Goodbye Copebhagen, Hello London

Started out with plans to make the most of our last day in Copenhagen. We find the weather patterns most confusing. Yesterday was one of our best days and this morning it was drizzling. I borrowed an umbrella from the front desk and we stepped out into a several hours downpour. After lunch the sun appeared and it was a warm afternoon. To round out the day the muck moved in at the airport, the control tower disappeared into heavy rain and fog. By takeoff we had clear skies. Is this what it is like to live in Denmark in the summer?

There are three major palaces in the city of Copenhagen. Unfortunately not time for all so, with advice of our walking guide, we choose to tour Christianborg. This is the site of the original 11th century castle. Destroyed a number of times, the last two by fire, it was last rebuilt in the 1800's. The intent was for a royal residence but the family had moved to Amalienborg Palace during construction and they have never moved back. We toured the lavish royal reception rooms used for formal events of state, followed by the stables, and the underground ruins of former castles.

Our break for lunch was at a nice cafe across the street from a tea shop. Our service was very slow so we have a lot of time to watch the small, attractive tea shop. The crowds of people coming and going were constant, very often overflowing into the street. Our attempt after lunch to get inside proved fruitless so we returned later in the day.

On our 'must visit' list was the Round Tower, a 17th century masterpiece originally built as an astronomical observatory. The most unusual feature of the tower is its only method of getting to the top - it's 'equestrian staircase', a wide helical ramp that winds seven and a half times round and round uphill until you emerge in daylight. Historically, we discovered it had featured timed races to the top by penny-farthing and regular bicycles, and by racing car. Thankfully, as we reached the top the weather had cleared and we had reasonably good 360 degree views of the city centre and its surrounding suburban areas, including the protected natural area we had pedalled through for our arrival in Copenhagen.

With an hour left before our retreat to the airport we walked to The Little Mermaid. Neither of us had much interest but thought the viewing is expected for anyone visiting Copenhagen. It was as uninspiring as expected.

 

 

 

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Beautiful Copenhagen

Friday morning and we are slightly confused. We handed back our bicycles yesterday evening, our bike clothes are scrunched in our bags, and we are about to spend the next two days walking!

Our first destination was to climb the tower of St Savior's Church. To get there we walked beside the large canal we needed to cross to get to Christianshavn. Wide public walkways jut out over the water curving high and low. At one point there is a wide wooden slide open at the top without railings. Further down the canal we crossed a bridge and passed picturesque historic buildings sitting along a narrower canal.

We arrived outside the church five minutes before its 9:30 opening. We knew we could not get to see the interior of the church itself which is not open until later in the day, but the thing that makes this tower different from the zillion other church towers we have climbed is that the topmost part of it's spiral staircase is on the outside of the spire. Once outside, the stair treads are made of copper sheet, and as we climb higher they get increasingly narrower until the very last one just below the giant golden ball perched on top of the spire was only large enough for a single shoe. On the way down, we stopped to inspect the campanile mechanism which controls the ringing of its 48 bells.

Afterwards we wandered a few ancient backstreets on our way to the Radhus / Town Hall to see Jens Olsen's World Clock. What's so special about this clock? Well, it tells the time. But it tells the time anywhere in the world, and gives the day, date and year. Still nothing special? Well it also copes with seasonal adjustments, leap years, adjustments for those phantom seconds that need to be added every few years, plus planetary movements, plus multiple other functions that would be too difficult to describe in this blog (because we don't understand them!), and it's even more impressive because it is entirely mechanical. The several interconnected mechanisms are wonders of engineering in shiny brass and stainless steel with intricately engraved dials, all the result of Olsen's lifelong passion for mathematical calculation towards this one aim that he did not even live to see built.

Lunch along the extremely bustling but picturesque area of Nyhavn was next. This area is a very crowded mass of restaurants with outside seating along the eastern side of what was historically a port area for sailors which provided them with bars, women and whatever else they needed. The bars are now expensive restaurants, the women are apparently now to be found elsewhere, and the waterside is lined with examples of old boats that were brought in at one time for a historic exhibition, but were subsequently unable to leave when the port entry waterway gates seized shut.

 

Mid-afternoon and off we went to join a 'free' three-hour walking tour, led by a Canadian import called Ben. We have done these sorts of tours elsewhere, where the deal is if you enjoyed it you pay at the end what you think it was worth. It was worth a lot. We visited a majority of the major intercity sites, learned much of the history, and had time for a snack. The culmination of the walk was timed to view the changing of the guard at Amalienborg Palace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Copenhagen After 666 Kilometers

Our last day on bikes. Copenhagen is a mere 50 kilometers away, the sun is shining, the wind blowing, and the hills rolling. In the back garden of a large home sat an old, inactivate windmill. A sign indicated that of two parallel lanes in the direction of the mill, one was private property belonging to an adjacent house, the other would lead to the windmill. So we both walked down the mill access lane and snap away with our cameras. A few minutes later, there is Jan walking across the freshly cut lawn of the back garden of the private house to get a closer view of the front of the mill. We tried to creep unnoticed as it still felt like trespassing (which it was!)

The bright yellow churches continue to appear at frequent intervals as we traveled north. This one was especially nice with an immaculate graveyard, the gravel paths being manicured (weeded? dry-cleaned?) by a propane-powered machine as we watched. The entry gate was electronically opened by the punch of a button. The inside was a lovely chapel, ornate but, in our opinion, tasteful. Fascinating interior details included the two ornate chandeliers for the main section of the church, but a suspended galleon complete with masts and rigging hanging in front of the resplendent organ where a third chandelier would have hung and, level with the top of the wonderfully decorative pulpit, something akin to a spice rack holding four large sand-filled hour glasses - presumably for use as pre-cellphone sermon-timers.

As we got closer to Copenhagen the homes got larger and the grounds more park like. Some were large areas still being farmed. Even closer in we entered a national park that extended around the southern perimeter into the edge of the city. We rode quiet trails passing grazing cows surrounded by electric fences within three kilometers of large commercial buildings and glitzy modern international high-rise conference centers.

After so many days in very rural surroundings it was a shock to enter such a busy city. We carefully navigated through heavy car and pedestrian traffic, massive bike lanes, and multiple traffic lights to find our hotel. With bikes handed in at a biblical 666km / 414m total for our trip, we were free to begin exploring Copenhagen.

After dinner, we entered the wonderland of Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world. Apparently the oldest is only a few miles away, also in Denmark. It seems that it was an inspiration for Walt Disney and Michael Jackson, who tried to buy the place. We skipped the carnival games and rides but enjoyed the crowds, the buildings, the lake, and the lights.

 

 

 

 

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Cycled 125 K on a perfect Sunny Day

After what seems to have become a weather report blog rather that a cycling holiday blog, today was the sort of hot, blue sky day we had hoped the entire trip would be. This evening we have all sorts of new suntan marks.

Today was to be the longest cycling day of the entire 11-day trip, with three options available to us. The first two included opting out at particular points to jump on a train to the end of day destination of Koge. The third was a cycling only / no train option, which was our plan. Our route guide, now less than the thickness of a phonebook after its latest drying out with a hair dryer and the fact that Mike ripped out and threw away about 60% of its soggy papier mâché bulk, informed us that this option would be 107km / 66m long to which we needed to add about 4km for our hotel being the opposite side of town from the start. By the time we reached the first rail bailout stop we had done 16km / 10m more than our book showed, meaning we ended our day riding that much more than we set out to do.

The surprise of the day was this enormous chalk quarry blinding white in the sunshine. Trucks and equipment were sitting idle but I assume that was due to the time of day as it looked to be still in operation.

The extremely friendly reception lady at our Stege departure hotel, probably similar age to us, gave Mike instructions on how to pronounce our destination for the day - Koge - which has a diagonal line through the O which I haven't yet found on this iPad. With much laughter and repetition, the desired sound was something like a very condensed single syllable version of Cur-w-yuh. She pinched her own cheeks in, said it was a sound something like 'oeuf', the French for egg, but was still highly amused at my attempts.

Stops en route today were the Droning-Alexandrines Bro, a reasonably high and modern suspension bridge by comparison with yesterday's small ferry and man-made causeway between islands; Stevns Klint in Hojerup, what survives of a church on a 40 meter high limestone cliff after the choir of the church (part of the architecture, not the choristers) cascaded into the sea; and the lighthouse at Stevns Fyr.

Because of the sun and temperature today, we made many more stops looking for food and liquid to replenish our systems. Surprisingly, few of the little villages have any sort of bakery, cafe or bar selling such items. Even in the two bailout option towns big enough to have railway stations, the search was just as difficult. It seemed strange to reflect that it was difficult to find a Danish anywhere in the bits of Denmark we were travelling through!

Started around 8am and arrived at 6pm after stops and two episodes of where in hell are we and where did we go wrong. Episode one: the defining clue after our uncertainty was the appearance of a young Swiss couple we knew riding in the opposite direction. We all stopped, poured over maps and Mike's compass and found our way to the next village.

Mike relaxing beside the Baltic Sea

 

 

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The Danish Countryside

Again it was gray as we began cycling. Within one hundred yards it was spitting rain that quickly turned to a deluge. Think about driving the Pacific Coast Highway with your windshield wipers on high watching some poor misguided cyclists climbing Cape Disappointment. Remove the elevation and cars and substitute strong winds and water filled potholed rocky trails for twenty five miles and that would be us.

What we could see of the scenery was lovely. The forests are very different from Germany. There is a greater variety of trees and age of trees and the undergrowth is more lush and green. An environment more conducive to imagining fairy tales.

 

As if someone flipped a switch the rains stopped and the sun appeared. The wind still blowing a gale began to dry out our clothes.

Arriving at the town of Stubbekobing we had a forty five minute wait for a ferry to Bogo. We cycled the main street of this small town looking for a cup of coffee. It was eleven thirty on a Tuesday and every shop was closed. Nearly at the end of town we found an open bakery. Coffee and pastries, two for me and three for Mike, and down to the dock for our twelve minute Baltic cruise.

From the ferry we could see an old windmill in the distance. Back on dry land we went searching. It was very close to the ferry port and easy to find. In front of it was a sign that we interpret to be a national historical designation.

New country, new churches. In Germany there was a very distinct red brick and stone design. Now that we are in Denmark most of the churches are very tall and very white. When the sky is blue they attract attention for miles.

Our hotel was 4km past the town of Stege. At the first corner of Stege it looked a bit crowded so we started to walk our bikes down the main street. It was the street fair of the decade that went on for blocks and blocks. The street was closed the entire length of the town and now occupied by carnival rides, sidewalk sales by every shop, food, ice cream, candy, and at the end of town garage sale items. The crowd was so large we figured that everyone from a thirty kilometer radius must have had the day off to attend. Mike commented that it was just a typical Tuesday market, you should see what they put on at weekends. Perhaps that is why every shop in Stubbekobing was closed.

 

 

 

 

 

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Welcome to Denmark

Our second Monday of this trip and it's the day we move north from Germany across the Baltic to Denmark.

Fortunately, having spent ages with the hair dryer on our cycling shoes yesterday evening before stuffing them full of freebie newspapers from the hotel lobby, they were fairly dry to put back on this morning. The rest of our clothing also seemed to have dried out more or less, and after Mike spent at least half an hour using the hair dryer to separate and dry out the papier mâché pages of our route instruction book, each individual page can now be viewed, even if multiple lines of text are completely illegible on several of the pages. Most of the maps now have 3D mountainous effects and the lakes and seas appear extremely stormy with huge swells.

Bright and breezy would sum up today's weather as we got ready to set off from outside the hotel. Today has a sort of stop and start schedule; we begin by taking a series of cycleways through the old part of the Rostock city centre, then continue on bike paths through open countryside and into the more industrial landscape of the ferry port a mere 12km / 7m away. On our way we gradually become part of a convoy of bikes with a few familiar faces and many more strangers, as we all head in the direction of the port.

The ferry port is a vast complex, far larger than either of us had expected. After checking in to get our tickets we hung around for quite a while outside the offices with several other cyclists, squinting in the bright sunlight but getting windswept from the sea in these acres of concrete. Eventually, we pedalled off to take our positions in the loading lane for bicycles, and got windswept and squinted some more whilst we waited for our ferry on its incoming journey, and then for it to unload its seemingly never ending cargo of trucks, cars and bikes. We then waited some more at the ramp entrance as a similar number of vehicles was loaded on for our voyage before our mass of cyclists was allowed to ride on.

The two hour ferry ride was a smooth crossing, but otherwise as exciting as pretty much any car ferry trip anywhere else in the world; generally you wish it was over when it has only just begun. We spent most of the time talking with a couple of Aussies from Brisbane whom we have bumped into a few times over the last week, either whilst riding or when staying at the same hotels. They also have done quite a few previous cycling trips in Europe.

After the calm of the Baltic crossing, we pedalled off the ferry at Gedser into very strong wind, mostly headwind. Once again, we found it easy to understand why the Danish authorities had installed masses of wind turbines in the area; their huge blades whoooosh whooooshing as we rode nearby. Unfortunately, they were almost all facing the western coastline; exactly the direction we were headed, meaning we struggled into the wind for most of our post-ferry section of 26km / 19m. So not much total distance for the two sections combined, but tiring riding because of the wind.

We rode into the nearest 'large' town of Nykobing, headed for the first ATM / cashpoint to get some Kroner and ten minutes later were seated in a bakery scoffing some hard-earned fuel with warming coffees. After that we explored a bit of the old market area, including climbing a 1908 water tower which now has a coffee shop on the ground level, an art gallery and studios on a number of its seven floors, and an observation level at the top. As we got there and asked about climbing to the top, we were told they were closing. When we said we would only be able to visit today, they allowed us ten minutes for a quick up and down visit. It was worth the few Kroner and short time as it gave a 360 degree view of the orange roofs and church towers off the city.

After cruising a few more of the backstreets to look at old buildings, we retraced our route a short distance to get to the bridge across the sound to our hotel on the opposite side. Hotel might legally just about work as a description; our tiny room with two small single beds and our bathroom which would be small as a phone booth did not fill us with awe. The shower head and its controls were shared with the sink, and the floor of the shower doubled as the bathroom floor. Standing in a pool of water whilst drying my hair seemed like a definite risk of electrocution.

Due to location our only reasonable choice for dinner was the hotel dining room. Judging from the quality of the room and this quote from the Internet . . . "We are famous for serving absolutely nicely cooked food of high-quality, fine portions which are creatively decorated. The cook has many years of experience and he is able to handle most challenges in his own way. He is trained in a large international hotel. We are making an effort to get more skilled." we were unsure of what to expect in terms of dinner quality. I could use the term pleasantly surprised, but shocked might fit better. The food, presentation, and service were all of a high standard.

After dinner we went for a walk to watch the sunset over the Baltic Sea. Spectacular!

 

 

 

 

 

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Cold, Wet ...... and Camels

Mike says this sums up the day and there is no reason to write any more. Beginning this morning the day was cold and windy. And, as yesterday, we saw one solitary camel this morning beside the road near our hotel in Gustrow as we retraced part of our route. But we were not too surprised because it was part of a circus outfit and was in a series of pens with two zebras, a giraffe and a few other exotic beasts. So there were the three elements right there. However, within a few miles the rain began and then became heavy and constant. The barley fields and wind turbines quickly became monotonous.

And then........ a slight diversion along the trail. Quite a nice looking home came into view beside the quiet road we were pedalling, and an extremely shiny tractor with a gypsy caravan coupled behind it sat in the driveway, the whole assembly painted in bright primary colours. As we got closer, a small Statue of Liberty wearing a version of an American flag stood in the front garden. Beyond the house were two live camels standing next to two plastic Native American tepees, one bright pink and one green. Lounging next to this scene were several bison and in the background a few wild boar.

It is Sunday in Germany and almost everything is closed but after about twenty kilometers we found a small coffee shop open. As the week goes on we are getting acquainted with more Berlin to Copenhagen cyclists. While we dripped on the floor and drank coffee eight of us commiserated about the foul weather.

The last thirteen miles into Rostock became even more windy, wet and far from enjoyable. As we got blown around in the blustery wind as we cycled, we understood why we were suddenly surrounded by so many wind turbines and why so many more were in the process of being constructed. Both of us had shoes squelchingly filled with water, both of us had every item of clothing soaked through, and both of us were feeling cold as well as soggy. Standing at the hotel's reception desk pools of water collected on the counter and the floor. Mike's attempt to write our home address as we registered was illegible because he couldn't get his hand to function. The drying process began when we got to our room, although even standing in the very hot water of the shower, it was at first difficult to determine whether the water was hot or cold until we thawed out. But this is JULY! This is supposed to be summer!

Showered, clad in dry clothes and without rainfall we walked around to explore the town, deliberately leaving our jackets behind in the room because they were wringing wet. Rostock is the largest city in the Meikelberg state with 20,000. It is an attractive city with a mix of old and new built around a large harbor. But then the rains began again. A quick retreat to the hotel for dinner and the rest of the evening.

Notice the blobs of rain on the photo below!

 

 

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Turned Out Fine Again

Laying awake in bright daylight at 5:30 on Saturday morning and suddenly everything went darker as the rain started. In no time at all it was really pouring, and so it continued until we got up a couple of hours later. As we packed our stuff before breakfast, there were a few distant rumbles of thunder. Not long afterwards we had a few flashes of lightning and the thunder was louder. Part of the breakfast room was a glass conservatory, and we watched the rain lashing down into the water pooling on the glass roof as we ate. Conversation amongst the English speaking contingent over breakfast was all weather related, because all we could think of was the fact that we were expected to go out and ride bicycles in lashing rain with lightning flashing around our earlobes, which no sensible person would ever want to do. Mike commented that we should just go back to our room and write today's blog entry without venturing out, under the title donner unt blitzen (German for thunder and lightning), but then another of our group, a woman from the Midlands walked in and said with Brit irony "turned out fine again" and we had a new title. We don't mind cycling in rain, but riding in lightning in foreign countries when you are supposed to be on holiday having fun is asking too much.

Luckily for us the lightning and thunder stopped, but unfortunately the rain did not. Well to be honest it did reduce from torrents almost to a drizzle, but still it continued for most of the morning even though it was warm enough that we both chose to ride without rain jackets. About ten o'clock we cycled into Gross Bressen, the home of a pottery studio and a B&B. The pottery studio serves coffee on the lawn so we stopped under an umbrella . Such a good decision as the next heavy shower arrived. The coffee was good, the home/studio a beautifully restored old brick building, and pottery I wanted to take home, but how to manage on a bike?

A short distance further on in another tiny village called Bellin we visited what our route guide described as a "gorgeous village church", which was exactly right. There was no date visible to indicate how old it was, but the main structure was of ancient stone and the tower, whether added or rebuilt later, was of brick. We were unable to go inside, although according to a fellow cyclist, a card on a door in German apparently informed us we could have collected keys from a nearby house.

We have commented several times this week how surprising it is that of the dozens and dozens of small hamlets and villages we have ridden through, there are almost no people visible, there are no village shops, no schools, no post offices (although we have seen postmen and post women), no bars, nothing except houses with neat gardens and cars parked outside but otherwise no signs of life. It is seemingly the village equivalent of the forests with huge piles of neatly stacked newly felled lumber every kilometer, but no hint of any people actually felling trees, cutting it to regulation length, or stacking it neatly. Nor for that matter, despite spending half our week in countless forest areas, have we seen a single piece of equipment or machinery that might be associated with such work. Curiouser and curiouser!

Today was a relatively short cycling day and we reached our overnight hotel on the side of a lake before lunchtime, but continued north a few kilometers into the town of Gustrow where we had lunch in an Italian restaurant before heading off to the 16th century Schloss / Palace / Castle for an audio-guided tour. The tower of the Schloss has been converted into a museum of artifacts from the Meckleberg area, paintings, religious pieces, and remnants of ducal life. Surprisingly there was no armor, weapons, etc. Impressive ceilings, floors, and wall decorations remained along with fantastic views out of the windows. We had paid to view the permanent collection only. At one point as we walked through a doorway we were accosted by a guard speaking rapid German. After much back and forth I got the message. Exit now before you get a glimpse of the temporary collection. The guard's name, Fred Meyer. After that we wandered the ornamental gardens before pedalling back to our hotel to check in.

 

 

 

 

 

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Calories Straight from Heaven

Our Friday route is a shorter ride of 50km / 30m, so we come up with an alternative plan before we set off; first to visit the Muritzeum 'to experience the nature' as our guidebook informs us in its exquisite language, secondly to visit the Tortenhus which was closing as we arrived yesterday evening.

The Muritzeum, Waren's natural history museum, did not open until 10 o'clock, so we gave ourselves a slower start to our day before we set off. As we stood outside beside a group of school children with five minutes to opening time, we wondered if we would be back outside and on our way ten minutes later. Instead, we found a wonderfully presented exhibition of live specimens, stuffed specimens and excellent descriptive displays, many of which had English translations. We walked from the entrance to a wide steel staircase connecting the two floors of the museum, beside which was a complete glass wall the height of the two floors (probably 30ft high by 20ft wide) giving the impression we were looking below the surface of a huge deep lake. Hundreds of huge fish swooped and glided in front of us, or disappeared into the distance as we stood on the staircase. Several other huge tanks of fish were imaginatively displayed, with a couple of them viewed by us from inside the museum but the tanks extending out to the ponds outside where swans and ducks swam. Upstairs we wandered amongst the displays of birds and flight, then did a quick side trip through the descriptions of changing landscapes over the eons. By the time we left after our quick 45 minute visit, we were very glad we had made the effort.

Next stop was the Tortenhus, somewhere to go for fancy gateaux for upmarket elevenses. We were not expecting this to be a wasted visit, but had no idea until we got there whether it would be open yet. Disappointingly, the doors were shut as we walked across the Alte Markt square towards it, but we were pleased to find that it opened at 11 o'clock - meaning we had a mere seven minutes to wait. Then, in we went to select our choices from the elaborate gateaux displayed in the glass case beside the counter; deciding to have two different choco-overload concoctions for comparison. Two waitresses brought our coffees and slices / slabs out to our outside table, where of course we had to drool and take photos before starting to destroy the masterworks.

Nearly noon before we started our cycling for the day. Every surface was covered from rutty, rocky to smooth as silk pavement. Occasionally we share space with cars. The pavements are lightly traveled but narrow and the cars drive like they are on the Autobahn.

One of our "highlights" was a big ship propeller to note the location of the company which makes the biggest ship propellers in the world. We are still looking for the Scandanavian Rock, wondering its significance and did it just down the hill into Germany?

More forests, more lakes, more farmland. At one point our attention was attracted to small leantos of sticks. The sign beside the road labeled them as "wichterhaus" which seems close to witch house. Relying on the Internet and much searching we found they are the homes of friendly elves.

Surrounding nearly every field are elevated shelters that I assume are blinds for hunting. Fortunately it seems to be off season. As we approached our golf course hotel there was a larger version built for passersby to climb and view another lake across the fields of wheat and barley.

The hotel was hosting a wedding, a small golf tournament and, of course, a bunch of cyclists.

 

 

 

 

 

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