North Cape Cycling Adventure – Day 8 to 14

This week I spent only four days on my bike. Between Hamburg and Copenhagen I cycled 368.45km and took a 45-minute ferry across the Baltic Sea. I got soaked on Wednesday, wet on Thursday and drenched on Friday. Although it was a little bit uncomfortable at times, the thought of a shower, a meal and a bed at night made everything totally bearable.

The other three days I used to recover from my knee injury in Hamburg and explore beautiful Copenhagen on the weekend.

Day 8 (April 8): Hamburg, Germany

0km.

22.56h. I took it very easy today; finally did laundry, bought some fruit and bread, and I cleaned my bike (in my room). I rested a lot. Even though I said it was nice to have the time to explore a new city, I didn’t even go for a proper walk around today. My main focus is on the cycling trip and my knees needed some rest. I found a pretty cheap hotel near the train station. That’s where I’ve been eating for two days. It’s almost like a shopping mall, including an enormous food court. Good and cheap food!

Tried to plan next week and Denmark looks way more expensive. I might camp out if the weather isn’t too bad.

I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike tomorrow. Fingers crossed, hopefully my knees won’t bother me as much anymore. Should be in Denmark in two days.

Day 9 (April 9): Hamburg – Scharbeutz, Germany

95.55km.

18.57h. Kind of long, but good day. I started early-ish this morning in Hamburg at 9.50h. Hamburg was really easy to get out of by bike, I didn’t have to make a single turn in the first 40km. Arrived in Scharbeutz, on the Baltic Sea coast, at 17.20h after 5h50min on the  bike.

There’s still a twinge in both of my knees, but it’s alright so far. Definitely not as bad as before. It was a nice and sunny day, more cloudy at the end. I think it might start raining tomorrow though. Don’t have internet access today and tomorrow. I’ve been relying on the internet a lot in the past days for weather updates, planning routes and booking places to sleep. Let’s see how this goes now!

Bought lunch for tomorrow at an Aldi store: 3 euro for quite a lot of food. Perfect. Rødby tomorrow night and I’ll be camping for the first time. Hopefully the rains won’t be too bad. Big tagliatelle and chicken dinner.

Uneventful day today, which is good!

Day 10 (April 10): Scharbeutz, Germany – Rødby, Denmark

97.27km.

20.48h. Rain.

Started at 9.15 this morning, finished at 19.20h. Super long day for some reason. Drizzle/rain all day long. Got absolutely and totally soaked. I got offered a cup of coffee by a retired German guy. Was great to warm up! 0-2°C…

Crossing the Fehmarn Bridge was a special experience. Weather was so bad, but it felt adventurous.

I changed into clean and dry clothes in a bus stop before I got onto the ferry to Denmark. No way I was going to get into a restaurant looking the way I looked. Roasted salmon and a salad buffet on the ferry was awesome! I was supposed to camp tonight, but I got a (very expensive) room at the camping instead. Really needed to dry everything. Focused on getting to Puttgarden and that ferry all day long. Tough day.

So glad I don’t have to sleep in a tent right now, it’s still pouring.

22.28h. Been busy all night, running around cleaning and drying myself and my clothes. Time to do some reading now!

Day 11 (April 11): Rødby – Præstø, Denmark

83.26km.

18.46h. A grey, quiet, cold, wet and unpleasant day. I rode through mist and fog from early morning till late afternoon. Couldn’t see very far, so no great views of the Danish countryside. There was nothing to do but pedal. Pretty cold sidewinds.

I’m cooking soup and noodles for dinner now. This is actually the first time I’ve cooked an evening meal on this trip. Knees start hurting pretty badly again. It’s worrying me. The weekend off in Copenhagen will be great!

20.58h. Just realized how much wildlife I’ve seen so far. Lots of deer and an incredible number of birds. So many waterbirds in Holland and Lolland. But definitely the most memorable was the eagle that came flying next to me when I was cycling over the bridge between Lolland and Sealand in Denmark. What a spectacular animal. I’ve never seen a wild bird that big from so close before.

Day 12 (April 12): Præstø – Copenhagen, Denmark

92.37km.

18.47h. Today was grim and rainy, but very fast on perfect bike paths. It was a really misty and quiet morning, I liked it a lot. No sounds at all, except for some birds and my pedals. It got very, very wet near the end though.

Fastest day until now, averaging exactly 20km/h. Felt great. Listened to my iPod all day. Noticed this morning that my cycle computer goes crazy near traffic lights sometimes; it says my maximum speed today was 199.99km/h. So kept a certain distance when I had to wait for a green light.

Got a small room in a hotel that supports charities. I liked that a lot. Panini/coffee for lunch and a big burger/beer for dinner!

Didn’t mind the rain at all today, it was a fast and quiet day.

Day 13 (April 13): Copenhagen, Denmark

0km.

21.14h. Went out for a few beers last night, but that was so expensive. I spent way too much money and I’ll have to live on a tighter budget the following days.

I spent the day walking around. There are so many bikes in Copenhagen, it’s unbelievable. I’ve read about it, but it still surprised me. It’s a gorgeous city, fell in love with it straight away. Got goosebumps when I first saw Nyhavn, the prettiest street I have ever seen. I was totally impressed. Had a delicious pancake with a banana and nutella!

Had a cheap all-you-can-eat lunch, which was fantastic after missing breakfast. Thought it was until 11, apparently only until 10.15. That sucked. Will have to eat more fruit tomorrow though. Need my vitamins!

Walked past the Little Mermaid, which honestly is ridiculously disappointing. There are way more exciting things to see in Copenhagen, and yet there were busloads of people and a souvenir stall. A total tourist trap.

Quiet night now, washed some clothes just now, going to edit pictures and do some blogging.

Day 14 (April 14): Copenhagen, Denmark

0km.

19.13h. Cultural Sunday. Nice day of wandering around Slotsholmen and visiting Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, which was interesting but I expected more, and the Nationalmuseet, which was magnificent. One of the best museums I have ever been to. It has exhibitions about the entire Danish history, covering a couple million of years in extreme details, and a phenomenal display of different peoples of the world. After spending more than three and a half hours in there, I left in awe.

Wanted to buy a couple of souvenirs, but those turned out to be quite expensive. Got to watch my money now, so I might not buy any.

Tomorrow morning I have to go buy a map of Sweden. I forgot that some stores are closed on Sundays… Finally camping tomorrow, in Helsingborg. Excited to finally go to Sweden! Short ride to my fifth country already.

Dinner was a buffet of vegetables, pasta and Asian food. Great. Weather was perfect today, hope it stays that way!

Cleaned the bike properly this morning, it was embarrassingly dirty after those three days of rain.

My total distance covered at this point is approximately 1,200km, which is about one third of the distance to the North Cape. Two weeks in, I’m perfectly on target. And that feels great.