Danish Delights
Berlin to Copenhagen – Stage 08 – Rostock to Nykøbing 24 Km (Sun 18-Jun-17)
Weather: 15⁰C min – 24⁰C max, fine and sunny
“You jump on a bike and start peddling. You fall down and you get up again. I’ve always been a ‘learn by doing’ kind of guy” ~ Judah Friedlander
Not wishing to miss the ferry to Denmark I left my AirBNB in Rostock in plenty of time to ride the 8 Km to the port, just in case I had a puncture or there was a long queue at the ferry terminal. As it turned out there was no queue at all to collect the ticket I had already paid for online, so I had more than an hour to kill until the ferry departed at 11 am.
The 50 Km cruise from Rostock to Gedser took 1 hr 45 min, which passed quickly enough with the help of some food and ordinary machine coffee on board. Luckily, the cafeteria accepted Euro which I had replenished at an ATM yesterday. Nobody told me that they only take Danish Kroner in Denmark, so I will have to exchange the Euro for Kroner when I get to Denmark (might not be easy given that today is Sunday).
Brilliant blue sky welcomed me to Denmark as I sped off on the boat gangway with half a dozen other cyclists, headed for Nykøbing 26 Km north of Gedser. First impressions of Denmark are that it is neat and pretty … and friendly. Not far along the road I couldn’t resist stopping to photograph a windmill. When a local cyclist saw me she stopped to ask, in perfect English, whether I was OK. We chatted for ages, with me reminding her that Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark is from Australia. I also mentioned that Borgen was one of my favourite TV series.
If you thought Germany has the best cycling facilities in the world, you have never been to Denmark. There are cycle signs at every turn and the paths and roads are so smooth and flat you just feel like accelerating. Glancing at your GPS you notice you are cruising about 5 Km faster than you thought you were.
Like Germany the landscape is dotted with wind turbines, although not in massive wind farms but small clumps of 3 or 4. Again the countryside is dominated by un-fenced wheat crops and I was pleased to see that there are red poppies here too.
After checking into my cute little AirBNB I decided it was time to explore the town of Nykøbing and find an Apple Danish to eat. Alas, Sunday is a day of rest in Europe so I had no luck on that score. However, no doubt I will sample my share of Danish pastry delights over the next week.
