Denmark
/
mons klint, island of mon
The ferry over to Rodby, Denmark departs from the Puttgarden harbour on the German island of Fehmarn. Fehmarn is a small island off the northeast coast which is accessed by the Fehmarn Sound Road bridge which extends across the Baltic Sea to connect the island to the German mainland. Although small in size, Fehmarn appeared to be hugely popular as a German holiday spot and we were lucky to find a corner pitch at one of the large caravan sites in preparation for catching the ferry the following morning. Scandiline has a monopoly on the ferry crossings which depart every 30 minutes and run 24 hrs a day, each crossing taking around 45 minutes. As you might imagine the crossings are run with the utmost German/Danish efficiency and we were on and off the ferry with no border checks and barely time to grab a cup of tea before arriving in Denmark. Rodby is on the Danish island of Lolland, the fourth largest of Denmark’s islands within the region of Sjaelland. There are four other regions that make up the country, Midjyland, Nordyland, Syddanmark and Hovedstaden. The Danish language is derived from Old Norse and is reputed to be one of the most difficult languages to learn but when translated as Zealand, Midland, Northland, Southland and, ok a little more tricky, Capital City, quite straight-forward really. Denmark is currently in the process of building the Fehmarn Belt fixed link Tunnel which, when finished in 2029, will provide a direct link between Lolland and the German island of Fehmarn and at 18km long will be the longest road and rail tunnel in the world.
typical land bridge linking the many islands of denmark
Lolland is just 58 km long and 25 km wide and it took less than an hour to drive east onto the neighbouring islands of Falster and then Mon. We had chosen to enter Denmark by this route rather than just driving across the land border into South Jutland as we wanted to visit Mons Klint, the 70 million years old chalk cliffs found overlooking the Baltic Sea on the island of Mon. Our first night camping, just 7km from the cliffs, was in the small fishing village of Klintholm Havn and our first impressions of Denmark from an overlanding point of view were pretty damn good. Driving through the village we arrived at a large grassy area that had been set aside, free of charge, for overnighting vehicles complete with bins and public toilets close by. On the face of it this doesn’t seem like a big deal but our experience so far has rarely provided us with such accommodating facilities outside of paid camping areas. Klintholm Havn was in retrospect one of our highlights in Denmark with its pretty harbour full of small bobbing boats opposite a couple of local fish restaurants and a smattering of food stalls selling everything from coffee to ribs to nachos. Everyone was so relaxed and friendly it would have been a great place to hang around for a while.
nyhavn, copenhagen
We, however, were indirectly on our way to Copenhagen having booked a 5* hotel just around the corner from the iconic Nyhavn (New Harbour) and so were understandably keen to get there. The following morning we packed up and drove the short distance to Mons Klint before heading north. The weather was perfect and for much of the circular walk along the pebble beach and back along the wooded cliff tops we had the place to ourselves which meant that Leroy was able to swim around in the sea once more, his last salty outing some weeks back when we were still in the UK (gosh, how can a few weeks seem like such a long time ago?). This area of Denmark is quite stunning and although we did cross paths with one coach load of tourists the roads were generally quiet and there was a peaceful, sleepy atmosphere that sat well with the dramatic scenery.
Copenhagen, situated within Zealand is a couple of hours north of Mon and necessitated us going back over the land bridge to Falster before crossing another land bridge to get to Zealand. Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland and 1,419 islands, 443 of which have been named and just 78 are inhabited. The landscape is flat, so flat in fact that the highest point Mollehoj is just 171 meters above sea level, and extensively agricultural, however nearly 15% of the land mass is forest and there are some stunning sandy beaches which is not surprising given the country has over 7,400 km of coastline. The low population of around 6 million provides a feeling of quiet and space and our drive into Copenhagen was a walk in the park compared to the 12-lanes of hectic traffic that we had to navigate on the outskirts of both Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
We had chosen the hotel in Copenhagen mainly because they advertised a limited number of open-air parking spaces available on a first come first served basis and we arrived mid-afternoon hoping to secure one of them. I waited in the car just outside the ornate arched main entrance while Ian checked in and was relieved when he reappeared with one of the receptionists and a smile on his face indicating that, yes, we had a park. Waved forward by the pair of them, I put my foot down and started to follow them through the gap between the hotel and the adjacent brick wall when there was the most horrible crunching sound and poor Bob ground to a halt. I wasn't sure what had happened but the horror on the faces in front of me told me that it wasn't good. Cautiously opening Bob's door I stepped out and looked up in the same direction that everyone else was looking. Uh oh, Bob was just a bit too tall and the bolted-on metal Jerry cans and holders had hit the corner of the ornate copper and woodwork that made up the fancy architecture that formed the front of the hotel. It would be difficult to say who came off worse as the hotel had taken quite a hit and Bob now sported a concertinaed Front Runner roof rack, mangled Jerry cans and holders and, we later found out, quite a large dent on his head. What can you do, really? Other than reverse, change your line of direction and manoeuvre into the designated parking space. With an apologetic smile and a conversational “Whoops” we let Leroy out of the back, gatherered our shabby assortment of bits and bobs (the term luggage would suggest a more upmarket appearance that we definitely dont have) and trooped inside to check in. Unable to do much about poor Bob in the short term we focussed on exploring Copenhagen and finding some much needed ‘hygge'.
The word Hygge (Hoo-guh) was on the Oxford Dictionaries’ 2016 “word of the year” shortlist, defined as “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” It derives from a sixteenth-century Norwegian term and is associated with relaxation, indulgence and gratitude and has long been considered a part of the Danish national character. Yep, we definitely needed some of that and fortunately the nearest wine bar was just around the corner. Since arriving in Denmark one couldn’t fail to notice how much emphasis the Danes place on organic food and beverages and the attention to detail involved in preparation and presentation which invariably resulted in something as simple as an open sandwich (smorrebrod) being turned into a work of art. Therefore, we weren’t too surprised when a couple of glasses of what looked like cloudy ginger beer but was in fact some super-duper bio-dynamic organic sparkling wine was delivered to our table along with some home-baked bread and homemade soft cheese. The most basic of meals but so delicious and our earlier misfortune was soon diminished from disaster status to minor mishap. Of course, there is a strong school of opinion that Hygge is not something that can be bought but, on this occasion, particularly given the eye-watering bill that was presented at the end of the evening, I would beg to differ.
the little mermaid, copenhagen
Further exploration of Copenhagen had us joining a 3hr bike tour around this small but beautiful city. Unlike other major European cities there are only a few examples of medieval and gothic architecture but there is no shortage of great Renaissance buildings that reflect the height of Danish power and prosperity between 1588 to 1648. The brightly coloured houses stretching along the harbour front are just as pretty as you see on the postcards although the iconic Little Mermaid statue is somewhat underwhelming at just over four feet tall. The bronze sculpture, which gazes forlornly out to sea, is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale and has been in place for 100 years despite becoming a popular site for vandalism, political protests and a couple of decapitations (hers!). The sculpture was commissioned by a member of the Jacobsen family, founders of the global Carlsberg brewery empire and Carlsberg Foundation, the latter of which has been Copenhagen’s main cultural patron since 1876 donating magnificent buildings, art collections and cultural institutions worth staggering amounts to benefit the people of the city.
Amager Bakke Waste-to-Energy plant, copenhagen - design build network
A particularly cool event in Copenhagen is produced by the Amager Bakke combined power plant and ski slope which generates power by incinerating waste and emits a giant smoke ring for each 250kg of CO2 produced to give a constant reminder to the Danes of air polution. The rings are 25 meters in diameter and 5 meters high and lit by a green laser when released at night.
Denmark is one of the five most expensive countries in the world along with Norway, Iceland, Japan and Switzerland and our unfortunate run-in with the hotel was obviously going to make an unwanted dent on our already increase expenditure but we really did need to get Bob sorted. Through e-mail communications that bounced between Denmark, Australia and South Africa we were given the details for Moorlands.dk, the only Front Runner stockist in the whole of Denmark. We contacted the owner and were delighted when he confirmed that not only would he be able to supply the necessary modular roof rack parts but, best of all, could help us put the rack back together. Too much time spent on Google revealed that there was also a 4x4shop at Udsholt, right at the top of Zealand that just happened to have a couple of 10 lt jerry cans* plus the appropriate holders – an amazing find as neither of these items are readily available and we had, in fact, originally purchased them online from the US.
We checked out of the hotel a few days later and not a word was exchanged about the damage to the hotel – admittedly, once we had checked out we didn’t hang around for that particular topic to be raised but the hotel did have plenty of opportunity to approach us about it and we were grateful not to have to deal with their damages (Danish generosity No. 1). From having no fixed plans to explore Denmark we were now on a mission which initially took us up to Udsholt. Here we found a large shed surrounded by a number of 4x4s that were seemingly taking rather a long time to restore and the wife of the owner who was waiting for us to arrive – the owner who we had previously been dealing with was otherwise engaged and had arranged for his wife to sell us the jerries and holders even though we pitched up at a time they would ordinarily be closed. (Danish generosity No. 2).
peaceful aero, one of denmark’s most beautiful islands
We weren’t due to arrive at Moorlands for a couple of days and so we detoured onto what is known, and strongly promoted, as the most romantic island in Denmark. Aero is nestled in the South Funen Archipelago, accessible by ferry to one of three harbours, the largest of which is Eroskjobing which was our chosen dropping off point. There is something quite different about island life and you can feel the slower pace and relaxed atmosphere almost as soon as you step foot out of your vehicle. We arrived quite late in the afternoon and headed directly to a Park4Night spot right at the water’s edge just a couple of kilometres away from where we had disembarked from the ferry. It is not always easy to recognise an increase in concentration or focus that starts to assert itself over a sense of well-being but, no more than a few minutes after we had unloaded our gear off the top of Bob and sat down to take a break before preparing dinner, there was a wonderful sense of calim which was much needed after what had been a fraught few days.
Aero had sold itself to us regardless of what else the island might have to offer but we spent the rest of the evening and next day walking and driving around before catching the ferry from Soby to Fynshav on the island of Als from where we could reach mainland Jutland by travelling over the 682-metre-long Als Strait Bridge.
Thomas Muller was exactly the man you would want to meet when you have a smashed roof rack and very little in the way of tools or expertise to fix it. He was an avid overlander himself and had built his own impressive MAN set-up to cater for extended family trips which included two young children. We drove into his yard and could see straightaway all the replacement parts laid out on the ground waiting for us and after brief introductions Thomas was all over it. It was quite tiring watching him as he raced around the vehicle, up and down the ladder, dismantling nearly all of our roof top system. Of course we pitched in but it would be hard to say whether we were help or hindrance as he so clearly knew what he was doing and how he wanted it done. In all, it took about 6 hours over the course of two days to restore Bob to his former glory and it would be difficult to get anywhere near to thanking Thomas enough for his help. As if he hadn’t done enough, we were also invited to camp overnight on his meadow next to a forest. (Danish generosity No. 3).
the main roads are quiet, the rest of the road network looks like this!
Whilst all of this was going on Ian, out of the blue, suddenly decided that we should leave Europe and re-enter using a different passport in order to get around the 90-day Schengen ruling that now applies to British citizens since their departure from the EU. Under the terms of Schengen, non-EEA nationals cannot spend more than a total of 90 days within a total period of 180 days without a visa. Furthermore, once your quota of 90 days has been used up you cannot return to Schengen until 90 more days have passed. Up until this point, every time the subject had been raised, Ian had been reluctant to discuss or even contemplate doing anything about it, but a chance meeting with a couple of Brits by the meat counter in an Aero supermarket revealed some sorry tales of fellow travellers experiencing difficulties passing through EU borders having over-stayed their allocated 90 days.
thy national park
We had already been in Europe for over 60 days and as we intended to continue north into Norway it did make sense to have a re-set on our entry stamps. Our time with Thomas meant that we were close to Billund which has an international airport and so Ian flew back to Stanstead on his British passport, sat around for about 7 hours and then flew back on his Australian passport. I departed a couple of days later using my Australian passport with a slightly more relaxed approach whereby I flew into Manchester and spent a few days in Wales with family before returning on my British passport. We now had a fresh 90 days before we needed to re-address this annoying downside of no longer belonging to the EU. For once, Leroy was not an added complication as he was eligible for an EU pet passport which just required a visit to a local vets who updated his rabies jab and gave him some tapeworm tabs (a requirement of entry into Norway, the next country on our list).
Whilst all the toing and froing had been going on, one or both of us had been staying at an Airbnb just 30 minutes away from Billund at Norre Snede. The guesthouse was in the grounds of the main house set amongst extensive fields and forests and turned out to be just perfect for our needs. Our hosts Charlotte and another Thomas couldn’t have been more friendly and on my return from the UK I was delighted to find that Thomas had replaced Bob’s broken windscreen washer jet which had been snapped off some time ago (due to some sloppy unloading off the roof) and hadn’t been replaced due to the horrible fiddly job that needed to be done to sort it out. (Danish generosity No. 4)
sand dunes around grenen, denmark
With Bob as good as new and a 90-day stay stretching out in front of us, we headed over to the west coast and into Thy National Park, the largest wilderness in Denmark. The area has only been open to the public since 2008 and is a vast expanse of sandy beaches, dunes, lakes and limestone cliffs, together with an expansive network of hiking and cycling trails and no camping restrictions. We parked in what felt like the middle of nowhere, with no one around except for some wild horses just next to us. Nearly at the northernmost tip of Denmark, we continued up to Grenen, a long sandy spit which denotes the end of the country and marks a junction between the Skagerrak (North Sea) and the Kattegat (Baltic Sea). The collision of the two seas is one of those uncommon natural wonders that has created a long sandbar which you can walk along right up to the point where it disappears underneath the opposing tides. Not something we will forget in a hurry, likewise all of the generosity extended to us during our visit.
waiting for the ferry to norway
From the top of Denmark it is a short drive to Hirtshals from where the ferry over to Norway departs. A country that neither of us has been to before which is exciting as we continue to head north.
*Most jerry cans that we came across for overlanding were 20lt and too high and heavy to store on the roof rack. The smaller 10lt ones are just perfect for our set up and carry our cooking fuel.