cykling

Holy cow, what a weekend! Bornholm was absolutely beautiful; however, I am completely and utterly exhausted. Sleeping away from my own bed three nights in a row (in three different places, mind you) and cykling, biking, about 110 km can really wear a girl out!

Friday night, the group left a plaza near school at about 9:45 so that we could catch the night ferry from Køge, which is just north of København, to Rønne, which is on the island of Bornholm. Bornholm is actually closer to Poland and Sweden than it is to “mainland” Denmark, and although the territory has been claimed by several different countries over the years it is very much a part of Denmark. Therefore, we took the ferry trip to Bornholm because really that’s the only way to get there. After arriving Saturday morning (bright & early, I might add), we settled into our “hostel” in Gudhjem, which felt much more like a summer camp than a hostel, had breakfast, and went along on our merry little ways. The group I biked with, which included two girls from my psych/child development class and two guys, decided to conquer more distance the first day knowing that we’d be worn out on Sunday. Well, worn out doesn’t quite explain it, and throughout my biking, I often thought about the fact that when real bikers bike that long of a distance, they typically train for the experience. Nonetheless, we survived the 75 (yes, 75) kilometers successfully without too much damage. Getting back on the bike Sunday was not the most pleasant experience (actually, it was an extremely UNpleasant experience), but we made several stops, hung out at a couple beaches, ate some great food, played mini golf, and rode only 35 km. After a long day and a GORGEOUS sunset, we caught the ferry back to København again and arrived with just enough time for me to run home and drop my things off before class.

Here’s a map that I’ve labeled (to the best of my ability) with our routes. As you can hopefully see, we began in Gudhjem both days, and obviously the purple route is from Saturday and the pink route is from Sunday.

My highlights of this trip could probably best be summarized by the thoughts that ran through my head throughout my biking. I was at the back of the group quite often, which I’d like to attribute that to two things: the fact that my allergies were going INSANE and I didn’t bring my Allegra D to Denmark with me and my appreciation for the scenery—since I couldn’t exactly snap pictures while I was biking I had to at least take everything in. Therefore, by being at the back of the crew, I had quite a bit of time to think by myself. The greatest thoughts are as follows:

- 'Holy cow, my butt hurts'

- 'No wonder the Danes settled in the Midwest. This looks (and smells) like Wisconsin/Iowa/Nebrasca'

- ‘Against the wind…We were runnin’ against the wind’ (against being key here)

- ‘Is it ironic that I’m not humming Queen’s Bicycle?’

- Various profanities that should not be mentioned, my knowledge of which can only be attributed to the Eick girls

- ‘If my Colorado boy cousins were here they would be so freaking proud of me right now’

- ‘Mikey would really appreciate my chaco tan right now’

- ‘After this I could bike the greenway at Meredith with no problem’

- ‘Scratch that, I don’t want to get on a bike again for a long time’

- ‘Hmm…this really looks like Wisconsin/Iowa/Nebraska/Colorado’

- ‘Oh, right, that sign is in a different language--I am in a different country’

- ‘No really, my butt hurts’

On that note, here are some pictures. It really was a great trip and I’m glad I did it despite the excruciating pain I am currently experiencing and the pure exhaustion.

Day 1 - Saturday:

At this point, the bike and I were friends.

The rolling hills and plains

Beach #1 - Balka, pretty...but it did not even compare to what we were about to see.

By this point, this bike seat was the bane of my existence. Ouch.

Beach #2 - Dueodde, home of the finest sand in the world. It's used for most hourglasses and you can buy a little bit of it for about $5 in the gift shop!

Day 2 - Sunday:

Wildlife!

We began at that point that you can kiiiind of see all the way in the distance.

Beach #3 - Sandvig, Not a bad beach view, huh? The view was great...the water was FREEZING.

I survived...a little pink, but I survived

The reminder that we are, in fact, in Denmark

We went on a little hike after hanging by the beach. This side of the path looked like Chautauqua in Boulder, CO.

Then this side...not so much. How gorgeous is the Baltic, though?

Gudhjem at the harbor by night

We finished the weekend off right--with the Summer Solstice Sunset at about 10:05 pm.