itsmylife: Denmark fem

Wednesday 29th May. Hirtshals. Admin day, washing, check out ferries and if possible route profiles fo Norway (I've been hearing stories!!).
Get some food in for tea, Thursday breakfast and lunch, answer some e-mails and sort stuff for Thursday's ride.

A chilly beach at Hirtshals

Memorial steps

And they sell Murphy's!

Cor!!

Yep, full!

Hirtshals = fish

Carving next to hostel front door

Thursday 30th May. Hirtshals - Skagen. Cracking weather, except for wind in the face, again! Sun shining, quiet country roads, forest tracks, gravel and asphalt tracks through the dunes, this was good stuff. I like Denmark.
At the edge of the dunes the trail led past Rabjerg Mile, a 40m high by 2km long by 1km wide 'wandering'dune. Over the last 100yrs it has moved 4km SW to NE, that's about 15m per year, and that's moving 4 million Cu mtrs of sand!!
Coffee and a freshly baked croissant for a 'keep you going' breakfast and a smooth asphalt track through woods, low dunes and heath into Skagen, arriving at the Dan hostel at 1550. Sign in, sort gear, brew, shower and food. There was also a recommendation to watch the sunset! That would be setting over the Skagerrak then. Not a fantastic sunset, 6/10, could do better!

Rabjerg Mile, a 'wandering' dune,
40m high x 2km long x 1km wide.
Over last 100 yrs has moved 4km SW to NE.
4 million cubic mtrs of sand!!

Skagen at last!

Sunset watchers

Sunset over the Skagerrak

Friday 31st May. Skagen - Grenen (Denmark, top end). I'd booked a breakfast to enable me to stock up for the day; the school kids also resident must have wondered what the breakfast routine was in the UK as this old geezer stuffed bread rolls, slices of cheese, salami and a boiled egg into his pocket before pilling his plate up as well!! Anyway, that was breakfast and lunch sorted.
0900 ish set off on a light bike! on the 6k ride to Grenen. From the car park it was a 10 minute walk out to the point where the Skagerrak and the Kattegat meet. A pic or two and off back, first big objective knocked off.

Modelling the Maggies T-Shirt (it is, if you squint you can read it!)

Modelling Parkinsons UK T-Shirt

Grenen Fyr and Kattegat

Denmark, top end.
Left of the point: Skagerrak
Right of the point: Kattegat

A Friday afternoon in Skagen.

Saturday 1st June. Skagen - Hirtshals. Most stuff packed Friday evening so this morning, a quick breakfast and away at 0650. Sun shining, light breeze and with me!!!
A cracking run, a couple of minutes on a busyish road cycle lane, five minutes on a very quiet road then woods, dunes and heath land, all on a smooth asphalt trail!
Stopped for Coffe and was forced to have a wee snackerel with it! on then back past Rabjerg Mile, stopping at Uggerby picnic bench for an apple and some bread, cheese and salami. Another bikey type was rolling along the trail and pulled up by the bridge, had a quick mooch around then cycled the last fifty mtrs or so up to the picnic site. A bit of a chat, introductions, he was Otto, heading south along the NSCR through to Belgium, then where fancy took him. He'd allowed himself two years!! and was a fit looking seventy three!! We rode back to Hirtshals together where he was off to the supermarket to stock up and I trundled off to the harbour to pick up a ferry ticket ready for Sunday.
I'd decided to go straight to Norway, I'd been told tales of hills that cars struggled to get up!
and not wishing to walk pushing my bike to Stavanger I opted for whimping out and going to Langersund. However, when I went for my ticket there was consternation! Hadn't I received an e-mail telling me that ferry route would now not be in operation until 17th July, a tad late for me. An 'across the counter' conference with a charming young lady and assorted maps resulted in the best option being Kristiadsand. Bergen, to close to Stavanger. Stavanger its self!, I thought it perhaps a bit too much to ride around Stavanger for three and a half weeks! Oslo, maybe pushing it a bit, thinking of hills that cars could only just manage. No, Kristiansand it would be.
Next episode Hirtshals - Kristiansand, Norway.