Friday, December 21, 2007

Dutch weather in Denmark


In June I went with Lianna, my sister -and paddling partner to Denmark.
We had three weeks of full time paddling ahead of us. We decide to start at the Flensborger Fjord, just after de border with Germany and Denmark.

Camping in Denmark is nice; they have a lot of remote "official" camping spots. And we were always the only one, maybe because of the "Dutch weather", or it was still off-season.
Mommark
In Mommark we cross the small Belt and head for the most northern point of Aero. We have a break at the lighthouse for some tea and continue to Avernako, we round it SE and go further N. Next stop is Lyö. It's over here the weather gets worse and we have to stay a day. We camp in the Marina, and Lianna is acting as a tug with her kayak; a sailing boat was aground in the little harbor. Above us a helicopter is searching for a kite surfer.… they find a kite board but not the one on it.
We head N and are planning to go around the Funen. Passing by little Islands, while in Assens the thunder and lighting forces us to find shelter in a public toilet. It’s still early afternoon, so we decide to go on but stay close ashore.

We paddle under the bridges that connect Funen and mainland Denmark. In the morning we cross the Bay of Vig, there is no wind and we make a lot of progress.
Near Lindö and Ejllinge we are very surprised to see a dog far away from shore. The water is very shallow. I use me whistle to attract him, but he is only going further offshore.
a real Seal! (in Holland we say "zeehond", lit. sea dog)

We are now on the most N point of the Funen. Tomorrow we cross to Hindsholm. The wind blows hard and we have to work hard for several hours. The rain is pouring over us and will not stop. We have to set up our tents and life is wet.
Another Dirty Nelly's in Denmark
In Lundeberg we stop for two days. They will burn down the Witch tonight: the midsummerfest. A lot of people gather on the beach. We eat out and the fish on the quay is superb.

On the other side is Langeland, we will follow the E side of the Island
In Spotsjberg I can no longer paddle, my back is giving me problems and a physiotherapist in Odense is not giving me relief.

The paddling days are over. When we want to go home the ferries are not operated due to heavy storms. We cross the big bridges in walking pace and the kayaks stay on the roof of the car. Lucky us!

Denmark is okay, but the weather was just like at home; Rain, rain and more rain.

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