June 6/7 . Holiday on the Island

Vordingborg, the Island of Møn, and Adventures by Bike . . .


I took the train from Copenhagen to Vordingbord and found myself in a picturesque Danish town. The main streets of this 8,000+ person town were lined with botiques and other small shops. As always, cyclists were everywhere, going about thier business slowly on this Saturday afternoon (Photo, Right).


Why Plan Ahead?

I arrived in Stege at about 13:00 to find the tourist office closes at 12:00. My plan was to book a room in a private house because the hostel at Møns Klint was completely filled. I was in a bit of a bind because my Lonely Planet guide said that this was the best way to get a room here but didn’t actually list any other options. I started asking around and wasn’t getting anywhere. I knew that if I didn’t find a place to sleep by 5:30 I would have to get back on the last bus to Vordingborg or sleep on a park bench somewhere. The bench idea wasn’t the best option considering the temperature and wind chill and I didn’t want to leave Stege without getting to see the chalk cliffs! After drinking a warm cup of coffee and eating a delicious piece of cake (Photo, Right), which seemed like the logical thing to do at the time, I hesitantly used my cell phone to make a bunch of international calls to various homes who rent private apartments.


Just as I was starting to get nervous that I wouldn’t find anything, I eventually got through to a farmhouse which had a several single and double apartments. It was located within walking distance on the outskirts of Stege. (Photo, Right) The location was absolutely gorgeous, located in an area with several rolling hills.


After I met them and settled into my cute “apartment,” I asked them if they had a bicycle that they would be willing to lend me since I was unable to rent one at the bicycle shop, which also closed extremely early. They had a bicycle but said it hadn’t been used in a long time so the tires were flat. I insisted that if it was a lot of trouble that they shouldn’t bother but the husband ran off (Photo, Right) to get it all in good working order. They presented me with a brand new bicycle that had been bought with good intentions but never used – a 7 speed internally geared bike with a coaster brake (Photo, Right) which is a pretty standard set up for this neck of the woods. They said that I could use it for the afternoon and as I insisted to pay, the insisted there would be no charge. I was so stoked that I set off within a half hour for the cliffs.




On my way toward the cliffs I spotted the most gorgeous scenery. Here are a few pictures of the Denmark countryside on Møns. (Photos, Below) There were tons of little roadside on-your-honor stands selling potatos. The Danish flag was flying absolutely everywhere.





What a beautiful country!

I also biked past several very large windmills that were churning energy into the grid. From my experience today, I gathered exactly how windy Denmark can be. I never actually made it to the cliffs because of an extremely strong headwind that made me feel like I could not move the bike. I went 18 kilometers before I gave up and I only had 4 more to go when the terrain started getting a little hilly. I was extremely exhausted, though, and the thought of hiking for several hours after this bike ride made me nauseous. I had only had a few hours of sleep the night before and I knew if I turned around, I would have a killer tail wind and could really cruise. It was extremely fun and fast on the way back as I cruised along and watched the windmills do their majestic circular dance. As they went Swoosh… Swoosh… Swoosh, I went Wheee!!! I was back to the farmhouse in no time at all.

Here's an exciting video of the windmills in action :) I'm sure you're very interested.



At the end there, I just want to note that it may look like I might have fallen off the bike, but I didn't! Sweet camera trick, really. :)

Before I left, the wife had been very concerned that I would need breakfast. I feel like she was excited about trying to mother me a bit because she was also concerned that I only had a single backpack with me and because most of my things were at the hostel, there wasn’t much in it. Although it wasn’t normally something she did, she filled the fridge in my kitchen with all sorts of breakfast items. Tea and freshly ground coffee, too! I can’t complain about this place! The Danes are so very nice.

In the evening, tired as can be, I did a loop on bicycle around the entire city and then headed out to find something for dinner. I ended up at a butcher’s shop that doubles as a restaurant on the weekends. You can pick out meat from the meat case (Photo, Right) and eat it with the vegetarian buffet. The food was absolutely amazing. It was seasonal, creative, and very fresh. Much of it was locally grown, probably even organic – like the potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes that tasted fantastic. They soaked rhubarb in sugar water (not too sweet) and then combined the small slices in a big salad. I splurged for a glass of wine with my meal and sat overlooking the main street (PICTURE). After dinner, I stopped and bought a really amazing chocolate bar for dessert and one bottle of beer to enjoy out at the cliffs, to celebrate when I finally reach them.

I felt like I really deserved it! That wind was intense!

Quiet farmhouse. Fresh air. Comfortable bed.

Let it be known that I am going to sleep WELL tonight!