3 trips on a bike

In the past few days I have taken three trips in my quest to see Fyn's roads. Monday I went out route 55 toward Faaborg, Wednesday I went on route 65 toward Svendborg, and today I took route 35 toward Bogense.

Faaborg (route 65)

The Faaborg route heads SSW out of Odense toward the sea town of Faaborg (hence the name). After leaving the city center, it gets quickly into nice suburnban bikes paths more or less along the Odense River.

Faaborg Route

The riding is nice, and the suburbs are pretty upscale. So in all there is good scenery, with upscale burbs on one side and pastures/river on the other. As with all paths, though, they end, and one gets dumped into country lanes winding through wheat fields. It is prety nice, though the roads are narrow. At one point I met a bus coming the other way that took up the entire road!

Svendborg Route (55).

The way to Svenborg (Fyn's second city) begins along the same way as the route to Faaborg. At the edge of the city center, however, it veers off to the south, proceeding more or less directly south to Svendborg. Unfortunately, the way is along busy roads through burb after burb. Not only was it not scenic, it was 2 to 3 times the distance to get out of the suburbs as for any other route. My patience wore thin.

mollehoj

So I departed the text and made my own way (more fun anyhow). Just east of the route was a site called Mollehoj, which is the largest burial mound on Fyn. It dates from the bronze age or Viking age (ca 10th century) and is about 40 feet high. It is now covered with trees. After seeing this I meandered through small villages and farms, enjoying the countryside.

I eventually found a place where I could walk right up to one of those giant windmills. Very cool. They make a great wooshing sound that is approximated by the sound make on the wash cycle of an upright washing machine. It is audible for sure, but quieter than the cars on the road.

Bogense (route 35).

Friday I took off back to the west because the wind was from there. And it is much better to go into the wind first than it is to fight it while returning home. I did the first part of this trip a few weeks ago, but today I had time to go further.

Glavendrup

The first place I came was the Dallum Slot (castle) which is an old estate dating rom the 17th century. It has a lot of land associated with it, and its gardens remain a public park. After a brief stop, I continued on to the Glavendrup Stone. This was something completely different, and also completely new. Runes? Wow, that is different.

Football (soccer, that is)

To say that football is a national obsession here in Denmark is to ignore handball (at which the Danes are very good), but also not far from the truth. The kids play it nearly exclusively on the playground in spite of the lack of grass. As our kids like soccer, we have gotten them involved with the local football club.

Football

To say they have facilities is also an understatement. Most of the football clubs are associated with municipal sports complexes (I think), and the local club, Marienlyst, is no exception. Still, at its core is football. The facility has a number of locker rooms (10 or so) for teams to use, an indoor snack shack open daily, and a huge equipment room. They even have an area where one can wash the mud off of one's cleats after games and practice.

Outside is even more impressive, as they have at least 10 fields for practice and games. And the facility is never empty. Every time we go there are at least 5 practices in progress over the age range of 6 to 30. Occasionally the old guys are practicing too. It is quite the level of involvement, and definitely a community hub.

The kids. Katie is playing on a U13 team which is actually a year too old for her. She fits in well, though, and seems to be getting along fine. Her first game was a bit of an eye opener, but she has settled in to playing defense and is enjoying that. The level of soccer is higher than her U10 team last year, but not too much. Once they learn to play together on the field they will be even more formidable.

Hank has started as well, and is playing on a U10 team that plays against U11 teams. This is equivalent to his playing 5th graders at home. And some of those kids he is playing are 5th graders. He, like Katie, has had a baptism by fire, but is hanging in there. His age group actually has three teams, and he is on the middle team. The top level players would do some real damage in the US. Their skills and field presence are eye opening.

So that is football. The kids are enjoying it, and it is an eye opener for us parents for sure.

School Garden

The school garden is a place where,p-fag takes place. P-fag is a creative learning time. So every day we walk down(it takes about 10 minutes) and it's a lot of fun. It's rundown and stuff but it's huge and pretty and very fun. When we go out there we do different things like carve wood, make instruments, weave baskets, and paint. This is all included in the school day and counts as school. We go there rain or shine, and that is OK with me. Last week it started pouring and that day was the one day i decided not to bring my jacket so i got soaked! Fun times!!

West to Longso

One of my pastimes while here is to pick a new direction for each time I head out on the bike, and explore. As a starting point, I use the regional bike routes on the way out or on the way back in. These are nice, because they are signed and take routes that have little traffic. They also go by interesting places. On Thursday and friday I headed to the west of Odense toward Longso and Hesbjerg.

Longso

This area has the closest hills to Odense, and in this hilly area, there are also forests. The Longso forest is especially big. It is also criss crossed with hiking paths, and the lake itself (So - actually not an "O" but a special letter that looks like a zero - means lake; Even more special, just the zero character means island) is the most beautiful I have seen in Denmark. It is forested thanks in large part to the Castle on its shore.

Anyhow, the ride out was a tale of two trips. The first half was on straight, flat bike path. This type of riding through suburbia abruptly ended with a right turn onto a dirt road. Boom, into forest, hils, and fields for the next 10 km or so. Night and day. It was really beautiful though, and worthy of a family trip. So we will go, and report on that when back.

That was Thursday. Friday was a southern extension of the same route. Also beautiful, but less forest and more grain fields. I did manage to capture some Windmills along the way - this is one of the ways the Danes lower their dependence on Fossil fuels. More on this in a later post, but for now, are these so ugly?

Grocery shopping; Danish cultur part 1 of ??

[sorry this post is picture free, but y'all know what a store looks like, right?]

Everybody has to eat, right? And since eating out is expensive (and more so in Denmark), that means going to the grocery store. I have a thing about grocery stores, and especially when I travel, I like to find them and buy, you know, food and eat that way. It does save money.

But the store and goods are all in Danish. What does one buy? Well as a species we are fortunate to have eyes, and experience. If we did not have these, then shopping by item name would be an adventure. And for those things in opaque packaging, it still is. Fortunately, with the exception of raw ingredients for Mexican food, we have not gone without anything.

What was hard - flour. White flour is easy but whole wheat? Forget it. What they call whole wheat is cracked wheat berries. Anybody have a mill?Now, if you are lactose intolerant, you are in luck. Alternate grains like Spelt are everywhere, and it is here I go next. Also hard - cheese called Cheddar. I am ok with that but the kids have had to adjust. On the whole this is a good thing.

What is avoided: crazy spreadable food substances that live in the cold case next to the cheese. Snack food.

The rest is normal. The other bonus is the year-round farmer's market on Weds and Saturdays. These are

I think I have visited every major grocery store / supermarket chain in this country. The stores pretty much divide into two categories: Discount stores and Supermarkets. There are a couple of pure grocery stores but they are not omnipresent like the others. And of course there is the market in the middle of town on Weds and Sat.

Grocery Stores: Primary offender is Spar, with Lidl being almost a pure grocery store. Spar is a bit of a "gourmet" option although it is nothing like Whole Foods. There is not one near here. next...

Lidl is a German chain, and again, there is not one close. It has a very "other" feel from the standard Danish store. There is some product overlap.

Supermarkets: These are basically like Walmart supercenters (though not nearly as big). They carry everything, and are not cheap like Walmart. They do have a better product selection than other places though, and even have Peanut Butter. They are also a good source for beer (ie they have something other than Tuborg and Carlsberg) and a lot of different types of flour. The names are Kvickly, Super Brugsen, Bilka, and Fotex.

Kvickly seems to be everywhere and is like a nightmare to us. For the first week we were here we eanded up at a Kvickly every single day. Groundhog day in the worst way.

Bilka is as close to Walmart as yer gonna get. It is huge, and unlike Kvickly not very common.

Super Brugsen is mostly groceries, though it has a fair amount of other. Fairly common, and yes there is one within striking distance.

Fotex is the upper crust version of one of these things which means the stuff you want to buy is the same stuff but it costs more. They do have important things like Chile Powder.

Discount stores: These are where the real work gets done. Main chains are Fakta, Rema 1000, and Netto. Our street has one of each, and they are virtually identical but different. The product lines they carry vary considerably depending on what they can get cheaply. These places are where the Danes shop. I shop indiscriminately at all of them.

Finally we have the Bazaar and the markets. For fresh fruit and veg every day but Monday, the Bazaar is a good bet. It also has specialty stores like a mid-eastern grocery, an asian grocery, and an Italian deli. Helpful. The market is only twice a week and if possible I go there for produce. Farm fresh is the way. There is also a good cheese booth there.

A party in which there was no cake......

Wednesday i was invited to a birthday party. It sounded like fun so i didn't see a reason why i shouldn't go. So i went and it was really weird. Instead of pizza for dinner they gave us noodles, chicken, salad, corn and meatballs! No cake, no chips, and no soda! Nobody made a big fuss over the birthday party and it went on until 10:00 in the evening. Very different. There weren't planed activities here were games that we decided to play. We played soccer, little sally walker, air hocky, and fooseball. It was one of the best birthdays i have ever been to. Also, instead of every body buying presents just one person gave one present worth $80.00 all year round so in the long run it's cheaper, and nobody feels bad about somebody's present that is better than their's.

Flooding the bathroom

The second night in our new home. Things were looking great! The house and area were great and so was our new house mate. All up until i took a shower......
When I stepped out of that shower, I stepped into an inch and a half of water!! We mopped it up and decided to just take baths. That didn't work either. No sooner had hank pulled the plug water came flooding in along with dirt and nasties. Mom was cursing at the tub as dad mopped up. About three days later the plumber fixed t and all was well.

The Rectory

So, we live in the rectory of a church. I thought I would show a few pictures of the home. We have a hall/bedroom area all to ourselves, and share the public spaces of the kitchen, dining, and living rooms. It is a bit different for us, for sure. We are all adjusting to it ok, and on the whole it is actually a pretty good situation to find for a family wanting furnished housing in Odense. That is apparently in short supply. Anyhow, here it is. As always, click on the photo to get to the photo album.

The Rectory

And also courtesy of Google, here is a sat photo of our house. The house is just west of the "A" marker, and north of the church. You might have to soom in a bit, too.


View Larger Map

School

School has started for the kids. The first day was Wednesday the 13th, and we were all nervous. We had already met with the vice-principal named Tove. That was are first hint - they are very informal here, as I never got her last name. Anyhow, we met the kids teachers in the office. Katie's came by first and introduced herself (I think her name is Rikki), and Hank's (named Stine) came next. They both seemed nice...

What a thing to send your kid off into a foreign school. It is like sending them into the wild blue yonder. It is a place I knew next to nothing about, knew no-one in it, and I just dropped my kid off into their care. Oh, and the language of instruction is Danish and none of the kids Hank's age speak English. Katie has it a bit easier as from year 4 (that is 9 and 10 year olds - they start a year later here) children get English in the curriculum.

So, what of the school? Well, it is a city school as can be seen by the pictures. It has kids from year 1 to year 9 (perhaps 10) in it, and their school has about 700 kids total. It is bizarre having such a broad age range, but it seems to work. The playground is small with no green areas, and I imagine that at recess it is a pretty busy place. It gets over early - about noon give or take an hour depending on the day. They have specialists just like in Maine, so the kids travel to music and creative class (not just art). Gym is taught once a week and is taught off-campus.

St Hans School

After school the kids go to their "clubs." What are these? Well, they are basically after school programs. Hanks is affiliated with the school and they have a building right on campus. It takes kids from years 1, 2, and 3. One week out of four they spend at an alternate site that has a big field, a campfire, and all sorts of outdoor games and camping activities. Carving knives figure prominently I guess. Katie goes to a club for kids from year 4 on, although it is segregated so that the older kids are kept apart from those under 14. It is a km from school, and she and her friends walk there after school. They have many activities (sewing, cooking, acting, crafts) as well as a big field for outdoor play. Both kids are enjoying their clubs.

How are the kids doing? Honestly, they are doing great. They like school, with creative class and music being highlights so far. For Hank, Math is remedial, as I think it is for Katie. She is a big help in English (duh!), and seems to be having a great time. Have there been speedbumps? Yes, and there will be more. Hank has had to adjust to kids laughing at his language (they just are not used to English), and also to deal with some kids testing his toughness. Katie has had a little of this as well, but has not let it bother her. Both kids seem to have settled down a bit now, with Friday being a good day for both.

Enebaerodde

Sunday we planned an all day outing to the beach on the north part of Fyn at a place called Enebaerodde (Eena-bear-ode-ah; Juniper berry spit). It is about 20 km away, and there is a regional bike route that goes along the Odense canal and then the Fjord to the area. So we were up, and out after breakfast. The ride did take us all day, and we have sore bums, but we made it.

From Odense Fjord (click photo for more)

I must say I was proud to be a part of our troop heading north. Close to Odense, it is not the height of scenic beauty. At the very bottom part (near our house), it is a low-traffic working harbor. A little further on it gets better; to the west it is quite nice for the first 5 km - wetlands and farmlands, while on the town side of the canal it continues to be industrial. Further north (after the bike ferry at Stige) our focus switched to the east as the path passes the regional dump on the west. Fortunately, after 7 or 8 km both sides are at last "free" from the municipal realities, and the route opens to the countryside.

After a few more km it was break time, and that coincided with the passing of a large ship on its way to Odense. A chance for food, a rest, and a picture or two. Well, we got the food and one picture, but that is about it. Denmark thus far has had a comparatively high population of yellow jackets. They seem to find us (and anyone) wherever we are whenever we have some food outside. Well today on our first stop we found the most aggressive bees yet! In fact it was so bad we had to make a rapid and poorly organized escape, with Katie, Bev, and Hank tearing off without helmets on their heads. I followed just behind, but somehow managed a picture capturing the boat and the escape at the same time.

Free from the mad swarm of bees, we meandered our way up the coast, past pretty harbors, fields, and shoreline. We even saw a polder. There is a large manor house called Hofmansgrav along the route dating from the 18th century and we stopped and walked through the gardens. They have over 200 species of tree, and it is now run by a trust dedicated to maintaining the estate for historical purposes. The place also holds Denmark's only potato museum It is quite small and entirely in Danish, so the information gleaned about potatoes was minimal.

We reached the top (north) end of the route which is a seaside resort. It is beautiful, with nice beach front houses and vacationing Danes (but it is not a big public beach scene). Our map showed a convenience store, but alas, none was to be found. So with kids running on fumes (parents too), we beat a retreat south in search of food. The ONLY thing that saved us was the tailwind. We passed through a town called Kellinbjerg and its harbor had a little kiosk that sold hot dogs and ice cream. Salvation!

The rest of the trip went without a hitch. We had a great time, passed through 50 km of Danish countryside, and arrived home tired, but happy. All that is left is to sleep and plan our next adventure.

Riding NE to Kerteminde

Was that really only 40 km? Only 50? I set out on a ride yesterday to the town of Kerteminde, 20 km NE of Odense. The picture below will link to some images from the ride.

Odense-Kerteminde

I had three hours to do this ride, and I though it would take me perhaps 2 with site seeing. Well, I looked at the sites for the first half, and then had to race home against the wind and the rain to get the kids from school. So much for fast paced riding! The countryside is really beautiful, and the cycling quite pleasant. It is bascially flat, with mild rolling hill, but nothing hard.

Why was it so slow? I think that 1) I am out of shape; 2) I am on a town bike, 3) it was longer than 40 km. How much longer I do not know. So today I will get a cyclometer and get a better feel for the distances traveled.

Stige Faerge

Good Weather and working bikes prevailed the other day and we took a ride out the east side of the Odense Canal to the town of Stige. It was our first real ride here in DK, and it was great. Because we were on a dike and along a canal, it felt a little like the Netherlands, but it did not matter. Ride we did. We reached the town, and after a little poking around, we boarded the smallest ferry in Denmark (see below). Restricted only to foot and bicycle traffic, it travels less than 100 m across the canal (10 kr per adult).

I would like to say that the ride was interesting, but it wasn't. And that is agood thing. Still fun, because I had never been on a bicycle ferry before.

On the other side of the canal we headed north onto an island called Stige island. There was some nice open space there, and we sat and watched the fjord. We saw another strange event happening - Danes of various numbers in little boats performing some sort of nautical rally. It was quite funny, watching tipsy Danes boat along the shore toasting each other as they went out to a buoy and back.

Den Fynske Landsby

From Den Fynske La...

In Odense is an outdoor museum depicting an old Danish village. It is in actuality a a park where they moved a bunch of old (as old as the 14th century) buildings to protect them during WW II. So the buildings you see are from different towns. The image above links to a photo album with more images.

Rental Car Hijinks

So we did rent a car for a week, and on the whole, everything went very well. Driving in Denmark is nothing extraordinary. A bit fast at times, but not very different from home. The cars are smaller, of course, but not small because all the cars are smaller. And in the little villages, this is a plus.

The car allowed us to see a lot of areas we would not get to easily, so it was great. It would not be a rental car in a foreign country, though, if there was not an incident with Matt and the car's keys. In Australia I locked the keys in the car at Ayer's Rock. We were miles from the rental agency (200 or 300) and outta luck. With some force and a little help My dad and I managed to deconstruct the window, unlock the car, and then make the repair at a gas station with no harm done. The only loss was time and a trip around the rock.

In Denmark, I did it a little differently. At the end of our trip, I went to return the car (~ 3 pm on a Saturday), and found the rental office closed at 1 pm. Argh... Well, there was a key drop, so it was possible to return the car without any problem. So I dropped the keys down the chute, and remembered that I had not locked the car. Normally this is not a problem, but late model Peugeot's cannot be locked without the keys! This was confirmed by the manufacturer. NOT possible. Everything turned out ok, but I spent many hours walking back and forth and trying to lock that car. Another lesson learned..

Traveling to Ribe and Mando

Blogging into the past...


Our house secure we headed for Jutland, the part of Denmark that is not an island. We were traveling by car in a little 4-door peugeot (sorry no picture) and went first to the town of Ribe, which is the oldest one in Denmark. We went into the cathedral, and also to the top of it. The kids were amazed by the cathedral and the stories told in the pictures.

Ribe is famous for some other things. Apparently there are a lot of beautiful doors. We did see some, but I was a bit more taken with the flowers.
Ribe is also the city of the storks. Or, it is famous for them. Alas, none came this year, and only one came last year. But they still have nexts for them. The one below is on the city hall.

After Ribe we went to an island just off the coast called Mando. It is basically a high point in an enormous tidal flat. We walked off shore...


This is a very nice area. We enjoyed our time there (just 1 day), and learned a lot.