WEEKS
4~5 NEWS - Zealand (a busy time so 2 pages of photos this week):
The murky
blustery weather continued when we left København, but before
beginning our exploration of Zealand, we had to
experience the bridge
which spans the Øresund channel, linking Denmark and Sweden.
Construction of the 16 km link began in 1993, and the joint
Danish-Swedish government project opened in 2000. A 4 km tunnel leads to
a 4 km long artificial island created from dredged seabed material;
finally an 8 km combined road-rail bridge completes the crossing, its
central section an elegantly graceful 1 km long suspension bridge (Photo 1).
Click on map for details
The one-way toll is
245kr (£20), but it gave us not only the thrill of crossing this amazing
bridge, but also a day's new experiences
across on the Swedish side.
Prominent on the Malmø skyline was Sweden's tallest building, Turning
Torso, a 54 storey apartment block with a 90° twist from base to
top; Photo 2 shows it pictured alongside its reflection in a
neighbouring glass-panelled office block. In Denmark, traffic-calming measures
are prosaically called bumps, but more poetically in Sweden the signs
proclaim
'fart-hinders' (see left).
We
re-crossed the Bridge and negotiated the motorway tangle to begin our
Zealand journey at Roskilde. The local campsite stands in a delightful
setting overlooking the fjord. You'll hear the term 'fjord' a lot as we
progress around Zealand and Jutland; it may conjure up images of
Norway's mountain-sided glacial fjords, but on
the
much-indented coastline of low-lying Denmark, it means a sandy lagoon
some more like inland seas. Roskilde is an ancient Viking settlement at
the head of its
winding fjord whose exit into the Kattegat is miles to the north; this
provided
a sheltered haven for trading vessels and long-boats, dating
from the 10th century unification of the Danish kingdom under King
Harold Bluetooth. Bishop Absalon, who fortified København built Roskilde
Cathedral in 1170. Later
remodelled into a massive Gothic structure to
rival the great cathedrals of France, Roskilde was the seat of Danish
royal power at a time when København was an obscure fishing village.
Since the 1536 Reformation, it has been the burial place for every
Danish monarch: 22 kings and 15 of their queens are buried here in
elaborate tombs around the cathedral (Photo 3), from early
monarchs through to the Renaissance Christian IV (1588~1648) right up to
the present queen's father Frederik IX (1947~72). Here in this
magnificent building was 1000 years of Danish history from late Viking
times to the present; as the lady at the ticket-office said, "København
may now be the capital, but we still have the kings here at Roskilde".
Another
proud feature at Roskilde, the Viking Ship Museum, added further to our
understanding of Viking history, culture and their incredible
boat-building
and sea-faring skills. In 1962, the remains of 5 Viking
craft were recovered from the shallows of Roskilde Fjord, thought to
have been scuttled there in the late 11th century as a defensive barrier
to protect the royal capital from invasion; these were still troubled
times as Harold Bluetooth's Trelleborg fortress had witnessed. The
conserved timbers of the ships' hulls are now displayed in the Museum (Photo
4), including a great long-ship built at the Viking colony of
Dublin; a modern replica had made the return voyage to Ireland this
summer. Outside in the museum harbour, other reconstructed Viking ships
were moored, modelled on the 5 conserved remains (Photo 5).
We moved
north to Zealand's NE corner to the town of Helsingør separated from
Sweden by just 2 kms of the Øresund straits. In 1429 the Danish monarchy
came up with a profitable revenue-raising scheme, charging a hefty toll
on vessels passing through the Øresund; since this was a busy trading
route to the Baltic, the Sound Toll kept the Danish kingdom solvent for
the next 400 years until in the 1860s the world's maritime nations
bought out the Danish government with mega-millions of compensation to
abolish the toll. Kronborg Castle was built in 1425 to police the
passage toll on the heights above the Øresund at Helsingør, anglicised as
Elsinore, a name and a castle familiar to us from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
So what's the connection between a legendary Danish prince and his
family disputes, a factual castle at Elsinore and
Shakespeare's tragedy of Hamlet? An earlier version of the drama had
been produced in London by Thomas Kyd 20 years before Shakespeare;
English traders would certainly have passed through the Øresund channel,
seen the wind-swept mist-shrouded castle dominating the sound,
heard tales of the legendary Prince Amled in Helsingør taverns, and
brought the story back to England. Fact and fiction came together:
Shakespeare's tragic hero is now inseparably linked to Kronborg Castle
at Helsingør, highly promoted of course by the mass tourism industry. In
driving rain and blustery wind, we visited the Renaissance castle of
Kronborg (Photo 6), where the cannons on the ramparts now
overlook the frequent ferries criss-crossing the Sound and bringing
Swedes across in droves on booze cruises to Denmark where the alcohol is
cheaper!
Moving up
to Zealand's wind-swept north coast, we camped near the busy fishing
port of Gilleleje. As the wind intensity increased alarmingly, we
battened down for a rough night. Our camper was buffeted by the gusting
NW gale all night, and the following morning, as we drove down to the
shore at Rågeleje, a dramatically compelling sight greeted us: huge
gale-driven breakers crashed continuously onto the shore, churning up a
salty sandy lather of sea-foam along the shingle.
The wind whipped up gobbets of foam, blowing it across the road and
soaking us in salty spray as we stood to photograph this spectacular
phenomenon (Photos
7 and 8). The gales had kept the Gilleleje fishing fleet in port today
and trawlers of every size lined the harbour. The local museum showed
exhibits documenting the part played in 1943 by Gilleleje fishermen in
evacuating 1,800 Danish Jews across the Kattegat to safety in neutral
Sweden. "They were well paid", we were told, but it was still a brave
venture risking lives and livelihood under the noses of German patrols
along this coast. The wind dropped leaving the air heavy from overnight
rain, and a watery sun lit the beaches at Tisvildeleje which stretched
away for miles in both directions (Photo
9). The walk back along this deserted wild beach was a classic and
memorable north Zealand experience.
Our plan
had been to camp near the small town of Hundested at the mouth of the
Isefjord, but it turned out to be a nondescript ferry port. The town's
only memorable citizen had been the Danish polar explorer Knud
Rasmussens who, after his retirement here, spent all his time trying to
get back to Greenland; seeing Hundested, we could understand why!
Instead we moved along to Byaasgaard Camping (there really are that many a's!) splendidly located on the north shore of Roskilde Fjord (Photo
10); had any Viking boats been trying
to sail out, we should have had a perfect view.
Our route
south took us through Hillerød to see Frederiksborg Slot, an ornately
Renaissance royal castle and
birthplace
of Christian IV. The castle was ravaged by fire in
1859, and since the
royal family were unable to afford the repairs, the castle (and the
debt!) passed to the Danish state. In stepped benefactor J C Jacobsen
head of Carlsberg Brewery who funded the restoration, and Frederiksborg
became a National Portrait Gallery of Danish history from the
Renaissance to the present day. The results are simply stunning, not
just the castle with its gilded chapel, restored banqueting halls and
handsome Baroque gardens, but particularly the priceless collection of
historical royal and modern portraiture (Photo
11). Frederiksborg is a worthy reason (actually the only reason!) to
visit Hillerød, an otherwise undistinguished town.
It was now
the turn of south Zealand and its islands, and after a long drive, we
camped at the hospitable Rødvig Camping on the Stevns peninsula; it was
a wonderful dewy and crystal clear early autumn night with the Milky Way
clearly visible. The flat agricultural landscape of east Zealand ends
abruptly at the 20 km long line of 100 feet high cliffs at Stevns Klint.
So what's special about cliffs? you'll say. Well, what's special about
Stevns Klint, and our reason for coming here, is that the stratified
cliff face presents an evident geological profile of the Earth's history
each side of the catastrophic meteorite impact 65 million years ago
which wiped out the dinosaurs along with 70% of our
planet's plant and animal life. The lower half of the exposed cliff face
is composed of soft chalk studded with lines of black flint nodules,
sedimented in a tropical sea over a climatically stable 40 million
years. The upper strata show the more
impervious limestone laid down
during the post-meteorite strike aeons when life on Earth, particularly
early mammals, began to re-emerge. But what is significant about Stevns
Klint is the narrow band of dark clay demarcating the lower (earlier)
chalk from the upper (later) limestone, representing the momentary 5,000
years of arctic winter caused by debris and dust in the Earth's
atmosphere from the meteorite impact which wiped out the dinosaurs (Photo
12). Geology may not be your thing, but you've got to admit that
such evident charting of this momentous event in our planet's
mega-history - one to which human kind owes its distant origins - is
worth seeing. The best place to scramble down for a close quarters view
of the cliff face is at Højerup where the cliff is so unstable
that a rock fall in 1928 caused the collapse of the cliff-top village
church.
Three
large islands project south from Zealand towards the German coast: Møn,
Falster and Lolland. We crossed
the Møn bridge and halfway across the island, received a hospitable
welcome at Keldby Camping; the site was peaceful with plenty of flat
grassy space among the apple and pear trees. Møn's eastern tip is
covered with high woodland, ending precipitously at 400 feet high chalk
cliffs. Here was one reason for our visit. Unnervingly steep wooden
steps descend the sheer cliff face to the shingle beach giving
intimate views of gleaming white chalk Møns Klint (cliff) soaring
vertically upwards. The ultramarine sea is stained with a distinctive
area of milky chalk-laden water around the foot of the cliff (Photo
13). The walk along the foot of Møn's menacing chalk cliffs, with a
wary eye upwards for risk of rock falls, is to experience one of
Denmark's most imposing natural spectacles, as is the walk back through
the cliff top woods peering through the autumn leaves over the chalky precipice.
Our second
reason for visiting Møn was a man-created spectacle, the beautiful
medieval frescoes in the 12th century churches of Elmelunde, Keldby and
Fanefjord.
The walls and vaulted ceilings are covered with paintings
created in the 15th century by an anonymous artist, known simply as the Elmelunde Master. Using
distinctive
warm russet, mustard and brown tones, in a simple rustic style, he
depicts familiar bible themes to convey the Christian message to
medieval farming folk. Scenes include objects, styles of dress and
activities from familiar everyday contemporary life, with quaint
touches of humour - such as the nativity scene with Joseph stirring a pot of
porridge for the rather oversize baby Jesus while Mary looks on moonily
(Photo
14). The frescoes owe their excellent state of preservation to being
white-washed over by the 16th century prissy Lutherans at the
Reformation (such Catholic imagery was idolatrous), all ready for
20th century restoration. The 3 churches have served their local
communities for 800 years along with their inspirational frescoes; but
you'll come away with a stiff neck from staring upwards at them in
wonder.
We crossed
the bridge linking Møn to Falster and across the endless sugar beet
fields of Lolland to the former ship-building
town of Nakskov. The ship-yard's recent closure left Nakskov with
Denmark's highest unemployment at 7%, and the town has a forlorn air
being dominated by the huge Danisko sugar beet factory. New industries
are picking up on the derelict ship-yard site such as the world's largest
manufacturer of wind-turbine blades, seen universally in action across
Denmark. The town has one other curious attraction: standing in dry dock
by the harbour is a Cold War Soviet Whiskey Class submarine, U359
(Photo
15). How it came to be there is something of an improbable story,
but Mr Gorbachov, the man from the Kremlin, he apparently say 'Da'. It
was an eerie sensation clambering through the confined rusting metal
interior of this monster and up onto the sub's conning tower.
Our
final night on Lolland was spent at one of the trip's best campsites, Albuen Strand Camping on the remote SW corner of the island, and that
night we were at last
rewarded with a magnificent sunset across the Langeland Straits looking across the sound to where we had camped 3
weeks earlier. For our last evening in Zealand, we crossed back to the
'mainland' (ie the largest of Denmark's islands) to camp on the coast
near Næstved at Enø; yet another enthralling sunset across the small
harbour brought our Zealand period to a peaceful close
(Photo
16).
There were many corners of Zealand which time had
prevented us from visiting, but we had now to be heading back to the
historical heartlands of East Jutland, and the wind-swept coastlines of
northern and western Jutland; so much yet to see in the second half of
our trip. More of that in a couple of weeks.
The murky
blustery weather continued when we left København, but before
beginning our exploration of Zealand, we had to
experience the bridge
which spans the Øresund channel, linking Denmark and Sweden.
Construction of the 16 km link began in 1993, and the joint
Danish-Swedish government project opened in 2000. A 4 km tunnel leads to
a 4 km long artificial island created from dredged seabed material;
finally an 8 km combined road-rail bridge completes the crossing, its
central section an elegantly graceful 1 km long suspension bridge (Photo 1).
across on the Swedish side.
Prominent on the Malmø skyline was Sweden's tallest building, Turning
Torso, a 54 storey apartment block with a 90° twist from base to
top; Photo 2 shows it pictured alongside its reflection in a
neighbouring glass-panelled office block. In Denmark, traffic-calming measures
are prosaically called bumps, but more poetically in Sweden the signs
proclaim
'fart-hinders' (see left).
a sheltered haven for trading vessels and long-boats, dating
from the 10th century unification of the Danish kingdom under King
Harold Bluetooth. Bishop Absalon, who fortified København built Roskilde
Cathedral in 1170. Later
remodelled into a massive Gothic structure to
rival the great cathedrals of France, Roskilde was the seat of Danish
royal power at a time when København was an obscure fishing village.
Since the 1536 Reformation, it has been the burial place for every
Danish monarch: 22 kings and 15 of their queens are buried here in
elaborate tombs around the cathedral (Photo 3), from early
monarchs through to the Renaissance Christian IV (1588~1648) right up to
the present queen's father Frederik IX (1947~72). Here in this
magnificent building was 1000 years of Danish history from late Viking
times to the present; as the lady at the ticket-office said, "København
may now be the capital, but we still have the kings here at Roskilde".
and sea-faring skills. In 1962, the remains of 5 Viking
craft were recovered from the shallows of Roskilde Fjord, thought to
have been scuttled there in the late 11th century as a defensive barrier
to protect the royal capital from invasion; these were still troubled
times as Harold Bluetooth's Trelleborg fortress had witnessed. The
conserved timbers of the ships' hulls are now displayed in the Museum (Photo
4), including a great long-ship built at the Viking colony of
Dublin; a modern replica had made the return voyage to Ireland this
summer. Outside in the museum harbour, other reconstructed Viking ships
were moored, modelled on the 5 conserved remains (Photo 5).
nations
bought out the Danish government with mega-millions of compensation to
abolish the toll. Kronborg Castle was built in 1425 to police the
passage toll on the heights above the Øresund at Helsingør, anglicised as
Elsinore, a name and a castle familiar to us from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
So what's the connection between a legendary Danish prince and his
family disputes, a factual castle at Elsinore and
Shakespeare's tragedy of Hamlet? An earlier version of the drama had
been produced in London by Thomas Kyd 20 years before Shakespeare;
English traders would certainly have passed through the Øresund channel,
seen the wind-swept mist-shrouded castle dominating the sound,
heard tales of the legendary Prince Amled in Helsingør taverns, and
brought the story back to England. Fact and fiction came together:
Shakespeare's tragic hero is now inseparably linked to Kronborg Castle
at Helsingør, highly promoted of course by the mass tourism industry. In
driving rain and blustery wind, we visited the Renaissance castle of
Kronborg (Photo 6), where the cannons on the ramparts now
overlook the frequent ferries criss-crossing the Sound and bringing
Swedes across in droves on booze cruises to Denmark where the alcohol is
cheaper!
NW gale all night, and the following morning, as we drove down to the
shore at Rågeleje, a dramatically compelling sight greeted us: huge
gale-driven breakers crashed continuously onto the shore, churning up a
salty sandy lather of sea-foam along the shingle.
The wind whipped up gobbets of foam, blowing it across the road and
soaking us in salty spray as we stood to photograph this spectacular
phenomenon (Photos
7 and 8). The gales had kept the Gilleleje fishing fleet in port today
and trawlers of every size lined the harbour. The local museum showed
exhibits documenting the part played in 1943 by Gilleleje fishermen in
evacuating 1,800 Danish Jews across the Kattegat to safety in neutral
Sweden. "They were well paid", we were told, but it was still a brave
venture risking lives and livelihood under the noses of German patrols
along this coast. The wind dropped leaving the air heavy from overnight
rain, and a watery sun lit the beaches at Tisvildeleje which stretched
away for miles in both directions (Photo
9). The walk back along this deserted wild beach was a classic and
memorable north Zealand experience.
Our route
south took us through Hillerød to see Frederiksborg Slot, an ornately
Renaissance royal castle and
birthplace
of Christian IV. The castle was ravaged by fire in
1859, and since the
royal family were unable to afford the repairs, the castle (and the
debt!) passed to the Danish state. In stepped benefactor J C Jacobsen
head of Carlsberg Brewery who funded the restoration, and Frederiksborg
became a National Portrait Gallery of Danish history from the
Renaissance to the present day. The results are simply stunning, not
just the castle with its gilded chapel, restored banqueting halls and
handsome Baroque gardens, but particularly the priceless collection of
historical royal and modern portraiture (Photo
11). Frederiksborg is a worthy reason (actually the only reason!) to
visit Hillerød, an otherwise undistinguished town. 
impervious limestone laid down
during the post-meteorite strike aeons when life on Earth, particularly
early mammals, began to re-emerge. But what is significant about Stevns
Klint is the narrow band of dark clay demarcating the lower (earlier)
chalk from the upper (later) limestone, representing the momentary 5,000
years of arctic winter caused by debris and dust in the Earth's
atmosphere from the meteorite impact which wiped out the dinosaurs (Photo
12). Geology may not be your thing, but you've got to admit that
such evident charting of this momentous event in our planet's
mega-history - one to which human kind owes its distant origins - is
worth seeing. The best place to scramble down for a close quarters view
of the cliff face is at Højerup where the cliff is so unstable
that a rock fall in 1928 caused the collapse of the cliff-top village
church.
Three
large islands project south from Zealand towards the German coast: Møn,
Falster and Lolland. We crossed
the Møn bridge and halfway across the island, received a hospitable
welcome at Keldby Camping; the site was peaceful with plenty of flat
grassy space among the apple and pear trees. Møn's eastern tip is
covered with high woodland, ending precipitously at 400 feet high chalk
cliffs. Here was one reason for our visit. Unnervingly steep wooden
steps descend the sheer cliff face to the shingle beach giving
intimate views of gleaming white chalk Møns Klint (cliff) soaring
vertically upwards. The ultramarine sea is stained with a distinctive
area of milky chalk-laden water around the foot of the cliff (Photo
13). The walk along the foot of Møn's menacing chalk cliffs, with a
wary eye upwards for risk of rock falls, is to experience one of
Denmark's most imposing natural spectacles, as is the walk back through
the cliff top woods peering through the autumn leaves over the chalky precipice.
The walls and vaulted ceilings are covered with paintings
created in the 15th century by an anonymous artist, known simply as the Elmelunde Master. Using
distinctive
warm russet, mustard and brown tones, in a simple rustic style, he
depicts familiar bible themes to convey the Christian message to
medieval farming folk. Scenes include objects, styles of dress and
activities from familiar everyday contemporary life, with quaint
touches of humour - such as the nativity scene with Joseph stirring a pot of
porridge for the rather oversize baby Jesus while Mary looks on moonily
(Photo
14). The frescoes owe their excellent state of preservation to being
white-washed over by the 16th century prissy Lutherans at the
Reformation (such Catholic imagery was idolatrous), all ready for
20th century restoration. The 3 churches have served their local
communities for 800 years along with their inspirational frescoes; but
you'll come away with a stiff neck from staring upwards at them in
wonder.
We crossed
the bridge linking Møn to Falster and across the endless sugar beet
fields of Lolland to the former ship-building
town of Nakskov. The ship-yard's recent closure left Nakskov with
Denmark's highest unemployment at 7%, and the town has a forlorn air
being dominated by the huge Danisko sugar beet factory. New industries
are picking up on the derelict ship-yard site such as the world's largest
manufacturer of wind-turbine blades, seen universally in action across
Denmark. The town has one other curious attraction: standing in dry dock
by the harbour
is a Cold War Soviet Whiskey Class submarine, U359
(Photo
15). How it came to be there is something of an improbable story,
but Mr Gorbachov, the man from the Kremlin, he apparently say 'Da'. It
was an eerie sensation clambering through the confined rusting metal
interior of this monster and up onto the sub's conning tower.
rewarded with a magnificent sunset across the Langeland Straits looking across the sound to where we had camped 3
weeks earlier. For our last evening in Zealand, we crossed back to the
'mainland' (ie the largest of Denmark's islands) to camp on the coast
near Næstved at Enø; yet another enthralling sunset across the small
harbour brought our Zealand period to a peaceful close
(Photo
16).
