CAMPING IN DENMARK 2019 - Funen, Sjælland
(Zealand), Falster and Lolland:
Crossing the
Lille Bælt Bridge to Funen: from Tørring in SE Jutland, Route 13
brought us down to join the E45 motorway past the fjord-port city of Vejle, to
merge onto the E20 motorway heading eastwards towards the Lille Bælt straits
which separate Jutland from Denmark's central island of Funen (Click on Map 1 right).
Here traffic became busier as we were joined by more traffic coming up from
Kolding. Crossing the Lille Bælt Bridge (see left) (Photo 1 - Crossing Lille Bælt Bridge),
we turned off into SW Funen at junction 55.
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for details of Funen and Zealand |
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Hjemstavnsgårdens Camping: from the
traffic-ridden motorway, we were suddenly pitched into the heart of rural Funen
farming countryside and villages, winding a way on the narrow lanes of Route 329
to reach the small town of Glamsbjerg. Here we shopped for this weekend's
provisions at the ABC Lav Pris supermarket, and although the number of cars in
the car park indicated it was popular with locals, this was a poorly stocked
place; it felt like being in a different country after the plentiful supplies in
Jutland. In the steaming hot sun, we headed 3kms south to find Hjemstavnsgårdens
Camping. This was another small campsite whose web site wording had raised high
expectations; on the strength of this and its fair, all-inclusive price of
170kr, we planned to take tomorrow's rest day there.
The owner welcomed us in good English, and
again the values he expressed about the site's peaceful nature seemed to echo
ours. The linear camping area was larger than expected, and unusually free of
statics apart from a cluster at the far end. We managed to find a flat area on
the sloping ground, and in today's torrid heat, the deep shade of trees was welcome
(see left); we settled in with fans on to relax after a hot and wearying drive. Dusk seemed
to creep earlier now as the barbecue was lit for supper (see below right); it was fully dark by
the time we were eating, and an unseen owl called repeatedly from the trees
surrounding the campsite.
Storms and heavy rain during the night brought
an overcast morning, thankfully with cooler temperatures for our day in camp after
yesterday's hot sun. Hjemstavnsgårdens Camping somehow did not live up fully
to its promise: although welcoming and generally peaceful, it
seemed rather run-down, the facilities old-fashioned, and the wi-fi limited to
reception.
Southern Funen and across to Langeland: Monday morning marked the
start of Week 4, and this foreshortened trip's half-way point. Compared with an
enjoyably rewarding first half in Jutland, Funen and Sjælland
seemed far less promising, and the campsites far more expensive and unattractive
holiday-camps the closer we got to København; this was a pessimistic prospect.
We set off heading for Faaborg in Southern Funen via Route 329 (click
here for map of route). This was still a narrow, winding lane
and slow going, albeit through attractive rural villages. Route 44 from Faaborg
to Svendborg was no better, and it was 12-20 by the time we reached the Kvickly
supermarket there. We hoped this would offer a better selection than the usual
Brugsen, but food prices seemed expensive. Having secured provisions for our
planned 2 nights in Southern Langeland, we crossed the bridge over the Svendborg
Sound onto Tåsinge, and across this intermediate island, continued over the causeway and
bridge onto Langeland (see left), the 60 kms long linear island lying off Funen's southern
coast.
Dovns Klint at southernmost tip of Langeland: at Rudkøbing, Langeland's main town, we turned south for 30 kms to reach the small fishing
village of Bagenkøp at the island's southern tip. Here at the parking area by
the small harbour and marina we found a stellplads, well equipped with power and
facilities which certainly looked a more acceptable place to camp than
the nearby over-expensive campsite. But with the weather fine and sunny this
afternoon, and forecast to be overcast with rain tomorrow, we headed around the
lanes for the parking area at the island's southernmost tip of Dovns Klint for
coastal walking this afternoon and a possible wild camp tonight.
Approaching the car park we passed a herd of the wild Exmoor ponies which graze
the meadows around Dovns Klint. The lane's end parking area was reasonably flat,
gravelled and equipped with WCs with no evident No Camping sign; it seemed an
ideal spot for a wild camp, albeit very exposed with the overnight forecast
change of weather and winds increased to 12m/s. We had the Syd Langeland
map-leaflet showing coastal cliff-top paths around Dovns Klint Head, and set off
for the 3 kms circular walk westward along the sandy low cliffs (Photo 2 - Dovns Klint)
and return
through coastal forests (see below left for map). The clearly way-marked path was lined with china-blue
chicory flowers (Photo
3 - Chicory flowers), and for now at least the brisk westerly breeze was not too
forceful. The bright sunlight was perfect light for coastal
photography
(see left and right) (Photo
4 - Cliff-top path) as we
followed the line of low cliff-tops from Dovns Klint over the higher headland
of Gulstav Klint. At Vestre Gulstav the route passed through forest edging the sea,
and here a clump of dead trees on the low cliff edge, contorted by winds on this
exposed coast, made a stark photo silhouetted against the clear sky
(Photo 5 - Wind-contorted trees). We
continued across the open moorland cliff edge past the highest point at
Bredstens
Bjerg and entered the forest of Søgård Skov. Here the path turned inland through
the forest, where brambles were laden with ripe Blackberries. Around Søgård
farm, the path turned back through forest and moorland passing the small reed-lined lake of Gulstav Mose where Coots swam. Back at Vestre Gulstav, the
way- markings brought us to the coast as a pair of Mute Swans passed over
(see left), and along the cliff-tops back to Dovns
Klint parking area.
An exposed wild camp at Dovns Klint: a few
tourists and fishermen were parked here but we set up camp in the late afternoon
sunshine with George's nose headed into the brisk westerly breeze
(see below right) (Photo
6 - Dovns Klint wild camp). The forecast showed winds increasing to 13m/s
overnight and rain tomorrow morning; it was going to be a challenging wild camp
at this exposed spot, fully testing George's new roof. But still enjoying
evening sun for now, we cooked supper. The last of the fishermen disappeared
after dark, and we battened down for a rough night's wild camp at Dovn's Klint.
It was indeed a wild night with constant rain driven by a south-westerly gale
which buffeted our camper. This was perhaps the roughest night we had camped in
George since the stormy night at Nord Cap in northern Norway, but despite that
the newly restored roof stood up well to the battering wind and driving rain.
We woke to the gale still blowing in rain squalls; this was certainly no morning
for attempting a further cliff-top walk but, with the forecast promising an
improvement in weather later, we decided to sit out the morning in our wild
camp.
A further cliff-top walk at Dovns Klint:
as forecast, the weather did improve but with no easing of the wind. With some
difficulty in the teeth of the gale, we packed George to travelling mode and kitted up
for a second cliff-top walk. Today we turned eastwards from Dovns Klint (see
left for map),
following a path through the Østre Gulstav woods just above the shore-line. The
SW wind drove breakers onto the rocky shore with the roaring surf (see below
right) (Photo
7 - Østre Gulstav). The route
curved inland away from the coast, towards Keldsnor, a large, shallow, brackish
lagoon cut off from the sea by a sand-bar; the lagoon was now home to Greylag
Geese, Crested Grebes and Coots. The path continued north along the edge of the
woods, separated from Keldsnor by meadows where South Langeland wild Exmoor
ponies grazed (see below left). Rising up onto the highest point of Bruns Banke gave extensive
views across the broad lagoon as far as its entrapping sand-bar and Keldsnor
lighthouse beyond. Bruns Banke is an example of the flat-topped hillocks
characteristic of Langeland and known as hat-hills, formed by moraine during the
last Ice Age. Dovns and Gulstav Klints are further examples of hat-hills, but
eroded by the sea. Descending from the hillock inland to the NW, we
encountered more of the Exmoor ponies. The path crossed meadowland to reach the Dovns approach lane and turned off towards the coast by a farm, leading to a
bird-watching tower overlooking the reed-lined, marshy pool of Gulstav Mose.
From the tower Coots could be seen on the pool and a lone Heron standing
statue-still on an islet. A wind-driven passing shower caused us to take
shelter. From here the path crossed back to the coast through Vestre Gulstav
woods and along the cliff-tops over Gulstav Klint and back to Dovns Klint parking area.
Bagenkøp fishing port in Southern Langeland: leaving Dovns
Klint after our stormy night's wild camp on this exposed, wind-swept cliff-top,
we drove back around the lanes towards Bagenkøp, pausing to examine Hulbjerg
Jættestue Neolithic passage-grave dating from around 3,000 BC (see
right). The now restored grave topped a small hat-hillock. When this was
excavated in 1961, its burial chamber was found to contain the skeletal remains
of some 40 adults and children; one of the skulls showed signs of primitive
dental surgery.
We continued into Bagenkøp and shopped for
provisions at the Dagli Brugsen mini-market. Bagenkøp still retained its fishing
fleet, but the number of working boats was much reduced from our last visit to
the fishing harbour in 2007 (Photo
8 - Bagenkøp fishing harbour) (see below left). Most of the harbour was now given
over to a leisure yachting marina, overshadowed by yuppie apartments. Round at
the stellplads in the marina parking area, payment was by credit card automat
machine by the now closed harbour master's office. The overnight payment of
130kr included power and WC/showers,
and
the receipt gave access code for the well-equipped kitchen/wash-up and wi-fi
password. We settled into the sheltered corner of the parking area stellplads,
facing into the brisk SW wind still blowing from the sea and looking out to the
marina (see below right). Apart from one other camper, we were spared the
expected influx of camping-cars and enjoyed a peaceful night. The gales subsided
overnight and we woke to a watery sun. The marina stellplads was well set up
with reasonable facilities and good value; this made us realise that such
straightforward camping options (called stellplads in Danish, like the
German stellplatz meaning parking place) at coastal
marinas or farms offered a both more charactersome and peaceful atmosphere, at
least out of season, and were a far
batter value solution to camping in
a country like Denmark with campsites now so overcrowded with holiday-makers or
crammed full of statics, and prices so unreasonable.
North from Langeland to Odense: before
leaving Bagenkøp, we drove around into the village to buy smoked salmon fillets
at the Fiske Kiosk, unchanged from our 2007 visit. Bagenkøp itself was clearly
an aging community; how much longer would its working fishing port survive, we
wondered. Driving back up the length of Southern Langeland, we turned into
Rudkøbing to try to buy more smoked fish at the røgeri (fish smoke-house)
down by the harbour. It looked to be a good, old-fashioned shop but regrettably
closed today, so we walked around the port for photos looking across the
fishing boats in the harbour towards the 1 km long bridge linking Langeland to Tåsinge
(see below left) (Photo
9 - Rudkøbing harbour).
Again Rudkøbing seemed a time-expired sort of place, with little working fishing
left.
Having
shopped for provisions in Rudkøbing, we set off to cross the bridge, leaving
Langeland after 2 good days of walking despite the adverse weather. Across Tåsinge, we passed through Svendborg and joined Route 9
motorway northwards
towards Odense (click
here for map of route). Coming down, it had taken us over 1½ hours to
negotiate the narrow, winding lanes around Funen's SW side to reach Faaborg and
Svendborg; today at motorway speed, it took less than 20 minutes to reach the
E20 interchange on the outskirts of Odense. We passed through, heading north on
rural lanes to the village of Ladby (click
here for map of route), and just beyond on the shore of an
inner arm of Kerteminde Fjord, we reached the Ladby Viking Ship Museum.
Ladby Viking Ship Museum: near
the fjord-side village of Ladby, a unique find from Denmark's Viking past was
uncovered in 1935:
a chance find on farmland on the
south side of Kerteminde Fjord led to the discovery of Denmark's
only known Viking ship-burial. The burial site was excavated by Odense pharmacist and amateur
archaeologist Poul Helweg Mikkelsen and Gustav Rosenberg from the Danish
National Museum; it was dated to around 925 AD from a gilded bronze link of dog
harness found among the grave-goods. Like the
Oseberg and Gokstad ship-burials
found at Oslo Fjord in Southern Norway, which we saw at the Oslo Viking Ship
Museum in 2014, the Ladby grave was that of Viking chieftain, buried in his
long-ship; he was furnished with grave-goods of 11 horses, 4 hunting-dogs,
weapons,
riding gear, utensils, tools, textiles, and even a board game, for his
after-death voyage to Valhalla. The 22m long, 3m wide long-ship's mast would
have carried a sail of some 60m2 and was built for 32 rowers, with a
decorative dragon's head prow with main of iron curls and a dragon's tail at the
stern. The ship had been dragged 300m up from the fjord, and after the burial of
the deceased chieftain along with his grave-goods and sacrificed animals, a turf
mound was raised over the burial site. Almost all of the ship's timbers had
rotted away over time, but its weight had imprinted the ship's outline in the clay, its lines
indicated by some 2,000 nails which had held the long-ship's clinker-built
planking together. Other metal components also found included scrolled
decorative curls which symbolised the long-ship's figurehead dragon's main,
along with the original iron anchor and chain in the ship's stern. The grave had
been plundered in antiquity, the buried remains of the deceased despoiled and
removed, and the grave-goods smashed; but the skeletal remains of the buried
horses and dogs were found within the hull, with one of the horses still equipped with its harness,
bridle and stirrups. The scale of the burial and lavish extent of the
grave-goods indicated a wealthy and powerful chieftain to have commanded the
resources for such a funerary monument. When the 1935 excavations were
completed, a concrete dome was raised above the ship-burial and covered with
turf to form a mound, and the first museum opened shortly after.
Today an underground environmentally-controlled
vault beneath the burial mound
protecting the imprint left by the ship-burial forms the centrepiece of
the
Ladby Viking Ship Museum. Admission seems expensive at 80kr, but the museum also
includes a reconstruction of the ship-burial as it would have looked at the time
of the entombment, and displays detailing life in Viking times. At our original
visit in 2007, a scale model was the only visible means of understanding and
interpreting the structure and layout of the original ship in which the deceased
chieftain was buried. Since 2016 however, a full sized reconstruction of the Ladby Viking long-ship, named the Ladby Dragon, now forms an invaluable
part of the museum's display (see above right); having viewed the surviving remains of the
ship-burial in its underground chamber, visitors can walk down to the fjord-side
for a visual comparison with the reconstructed ship now moored at the jetty (see
above left).
Along with this, the museum also displays a 6.5m long tapestry inspired by the
Bayeux Tapestry and woven between 2011~17 by local Ladby women: the Ladby Tapestry
shows a sequence of exquisite pictorial panels telling the story of the Viking chieftain's
ship-burial at Ladby following his death in battle in a supposed Viking raid to
England, and concludes with the grave's discovery and excavation 1000 years
later in 1935.
Our visit to the Ladby Viking Ship Museum: on entering the subduedly lit underground
chamber beneath the burial mound, there
before us lay the perfectly preserved imprint and scant remains of the 1000 year
old Viking long-ship (see above right) (Photo
10 - Ladby Viking ship-burial), the
kind in which voyages of pillage, trade and colonisation were made as far afield
as Britain, Iceland, Greenland, even
Nova-Scotia and the Mediterranean. The
timbers of the clinkered hull had of course totally rotted and disintegrated
over time in the wet earth, but the cleverly conserved imprint of the boat in the
clay showed clearly the lines of iron nails which had secured the hull's
planking (see above left), and set in the centre section of the raised walls of clay which
represent the ship's gunwales, the iron rings which had once tensioned the
mast shrouds (Photo
11 - Iron nails and shroud-rings).
In the ship's bows were the skeletal remains of the chieftain's horses and dogs
which had been sacrificed and buried with him in the ship, and in the prow of
the vessel, the large iron anchor and its chain still stood (see right) (Photo
12 - Sacrificed horses and dogs, with anchor and chain). The ship's slender prow dragon
figurehead had, like the hull timbers, rotted
away completely, but the mud in which the ship had been embedded was raised to give a
notional representation of the prow; impressed into this was a line of replica iron
curls which had formed the figurehead dragon's mane (see left) (Photo
13 - Notional prow with dragon mane curls); the originals, which had
survived in situ like the stern's dragon-tail metal decorations, were displayed
in the museum. We spent an uninterrupted hour examining in detail the conserved
ship's imprint and remains from stem to stern.
This however left us inevitably with many
questions about the boat's structure and layout, and we walked down to the fjord-side
of Kerteminde Fjord where
the reconstructed Viking long-ship was moored at the jetty (Photo
14 - Viking long-ship reconstruction). It was as if the
burial ship was in an instant brought back to life, and we were able to make the
visual comparison with the decayed original in the grave-mound, piecing together
answers to our questions (Photo
15 - Visual comparison with conserved original) (see right). The sail was furled but the mast set in place supported by
its rigging tensioned by the shroud rings in the gunwales each side as on the
conserved original vessel. Oars were piled
in the bottom of the surprisingly shallow draft vessel, with the 16 oar ports
along each gunwale. The boat was steered by a steering oar set at the right hand
side of the stern (styrisbord from which we get the modern term
starboard for the right hand side of a ship). The dragon's head prow was
furnished with scrolled iron curls and stern tail with iron decorations, just
like the original boat (see left).
Up at the museum, a diorama displaying
a reconstruction of the ship-burial at the time of entombment furnished
further answers about the layout of the conserved remains in the burial chamber:
the dead chieftain was laid out on his burial couch in the stern of the vessel
along with his accompaniment of food, weapons and grave-goods
(see right) (Photo
16 - Ship-burial reconstruction); the sacrificed
horses and dogs were piled in the ship's bows, with the anchor and chain in the
prow, and the dragon's head slender figurehead with its iron mane curls rising
above. It also offered a plausible explanation of how the post-burial mound
had been raised to enclose the ship burial without undignified disturbance of
the laid-out interred body and grave-goods: a timber pitched roofing was raised
over the buried ship, and a covering of turf built up over this framework to
form the burial mound. We were also able to speak with one of volunteer weavers
of the Ladby tapestry who explained the sequence of pictorial panel
designs telling
the story of the Ladby chieftain's ship-burial: the tapestry began with the
ship setting out on a Viking raid to England (see left), followed by the chieftain's death
in battle (Photo
17 - Ladby Tapestry), the deceased chieftain's burial at Ladby in his ship along with
the grave-goods and sacrificed animals (Photo
18 - Ship-burial tapestry panel), and subsequent robbing of the grave and despoiling of the
remains (see below right); the Tapestry concluding panel shows the ship-burial's discovery and
excavation 1000 years later in 1935.
All in all, the museum's updated displays,
together with the reconstructed ship's presence moored at the fjord-side jetty,
made such a commendable
combination to complement the admirable presentation of
the conserved ship-burial remains in its underground chamber (see below left). Our visit to Ladby
had been thoroughly instructive; we had learned so much more about Viking
long-ships and ship-building techniques.
Fyns Hoved Camping, typical of the current
campsite trend - crammed full of statics and over-priced: from the port-town of Kerteminde,
we continued north on winding lanes, passing characteristically Funen
timber-framed thatched farmsteads, up the Hindsholm Peninsula to its remote northern tip at Fyns Hoved
(click
here for map of route). Our plan for tomorrow was to walk the
coastal path around the Fyns Hoved headland which passes along the shore line
and cliff-tops exposed to the wind constantly blowing off the sea. We still had
from our 2007 visit the excellent English language map-leaflet, produced by the
local commune as a guide to walking around the elongated hill of Fyns Hoved and
the shingle spit enclosing the bay. This afternoon would give us chance to
explore possible wild camping potential at one of the parking areas. When we
arrived at Fyns Hoved, the sky was heavily overcast and a wild north-westerly
gale battering the coastline, bringing drizzly, squally rain. The first parking
area, sheltered among woods on the Jøved hill-top and tucked away out of
sight behind deserted holiday homes, offered a real possibility for a wild camp.
The main parking area along the gravel spit at Fyns Hoved point, totally exposed
to the wild weather and with No Camping signs, was certainly a non-starter. For
tonight however, with the NW wind driving in heavy rain, we returned to Fyns
Hoved Camping just back down the lane; we had stayed there in 2007 when such
campsites were still welcoming and with reasonable prices; today however Fyns
Hoved Camping had changed to become typical of the current unacceptable trend of
Danish campsites.
The reception inevitably was
locked and on telephoning, a brusque, surly voice told us to camp and pay in the morning
when the owners deigned to open. Even allowing for the grim weather, the site was an enormous and
soulless mass of
statics. With driving rain making for miserably gloomy conditions, we pitched
close to a facilities building in the lee of hedges, and battened down for a
rough night. The following morning's weather was brighter with some showers, and
forecast to be sunnier for our afternoon's walking around Fyns Hoved head.
Despite the excessive low season price of 238kr (almost £28), facilities at Fyns
Hoved Camping were mediocre, with gloomily old fashioned WC/showers and basic
kitchen/wash-up. When we called at reception to pay, we were treated by the
owner with an off-hand, take-it-or-leave-it attitude. How things had changed,
certainly not for the better!
Walking at Fyns Hoved Head:
by now the sun had broken through with a brisk NW wind keeping the clouds
scudding
over. We drove back around to Fyns Hoved parking area where the exposed gravel
spit connected out to the peninsula head (Photo
19 - Fyns Hoved gravel spit) (see above right), and kitted up against wind and rain
for our afternoon's 4 kms cliff-top walk around Fyns Hoved Head; migrating birds pause
here on
their Springtime journey, and colonies of Cormorants gather waiting to go fishing
when the wind drops. A clearly marked path
followed the line of the low sandy cliffs around the side
of Bydebjerg hill,
with the bright sun lighting the surf driven onto the shore below by the brisk
westerly wind (see right). The path continued over the headland of Rakkenhald (Photo
20 - Fyns Hoved cliff-top path) (see above left), around the
cliff-tops and alongside the outer hill of Bæsbanke out to the northern tip of the
peninsula (see left). Around onto the eastern side of Fyns Hoved point, we could
look out across the enclosed waters of Fællesstrand Lagoon (see below right);
down at the shore-line, more
sheltered from the prevailing westerly wind, Eiders bobbed and coo-ed in the
gently lapping shallows. An advancing dark cloud mass prefaced a brief shower,
and we took shelter in the lee of wild rose thickets waiting for the squall to
pass. The path cut inland, returning around the eastern flank of Bydebjerg hill,
bringing us back to the gravel spit parking area.
Tornen sandspit enclosing Fællesstrand Lagoon:
for our second walk this afternoon, we drove back
around Jøved hill and cut through to park by deserted holiday homes by the
sheltered inner lagoon of Fællesstrand, enclosed from the Kattegat by the
curving sand-bar of Tornen. We followed the path around the lagoon shore-line of
reed-covered coastal meadows, past the huge estate of holiday homes, all
deserted at this time of year, to Horse-klint at the far side at the start of
the Tornen sand-spit which enclosed the Fællesstrand lagoon on the outer side. On distant
mud-banks out in the lagoon, a line
of Cormorants, Swans and Gulls were perched.
The narrow Tornen sand and gravel bar was delightful, with the shallow, muddy
waters of the lagoon on the inner, sheltered side (see left) (Photo
21 - Fællesstrand Lagoon), and the surf of the open sea
on the exposed outer Kattegat side, all lit by a clear sun, with nodules of
chalk embedded with black flint littering the fine white sand of this
magnificent wild shore-line (see below right) (Photo
22 - Tornen sandspit). We followed the beach around for almost 1 km until
we reached the start of the restricted access nature reserve which covered the outer reaches of
the curving sand-spit enclosing Fællesstrand lagoon.
Fyns Hoved wild camp on Jøved hill:
returning around the inner bay of the lagoon, we moved George
up to the parking
area on Jøved hill, which we had identified yesterday for tonight's wild camp.
Despite the trees, it was not as sheltered as we had believed; but we managed to
level George on the sloping ground with his back faced into the brisk
north-westerly wind blowing across the open side of the hill-top at 14m/s (see
below left) (Photo
23 - Jøved wild camp).
Despite the shelter of trees, the wind increased in strength further, buffeting
the camper; we hunkered down to face an alarmingly rough night's wild camp, with
tree debris blowing onto the camper's roof a cause for concern. As forecast, the
wind eased overnight to a more
moderate 8m/s, and we woke the following morning
to a watery sun and overcast sky. Last night had been another severe test of
George's new roof which had stood up well to the battering wind. The
pasture-land above us across the Jøved hill-top seemed much more of a benignly
friendly place in gentle sunlight now that last night's
violent gale had subsided. Despite its exposure to wind, Jøved hill had proved an excellent
wild camp spot, with even the convenience of a picnic table for washing up.
Archaeological excavations of major Viking site at Munkebo Bakke
near Kerteminde:
we had learned from the tapestry embroidery lady at Ladby of a recent
archaeological discovery on the plateau summit of Munkebo Bakke, the hill
highpoint above the small town of Munkebo on the northern side of Kerteminde
Fjord, immediately opposite the Ladby ship-burial on the southern shore.
Excavations here at Munkebo Hill in 2018 had revealed the foundation remains of 2 Viking
long-houses set between 2 Bronze Age burial mounds; further excavations in early
2019 had uncovered a much larger, mansion-sized longhouse-hall enclosed by a
significant palisade. Following archaeological examination, the site had been
re-covered with soil for preservation pending carbon-dating of the finds and
further excavation later to uncover more of this significant Viking Era site
remains. Finds recovered so far from the site, now exhibited at Ladby Ship Museum,
included everyday items, animal bones, and even Arab silver coins (dirhems)
showing that this was a significant trade centre. The finds could broadly be
dated to the Viking Era 825~1000 AD, and it was hoped that carbon-dating
would
give a more precise date. The scale of the palisade-enclosed longhouse-hall
recently uncovered matched that of other significant major Viking sites in
Jutland (eg Jelling) and Sjælland (eg Trelleborg); the resources needed to construct such a major settlement suggest
it was occupied by a powerful chieftain. The intriguing question was whether the Munkebo Bakke site could be linked with the Viking chieftain buried with his
ship and animals at Ladby immediately across the fjord: the hill-top site was of
strategic significance, commanding views across the whole of NE Funen, with
access to Odense Fjord and the Kattegat from Kerteminde Fjord, a natural base
for long-ships. This was exactly the territory speculated to have been
controlled by the Ladby chieftain.
Although there would be little to see now at
the Munkebo Bakke site, it was worth a brief visit on our way south from Fyns
Hoved for the extensive view from
the highpoint with its modern viewing-tower. Returning down the length of Hindsholm peninsula to
Kerteminde, we drove out along the northern shore
of Kerteminde Fjord on the busy Route 165 which connects Kerteminde to
Odense, and turned off into Munkebo uphill to the parking area atop Munkebo
Bakke (Hill). As
expected, there was now nothing visible of the recent
archaeological excavations, but we climbed the observation tower for the views
across the fjord. Disappointingly the weather had now turned dull and misty and
the direct line of sight to the Ladby ship-burial site on the far side of kerteminde
Fjord was obscured by trees (see right).
Rødkærgård Farm B&B stellplads-camping on
Kerteminde Fjord: we had planned to camp tonight at Kerteminde marina
stellplads, but on inspection this had proved both expensive, noisy and an
unappealing environment filled with the oppressive sight of ranks of
camping-cars. From our Stellplatz phone app for Denmark, which was increasingly
proving an invaluable asset, we had discovered Rødkærgård farmstead B&B
stellplads on the northern side of Kerteminde Fjord just east of Munkebo at
Lille Viby, and immediately opposite the Ladby ship-burial site on the southern
side of the fjord. We drove back from Munkebo to investigate the Rødkærgård
farm-stellplads, directly overlooking the northern side of
Kerteminde Fjord (Photo
24 - Rødkærgård Farm B&B stellplads) (see left). The farmhouse was a beautiful 19th century timber-framed
court-yard building, and we were greeted by the owner. There were 3 camping
pitches alongside a barn, but the view down to the fjord was blocked by a
sloping ploughed field. The price was 125kr including power, but with no access
even to toilets, shower or kitchen which were available only to B&B guests.
Despite this we decided to stay,
and with a strong wind blowing from across the
fjord and rain beginning, we settled in managing to level George on the sloping
ground. The site did have an open wi-fi; at most Danish campsites, despite their
generally high prices, wi-fi was restricted to reception only. Thankful for
power on such a wretchedly chill evening, we even had the heater on. The
following morning we woke to a warming hazy sun; it was such a pity that the view across the
farmland down to the fjord with Ladby immediately opposite was cut off.
Crossing the 18 kms long Store Bælt Bridge to Sjælland:
from Kerteminde, Route 165 led along the Store Bælt coast-line down to join
the E20 motorway near to Nyborg
(click
here for map of route). It was a bright sunny morning with clear blue
sky for the crossing of the 18 km long Store Bælt Bridge to Sjælland. Road and rail run side by side
across the initial 6.6 km long piered west bridge to the midway island of Sprogø.
Trains continue from there into an 8 km undersea tunnel, while the motorway
passes over the 6.8 km east bridge to the Sjælland coast; this includes Europe's
longest suspension bridge at 1.6 km, the 254m high pylons of which constitute
ironically Denmark's highest point above sea level overtopping all the county's
natural features. A 65m high international shipping channel passes beneath the
east bridge. The Store Bælt Bridge was opened in 1998, having cost 37.8 billion DKK at 2018 prices, and today
some 10 million vehicles
now cross the bridge each year. Someone has to pay for this construction coast, and the tolls are
expensive at 245 DKK for a one-way crossing. To learn more, visit the
Store Bælt Bridge web site.
Saturday morning traffic was not unduly heavy
as we began the crossing of the piered west bridge, and over the central artificially
enlarged island of Sprogø, there ahead, up the suspension bridge's steep
approach, rose the magnificent vista of the east bridge's graceful sweep (see
above right) with the 1.6km suspension
link at the highest point (see above left) (Photo
25- Approach to Store Bælt east bridge). Sheila took photos as we advanced up the slope
towards the suspension bridge's apex, to pass under the towering 254m high pylons
(see above right) (Photo
26- Crossing Store Bælt Bridge), crossing the 65m
high shipping channel as container ships advanced up the Store Bælt to pass beneath. Down the slope on the far side, we reached the
toll-stations and just beyond turned off to the parking area near to Korsør and
Halskov.
Viewpoint looking westwards along length of Store Bælt Bridge from Sjælland shore:
our reason for this diversion from the motorway was to walk out along the spit of land here extending out into
the Store Bælt, discovered in 2007, which provides a perfect viewpoint for the magnificent
seascape
looking west along the curving length of the Bridge.
By a fortunate coincidence, a lone fisherman stood at exactly the same spot as
on our 2007 bridge photo, as a foreground to our 2019 photographs looking out at
the Bridge spanning the straits (see above left) (Photo
27- Store Bælt Bridge from Sjælland shore). From this spit we spent some time photographing
the glorious aesthetic spectacle of the eastern bridge's graceful sweep (see
above right) (Photo
28 - Store Bælt eastern suspension bridge), then
climbed a sandy bluff almost under the very canopy of the motorway looking along
the line of the piered bridge approach (see left) (Photo
29 - Store Bælt motorway canopy). Crossing under the motorway, we climbed
a higher sandy bluff lookout point on the northern side for further views from
this vantage point looking along
the length of the Bridge, as a constant stream of tankers and container-ships
passed along the shipping channel beneath the eastern suspension bridge (see
right) (Photo
30 - Store Bælt shipping channel); like
the Øresund on the eastern side of Sjælland, the Store Bælt was a very busy
shipping route. Looking inland from this bluff across the shore-side scrubland, a
Kestrel
hovered in wait for prey (see below left)
(Photo
31 - Hovering Kestrel). We knew that the line of the trans-Store
Bælt rail-link passed
underground at this point to emerge at the eastern end of the 8kms submarine
tunnel in nearby woodland, and walked over to try to find a spot where we could
see trains entering or leaving the tunnel portal. We managed just to see one
west-bound train by climbing a scrub-covered embankment, but despite walking
some distance, could find no means of approaching the railway line. As we
returned under the motorway, container-ships queued to pass north along the
shipping channel under the Bridge (see left) (Photo
32- Shipping passing north). Back at the
parking area, the free-entry modest little Ice Museum tells the story of the
pre-bridge days when the only means of transport across the Store Bælt was the
ferries which plied across the straits between Halskov on the Sjælland coast to
Knudshoved on the Funen side. Except of course during savage winters when the
Store Bælt was ice-bound, and small ice-boats attempted to keep the straits
open.
Harald Bluetooth's Viking ring-fort at
Trelleborg: re-joining the
E20 motorway, we continued eastwards to turn off for our first visit in Sjælland
to one of Scandinavia's
most important historical sites, the Viking ring-fortress at Trelleborg built
around 980 AD by Harold Bluetooth. From the motorway, we threaded a way around
country lanes to the Trelleborg Museum and ring-fort site now administered by
the Danish National Museum and free-entry (click
here for map of route).
Set at a strategic position defended by swampy
ground at the confluence of 2 rivers,
Trelleborg is the best preserved of Denmark's Viking Age ring-forts. Built to
the same design as the other ring-forts, with 4 gates and timber-reinforced
internal roads dividing the centre space into 4 quadrants each with 4 longhouse
barracks holding a garrison of 500 troops, Trelleborg is the only one to
preserve remains of the outer moats and bailey which reinforce the main circular
5m high earth rampart wall. Like the other ring-forts, dendrological analysis of
surviving timbers dates Trelleborg to around 980 AD. The ring-forts were built
to enforce Harald Bluetooth's attempts to strengthen royal power and to keep
rival clan chieftains in subjection in the newly unified kingdom. A strong
central royal power would have been the only one to marshal sufficient resources
to build such monumental structures. Their very existence however testifies to
the animosity which Harald Bluetooth's unification of the kingdom aroused in the
power struggle and unstable political setting of the time. The graveyard at
Trelleborg revealed several hastily buried mass graves of young male warriors,
many with deep cuts and lethal wounds inflicted by close combat weapons; this
together with finds of arrow heads buried deep in the rampart gates indicate a
battle at the fortress, perhaps from an attack by rebellious forces possibly led
by Sweyn
Forkbeard, Harald's rebellious son, who was responsible for his
father's overthrow and death. Analysis of the warriors' skeletal remains
suggests that many of the dead were from Norway and Central Europe; perhaps
Harald Bluetooth's troops included Slavic mercenaries. The name Trelleborg, like
the similarly named ring-fort in Skåne, now Southern Sweden, is derived either
from borg (castle) which subjugated into trældom (slavery) rival
chieftains, or from træl meaning timber used for the rampart's palisade
and cladding.
From the museum-exhibition, the approach path
led past the 1940s reconstruction of a Viking longhouse (see above left)
(Photo
33 - Reconstructed Viking longhouse) to a model showing Trelleborg's
complex
original layout (see above right), with a surviving section
of the fortress' outer moat, rampart and bailey (see right). Within this were the sites of a row of
15 longhouses which had originally served as stores and workshops, now
notionally indicated by stone markers. Alongside these was the site of the
ring-fort's burial cemetery which had contained 135 graves including the
mass-graves of battle dead. Today uneven turf indicated the cemetery's burials. Access to the bailey area had been via two bridges across the inner and
outer moats; these bridges were staggered between the inner fortress' two main
gates, so that any aggressor managing to penetrate the outer bailey had a long
distance to cross to reach
the inner and higher rampart or
main fortress gates, and therefore
remained vulnerable to being overcome by defenders. The lower outer earth rampart wall
gave good views of the shallow outer moat and reconstructed longhouse. Across the open space of the outer bailey, past
the indicated sites of the radially-aligned longhouses, we reached the deep
inner moat lining the outer face of the main ring-fort's circular rampart wall.
The wide, 4m deep ditch was not in antiquity filled with water, but
probably had a spiked palisade in its base. The 5m high circular earth rampart
was clad at its outer base by oak wood reinforcing, and topped by an timber
palisade, with an archers' walkway set all around the inner side of the
rampart's upper palisade. A reconstructed wooden bridge crossed the 17m wide
moat, leading to one of the ring-fort's 4 gates. The gateway would have been
stone-lined, with a timber superstructure protected by timber towers, as we had
seen at the Reconstructed Trelleborg ring-fort in Skåne.
Standing atop the surviving earth
rampart, we could look across the 136m wide circular inner fortress, where the 4
longhouse-barracks in each quadrant were notionally indicated by stone markers (Photo
34 - Trelleborg ring-fort ramparts) (see above left),
as at Fyrkat ring-fort in Jutland
seen earlier in this trip. Down within the central area of the fortress,
standing by the notional outline of one of longhouse-barracks, the enormous
scale of the ring-fort was apparent (see above left). The 4 quadrants were divided originally by
wood-surfaced roadways connecting the 4 gates and intersecting at the
ring-fort's centre; following the internal cross-roadway led us back to one of the stone-lined gateways (see
right) (Photo
35 - Trelleborg ring-fort gateway). It was impossible to conceive
the enormous scale of manual effort required to construct the huge earth rampart
enclosing the fortress, and the unimaginable number of oak trees felled to create the palisades and
outer timber cladding. Again this reinforced
the conclusion that only royal
power could have commanded the resources or manpower needed to construct such ring-forts all
across Jutland, Funen, Sjælland and
Skåne.
The unattractive town of Slagelse:
we now needed to turn our attention to more mundane matters like garnering
provisions for the coming weekend, and headed into the nearby town of Slagelse.
Some places live up to their name, and Slagelse was no misnomer: the very sound
of the town's name emphasized its unattractive appearance! A large town of some
32,000 residents, Slagelse seemed an unexceptional and unnoteworthy kind of
place, with sprawling suburbs, an evident population of immigrants, and an
irritating number of closed roads making it impossible to escape from once we
had completed our shopping at a Kvickly supermarket in the centre. Slagelse was
duly added to the list of proverbial non-entity places to avoid; even our
sat-nav was bemused trying to extricate us from the town onto Route 22 heading
north towards Kalundborg at the NW tip of Sjælland
(click
here for map of route).
Debbie's B&B-Camping:
we had identified another stellplads camping just outside Kalundborg, with the
unlikely name of Debbie's B&B-Camping. On arrival, the stellplads was set on
what appeared to be a farm, and although no one answered the door bell or
phone, the reception was clearly open,
and a sign announced its B&B rooms
availability and pointed to the camping stellplads behind a barn. On
investigating, we were met by another guest staying at a static caravan, who
showed us the facilities upstairs in the guest-house and helped us find a power
source in the barn. The small, grassy camping area had a glorious outlook
overlooking open countryside (see above left) (Photo
36 - Debbie's B&B-Farm camping), and we settled in assuming
that the owner would return later. After a long and exhausting but very
rewarding day (apart from the unsavoury experience of visiting Slagelse!), we
cooked supper as the evening grew dark. No one appeared, but at least we had a
pleasant enough place to camp for the weekend, and peaceful, albeit with the
sight of Kalundborg's power station and oil refinery chimneys on the distant
skyline.
We woke to a warm, sunny morning, and the
eponymous Debbie called by to welcome us and introduce herself. We also had the
neighbourly company of the campsite farm animals, a jolly fat pig who
occasionally trotted by (see above right), a friendly white cat, and a group of goats who peered at
us quizzically from their nearby enclosure (see left). The facilities were limited to a
tiny
kitchenette/wash-up, an even tinier bathroom/shower, and wi-fi at
reception, but all were clean; with the guest-house seemingly empty, we had them
all to ourselves. The cost 180kr/night and with its peaceful setting, Debbie's
B&B-Camping served us well for our day in camp. 
The industrial town of Kalundborg and medieval Vor Frue Church:
on a dull and heavily overcast morning,
we headed into Kalundborg, an evidently prosperous trading and industrial town
of 16,500 residents, with the Statoil refinery, a gas terminal, Denmark's
largest coal-fired power station, and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants; the
port also plays a central role in the town's thriving economy. It is also home
to the major Kalundborg Long and Medium Wave radio transmitter with is huge
aerial array. We drove into the town, again having to negotiate streets closed
by road works, and parked at the Kvickly supermarket for our provisions
shopping. Leaving George here, we set off to walk through the centre to find Kalundborg's one significant historical building, the medieval Vor Frue (Our
Lady) Church. Standing on a hill above
the town and harbour, with its
distinctive 5 red-brick towers, the church makes an imposing landmark.
The medieval church is built of red brick which
was introduced into Denmark in the late 12th century. The fortified church was
constructed in the early 13th century by Esbern Snare, brother of Bishop Absalon
who first fortified København and built Roskilde Cathedral. Vor Frue Church has
a Byzantine design based on the Greek Cross with square central tower connected
by cross appendages to 4 octagonal corner towers. The church was originally part
of more extensive castle fortifications, later demolished. From the town Torvet
(central market square, now just a car park), we walked uphill past medieval
houses up Adelgade with the church towers dominating the brow of the hill
(Photo
37 - Vor Frue Church) (see right). The church interior was cruciform in
shape with high granite columns and Gothic vaulting, and red-brick barrel
vaulting in the 4 transepts radiating out from the central tower. The whole
interior was now Lutheran plain with no evident artwork other than the ornate
carved 17th century altarpiece which dominated the chancel, its centre showing a
Last Supper scene surrounded by statuettes of evangelists and saints (see above left). From Vor
Frue, we ambled down cobbled Præstegade with its medieval houses an indication of
the upper town's 15th century prosperity (see right). But the first spots of rain were now
beginning, and we hurried back along the more mundane modern main street to
collect George from Kvickly.
Røsnæs peninsula and lighthouse:
we now drove out along the length of the Røsnæs peninsula which tapered out to its narrow conclusion at Røsnæs
Fyr (Lighthouse) overlooking the northern Store Bælt
(click
here for map of route). Through a series of villages, the increasingly
narrow lane finally reached the parking area 600m before the lighthouse. We
followed a path through the woods which covered the narrow headland, with steep
drops each side down to the rocky shore-line. The Fyr was laid out with
exhibitions illustrating the WW2 history of Røsnæs
when the German occupiers fortified this important headland overlooking the
Store Bælt shipping lanes, and the post-war Cold War period when Røsnæs
Head became an important radar monitoring station against the threat of Soviet
invasion. A network of paths ranged around the headland atop the Store Bælt cliffs,
which were covered with purple-flowered Duke of Argyll's Teaplant (Lycium
bararum) (see left) (Photo
38 - Duke of Argyll's Teaplant); this shrub was originally introduced by
the eponymous Duke from
its native China in the 18th century for decorative hedging especially in
coastal districts and is now naturalised in Western Europe and Scandinavia.
Havnsø harbour stellplads: back through Kalundborg, with the forecast 36
hours of constant rain now starting in earnest, we turned off from Route 23
along a minor lane around the north coast (click
here for map of route). Denmark has
a 3,600 kms network of such scenic rural lanes, designated as Marguerite Routes
indicated on signposts by the Marguerite Daisy emblem (see right); they are
named after Queen Margrethe II whose favourite flower this is. We had 2 camping
options planned: one was
Teglværksgårdens Camping but their web site left a poor
impression, and we could get no response to telephone enquiries; after our
recent experience of overpriced and second-rate campsites, we turned to our
second option. This was another marina stellplads at the tiny harbour of Havnsø
from where ferries ran across to the small off-shore island of Sejerø. Our Stellplatz
phone app gave Havnsø marina stellplads good reviews, and when we arrived, even
in this grim weather it looked very agreeable. There were 4 camping places
overlooking the marina by the little harbour/ferry port, with power and
water-filling hose. Payment was by credit card at another automat machine by the
Harbour Master's office; similar to Bagenkøp, this was
multi-lingual and the receipt gave access code for the straightforward but clean
WC/showers nearby. The price was a very reasonable 143kr, and there was a
well-stocked Dagli Brugsen mini-market just across the street. In pouring rain
we quickly settled in; the gravel surface absorbed much of the rain but
inevitably puddles formed (Photo
39 - Havnsø harbour stellplads) (see left). It was a very busy little
port, with 2 ferries coming and going and some traffic, but no noise
disturbance. Despite the miserably grim weather, it was a charactersome setting
and such good value, yet
again confirming our experience that such stellplads were so much more preferable
to featureless, overpriced campsites, particularly out of season. The pouring rain continued all night,
easing occasionally, but we were warm, snug and dry in George.
Sjællands Odde, a busy and alternative route
from København to Jutland:
the following morning, we completed our provisions shopping at the Dagli Brugsen;
the sign outside announced the shop quaintly as Kolonial og Skibshandel (Colonial
and Ship's supplies) with telephone number Havnsø no 2 (see right). With rain still
pouring, we set a course for what we believed from the map was a quiet little
ferry port at the tip of the narrow Sjællands Odde peninsula which projected
into the outer Store Bælt and was bounded on the northern side by the open
Kattegat. We set off around the Marguerite Route coastal lanes alongside
shore-side holiday homes, deserted at this late stage of the year (click
here for map of route), leading around to Route 225. Both the inland
higher ground of Trundholm and the off-shore islands were obscured by low, misty
rain-cloud; it was a truly dismal day. We followed a back-lane northwards
through dark pine woods filled with holiday homes and side-turnings down to
beaches, eventually joining the main Route 21. And now we were faced with a real
shock. Route 21 became highway standard with 90kph speed limit, and in the
opposite direction, one solid and continuous line of speeding traffic: where on
earth was it all coming from, and where was it all going to? And why was this road
out along the peninsula, to what we had naively believed was a quiet little
harbour, now classified as a highway, evidently filled with city traffic? A more
intensive look at the map, and the answer became clear: Yderby Lyng at the western
tip of Sjællands Odde was now a major ferry port with regular, busy one hour
services across to the city of Aarhus on Northern Jutland, and Route 21 was now
an alternative escape route from København by fast ferry to Aarhus, the capital
of Jutland and Denmark's second city along with Odense on Funen. With the motorway~highway stretching from København via Roskilde and Holbæk, it was an
hour's drive from the capital to Yderby Lyng along Sjællands Odde, plus a
further hour's ferry crossing to Aarhus. This was a faster and cheaper
alternative route by car than across
the Store Bælt (with expensive toll) and
Lille Bælt bridges, and the drive up the length of Jutland. Our timing today had
happened to coincide with the arrival of a ferry from Aarhus, and the continuous
stream of traffic in the SE direction was the ferry's consignment of
København-bound vehicles.
We continued along Sjællands Odde through to
the ferry port, and of course there was nothing to see except ranks of empty
car-queuing lanes for the massive ferry terminal. Only with some difficulty did
we manage to turn around in the one-way system, or otherwise we should have been
forced inescapably into a ferry lane, and finished up back in North Jutland
again! What fools we felt! We pulled into a café car park to eat our lunch
sandwiches and take stock, but suddenly realised that if another incoming ferry arrived, we
should be caught up in the speeding traffic, all desperate to get back to the
urban jungle of København's conurbation. We beat a hasty retreat and scuttled
back along the peninsula to escape from the Route 21 highway onto the more
peaceful Route 225 to Nykøbing-Sjælland. Our original plan had been to work our
way around to Northern Sjælland via Holbæk, across the mid-Roskilde Fjord
narrows at Frederikssund, and north to Frederiksværk to camp at Byåsgård camping
at the head of Roskilde Fjord where we had stayed in 2007. But looking at the
map this morning, we had realised that we could save time and a long unnecessary
drive by crossing the mouth of Iselfjord by ferry from Rørvig to Hundested,
bringing us directly to Byåsgård Camping (click
here for map of route).
Rørvig to Hundested ferry to Northern Sjælland:
Route 225 brought us into the small town of Nykøbing-Sjælland and out to Rørvig
for the ferry across Iselfjord to Hundested. We had been concerned in case this route would also now be busy
with København traffic taking a short cut via Hundested bound for the Jutland
ferry at Sjællands Odde. But we need not have worried: we arrived at Rørvig
to find a quiet little ferry port, almost deserted, with an hourly service
across the Iselfjord straits to Hundested. While waiting, we got into
conversation with a delightful elderly lady who was travelling as a foot
passenger on the next ferry and who insisted on helping us buy our ticket from
the automat (197kr). Several other vehicles arrived, and the ferry docked for
the 14-55 20 minute crossing to Hundested (see above left); in today's wet and windy weather, the
mouth of Iselfjord looking out to the open Kattegat was very choppy.
Byåsgård Camping, another disappointment:
ashore at Hundested port at
the mouth of Iselfjord (see right),
there was little to detain us in the small town other than re-filling the camper
with diesel, before driving the 7 kms along Route 16 to Byåsgård
Camping.
The town's only noteworthy citizen had been the Danish polar
explorer Knud Rasmussens who, after his retirement here, spent all his time
trying to get back to Greenland; and seeing Hundested, we could understand why!
We had happy memories of our stay at
Byåsgård Camping in 2007, when we had camped at a
pleasant fjord-side pitch lined with scented wild roses
looking down the length of Roskilde Fjord; had any Viking boats been trying to
sail out of their fjord moorings, we should have had a perfect view. We arrived
today to find reception closed, only open between 4-00 and 5-00pm. As we waited,
the owner turned up to book us in; inevitably prices had risen considerably in
the last 12 years. We recalled from 2007 the low-lying ground at Byåsgård, and
had concerns about it being soft and wet after 36 hours of continuous rain. But
when it came to finding a pitch, soft ground was not the issue: the campsite was
now just an enormous metropolis of statics, stretching endlessly across the slope above
Roskilde Fjord. With all the acres of statics, the concern now was actually
finding a pitch! The pleasant fjord-side pitches recalled from 2007 were still
there, but of course now totally monopolised by row upon row of enormous
statics. Higher up the slope where the ground was firmer, the few pitches
available for visitors were poky and dismal among trees. But even worse than
that, given the enormous size of the site, were the distances to walk to the
facilities, with showers only at reception some 800m away! We drove around twice
trying to find an available and acceptable pitch, and in desperation settled on
an open area close to WCs and wash-up. Given the campsite's charges, with extra
for card-controlled showers, the facilities were mediocre, the male WCs
particularly antiquated and dingy. Fortunately most of the statics were
deserted, and although wet, the ground was reasonably firm. Despite our happy
memories from 2007, Byåsgård Camping was now such an alien environment with so
many statics; goodness only knows what sort of bedlam it would be in summer with
half of København holidaying here and making whoopee! Scarcely surprised at this
disappointment, we reluctantly settled in and took stock. There was no way we
were going to stick to our original plan of staying here for 2 nights. Over
beers we consulted our Stellplatz phone-app for Denmark, which produced a
solution: we found another good value marina-stellplads at the small harbour of Lynæs
near Hundested for tomorrow night's camp, after our day of walking in Tisvilde
Hegn forests on the Northern Sjælland coast. The evening grew dark and chill,
and we again needed the heater for warmth; it was a wet and miserable night.
The sky had cleared overnight but, when the sun
did eventually rise above the hedges at 7-30am, there was no warmth in it (see
above right); the air now had a real feeling of autumn. Byåsgård had been a total
disappointment with its overwhelming statics and poor facilities, but worse was
to come. We packed and drove up to reception for showers because of the
distance, but when we came to pay, not only were the prices even higher than
expected, but the owner tried overcharging us for alleged over usage of the
shower time cards. That was the last straw! His
grudging response to our vehement
protests was to offer a discount to 200kr, but the damage was done: Byåsgård
Camping received one of the few negative ratings of the trip, further
underlining the value of Danish stellplads.
A day's walking in Tisvilde
Hegn forests: we turned north this morning at Frederiksværk onto Route
205 for today's planned walking in the forests of Tisvilde
Hegn on the Kattegat coast (click
here for map of route). What was once an area occupied by farms was
overwhelmed by drifting dunes in the 15~16th centuries; the villages and
farms were inundated by sand driven by storm winds from the Kattegat, and abandoned as farmland, threatening to turn Tisvilde
Hegn into a deserted wilderness. In the late 18th century, attempts were made to
stabilise the sand by planting forests. The plantations continued during the
19the and 20th centuries, producing a variety of forest which now cover Tisvilde
Hegn. A network of marked trails now leads around the forests and today we
planned to follow a 6kms circuit of such paths, using a map-leaflet from our
2007 visit.
We parked by the moated ruins of the former
medieval manor house of Asserbo, kitted up and set off. The first section of
path, which branched off northwards from a gravelled forest-ride, led through
mixed woodland of Pine, Oak and Beech. The terrain became more hilly with deep
gulleys and the woodland more varied and deciduous (see above left and
right), the path leading
past an evident burial mound. Here we saw Lingonberry and Crowberry among the
groundcover, and heard an unseen jay squawking among the trees. After crossing
another forest-ride, our ongoing path led into a coppice of magnificent Beech
trees, the leaves glowing bright green in the autumn sunshine almost like the
new leaf of springtime. The path dropped down to a junction of forest-rides to
reach the oldest belt of forest bordering onto the Kattegat coast. This area of
woodland was labelled as Troldeskoven (Trolls' forest) from the numbers of
twisted, contorted Pines, appearing mystically like the influence of malevolent
trolls. Although often attributed to the influence of winds and storms, the
contortions of these Pines, like similar trees at Trollskogen Nature Reserve on
the Swedish Baltic island of Öland, is far more likely to be due to genetic
mutations causing twisted growth (see left and right) (Photo
40 - Troldeskoven contorted Pines). Either way, they created fascinating
photographic opportunity. A forest-ride led from here down to the dunes which
edged the Kattegat shore-line, and the beautiful vista of deserted white sand
beaches and dunes evidently colonised by invasive wild Rugosa roses
(Photo
41 - Tisvilde Hegn beaches) (see below right).
So far today, we had managed to navigate this
maze-like network of paths with satisfying precision using the map-leaflet aided
by our Maps-Me phone-app. We now cut back through Trollsskoven, passing even
more dramatically contorted Pines (see left). Turning back eastwards, the moment we crossed
a forest-ride, we left behind the early plantation of contorted Pines, and
entered a later, more regimented plantation of tall conifers, a far more
sterile-looking forest. The path gained height steeply up to
fenced horse pastureland, which we skirted gaining more height on steepening terrain
up through mixed woodland of Pines and deciduous trees to reach another
forest-ride. We turned off around a series of burial mound hillocks,
and from the highest of these, the view looked out northwards over the forests
to the distant Kattegat coast-line. The onward path continued through open
estate parkland with scattered deciduous trees, passing over another highpoint
with a stone memorial atop.
A little further and we turned off on a sandy
path through an old plantation of Pines to the site of the medieval farming
hamlet of Tørup Landsby. This had been abandoned in the late 16th century due to
being overwhelmed by drifting sand dunes; the farmland had become uncultivable
due to sand encroachment from over-grazing. The foundation remains of the
farmsteads had been excavated in a forest clearing. The final section of the
return path to the parking area at the ruins of Asserbo Manor was the least
interesting of the day's walking, passing through dark, closely planted Pines.
Today's 6 kms walk had been one of the most rewarding of the trip for its
variety of woodland and nature of terrain.
Gilleleje fishing harbour:
it was only 4-00pm and we had time now to drive over to the small Kattegat
fishing port of Gilleleje, last visited in 2007. Passing Helsinge on Route 205,
we turned north on Route 251 through Græsted to reach Gilleleje harbour to
photograph the fishing boats in the surprisingly still busy harbour (see left) (Photo
42 - Gilleleje fishing harbour). The local museum shows exhibits
documenting the part played in 1943 by Gilleleje fishermen in evacuating 1,800
Danish Jews across the Kattegat to safety in neutral Sweden, a brave venture
risking lives and livelihood under the noses of German patrols along this coast.
But with time now pressing, there was only opportunity for a fleeting visit
today, and with the forecast change in weather to yet more rain now arriving, we
set course to return by the route we had come back out towards Hundested.
Stellplads camping at Lynæs harbour near Hundested: just
before the port, we turned off down to the little harbour at Lynæs to camp
tonight at the marina stellplads. It was 6-00pm by the time we arrived, with the
weather now heavily overcast and wet, and a bruising SW wind blowing. The
stellplads camping area was on a grassy triangle, muddy after all the rain,
overlooking the marina and boat storage
yards,
and totally deserted. We plugged
George into power, and went in search of facilities, Harbour Master's office and
payment automat. After camping at a number of such stellplads, we were learning
the ropes. The price here was more expensive at 175kr, but we found a
well-equipped kitchen/wash-up, and WC/showers functional but clean, which served
both marina and camping. As usual payment by credit card at the automat gave a
receipt with key-code for the facilities. We settled into the camping area, with
rain now pouring and wind howling; it was going to be a wild night, with the
noise of rattling yacht rigging from the marina. The rain blew itself out
overnight, and we woke to a bright, sunny morning. Yet again, the charactersome
environment of Lynæs marina
proved the worth of such stellplads-campings (Photo
43 - Lynæs marina stellplads) (see above right).
A visit to Roskilde Viking Ship
Museum:
the following morning, we set course for Frederikssund on the way south to
Roskilde (click
here for map of route). Last evening, Paul's watch battery had expired and
we had identified from our universally indispensible Maps-Me phone-app a shopping
centre in Frederikssund for a jeweller to get it replaced. The parking area
identified in Frederikssund turned out to be the railway station car park,
filled to capacity with København commuters' cars, but again Maps-Me obliged by
finding us another car park nearby. A Kvickly supermarket in the shopping
centre
provided today's provisions, and a jeweller replaced the watch battery, and all
jobs done, we set course south for Roskilde.
Approaching Roskilde on Route 6, our sat-nav
alerted us to a speed camera, remarkably only the second we had passed in the
whole of Denmark. We had feared heavy traffic in Roskilde, but in fact we
readily reached the fjord-side free parking by the Viking Ship Museum. You will have read the word
fjord quite a lot in the descriptions of our journeying around Jutland and
Zealand; it may have conjured up images of Norway's mountain-sided glacial
fjords, but on the much-indented coastline of low-lying Denmark, it means just a
sandy lagoon or inlet, some more like inland seas such as Limfjord in North Jutland.
Roskilde is an ancient Viking settlement at the head of its winding fjord whose
exit into the Kattegat is several 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 who had named Roskilde his royal
capital. Roskilde's proudest attractions now are its 12th century red-brick
Gothic Cathedral, and the Viking Ship Museum which displays the conserved remains
of 5 Viking craft recovered in 1962 from the shallows of Roskilde Fjord at Skuldelev
(see above
left) (Photo
44 - Conserved Viking long-ship),
and 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 the Trelleborg fortress had witnessed. The Viking ships' hulls now
displayed in the Museum include
a great long-ship built at the Viking colony of Dublin; a
modern replica had made the return voyage to Ireland in summer 2007. We had
visited the Viking Ship Museum in 2007, adding further to our understanding of
Viking history, culture and their incredible boat-building and sea-faring
skills. But today admission to the Museum is a prohibitive 150kr (£20) each, and
we satisfied ourselves with viewing the outdoor workshops area where a
reproduction Viking clinker-built hull was being constructed from planked timber
(see above right)
(Photo
45 - Reproduction Viking ship under construction). In the museum harbour, other reconstructed
Viking ships modelled on the conserved remains in the museum were moored at the
quays (Photo
46 - Reconstructed Viking boats) (see above left). Other reconstructed boats
were the moored at the dock against the backdrop of Roskilde Cathedral up on the
hill beyond (Photo
47 - Roskilde harbour) (see left), and alongside these a church-boat from Sollerön
on Lake Siljan in
Central Sweden was moored (see right).
Roskilde Cathedral:
from the fjord-side parking area, we walked up through parkland past the
foundation remains of medieval St Hans Church, to re-visit Roskilde Cathedral.
The first church was founded here originally by Harald Bluetooth who named
Roskilde as capital of the new Kingdom of Denmark. Bishop Absalon, who fortified
København, built the Cathedral at Roskilde 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, from early monarchs through to the Renaissance Christian
IV, right up to the present queen's father Frederik IX (1947~72).
Admission now was 60kr (seniors' discount), but this included a well-documented
and illustrated guide book in English. We began our tour of the royal burial
chapels in the Chapel of the Magi, named after its frescoes, which contained the
ornate Renaissance style sepulchres of the first post-Reformation monarchs and
their queens, Christian III and Frederik II (Photo
48 - Royal sepulchres) (see right), with halberdier statues standing guard over the elaborate tombs and putti swarming over the canopies. Behind the highly ornate 16th century
high altarpiece, the Canon's Chancel contained the tomb of Margrethe
I (1353~1412) who unified the Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden under the
1397 Union of Kalmar; her golden crowned marble effigy lay atop the sarcophagus
(see above left).
One of the Chancel's brick pillars was decorated with a memorial fresco to Harald Bluetooth as founder of the church in Roskilde
(see left); it is uncertain where he
is actually buried. In the ambulatory, an exhibition illustrated the memorial
sepulchre incorporating modern engraved glasswork being prepared in readiness
for the demise of Denmark's 79 year old monarch, Margrethe II; the monument has
recently been completed and now
stands in the Cathedral's St Birgitta Chapel, covered and
awaiting Margrethe II's death and internment; typically Danish practicality, if
rather macabre! The recent sudden cancellation of
the state visit to Denmark by the boorish oaf currently masquerading as US President caused
much offence to the Danish people (as well as an estimated 4 million
kroner wasted cost) for the insult it offered to their much
respected Queen. A panel in the ambulatory displayed a listing of the burial
places of all of Denmark's monarchs, including the 22 who are buried at
Roskilde, going back as far as Gorm the Old, regarded as founder of the royal
dynasty, who is buried at Jelling, and Swyen and Knut (Canute of wave-defying
fame), Harald
Bluetooth's son and grandson, who were also Kings of England and buried in
Winchester Cathedral. Christian IV's Chapel contained the sepulchres of
this long-reigning (1588 to
1648) Danish Renaissance monarch's family and his 19th century statue (see
right) recognisable by its C4
monogram which we had seen in Kristianstad, the Skåne fortress-town built by
Christian IV in Southern Sweden to defend what was then part of the Danish
realm until recaptured by the Swedes under the terms of the 1658 Treaty of
Roskilde. Our re-visit to this magnificent building of Roskilde Cathedral had given us a tour de force
of a thousand years of Danish history from late Viking times to the present; as the lady
at the ticket-office had said on our 2007 visit, "København may now be the
capital, but we still have the monarchs here at Roskilde".
Stellplads-camping at Rødvig fishing harbour
on the south coast of Stevns peninsula: we now had the challenge
of extricating ourselves from Roskilde in the late afternoon rush hour traffic.
In fact we managed to negotiate a way through the heart of the city with
relative ease and, having crossed the traffic-ridden E21 motorway junction with
København commuters rushing out headlong past Roskilde, we started south
on Route 6 towards Køge (click
here for map of route). Again expecting delays crossing the
commuter-bound E20 motorway just before Køge, we managed to cross this
intersection also with ease, and continued into Køge, getting our first view
this trip of the Øresund. We knew Køge well dating from our visit to the
Braunstein Brewery
in the town in 2007, and from our regularly calling in to buy their
excellent beers en route for Sweden in
subsequent years. Although not expecting
the Brewery still to be open at 5-00pm, it seemed a pity not
to look by in passing today, so we diverted around to Køge harbour, where of
course the Brewery was closed. We therefore continued south on Route 209,
heading towards the Stevns peninsula. We had the luxury of 3 camping options for
tonight: the unknown, but expensive Lægårdens Camping, but after our recent
negative experiences of conventional campsites, we favoured the two stellplads
options from our Stellplatz phone-app, both with good reviews. The first of
these at Vallø Golf Club near to Store Tårnby looked fine but had no
distinctiveness. We therefore continued across the Stevns countryside to the
other stellplads at Rødvig fishing harbour on the south coast of Stevns
peninsula.
The stellplads at Rødvig had 6 camping places
with power, immediately alongside the marina and fishing harbour (fiske havn)
amid boat repair yards and workshops; this looked another charactersome setting,
full of bustle and interest. By the Harbour Masters' office, we found the usual automat for payment and receipt giving facilities access-code, but locating
the facilities was more of a challenge. With help from passing locals, we
eventually tracked down the reasonable WC/showers and well-equipped
kitchen/wash-up. A strong signal open wi-fi covered the whole
harbour-side area,
and the cost was a very good value 120kr plus 5kr coins for showers. We settled
in with the quay-side pitches to ourselves and the sun setting over the boats in
the marina. With such an admirable setting, good wi-fi signal,
and sunny weather forecast for tomorrow, we decided to take a day in camp here
at Rødvig fishing harbour.
After heavy rain and strong SW winds overnight,
we woke to a clearing sky promising sunny weather for a day in camp with a difference
at Rødvig fiske havn (Photo
49 - Rødvig fishing harbour stellplads) (see above left); how restful it would be remained to be seen! We sat
over breakfast looking out through the open sliding door across the yachts in Rødvig
marina, with the bright morning sun streaming in (see above right) (Photo
50 - Morning sun over Rødvig fishing harbour). During the day, the
bright sunshine sparkling on the waters of the harbour and lighting all the
boats made for endless photographic opportunity (see left and right). We largely had the quay-side to ourselves
during the day apart from locals strolling by along the harbour-front, but with
the weekend approaching, inevitably more camping-cars began arriving late
afternoon. The evening grew dark and chill, and a waxing gibbous moon (final
phase before a full moon) rose over the harbour.
Unique geological feature of Stevns Klint: from Rødvig the
following morning, we drove across the flat agricultural landscape of East Sjælland
which ends abruptly at the 20 km long line of 40m high cliffs at Stevns Klint (click
here for map of route).
So what's special about these cliffs, you'll say? Well, what's special about Stevns Klint, and our reason for coming here today, is that
the stratified cliff face presents an evident geological profile pre- and post-
the
meteorite impact 65 million years ago which wiped out the dinosaurs along with
70% of our planet's plant and animal life (click
here for diagram of Stevns Klint stratified cliff-face).
The upper part of the exposed cliff face is made
up of Tertiary Era limestone which, being harder and more resistant to erosion,
overhangs the lower half which is composed of soft white Cretaceous Period chalk
studded with lines of black flint nodules. The chalk was sedimented over a climatically stable 40 million years
period in a deep tropical sea which then covered
Northern Europe, and only the uppermost layers of this 800m deep chalk sediment are
visible on the lower section of the 40m high exposed cliff-face at Stevns. Then
65 million years ago, the Earth's climate changed drastically and became what
resembled an arctic winter. Over a period of around 5,000 years, a 5~10cms layer of dark clay was
deposited in a shallow, cold and lifeless sea, a period when around 70% of all
plant and animal species, including the
dinosaurs, became
extinct. This thin layer of dark clay, visible on the exposed cliff-face at Stevns
just under the upper limestone layers' overhang and above the lower chalk layers, was found to be enriched with Iridium, an
element not normally seen in surface rocks since, like Iron, Iridium sank into
the Earth's core during planetary formation. Such high Iridium
concentration, shown by analysis of the Stevns Klint boundary clay
and that from a similar site in Italy, was characteristic of extra-terrestrial bodies such as meteorites.
This fact was used in 1980 by a team led by Nobel-winning physicist Luis Alvarez and his geologist
son Walter Alvarez to propose the hypothesis that the worldwide Mass Extinction Event
65 million years ago, which wiped out the dinosaurs and 70% of Earth's plant
and animal life, was caused by an asteroid impact. Alvarez's conclusion from
calculation of Iridium levels in the Stevns dark clay boundary layer, representing the
momentary 5,000 years of arctic winter caused by debris and dust in the Earth's
atmosphere thrown up by the impact, was that the meteorite was a massive 10kms in
diameter. The Alvarez hypothesis to explain the Mass Extinction of life on Earth
65 million years ago by meteorite impact is now widely accepted, and reinforced
by the discovery of a large
buried impact crater structure of similar age under what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico. The global blocking
out of sunlight resulting from the meteorite impact dust and debris in the
atmosphere inhibited plant photosynthesis, leading to mass extinction of
plant life and therefore animal life. What is significant about Stevns Klint is
this visible narrow band of dark
clay deposited by the meteorite impact dust
cloud; this forms a demarcation between the
uppermost layers of Cretaceous Period chalk and the later Tertiary Period more
impervious
limestone, laid down during the post-meteorite strike aeons when life on Earth,
particularly early mammals, began to re-emerge. Stevns Klint is geologically
important as one of the few places in the world where the Cretaceous~Tertiary (Paleogene)
Boundary is so evidently exposed, and as such the cliff-line was awarded UNESCO
World Heritage status.
Our visit to Stevns Klint:
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. We therefore
headed to Højerup village which is set by the top of Stevns Klint and is one of
the best place to scramble down for a close quarters view of the cliff
face. Centuries of marine erosion of the soft chalk lower layers at Stevns
Klint triggered a major cliff landslide in 1928, causing part of the chancel of Højerup's
13th century cliff-top church to collapse into the sea, leaving the church nave
and tower teetering on the cliff-edge. The Gamle Kirke (Old Church) at Højerup
is now underpinned and reinforced to prevent further collapse, and the church
nave gives access to an outside cliff-top balcony, where the east-end chancel
once stood
(Photo
51 - Højerup Church cliff-top terrace) (see above left). This terrace gave unparalleled views northwards along the
length of the sunlit Stevns Kilnt cliff-line
(Photo
52 - Stevns Kilnt stratified cliff-line) (see above right). But from the church terrace and
other look-out points on the cliff-top, the overhang of the upper limestone part
of the cliff obscures the lower chalk strata and the all-important boundary
layer of dark clay. To see this, you need to descend the terrifyingly steep
metal steps 40m down the sheer cliff-face to the rocky shore below (see above
left). Pausing partway down the nerve-wracking descent, the view along the
cliff-line was even more impressive
(Photo
53 - Descent of cliff steps). At the foot
of the cliffs, wooden steps led up to a path along a terrace partway up the
cliff across the fallen debris from the 1928 landslip, around to a point where the full 40m high face of Stevns Klint cliff was
revealed, towering above a long stretch of shingle beach (see above right).
Along this pathway, we scrambled over boulders and landslip debris to get a full,
unimpeded view along the whole length of the Stevns Kilnt cliff (see above left) (Photo
54 - Stevns Klint cliff face): there before our eyes, 70 million years
of Earth's history was exposed, in fact just a brief moment in geological time
of the planet's full 4.5 billion year history. The most significant part of this pictorial story,
scarcely visible from a distance, could now just be seen: the thin, 10cm deep darker
strip of clay layer, immediately below the under-surface of the
harder, more
impervious upper limestone overhang (Photo
55 - Narrow dark clay boundary layer) (see
above right),
and above the lower softer chalk which was
eroded by tidal action. This difficult to see darker line of clay resulted from the
deposition of dust thrown up by the asteroid impact 65 million years ago,
leading to the global winter causing the Mass Extinction, from which the early
mammals managed to survive, Homo Sapiens' remote origins. From this point also, we could look out across
the straits, and in the misty distance could just make out the line of piers of
the Øresund Bridge. Re-ascending the steep metal steps was certainly not as
nerve-wracking as the descent, when you could see just how far down the cliff
you had to fall! Back at the cliff-top, another viewpoint showed Højerup Old Church (or what remained of it) perched on the brink of the
cliff-edge, and the line of Stevns Klint stretching away northwards (see above
left). We followed the cliff-top path beyond the church around to further viewpoints immediately
above the highest part of the cliff-line (see above left) at the northern end
of the cliff face; unfortunately in shadow here against the afternoon sun, the
effect of earlier quarrying of the upper cliff face limestone could be seen (see
above right). Further round, the Bråten viewpoint also showed just how precariously perched
the Old Church was on the very brink of the high cliffs, dramatically
above the massive heap of cliff-collapse debris at the foot of the cliffs
(Photo
56 - Højerup Church perched above landslip debris) (see left).
Holtug Kridtbrud (Chalk Quarry):
from Højerup, we set course around the lanes of Stevns to Holtug village and Holtug Kridtbrud (Chalk Quarry).
Here and at Boesal Kalkbrud (Limestone Quarry) further south, were the 2 major
sites along the 20 kms length of Stevns Klint where limestone for
building
material and chalk for paper production had been quarried during the 20th
century. At Holtug, more than 300 workers were employed producing both limestone
and chalk, before the quarries closed in 1972. The pits have now reverted to
nature and are open to public access. We followed a narrowing lane which ended
at a parking area at the brink of the huge, deep quarry pit (see above right).
From here a path led around the quarry's southern rim and edged down a narrow
ridge between pit and coastal cliff, snaking down into the quarry floor; from
here a track led through to the shingle beach edging the Øresund where
fishermen fished for sea trout. From the shore-side (see left), we could look out across the Øresund
straits and in the misty distance could just see wind-farms on the Swedish coast
of Skåne.
Galleri-Østervang Farm-Stellplads near Præstø: we now had to head south to find a place to camp
for tonight near to Præstø from where we should cross to the island of Møn
tomorrow. We had 2 options: one was the unknown and very uncertain Præstø
Camping (no response to phone calls), and the other was another farm-stellplads
just inland from Præstø Fjord and which had good reviews on our Stellplads
phone-app. We set course for this, through Store Heddinge, across to Fakse, and
south on Route 209 around the shore of Præstø Fjord (click
here for map of route). Here we turned inland towards Tappernøje, to
reach Galleri-Østervang Farm-Stellplads, a large and attractive farmhouse with camping in the
gardens
at the rear. The initial problem was that, despite the evident signs for
camping, no one was about to respond to our presence or answer our telephone
call. We found WC/shower, kitchenette and source of power with extension lead in
a barn, and notices invited campers to settle in. We were about to settle on the
gravelled forecourt area when the owner's son arrived in his pick-up. Hospitably
welcoming, he encouraged us to camp in the beautifully turfed and extensive
gardens, and we duly settled in by a screening hedge (see above right). The
elderly lady owner arrived back, equally welcoming but unusually speaking only
Danish or German, and charged us a very reasonable 125kr. We settled in as the
sun declined over this beautiful garden setting looking out over farming
countryside. As we cooked supper, a hazy full moon rose in the eastern sky (see
left), but a chill wind was now blowing.
Crossing to the island of Møn: after a rough night of strong westerly winds,
we woke to a heavily overcast sky. Galleri-Østervang Farm-Stellplads had been a
good find: the welcome had been warm and friendly, the setting in lovely turfed
gardens was peacefully rural, and the facilities, although limited, were
functional. and all for the price of 125kr. It had served us well. This morning
we drove into Præstø to shop at a poorly stocked Rema 1000, and continued on
Route 59, the main roads towards the island of Møn (click
here for map of route). Before crossing Møn Bridge,
we diverted into
Kalvehave to investigate the stellplads by the marina for tonight, given
that all the campsites on Møn were unacceptably over-priced. The Kalvehave stellplads was wonderfully sited directly overlooking the length of the arched
bridge spanning Stege Bught (another Viking word from which modern English
inherits the geographical term Bight), the channel separating the island of Møn. The harbour
office, payment automat and facilities were close by, and we set George's
reserved plaque ready for our return tonight.
Medieval frescoes at Elmelunde and Keldby Churches:
with the weather still overcast and strong westerly wind still blowing along the channel,
we crossed the 746m long bridge (see above right) and continued onto Møn along to Stege with its large Super Brugsen supermarket.
Route 287 brought us through Keldby to the village of Elmelunde for the first of this
afternoon's church visits to see again the beautiful medieval frescoes.
Elmelunde is the oldest church on Møn, built on the site of an earlier wooden
church alongside a pagan burial mound dating back to the Bronze Age, showing
that the site had been of religious significance from time immemorial. The
chancel and nave of the present white-painted red-brick church date from the end
of the 11th century. The Romanesque style church was extended westwards
in the early 13th century and the gabled tower added in 1500. The Gothic
vaulting of the nave and chancel are totally covered with beautiful, well-preserved frescoes
which were painted towards the end of the 15th century by an anonymous artist, known
simply as the Elmelunde Master, more likely a school of painters, the Elmelunde Værksted (Workshop),
who were also responsible for similar frescoes in Keldby and Fanefjord Churches on Møn.
The frescoes owe their excellent state of preservation to being white-washed over at the 16th century
Reformation, such Catholic imagery being
considered as idolatrous by the Lutherans, and in 1969 the National
Museum of
Denmark undertook a major programme of recovery and restoration. This also
uncovered an earlier set of painted decorations with Romanesque frescoes on the walls of the nave and chancel. The main later frescoes present a series of
well-known Old Testament scenes with the stories of the Creation and Adam and
Eve, and episodes from the New Testament such as the Annunciation, Nativity (see
above left)
(Photo
57 - Elmelunde Nativity fresco),
Adoration of the Magi, Flight into Egypt, and the Crucifixion (see above right).
Using distinctive soft colour tones of russet, ochre, green and red, with styles
of dress from contemporary rural life including familiar everyday events such as ploughing and
hunting, the Elmelunde Master depicts these Bible themes in a simple rustic
style to convey the Christian message to medieval illiterate farming folk. A
characteristic of the artist was the figures' sleepy facial expressions, and
between the panels, margins were decorated with frills, flowers and plants. There
were mythical animals like unicorns, St George is shown boldly skewering his
dragon, and Herod's men slaughtering the innocent babies are wearing suits of
medieval armour. The paintings even include
quaint touches of humour with Joseph stirring
his porridge pot and licking the spoon in the Nativity scene as Mary watches
dreamily over the infant Christ.
We took our photos of the ceiling fresco panels at
Elmelunde Church, then drove along to Keldby Church to see the similar frescoes
there. The original Romanesque nave and chancel of Keldby's imposing red-brick
church were built in the first half of the 13th century, and the cross-vaulted
nave extended around 1480. The gabled tower was added in the 16th century. Again
some fragments of wall-painting
survive in the chancel from around 1275, with a
second series on the walls of the nave from around 1325. The main series of
frescoes painted by the Elmelunde Master
covers the Gothic vaulting of the nave, dating from the late 15th century; these
include the same Old and New Testament scenes,
including the Nativity and Adoration of the Magi (see above left)
(Photo
58 - Keldby Magi fresco).
The Grønsalen Neolithic long barrow and medieval frescoes at Fanefjord Church:
we now drove SE-ward on Route 287 to southern Møn to see the Master's frescoes
in Fanefjord Church which stands proudly on a bluff overlooking an inlet from the
Baltic (click
here for map of route). Again the church must have occupied a site of long-standing, ancient
religious significance, built close to the Grønsalen long barrow (see above
right). This sizeable Neolithic
burial monument stands within sight of Fanefjord Church, 100m in length and 10m
wide, with 145 embedded side stones. It contains 3 burial chambers with 2 open
stone-lined graves on the top (see above left).
The original nave of Fanefjord Church was built
in the second half of the 13th century with later additions in the 14th and 16th
centuries. The scale of the church in a small, rural community is thought to owe
its origins to trade links through the fjord with North German Hanseatic ports
who contributed both financially and with labour for the church's construction.
The Elmelunde Workshop was responsible for decorating the
church, and the main frescoes from 1500 cover large areas of the ceiling vaulting
and upper walls, again portraying Old and New Testament scenes. Similar to Elmelunde and Keldby, the frescoes were covered with white lime during the
Reformation, and only discovered in the late 19th century; they were restored in
2009 to reveal their scale and magnificent colour and detail. At Fanefjord, the warm colours ranging from dark red
and russet to yellow, green, grey and black are richer in tone and more
distinctive than at the other 2 churches. Again the characteristic style of the
sleepy eyed figures' expressionless faces can be seen, turned
to left and
right with bodies facing front. The images may have been inspired by block-prints
from a Dutch or German Biblia Pauperum which contained pages of illustrations
depicting Bible stories. Using the helpful crib-sheets provided by the church to
help identify each of the scenes, we systematically worked our way around the
church photographing the fresco-panels, particularly the Nativity (see above
left) and Adoration of the Magi scenes (see above right)
(Photo
59 - Fanefjord Magi fresco) to figure on our 2019 Christmas card as we had used the
equivalent Nativity scene from Elmelunde Church in 2007.
Kalvehave Stellplads:
we returned to Stege and re-crossed Møn Bridge to the marina stellplads at Kalvehave
for tonight's camp. Having settled into our reserved pitch close to the
facilities huts (see left), we went over to pay at the automat by the Harbour
Master's office. At a good value all-inclusive charge of 158kr, the facilities
were first class with modern, clean WC/showers, better than most campsites, a
straightforward wash-up, washing/drying machines (extra cost) and a rather
fragile wi-fi; as usual access key-code for facilities and password for wi-fi
was given on the receipt. A strong SW wind was still blowing from across the
sound, but we pitched looking out to the magnificent vista towards Møn Bridge
spanning the channel (Photo
60 - Møn Bridge) (see right and below left), cooked supper and battened down for a chill,
stormy night. Kalvehave marina stellplads, with its good value price, excellent
facilities and
magnificent setting, served us well and we rated it at +5.
Møns Klint chalk cliffs on eastern coast of Møn:
the following morning, we again crossed Møn Bridge and set off across the width
of Møn (click
here for map of route), truly surprised that as we approached the eastern side of the island,
the dip-slope of Møn rose dramatically through dense woodland up to a highpoint
of 143m at Aborrebjerg, one of Denmark's highest natural points. This rising
dip-slope ends at the 6kms long chalk cliff-line of Møns Klint, which falls a
sheer 120m to the sea below. The chalk sediments which formed Møn were created
from the deposition of the skeletal remains of microscopic creatures on the
seabed over 70 million years ago. This ancient chalky ocean floor was raised
above sea level before the last Ice Age. The enormous pressure of the westward
moving glacial ice that covered Denmark during the Ice age peeled off huge
flakes of the chalk layers up to 50m thick; these were pushed upwards and folded
together, compacting the terrain to form the hills of folds of Høje Møn. Strata
of black flint were embedded in the chalky layers, and are visible today in the
chalky cliff-face of Møns Klint, giving an indication of how the layers were
folded under the enormous pressure of glacial ice. When the ice melted and
glaciers retreated 11,000 years ago, the cliff-line emerged. The chalky cliffs
at Møns Klint form part of the same deposits as the cliffs at
Rügen
in Northern Germany on the southern Baltic coast which we visited last year.
Coastal marine erosion and rain and frost erosion of the chalk causes regular
landslides at Møns Klint, particularly during winter and spring. Cliff-collapses
occur when blocks of chalk are loosened and fall, sending landslides of chalk
down into the sea. In January 2007
a major collapse occurred at Store Taler at
the northern end of Møns Klint, creating a 300m peninsular jutting out into the
sea. When we last visited Møns Klint in September 2007, the sea off-shore from
the cliffs was still stained a distinctive milky white colour from the chalky
residue of the major cliff-collapse.
Our visit to Møns Klint: driving out beyond the final village of
Borre, we were taken aback by how steeply the land of eastern Møn rose, covered
by dense beech woods. The tarmac ended and the final 2kms of unsurfaced lane
twisted and turned through the beech forests, ending finally at the parking area
by the glitzy and expensive entry Geo-Centre geological museum. Cars from all
the countries of Western Europe were parked here, but fewer Danes during the
week. At the museum information office, we acquired English language
map-leaflets and sought advice on a circular walking route, down the cliff-face
at the Maglevands wooden steps, along the shingle beach south for 1km, back up
the cliffs at Gråryg steps, and returning along the cliff-top path through the
woods. With some apprehension at the steps' potential steepness down
the 120m sheer cliff-face, recalling the unnervingly steep and continuous drop of
just 40m at Stevns Klint, we approached the Maglevands flight of wooden steps.
In fact the cleverly constructed steps managed to negotiate the sheer cliff-face in a series of shorter sections of steps
(see above right)
interspersed with sloping
walk-ways (see above left); there was none of the sense of exposure as at the sheer drop of the Stevns Klint steps, and most of the long descent was in dense woodland with the
beech trees hiding the more exposed chalk face of the open cliffs. Only on the
final section of the descent did the step-way emerge into the open to reveal the
full scope of the sheer chalk cliffs (see right and left). Despite the 120m height of the cliffs, the
descent was far less nerve-wracking than feared, and certainly less
adrenaline-stimulating than the descent at Stevns. Finally stepping down onto
the narrow shingle shore, we were surprised not to find the distinctive
milky-white chalk-laden water as we had witnessed in 2007. We had assumed that
this was a regular feature under that high chalk cliffs, but of course in 2007
it was the lingering effect of the massive landslide in January of that year.
Today the sea, even in the shallows at the foot of the cliffs, was clear.
But another unexpected obstacle now presented
itself: we had expected to turn southwards along an open, albeit narrow shingle
beach for the 1km walk at the foot of the over-towering cliffs along to the
Gråryg steps for our re-ascent. But the immediate way forward entailed an
initial scramble around a projecting chalk buttress where the Freuchens Point
headland came right down to the water's edge. Our attempt to edge around this
was thwarted by the treacherously slippery chalk at the water's edge with risk
of a soaking from slipping into the sea; it was just a matter of a few metres to
round the obstacle of the buttress, but it was a few metres too far. Rather than
face a simple and disappointing re-ascent of the
Maglevands steps, instead we
turned north to head along the shingle beach for 1km to re-ascend at Røde Udfald
steps. Keeping a wary eye upwards to the fragile-looking sheer chalk cliff-face
towering above with its risk of rock-falls, we set off along the narrow shingle strip (Photo
61 - Møns Klint cliff-face) (see right). Ahead the beach pathway passed around a
headland, making it impossible for us to see the full extent of the route and
whether there were further buttresses as obstacles to negotiate. The curving lines of black
flint embedded in the white chalk face gave an indication of the tectonic forces
that had folded the terrain. Crushed chalk that had fallen
to the shore and been trodden into the shingle by passing visitors was compacted
into solid masses at the foot of the cliffs.
In 1km, we reached the foot of Røde Udfald steps
to begin our re-ascent. The steps were constructed within the folded confines of
a tree-covered gully with the cliffs less high at this point. Again the cleverly
designed step-way rose at relatively shallow angle, with sections of sloping
walk-way. Reaching the top among dense beech woods, we began the 1.5 kms
walk back along the cliff-top path. The route rose and fell among woodland,
passing significant viewpoints at the cliff-edge which gave spectacular
vistas along the exposed cliff-face (see left). The most impressive views were at the
highpoint of Forchhammers Point
(see right) (Photo
62 - Highpoint of Forchhammers Point). From here the path descended via steps
back to our start-point at the Geo-Centre.
A final night back at Kalvehave Stellplads-Camping:
it was by now 4-30pm, and we had an hour's drive down to the southern point of Møn
where we had identified another marina-stellplads at Hårbølle Havn. Back across
the width of the island for the final time (we thought) to Stege, we turned off
southwards again on Route 287. Just beyond Fanefjord Church, lanes wound a way
around finally reaching the
tiny harbour at Hårbølle, but disaster: it was
obvious that the stellplads had closed. The small marina-side camping area was
blocked off by boulders, and the payment automat removed, so that was that! We
had no choice but to drive back to Kalvehave for a further night at the
stellplads there.
Crossing to Falster to the port of Stubbekøbing: finally leaving Kalvehave, after a
second night's unplanned stay, but grateful for such an excellent stellplads, we
crossed Møn Bridge for positively the last time for a major provisions re-stock
at the Super Brugsen in Stege for our last few nights in Denmark. Re-tracing our
route through southern Møn, we crossed the causeway onto Bogø island (see left) and on the
far side, turned up onto the E55 motorway to cross Falster Bridge (click
here for map of route). The weather this morning had been squally, but
the westerly wind was now blowing at 14m/s, raising a considerable swell in the
sound and buffeting George as we crossed the high, exposed bridge (see
right). Across
onto the Falster side, we left the motorway at junction 43 and turned onto Route
293 along the northern coast of Falster to the port of Stubbekøbing. Many places
gain the epithet of one-horse town, but this sad, little town scarcely
merited half a horse, so back-of-beyond and run-down did it feel; even the
immigrants looked as if they wished they were somewhere else! We paused by the
semi-derelict harbour, just to say we had been here, and set course on the
Marguerite Route around the eastern coast of Falster.
Marina-Stellplads at Hesnæs fishing harbour on
east coast of Falster: Falster itself seemed a dreary back-water island, that
most Danes and visitors rush through on the motorway in less than half an hour
on their way to or from København from the southern ferry ports. The island
seemed to serve as nothing more than an agricultural bread-basket, with nothing
to be seen save endless fields of sugar beet. The lane led around to the east
coast, turning down to the tiny village-havn at Hesnæs. As we paused at the
fishing harbour cum marina, we suddenly realised that the large parking spaces
marked out with logs had camping-car symbols; this was in fact a small 6 place
stellplads. It was not listed on our Stellplatz phone-app, but further
investigation showed power supplies, and a WC/shower but no automat for payment.
A notice however said that the Harbour Master would call round to
collect payment of 100kr and presumably would issue access code for the
facilities.
We had no particular plans for our final 3 days in
Denmark other than heading broadly over to western Lolland, the other southern
Danish island which was just like Falster with endless fields of sugar beet,
only more so! Hesnæs harbour was a magnificent spot and, after little thought,
we decided to stay here tonight. Hesnæs stellplads was a serendipitously
fortunate chance find, such a gloriously straightforward spot facing into the
western sun but also therefore open the vicious westerly
wind
(see above left) (Photo
63 - Hesnæs Marina-Stellplads). Taking some care
to align George in the teeth of the westerly gale now blowing, we settled in
overlooking the little fishing havn, and glad to be in the shelter of George out
of this exhausting wind. It continued gusting all evening, beginning to ease
later as forecast, but the weather remained chill with a waning moon rising in
the eastern sky behind us.
George's overnight temperature was down to 11ºC
the following morning, but the wind had eased to 4~5m/s
with a
clearing sky promising a fine morning. At 8-00am, the Harbour Master duly called round to collect
the 100kr payment, and we took the opportunity to ask him about the reed-clad
cottages we had seen in the village. These timber-framed, thatched cottages,
known as Hesnæs houses and unique to Hesnæs, were part of a 19th century social
housing scheme for Hesnæs fishermen and their families; designed by a København
architect, they used reeds cut from local marshes as an insulating cladding for the
stone cottages to retain heat and save on firewood (see left and right) (Photo
64 - Hesnæs houses). Their original status may
have once been social housing, but it was clear this morning that they were now
very much des res properties! Before leaving Hesnæs, we walked down to the beach
for photos across the Øresund (see above right). Hesnæs Stellplads was yet
another memorably peaceful place to camp, with reasonable facilities, exceptional
value and
wonderfully located, and we posted its details onto the Stellplatz
phone-app site along with our photo against the backdrop of Hesnæs fishing
harbour.
Nykøbing-Falster and Gedser Odde, Denmark's southernmost point:
from Hesnæs we followed the Marguerite Route around the back lanes and villages
of Falster into Nykøbing-Falster (click
here for map of route). Nykøbing with a population of 19,300 is the
largest town on Falster and Lolland; not exactly the most exhilarating town, its
primary function is to process the sugar beet farmed on the 2 islands, and
it is dominated by the huge Nordic Sugar refinery and storage silos (see
left).
During the autumn~winter sugar beet production season, the factory operates
around the clock, processing 1.4 million tonnes of sugar beet from the 600
growers around Falster and Lolland, refining this, according to Nordic Sugar's
glitzy promotional material, into high quality granulated sugar and animal feed.
We stopped off to shop at the Kvickly supermarket in the centre of Falster,
before heading south on the E55 which cuts a straight course down the
ever-narrowing peninsula of Syd Falster to the port of Gedser at the southern
tip; from here a busy ferry service operates to Rostock in Northern Germany.
This was clearly a major freight route, and an incoming ferry had obviously just
docked, disgorging cars and lorries which streamed north from Gedser. Reaching
the port, there was little of the town other than the ferry dock, and we found
ourselves almost trapped in the traffic queuing lanes while trying unsuccessfully
to gain access
to the Railway Museum housed in the former locomotive round-house
which once served the boat trains. Giving up on this, we managed to extricate
ourselves to drive around narrow lanes out to the lighthouse at Gedser Odde,
Denmark's southernmost point
(Photo
65 - Gedser Odde) (see left). As we walked out to the tip, we could
not resist photographing a field full of Falster's proverbial sugar beet, not one of
the trip's most exciting photos! (see right) (Photo
66 - Falster sugar beet).
Yet another disappointing Danish campsite, over-priced and full of statics:
we now set course across to Lolland, hurrying back up E55 before another ferry
load of lorries and cars arrived at Gedser (click
here for map of route). At Nykøbing, we crossed the sound
between Falster and Lolland and cut across to join the E47 SW-wards towards
Maribo. From here Route 289 took us towards the north coast of Lolland for
tonight's planned campsite at Kragenæs. Close to the marina and ferry dock,
where ferries departed for the off-shore islands of Fejø and Femø, we found
Kragenæs Camping. Their website had given a good impression of this small
campsite, but when we got there, yet another disappointing campsite: in reality it was the
worst kind of holiday-camp, totally crammed with statics, and made to seem worse
by being shockingly over-expensive. This was totally unacceptable after the
wonderfully peaceful and delightfully located, good value marina-stellplads
we had become accustomed to over the last 2 weeks. Somehow Kragenæs Camping
symbolised the contemporary dilemma of camping in Denmark. Conventional
campsites, which had regularly been the mainstay of our camping trips in the
past, had now become no-go areas: an unsavoury environment, over-noisy and
overcrowded with holiday-makers
and all their materialistic paraphernalia,
crammed full of statics and
totally over-priced even out of season. Experience now showed that, at least out of the main summer
period, the future for camping was now dependent on exploring the stellplads
concept, at small harbours, marinas, or farm-B&Bs.
Tårs Havn Stellplads on west coast of Lolland: we fortunately knew from our now invaluable
Stellplatz Europe phone-app of an alternative place to camp for tonight, a
small marina stellplads at Tårs on the west coast of Lolland, close to the harbour
from where ferries make the 45 minutes crossing to Spodsbjerg on the east coast
of Langeland where we had been 2 weeks ago. This was another 30 minutes drive,
and we set course for there, joining the highway standard Route 9 out to Tårs. Approaching
the ferry terminal, a lane led around to Tårs Havn and by the tiny fishing
harbour a sign pointed to camping. Alongside the harbour and marina, we found
the straightforward stellplads on a grassy area with power supplies behind some
fishing sheds. It was another glorious, peacefully deserted setting, looking out across an inlet of Nakskov Fjord which formed the natural harbour at Tårs.
The facilities were straightforward with WC/shower and large common-room cum
kitchenette/wash-up, and the charge was a very reasonable 125kr/night including
power, payable by phone-app or leave money in envelope. After the disappointment
at Kragenæs, we had found another lovely fishing havn stellplads for our
penultimate night in Denmark, and gladly settled in sheltering in the lee of the
fishing sheds from the westerly gale (see above right and left)(Photo
67 - Tårs Havn Stellplads). And all evening until late, the
Langeland ferry glided in eerie silence into and out of the ferry port just
across the water.
A sunny morning at Tårs Havn Stellplads:
Sheila's 73rd birthday was greeted by a magnificent sunrise over the inlet of Nakskov Fjord
(see above left) (Photo
68 - Dawn over Nakskov Fjord), the sun rising to give a glorious morning
over Tårs Havn, and at 8-00am the first ferry of the morning from Langeland
glided quietly into the ferry dock across the inlet. We sat for a birthday breakfast
looking out over the fishing harbour with the morning sun streaming through the
camper's open door (see above right). Tårs Havn was truly an idyllically peaceful
setting, and this morning with warm sunshine and not a ripple of wind after last
night's gale, we spent a happy time taking photographs around the harbour (Photo
69 - Tårs Havn fishing harbour) (see right). It was an easy decision this morning to
return here to Tårs Havn tonight for a final and climactic camp in Denmark this
year in such a glorious setting, after a successful series of
such marina-stellplads camps over the last 3 weeks. The facilities at Tårs Havn
Stellplads proved to be of good standard: the WCs were
perfectly clean and the
shower relaxingly hot, the only place all trip to have a shower mat. And when we
took our washing up over to the kitchenette, one of the local fishermen working
at his nets on his boat at the quay called across in perfect English that the
water was cold but to take hot water from the shower. We enjoyed a relaxed sunny
morning in the lovely atmosphere around the harbour, watching the ferry quietly
passing to and fro (see left) (Photo
70 - Langelands ferry passing Tårs Havn): the amount of traffic using the Langeland ferry route was
surprisingly high, another unexpected east~west route across Denmark to Odense
on Funen avoiding the Store Bælt, particularly for freight coming from Europe
bound for Central and Eastern Denmark
Albuen Strand at SW tip of Lolland:
having resolved on a second night here at Tårs Havn, we drove late
morning via the local section of Marguerite route into Nakskov and through the town,
continued out to the lane's end to the extreme SW tip of Lolland
at Albuen
Strand by the coastal dyke at the start of the 5 kms long sandspit which curves
around enclosing Nakskov Fjord (click
here for map of route). Behind the inland shelter of the dyke the air
was still, but the moment we crossed over to the parking area on the outer
side beside the sea, a brisk westerly wind made the air chill. We kitted up
against the wind, and set off along the sandspit shore-line, where rows of posts
stretched out into the sea, each one occupied by a perching
cormorant
(see left) . Although
the wind was chill, the sun gave a glorious light for photography looking along
the deserted beach of the narrow, curving sandspit which stretched away into the
distance at this extreme tip of SW Lolland (see below right and left) (Photo
71 - Albuen Strand sand-spit). On the distant westerly skyline, we could
just make out the east coast of Langeland accross the Langelands Bælt straits. To begin with we walked along the
firm, wet sand edging the surf-line, or crunched through shingle and mussel
shells along the drier sand further up the beach. After some 800m, we crossed
over the line of dunes onto the sheltered leeward side looking across towards Nakskov
Fjord which the curving sandspit enclosed on this SW side, and once out of the
wind, the air became warmer. We walked on for a further kilometre and crossed
back over to the outer beach side for more photos by the water's edge.
And still the sand and shingle-bar stretched away into the distance, its outer
end curving around to a hook-shaped terminal point with its lighthouse,
enclosing the lagoon of Søndemor. In such glorious autumn weather, this was a truly exhilarating walk.
The industrial town of Nakskov in Western Lolland:
the time was now approaching 3-45pm, and we headed back around the lanes to
visit Nakskov and get into the Tourist Information Centre before it closed at
4-00pm. A town of 12,600 population, Nakskov had once been a major centre of
heavy industry and ship-building. But after Denmark joined the EU in 1973, it was
obliged to cease
government subsidies to Nakskov's
ailing ship-building industry; this,
and the decline of orders making the ship-building uneconomical in the face of
Far-Eastern competition, brought closure to the Nakskov shipyards in the
late-1980s. As a result Nakskov, which had formerly been a prosperous, high
employment town, was left with Denmark's highest level of unemployment at 7%.
When we were last there in 2007, the town, which was dominated by its enormous
sugar beet refinery, had a forlorn air. Even at that stage however new industries
were picking up on the derelict former shipyard site by the docks, such as the
world's largest manufacturer of wind-turbine blades which was based in Nakskov.
We were interested today to see how the town had progressed in the intervening
12 years. Reaching the town, we parked by the central square of Axeltorv, but by
the time we had walked around to the TIC it had closed. The tall slender spire
of Nakskov's St Nikolai red-brick built parish church rose above the surrounding
buildings, and we headed over towards this through the quiet streets. The town
felt to have less of the run-down, depressed air than on our first visit in
2007. The streets were clean, the buildings bright and well-maintained, and the
shops were full of consumer goods; there were also a number of clearly
successful restaurants and wine-bars; the population of contemporary Nakskov
evidently had employment and money to spend. Reaching the church, we found the
door open, revealing the starkly white Lutheran interior walls, but decorated
with ornate pre-Reformation and Baroque furnishings, pulpit, altarpiece, and epitaphia memorials. The pastor came through to welcome us as visitors,
surprised that we were English. We took the opportunity to ask him more about
the town's current economy: he confirmed that after the decline and closure of
the ship-yards, Nakskov had gone through a very depressed decade; but now with
commerce and newer technological and environmental enterprises springing up in
recent years replacing the former heavy industry, the town's economy was facing
a brighter future. Unemployment was now lower, and the local authority had done
much to restore the town's buildings. The town's sugar beet factory, owned by
the Danish farming cooperative DLG, was the largest in Denmark processing around
12,000 tons of sugar
beet per day during the September~January harvesting
period (see right), and was one of largest employers but only seasonal work. The other major
employer was the wind-farm blade manufacturer MHI Vestas. We also, rather tongue
in cheek, asked the pastor about the former Russian submarine we had
seen here by the harbour in 2007. He replied, with wry humour, that it had
been bought in the early 2000s as a tourist attraction in a forlornly misguided
attempt to bring visitors to Nakskov and boost the town's then failing economy.
But tourism produces few jobs; the scheme had been abandoned as a costly failure
and the submarine scrapped. He seemed impressed with our observations and our
recognition that Nakskov, his native town, now had a more affluent air of
well-being than the depressed atmosphere of our first visit in 2007. This had
been an informative and enjoyable conversation.
Final night at Tårs Havn Stellplads:
back out to Tårs Havn and thankful to find the stellplads still deserted, we
settled back again for our final night this year in Denmark. The Langeland
ferries passed to and fro, and as the sun set, we were able to get the trip's
first sunset photo looking across the little fishing harbour to conclude the
trip (see left) (Photo
72 - Sunset over Tårs Havn). The night grew dark and heavily overcast, foreshadowing a cloudy day for
tomorrow's ferry crossing from Rødby to Puttgarden in Northern Germany.
Ferry crossing from Rødby to Puttgarden:
we woke to a mistily overcast morning with light drizzle, but by breakfast time,
the sky was beginning to clear. We finally departed Tårs Havn, after our very
happy 2 night stay, and returned along Route 9 highway, just managing to avoid
getting caught up in cars and lorries arriving by ferry from Langeland. We tuned
off onto Route 275 (click
here for map of route), a more peaceful and direct road to Rødby through
agricultural countryside and large farm-estates, where huge tractors with
multi-track harrows were busily at work in preparation for autumn seed drilling. By 12-15pm,
we reached Rødby ferry port and parked by the outward ferry check-in lanes. While
waiting, we read of plans for the proposed 18 kms long Fehmarn Bælt
immersed-tube tunnel due to open in 2028, with 4 lane motorway and 2 electrified
rail tracks, which would eventually replace the ferry. We had flexible ticket reservations, and managed to get space on
the earlier 13-40pm sailing, and passed through into the queuing lanes. The lady at the Scandlines international ferry check-in was the only Dane we had encountered in
6 weeks who struggled to speak English! We were among the final vehicles aboard
(see right),
and spent the 45 minute crossing in the ferry lounge, using the last of our
Danish currency to buy cups of coffee. Ashore at Puttgarden, we crossed Fehmarn
island to begin our journey home across Germany and Holland, with our customary
overnight stops at Campingplatz Schönböcken at Lübeck and Camping Quendorfer See at
Schüttorf close to the Dutch border.
During this brief 6 week trip around the Jutland
peninsula and Denmark's islands, we had explored almost every rural corner of this small but much fragmented
country, indented with so many seas, fjords and islands. For a country which,
before we set off seemed anti-climactically unappealing, we in fact were
thrilled to have enjoyed a mammoth feast of experiences and learning,
particularly about Denmark's Viking past. Our visit was helped by the fact that
Danish, with its Germanic origins and Viking-derived links to English, is
not a difficult language, and we had gained a ready familiarity with and
understanding of the written language. Pronunciation and understanding of spoken
Danish however remained something of an incomprehensible puzzle: the common
usage of the Stød (glottal stop) in
spoken Danish seems to cancel out consonants in words, making the spoken
language sound garbled with a tendency to 'swallow' syllables;
as one Dane explained, it was as if the Danes spoke their language with a mouthful of pebbles!
(Having said that, imagine what foreigners tutored in formal English make
of sloppily spoken English, constantly hearing expressions like won't,
couldn't or y'know). But despite our efforts to master the
difficulties of spoken Danish, we had little need given the Danes' universal
almost embarrassing fluency in English. With this advantage, we had the chance
to converse with so many interesting people of all ages and from every walk of
life. Our overall conclusion of Denmark and the Danes is that of a courteous,
considerate, and enviably civilised society, which uses its high taxation
revenue to good effect to provide first class public services. So make a visit
to Denmark, and remind yourselves of how we used to be before .... well just look around you
for what life in contemporary UK has degenerated to.
Our 2019 travelogues will shortly conclude with
publication of our review of campsites and
stellplads used during this year's trip to Denmark.
Next edition
to be published quite soon
Sheila and Paul |
Published: 7 November 2019 |
|