High Winds,Heavy rain and a wild ferry ride to Fyn
Okay, we are in for a day of interesting weather - but we are fully dressed in our rain gear and ready to go. After all, we are from the coast of British Columbia and a little rain shouldn't be a problem - right? The challenge will be the wind. Denmark is proving not to be a flat country- many hills but not "monster" hills. We find that this type of riding is enjoyable and interesting Truly, we seem to be the only touring cyclists on the road. It feels like September arrived and all of the cyclists went home. Did we miss the memo? Today's ride through rural country roads and beautiful farm land feels like it is ours alone to discover - and that is special. Farmers on their tractors and people in their cars seem surprised to see us and encourage us on our way. We were encouraged when we got off the ferry that we could push on for a few more hours of riding, but after shopping at a Spar food store in Horne (this village has Viking roots), we came outside to heavy rain and winds. We have set our sights on Faaborg, a historic fishing town about 10 km away with the hopes of a Hostel, camping or dry room. Barry found us a wee apartment in a lovely old building for less than the cost of a hostel. It was a novelty to cook dinner and relax in a mini version of home in the midst of our journey.
Camping Sonderborg - a welcome sight at the end of a very windy and rainy day
The all important toilet brush found in every toilet stall in every bathroom in Europe. It is a clear expectation that you will use this brush and leave the facilities as you found them.
We are enjoying our ride in this area - we have been riding through rolling hills in a very rural area with few villages. We're finding that the signage in this area is not very good - peeling faded signs and infrequent - so a good map is essential. Danish people are very friendly and helpful - an even better resource.
As usual, Barry rings his bell as we pass animals. In Denmark, we find that most animals are interested, look up and come running. We are seeing so few people cycling in Denmark - perhaps we arouse their curiosity too.
This farmer came along on his tractor and motioned to us that we should turn around and turn up a side road. He didn't speak English and when he saw that we didn't understand, he took me over to the side of the road to show me that the cycle route sign had been knocked down and he held it up to show us the right direction.
We arrived at the ferry terminal in Fynshav hoping to go to the island of Aero - but as the next sailing was at 6:3o in the evening, we hopped on the ferry to Bojden on the island of Fyn instead.
Since we are heading to a different island than planned, we used the time on the ferry to study the maps. Ironically, we are going in the direction that was orginally recommended by the Tourist Office in Krusa. The couple we met yesterday at the church told us about the beauty of Aero Island. We had hoped to go there - perhaps we'll take a different ferry crossing tomorrow if the weather is good
When we got off the ferry, this group of ladies were in the waiting room. They spoke no English but were very excited to talk with us. They live in this area and were proudly giving us brochures encouraging us to sightsee. They were most concerned that we did not have a motor on our bike. One of the ladies couldn't believe that our bike was "motor free", so she went outside to look at our bike - much laughter ensued. Also, when they found out that we were tenting, they found a brochure for a B&B,. Crazy Canucks!
We didn't plan this route at the beginning of the day - but despite the poor weather, we are really enjoying the area - incredible cycling and scenery. The heavy rain is encouraging us to find shelter and stop for the night in Faaborg - an historic seaside town.
