Biking Bornholm: Day 2

On our second day in Bornholm, I took a little time to admire the beauty of the little town of Gudhjem where we were staying. 

Some picturesque rocks near our hostel.

A very intrepid family of ducks braving the surf.

For our adventure of the day we decided to bike up to the northern tip of the island, to the ruins of a castle called Hammershus. It is the remains of the largest medieval fortification in northern Europe. So that's pretty cool. It was built in the 13th century, and was long believed to have been constructed as a residence for the archbishop of Lund. However new evidence suggests it may instead have been built for the Danish King Valdemar II for use as both as a residence and a base for the Danish crusades. Which I didn't know were a thing.

Some quick research reveals that the Danish crusades were part of the larger Northern Crusades, a series of wars by Danish and Swedish kings against the pagans of norther Europe. Apparently a group called The Sword Brothers was also involved, which is a pretty sweet name. If my memory serves me correctly, this was the same group that built the fortress I stumbled upon in Sigulda, Latvia. Pretty sure they were a Latvian group. Fun connections!

Check out this here fortification.

The keep.

Some walls.

On the way back down to Gudhjem we stopped off at a fish restaurant that had been recommended to us. I had chicken. We also made a brief pit-stop at a cave on the coast, known as the Black Cauldron.

There were come cows near it.

Cliffs.

Inside the cave. It was uncomfortably narrow. And damp, 
due to the ocean being right outside of it. Slightly creepy, 
but really cool.

Biking Bornholm: Day 1

Bornhom is the second easternmost point in Denmark. The farthest east is Christiansø, a small archipelago about 18 km northeast of Bornholm. It boasts an impressive year round population of 96 people. 

The population of Bornholm is slightly higher, ringing in at approximately 41,000 people. Bornholm is a roughly rhomboid island in the Baltic sea with an area of 588 sq km (227 sq mi). With such a small size, it's an ideal place for a weekend of biking. It's famous for its beer, ice cream, smoked herring and glass.

Bonus: it's beautiful enough that even grey and rainy weather can't ruin the experience.

There are hills. More than I've ever encountered in a day of biking in Denmark in my life.

A field of rape. 

Picturesque horses.

A tree full of ladders. Normal. Located on the outskirts of Nexø.

For our first excursion we decided to bike down to the southernmost tip of the island- a 60-something km round trip. This end of the island is somewhat famous for Dueodde beach. (Don't ask- I have no idea how to pronounce that.)

The reason for all the fuss about this unpronounceable beach is it's sand. Apparently some of, if not the finest sand in the world, Dueodde sand is used in hourglasses. It's also quite the tourist draw in the summer it seems. The area around it was filled with cute little beach houses, reminiscent of Maine or Massachusetts, and of course, kitschy eateries.

It is a really nice beach. Very white sand, light turquoise water. Waling on the famous Dueodde sand is one of the strangest feelings ever. The closest thing I can liken it is walking on cornstarch, not that that's something I've done. But it squeaks and shifts like cornstarch, so I'm comfortable with the analogy.

One of the restaurants had a camel out front. Samer went for a ride.

The beach. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but alas my camera decided to die there. 

On our way back north to our hostel in Gudhjem we stopped in Sveneke and lunched at the Sveneke Bryghus. Much sampling of brews was done, and my illustrious co-leaders Samer and Frazer enjoyed some herring, another of Bornholm's specialties. Unfortunately we were so weighed down by the gigantic lunch we consumed that the first few kilometers of the rest of the ride back were, shall we say, difficult. But, no regrets.

Samples. Delicious samples.

Apparently there is a Koch running a guest house in Gudhjem. I did not get to meet them.

Dragør

Last Monday was a national holiday here in Danmark, meaning we had the day off. So two coworkers and I decided to bike town to Dragør, a picturesque little town at the southern end of the island of Amager. It's pretty nice ride, and only about a 30km round trip. The route takes you past the airport which is fun. There's also a really cool restaurant, Flyvergrillen located on the side of the runway.There's nothing like munching a burger (or meatballs) while watching planes take off. It brings me back to my childhood, watching the planes from the Newark IKEA. Fond memories.

A church on the outskirts of the town. It had a really beautiful cemetery on the grounds.

A really cool window on a church in Dragør.

Ducklings! Traffic actually stopped completely to let them pass.

It is a really nice little town. And it's conveniently located right near Øresundsbroen, the relatively new bridge to southern Sweden. There's also an out of use fort that has been re-purposed as an underground hotel. Underground in the sense that it is actually subterranean, not that it's somewhere that hipsters would enjoy. Although they might. Dragør also conveniently has really good ice cream. 

Cute wooden boats in the harbor.

Laura and James enjoying the harbor.

The houses are super cute.

People live in houses with actual thatched roofs.

Walking along the ocean.

In all, this was a very satisfactory day trip. Now that the weather is improving, the interns are starting to cast about for a few more long distance bike trips. 

Who Says You Can't Go Home

Quoting Bon Jovi is oddly appropriate here. There's a sentence I never thought I'd say. But yeah- Bon Jovi, New Jersey, the place that I live- get it? Super clever.

Anyway, I know it's long overdue, but I'm finally getting around to posting about my trip home. I just want to share some pictures from the place I'm lucky to call my home.

Time for a walk in the woods.

A beautiful lake, in New Jersey.

Impossible you say? False. There's more to this place than the shore.

Going home reminds me exactly how much I love nature and miss being near it. Distance from real wilderness is the biggest bummer about living in Copenhagen. Denmark is not exactly the most rugged country in the world.

Apparently fishing without a permit has been illegal for quite some time.

Looks like a nice place for a picnic.

Probably the oddest thing to experience going home is the propensity for for small talk. It's oddly alarming when a cashier starts a conversation with you. Monetary transactions here follow a set script. Cashiers tell you your total, ask if you want a receipt, and that's it. Occasionally you'll get a 'have a good day' or a 'have a nice weekend', but those are only for special occasions.

A little piece of Kinnelon history. There are initials on this tree from the 60s.

It's crazy the ease with which it's possible to slide back into life at home, just like you never left. Going home feels like the most natural thing in the world. I highly recommend it.

Last but not least, some of my wonderful family. Love you guys!

Moroccan Highlights

Because my enjoyment of Morocco could not be fully contained in a mere five posts. Here are a few more photos and other snippets that didn't make the cut for the first round.

The countryside is beautiful.

People. Everywhere.

The sunsets are breathtaking. As are the stars.

Hamams are essentially spas. And they're located all over the place. And they're incredibly cheap. And mother of pearl are they amazing. There is nothing in the world like laying in a dark, moist room and having a large woman rub oil into you. That was probably the most relaxed I've ever been. Or at least in the top ten. If you go to Morocco and don't take a hamam, you're doing it wrong.

If you're not careful, you will find yourself on a camel. Even if you've said you have no interest in a camelback ride.

Camels on many corners

Ashley picked some cactii.

Morocco is a colorful place.

Very colorful.

And crowded. The streets are filled with quite the variety of vehicles.

Snakes. There are snakes.

Caroline came up with a new, cutting edge method of descending mountains.

Portu-geezers

Well, this post is embarrassingly overdue...

On our way back from Casablanca, the cheapest way back home was to take a 20-some-odd hour layover in Lisbon. Shockingly, we were not upset about this situation. Because we are very flexible and easygoing travelers. Our ready acceptance of our fate had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that none of us had yet been to Portugal.

Lisbon is a hilly city. A welcome change from flat old Copenhagen.

Buildings faced with elaborate tiles seem to be fairly common in Lisbon.

To be honest, I at least didn't know much about Lisbon going into this trip. As it turns out, there's a whole lot of history in that city. In our incredibly brief time there, we managed to see two UNESCO World Heritage sites: Jerónimos Monastery and Belem Tower. Pictures do more justice to the beauty of these places than I can, so just enjoy them.

Jerónimos Monastery.

It has some incredibly elaborate stonework.

So many carvings.

White on blue.

Padrão dos Descobimentos.

Depictions of famous Portuguese figures associated with exploration.

A view from the top of Padrão dos Descobrimentos.

Pretty sweet mad of the world, viewed from the top of the cross.

Belem Tower.

Presumably it was approaching high tide.

We also happened, by mostly dumb luck, and some good hostel researching, to wind up in one of the highest rated hostels in all of Europe there: Oasis Backpackers' Mansion. T'was indeed an excellent place- clean, super friendly, and they gave spectacular directions for how to reach it. We went on a semi-organized evening of exploration with a bunch of Germans and Canadians who were staying with us, and walked up and down many more hills. 

A fairly famous funicular right near our hostel.

Long story short, Lisbon was great. Portugal as a whole seems great. And I would very much like to go back for a rather longer period of time.

Also, Portuguese custard tarts rank among the top ten things that have ever graced my mouth with their presence. Visiting without trying them would be a travesty.