We noticed in Denmark that we were sometimes covered (COVERED!) in miniscule flies. They seemed to become embedded in our T-shirts or clinging to our skin. C had them all over his beard. I began to worry that I would find them stuck between my teeth! Going over the bridge from Kloster, Møn to Kalvehave, Zealand we gathered even more flies than usual. I thought we would never get rid of the tiny buggers.
If you’re just joining C and me on our buggy bike adventure from Berlin to Copenhagen, you can read about the Brandenburg part, the Mecklenburg part, and the first Denmark part before joining us on the final leg of our journey here.
Kloster, Møn to Vemmetofte Strand, Zealand
Crossing the bridge, the wind shoved us in every direction. It didn’t get too much better once we reached the shore in Kalvehave. The whole day would be wind and hills, wind and hills, wind and hills. So much for Denmark being flat. Looking back at our guide book as I write this, my complaints are confirmed with many sets of back to back arrows indicating uphill and downhill.
Praesto
In Skilbinge, we stopped at the first bench we had seen all day to have a rest and a snack. We had just made it to the top of a hill and had a great view overlooking the upcoming city of Praesto and the sea. It was so windy, that my bike fell over into the picnic table, leaving a big white scar on my handlebars from the paint.
When we arrived in Praesto, we accidentally took a lovely wrong turn and cycled along the harbor for a good kilometer before realizing our mistake. The cozy harbor would be the last nice thing for a while. We then rode along a busy road overlooking a beautiful stretch of sea, which was hard to enjoy due to the wind and vehicles. The wind was really strong and I was really struggling to pedal. After five kilometers of torturous cycling, the trail turned away from the sea and headed through some small villages and farm land.
Meltdown
Shortly before arriving in Faxe Ladeplads, I had had enough. I was tired. No. MORE than tired. I was completely exhausted. The wind had really worked down my mental and physical energy. Our last snack break in Skilbinge felt like it was way too many hours ago. At a stop sign at an intersection, I caught up to C who was waiting for me. He looked back at me, ready to zoom off again, but I gasped out “I’m… so… tired” in between sobs. We got off our bikes and sat at that ugly intersection watching cars pass by until I finished crying and could calm down a bit. After some dried mango and gummibears to keep me going, we headed into Faxe Ladeplads (or as I say: Faxa Laxa, since I could never remember its full name while we were biking).
Faxa Laxa
In town, we stopped at a restaurant/imbiss on the harbor. An imbiss, in Germany as well as Denmark, is a small food stand where you can get something quick to eat. We shared three orders of fries and had 2 giant scoops of ice cream each. One after the other, the top scoops of our ice creams fell to the ground. Now I was crying again, but this time because I was laughing so hard. We ate those scoops anyway (who is crazy enough to waste that delicious and expensive Danish ice cream!?).
After all the fries and ice cream, the final 7 kilometers to our campsite were a piece of cake. We traveled mostly through the woods, which really protected us from the wind and was a nice change of scenery. The evening was relaxed, with a trip to the beach and cooking more potatoes from Danish roadside farm stands. We loaned out our stove to a couple whose own cooking equipment was on the fritz due to too much sand on their bike adventure through the dunes of the German North Sea coast.
Vemmetofte Strand to Køge, Zealand
The next morning the ride went quickly, and we soon stopped in Rødvig for a short break. We found a bench just as we were leaving the city which overlooked the sea. An old man who lived in the neighborhood came by on his motorized wheelchair and had a short chat with us about how beautiful the view is.
Stevns Klint
Outside of Rødvig is where the chalk coastline begins. There are a few quarries along the way and a stretch of coast called “Stevns Klint” which is a UNESCO site. We stopped at one quarry for a bit to observe the dump truck bringing rock up out of the pit. Then we pedaled onwards to the cliffs in Mandehoved. The cliffs stretch for more than 15 kilometers and are up to 41 meters high.
Gjorslev Slot
From the cliffs, we took a small detour from the trail to take some less traveled paths through the woods. We joined the official trail again in Holtug and before we knew it we were at the Gjorslev Slot (castle). Our guide book told us we could hang out in the gardens, but we weren’t able to find a way to enter. Cycling around the back side of the castle, we found a gravel path through the woods and eventually got to a view of the castle. We sat there and had some lunch, listening to pigeons fighting in the trees behind us.
Vallø Slot
In no time at all, we were already at the next castle! And it was THE BEST ONE on the whole trip. Unfortunately, we couldn’t visit it or take a stroll in the garden of Vallø Slot, so after taking too many pictures we were on our way again. Distracted my day dream of living in the castle, we took the wrong way and made a little detour through Herfølge and then onwards to Køge.
Køge
The way into town is on a terribly busy road along the coast. The only campsite in Køge is located on this road. Since we were headed out that evening on a ferry for Bornholm, we made a reservation at the campsite since we would arrive very late at night one week later. Next we rode to the harbor to check out where we would pick up the ferry, but it was all closed down. Instead, we parked our bikes at the main square and walked around Køge for a bit. We saw Denmark’s oldest half-timbered house, ate ice cream (of course), and cooked up dinner on our camp equipment next to a church. It began to get dark and cold, so we headed for a bar on the harbor to wait for our half past midnight ferry to the island of Bornholm.
We spent a week on Bornholm and fell in love with the island. Check out our amazing week on the island (coming soon!).
Køge to Copenhagen
Our ferry back to Køge from Bornholm arrived at 10:30 PM. We cycled to the campsite straightaway, where they told us someone would be waiting to “let us in.” Last time, we saw that the cyclists/tents are pitched at the very first field directly next to the road. Since no one was waiting for us at the entrance, we just set up our tent and sleeping bags as quickly and quietly as we could.
Waking up, I couldn’t believe it was the final day of our bike trip! The kilometers sped by. For the first time we had to wait by the train tracks for a train to go by before we could cross them in Lille Skensved. Shortly thereafter, we went through “Jersie,” where I insisted on taking a bunch of photos, even though it’s spelled differently than “New Jersey.” The trail went along a beach boulevard for several kilometers through the beach towns outside of Copenhagen. There was a nice ride next to the dunes on an island before we entered Copenhagen. And there wasn’t even a sign for Copenhagen we could take a picture in front of when we got there!
Copenhagen
We went over an enormous bridge with safe bike lanes well separated from the speeding traffic. From there the trail follows the eastern side of the Kalveboderne into the city center. Once in the city we got a little bit lost and needed the help of our phones to find the train station – the official end of the tour! We made it! Hardly any time to see Copenhagen, we got our final Danish ice cream and waited for our Flixbus back to Berlin.
It seems like an unspectacular end to such a big trip, but it’s really more about the journey than the destination anyway (cliché, I know). I’m not sure if this trip was easier because I was more prepared for a bike tour than on my last two or because I was with someone (C!) who travels like me and makes everything easier and more fun. But this trip was definitely my most successful bike trip to date! I can’t wait for the next one 🙂
Photo Credits: C. O. and myself