Day 03, Tour09, Going to Denmark

Riding in Maribo, Denmark

Tour09 finally got out of Germany today, but mostly by train and ferry. I was travelling from 9:30 AM to 5 PM, but didn't start riding till after 2 PM. I had originally hoped to ride about twice as far today, but the late start, some very enjoyable riding with a young Korean couple, and a head wind, made that impractical. I stopped for the day in Sakskobing because the next place to stop is farther away than the total distance I rode. Under normal conditions, I would have been able to get there, but, today, it was too far.

The bike car in my train from Hamburg to Lubeck
I was the only person with a bike

The bike car in my train from Lubeck to Puttgarden
My bike had company

The train rides were uneventful and the ferry ride was nice, but the whole process took up a few hours more than the half day I was expecting. The ferry ride itself was less than 45 minutes, but loading and unloading added half an hour and waiting for the ferry took another half an hour.

Waiting for the trucks to get on the ferry

Looking back at the shore, and a wind farm, as the ferry left Germany

When I got off the ferry, I had no clue, other than my compass, about where to go to find the road to Maribo. It was, as I expected, easy to compass navigate here because this part of Denmark doesn't have a lot of roads, and the roads it does have are well signed. Most of them also have bike paths, but, unlike northern Germany, the drivers are polite to bicyclist riding in the road even when there is a bike path.

Bike road alongside a highway leaving Rodbyhavn, where the ferry comes in

My new Korean friends, with crops and a wind farm in the background

A few kilometers north of where the ferry docks, I saw a couple on loaded touring bikes ahead of me. I caught up with them and rode with them to Maribo where they decided to look for a place to camp. They are young, and riding heavily loaded MTBs with knobby tires (!) so their pace was just about perfect for my A-Fib touring. It was fun riding with them and, in Maribo, visiting the excellent tourist info office to ask about places to stay.

I think they were planning to wild camp - difficult to do in Denmark - and I was looking for a relatively inexpensive hotel. I don't know how they did in their search, but I ended up in a 75 E room instead of the 45 E room that I 'found' out about at the info center. The hotel in a small town with the 45 E room looked really pleasant, but no one was there to rent me a room ;-(. I rode on to the next town, and got a room a the last hotel for a long way. By Denmark standards, where a room in a hostel can cost 75 E (!), my room in Sakskobing is an OK value. It is really old building with nice rooms, a good feel and even wireless internet - which I haven't been able to get working ;-{ - and the town itself is quite neat. I explored it om my bike - looking for another hotel ;-} - and, after I finish this page, I'll explore some more on foot.

So far, Denmark feels, as advertised, like a very gentle and civilized, but expensive, place to tour. The hills aren't steep and the wind, although it blows a lot, is gentle. The countryside is pleasant, and the people are friendly and courteous. And, of course, lots of them are riding bicycles!

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