We enjoyed 2 full days in Copenhagen and stayed at “Wake up Copenhagen”, a modern hotel right in the central area that was great for us. The weather was a bit rainy the first day but then cleared and warmed up nicely. We are definitely not too hot here as we have been on past trips in Italy and France. Temperatures have been 16 -22 degrees during the day and cooler at night. We brought a few key pieces of warmer clothing that we wear continually as our selection is limited. When you have to carry everything you learn to pack smartly.
Our tire problems have turned into a saga, now we’ve had 6 rear flats when usually we have 1 or 2 in the whole trip. Finally with the latest flat we were able to find the culprit, a small sharp piece of shell or rock that had managed to embed itself in and then through the tire, piercing the tube repeatedly. It was so small that we hadn’t noticed it, but also hadn’t been in a situation to be able to look very closely at the tire either (pouring rain in the forest). George has now patched the inside of the tire where that occurred, and two similar ‘breakthroughs’ so hopefully that is the end of it. We are not impressed with our new ‘gravel’ tires’ puncture proof-ness, and for now we will stick with asphalt if we can.
While in Copenhagen we did our own cycling tour to see various sites such as cool cycle bridges, Nyhaven, Little Mermaid and just experienced getting around the city by bike. There are cycle lanes on every road and so many bicycles! It is inspiring. I would like to see this in our own country. During this day tour we had another of our flat tires and it started raining so we weren’t able to complete the planned itinerary that day. The second day we visited the Danish National museum and learned about prehistoric Danish people and settlements as well as seeing another Viking exhibit, all very well done. Later we strolled down Strøget, the pedestrian shopping area, looked at Rosenborg Castle and gardens and Christianborg Palace where the royal Danish family formerly resided.
We left Copenhagen Tuesday morning and rode west and then south towards our next stop of Køge but on the way stopped at the Arken Museum, an excellent modern art museum that was recommended to us. It was extremely interesting and we’re very glad we stopped! Thanks to Birgit BV and Astrid for this suggestion. After this we stopped at Greve to visit with Astrid (daughter of cousin Aksel/Birgit) and her partner Anders and new baby girl Bitten. They live across the street from Anne Gry (other daughter of cousin Aksel/Birgit) and her partner Ian and children. We had a lovely lunch and visit there, thanks so much! Then we rode the last leg of the trip to Køge where we stayed in a cute little hotel on the main square. The ride from Copenhagen to Køge was all on lovely paved cycle paths, no gravel, away from the busy roads through many natural areas, so beautiful and fun. The forecast for this day hadn’t looked good but miraculously we managed to stay dry, taking our breaks at opportune times.
Wednesday we rode from Køge to Vordingborg and again somehow managed to skirt the rain and stay dry despite a very drippy looking forecast, a nice surprise. Apparently it is difficult to predict weather in Denmark due to all the water surrounding it, creating uncertainty. The ride was mostly through farmlands, some forests and a little alongside water. The roads and pathways were excellent with a few bigger hills to climb but mostly just a rolling landscape. It was perfect terrain for riding, we enjoyed it thoroughly and had no flat tires!
We were only in Vordingborg for one night, just a stop over on the way to the island of Lolland, not too much to report. It is a nice little seaside town that happened to have a summer music festival going on so a busy spot. We stayed in an Air B&B this time which was inexpensive and interesting (not always the best description). The woman who hosted us was very lovely and friendly, had chickens in the back yard, did daily cold water swims in the ocean year round but wasn’t quite up on her customer service. Our bed wasn’t made up and it wasn’t quite clear which bed was ours, there was supposed to have a kitchen but not really, just a fridge and a microwave, no sink, so dirty dishes washed in the bathroom sink (ick … not so hygenic)…and the tap wasn’t really working. Anyway, only a short stay thank goodness.
The next day we set off for Maribo on the island of Lolland. The trip involved going over 3 bridges and crossing 2 other islands: Masnedø, Falster, and Lolland. It started with a very short bridge to Masnedø then a 4km long bridge, Storstrømsbroen, crossing to the island of Falster. The last bridge to Lolland was very small at Guldborg. The ride was lovely, again through farmland and forests, by water on pathways or small roads. There are also many wind turbines all over Denmark which thankfully weren’t turning much this day. And, I am happy to report no flat tires!
Maribo is a lakeside town on central Lolland with many natural areas, pathways, water activities and bird watching. In the morning we took a boat tour on the lake and saw extensive bird life including cormorants, geese, ducks of all kinds and 2 huge white tailed eagles. While in Maribo we stayed in a lovely lakeside hotel with a patio looking onto the lake and access to hiking/biking trails that circle the lake. It was a nice place to do a bit of exploring and relax for a day.
The next ride of the week was to the island of Ærø (pronounced Airoo…sort of) that involved 2 ferry rides: first to the island of Langeland from the far west end of Lolland (from Tårs) and then from the west side of Langeland (Rudkøbing) to Marstal on Ærø. Our ride was in 3 sections (38 + 11 + 13 kms) which was shorter than our original plan following more scenic routes on Lolland and Ærø along the coast. However, the weather wasn’t good that day, threatening to rain often and windy, and there were quite a few gravel paths so we came up with a more direct route to avoid getting caught in the rain on an unpaved road and risking more flats. We were lucky in the end and managed to avoid most of the rain. Even though the weather is brisk we don’t usually feel too cold as we are working hard. As soon as you stop though, you start to get chilled. The Danes seem impervious to the weather and just carry on with whatever they’re doing and also dress accordingly. Maybe that’s why knitting is so popular here? I think we are less adaptable to cool wettish weather. However, the cycling here is so enjoyable we’re willing to make that trade off.
On Ærø we are staying in a little AirBnB apartment in Ærøskøbing. Ærøskøbing is a well preserved and charming town with many houses dating from the 18th century or earlier and there are regulations in place to keep it that way. Many people swim here and the beach is lined with interesting and colourful beach houses, some that date from the early 1900’s. We visited one 18th century house museum that was very interesting to see. It was owned by a man (Gunnar Hammerhus) that bought the house in the early 1900’s and spent years collecting antique household items from the surrounding area and eventually donated it all to the town when he died. Wandering around the cobbled streets of Ærø we saw many beautiful historic houses and buildings. This is another place with plenty of hygge and we enjoyed our day off the bike looking around.
geeteetravels 
Looks like the trip is going great….except for the flats and 1 Airbnb!
I love the troll! And his cane of birdhouses! Looks like you are staying dry, beautiful countryside. I think the potatoes and bacon look yummy George, enjoy!
Margo
Thomas Dambo – troll father and artist – and his American wife were the first guests in our house for eight months when they stayed at our guest house for four days in February 2021. They were here to plan troll locations in our municipality. Unfortunately the city council destroyed the project, and that was why I did the village park and village community house projects instead – the projects I showed you!
Wow Birgit, too bad as the trolls are magnificent. But then you would not have learned chainsaw art. 😄