B to the Ø

May 07, 2007 22:44

I've got my ipod on shuffle right now...good to do when you have no idea what you feeling like listening to...ANYWAYS

Yesterday I returned from BORNHOLM:

This is an island that's in the Baltic and is closer to Sweden and Germany than Denmark, but it's still part of Denmark. I've heard only nice things about this place. My Danish teacher at UW said that it was a must see, so it had a lot to live up to.

There were about 30 international students on this trip including my flatmates Helena and Anne. We arrived early Thursday evening to Svaneke where our hostel was. Nice hostel near the water with a friendly staff which served us an overtly plentiful breakfast. Basically every breakfast food group was covered. It was perfect for 2 long days of biking around. But back to the first evening, Helena and I decided to eat out and we found a hygge place right by the harbor where we had laks ricotti pasta with a glass of wine. I know that did me in and I went to bed relatively early.

The first day we woke to the aforementioned breakfast and rented our bikes. I got a nice red bike that was so comfortable to ride...no hunching over like I have with my bike in Copenhagen. The downsides to this bike being that it only had 3 speeds, which isn't made for the hills of Bornholm. The day started out well, riding through the country with colorful thatch-roofed houses and fields of gloriously bright yellow canola with the Baltic almost always in view, wind and constant sun in my face. I couldn't help but smile dumbly...It's kind of like I found myself in this idyllic little world...like falling into an episode of Leave it Beaver or something (minus the whole woman-being-the-perfect-housewife thing). Our plan was to go to Hammershus, which is the ruins of a 13th century castle on the other side of the island. We made a stop in Gudhjem to check out a recommended candy shop and rest our legs by the harbor. Thereafter, the biking got a bit tiresome as there were long hills and later, a bike path made of gravel. We arrived to the castle around 4 and needed to be back by 6:30 for dinner...so basically it had taken us a while to get there and going back was NOT fun. Hills became impossible. I could've gotten incredibly whiny, very very whiny and complaining. But for some reason I didn't. I guess it's the fact that the only option was to just steadily bike back. I think it also helped that Helena and Anne kept a faster pace than me. They were quite ahead so, though it sounds cheesey, it kind of encouraged me to just keep on going. We made it back. Me, with sore legs and just tired and stiff in general. We did about 64km (39mi) that day.

Day 2. Still need to see one of Bornholm's famous white round churches, the forest Almindingen, and Dueodde the white sand beach. We did it all! Everything seemed to go a bit smoother the second day. I used my 3 gears better and in general it was less huge hills and more gradual. The church was a lovely sight in the landscape and the forest was reminiscent of Wisconsin. Perhaps the highlight of the day was ice cream and a nap on the beach. Once back, the pain moved to the butt and knees, but that's what you get for biking 62km (38mi) more. After dinner that evening some of us went to the local brewhus where Anne and I shared a liter of the local micro-brewery's dark gold brew. Nice way to end the trip.

I'm back now, a little sunburnt (I was a bit careless the first day). Speaking of sun, Sunscreen is ridiculously expensive here, a got a medium sized bottle for about $16...but I suppose I'd rather have it than not.

To sum this up, Bornholm lived up to expectations. My lonely planet guide describes that "life is pleasantly slow paced on sleepy Bornholm"...I do concur. But next time I go I want pill-popping Floyd Landis and a tandem with me...
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