Our seventh week started as great as week 6 ended. After some overnight rain the morning was lovely and sunny so we went for a long run along the top of the chalk cliffs – Stevns Klint – which gave some really nice views. Getting back we used the Tourist Information facilities so used their showers and laundrette – brilliant for such a tiny place. We cycled to Store Heddinge which was newish and not that exciting, so retired back to our lovely hiding place and great sunny views. Only to be spoilt by another motorhome spotting us and joining us, then another! Cover blown 🙁
The next morning we awoke early due to high winds and rain which fortunately cleared later – Danish weather is very variable! A touring day, we visited Præstø (okay) then headed down into Mon via Stege which again was okay. We then headed north to Ulvshale and the best beaches on Mon – really? After lunch then across to Mons Klint which appears to be the main (only?) attraction on Mon. The Klint are tall (100m+) chalk cliffs with interesting and long walks above then down below on the beach. Excellent views but be warned – we counted 495 steep steps to get back up to the carpark…. We checked out the small hamlet of Klintholm Havn which was a little rough around the edges before going via Boro to the aire on the small island of Faro which was slightly oversold by our guidebook! Mon Klint is definitely worth a visit, but the rest of Mon is very rural and the small hamlets and villages don’t seem to have any unique features or character that we’ve seen better examples of previously.
Our next day took us on another road-trip, first through the island of Falster to Marielyst which would be a nice and busy holiday resort in season. A nice beach and loads of places to eat as well as a good few holiday shops. Out of season though it was empty, so we headed via Nykøbing to Nysted which is a lovely little town on the coast with Alholm Slot nearby. This town is neat, clean, nice marina and a good bakery for your daily Danish pastry! Maribo was a little disappointing as was Nakskov – which really looks the poor end of Denmark. Some fantastic buildings and area, but poorly maintained and with modern industry stuck in. The island of Lolland and Falster seemed more interesting than Mon, but even so not much really to see and nothing really outstanding. The tiny hamlets and villages are pot luck if you see a single modern street or a sweet place full of character.
With the winds up and the sea very choppy we decided to sit out the night rather than cross on the ferry back to Funen as, as we know, Mel and ferries on choppy seas don’t really mix. After a night hiding in a sheltered place we took the ferry (slightly more than bridge) and though windy it was a rather non event.
The island of Langeland has loads of walks (though not in the weather we had), but we made it to Tranekær Slot to enjoy the grounds there along with the organic works of “art”. Then over to another island just off Fyn to the lovely Troense and Vindeby – the former has a gorgeous marina and views over Thurø (which isn’t worth a visit). Svendborg was busy and wasn’t anything special, so we crawled along the cost exploring a few small villages and ended up in Fåborg which is a lovely place, old buildings, cobbled streets, marina etc – but sadly the only place we’ve seen in Denmark with the majority of parking being “no motorhomes” for overnighting. Shame but clearly its been abused in the past. That said, we did find a quiet legitimate overnight space and as it was getting dark the view hardly mattered and there was the benefit of WiFi in range!
With the sun bright in the morning (rare in Denmark) we awoke at an ungodly hour (7:45) so had our morning run then around the lake and marina. Within seconds of returning to the van the Danish rain came in again and the rest of the day was rain/wind/sun…. Very frustrating. Faborg (Faaborg) is an interesting town and well worth a visit. Some nice nude statues around, but the one of a baby and a naked man drinking milk straight from a cow was a bit bizarre – though at least it wasn’t a bull as we first thought.
Our back-road route went via Assens (too wet to explore, but looked ok) then Kolding which was too much like Slough for our tastes, and then sadly on the way to collect water we were stuck in an awful traffic jam that scuppered the days plans. With heavy rain and awful winds we decided to just head to Flensburg just across the border in Germany to get some LPG and to hide the night, and return to our last Danish To-Do in the morning. Good job we got LPG too – managed to get 9.23 litres in a 6kg tank (in other words the gas was on fumes – literally!)
Heading back into Denmark we visited Froslevlejren camp museum , where the WW2 camp for Danish prisoners was based. It does again show the difficult situation the Danes were in and what a good job they actually did looking after their own, as the difference between that camp and the German camps is astounding. Disturbing to see stories of where groups of identical prisoners were split between here and German camps. After liberation some prisoners remained to run the camp when it housed German and German sympathisers! Afterwards we spent the rest of the day looking around Flensburg which has many pleasant views – and a much different “German” feel to it than the Danish towns – amazing considering its proximity. The harbour area was hosting a rowing regatta with a nice backdrop of wooden boats and the like.
Remembering Germany is pretty much closed in Sundays we planned a driving day hoping to find a gem along the way. Kiel turned out to be a big/busy city, and in pouring rain and closed we decided to just drive round it and clear off south east towards an area cluttered with lakes – Plön, Malente and Eutin. We were tempted to stay at Malente as there were facilities, but it just didn’t excite. There were surely some good walks there on drier days, and the lakes looked great – again one for the summer.
After checking emails (which in Germany is much tougher than Denmark), we got a tip to go via the “Autostadt experience at Wolfsburg”. This changed the route slightly so we headed towards our next big must-see city, Lubeck, (well actually an aire at Bad Schwartau just outside) and decided to have a lazy Sunday evening and cycle into the city in the morning. We did try and hunt out a decent restaurant or bar in Bad Schwartau but failed, so resigned ourselves to a tin of Vegie Balti and rice. Spoilt eh?
Its been an interesting week, we’ve driven lots of miles, seen lots of places, seen nice views, driven through pretty villages etc, but not much that has excited us to the extent to make us want to stop for a few days. We’re probably Denmarked out!
So we end our seventh week, sadly, looking at the map home to try and plan an interesting 800 miles back.
To be continued….