Kilometres cycled: 48
Route:
Own route, National route no.9
Bike: Rødvig, Høojerup, Tommestrup, Sigerslev, Holtug, Bøgeskov, Magleby Skov, Strøby Ladeplads, Strøby Egede, Købe
Ferry: Køge, to Rønne on Bornholm
Last night I slept very well, in a proper bed. Unfortunately, Hanne is ill and stays in bed with a temperature.
During breakfast, I discuss the rest of my journey with Jørn. I want to go to the island of Bornholm and to South Sweden again. Jørn knows lovely routes in Sweden and good camping-sites.
Last night, he repaired my bike. The whole back wheel came off, which is quite a job with my ordinary ‘town-bike’. It was not just oiling the chain but the problem lay in the axle. Luckily it now runs beautifully, with no extra noises!
I say goodbye to two gorgeous people. They are going to Lapland themselves next week for a fortnight’s hiking trip.
In Denmark you come across a “Lobbemarked” all the time – a flea market. Not an organised one, for which you have to apply in tenfold for permission, as in Holland. No, just stalls or tables on the side of the road or in a barn.
Mandehoved, near Lilledal. In the distance, the chalk cliffs where I hiked last year with Hanne and Jørn / Holtug kirke
Bøgeskov, birdwatching and Magleby Svov (skov = bos)
This morning I had agreed with Jørn that I would go to Malmö (Sweden) via Copenhagen, cycle for a few days in South-Sweden and then go by boat from Ystad or Simrishamn to Bornholm.
But there is nothing more changeable than Gea on a bike. When I arrive in Køge, I’m sick of it. Finished for today!
I sit down on a seat on the Torvet (= square) in the middle of the town and think about what I am going to do the rest of the day. I can, of course, take the boat from here and go to Bornholm first. Sweden will come later. Disadvantage: the boat only leaves at 23.30 tonight. Advantage: I don’t have to cycle any further.
I can also abide by my first plan. Disadvantage: I would have to cycle again, quite a long way before I get to the camp-site (near Copenhagen). Advantage: I don’t know.
Meanwhile, time goes by. Okay, I’ll stay here and take the boat to Bornholm this evening. I enquire at the tourist office about the ferry. It turns out that the office for the ferry opens at 20.30. Till then, I wander round Køge, a lovely, typically Danish little town where I also came last year.
In the public toilet building, I change my cycling clothes for boat clothes, fetch something to eat for supper at the supermarket (banana, biscuits and a little bowl of quark), and buy a cycle guide for Bornholm at the bookshop.
Now I’m quite ready for it.
Køge - Brogade and Torvet
Køge - Svogers Gård and Kirkestræde
Kirkestræde. The oldest wooden house in Denmark, built in 1527, with a brick front and steep tiled roof
At 8 o’clock I am already standing at the door of the harbour office. It has started to rain meanwhile but there is a seat under a porch where I can sit and wait.
The ferry will take 6 hours, as Bornholm is very far from the rest of Denmark.
Such a long trip in the middle of the night is rather exciting. I suddenly remember the news about the accidents with the Herald of Free Enterprise and the Estonia.
Gulp... don’t think about them.
Another cyclist comes along, a case tied to his luggage carrier. He puts his bike next to mine and comes and sits next to me on the seat. We get talking.
He is going to Bornholm to cycle there with an organised group. He has now retired but used to work at the Danish embassy in various countries.
At 20.30 we can get on the boat. There are very few passengers and I look for a window seat, hoping to be able to see something. It is now pitch black outside but maybe there will be more to see tomorrow morning. The ferry leaves at 23.30. I don’t really want to sleep, but reading and writing is no option because of sea-sickness. I drape myself across three seats, make a pillow of my coat and a (little) blanket of my fleece jacket.
