Today we woke up, had hotel breakfast, snapped a few shots of the hotel and headed out to Mols Bjerge National Park and Ebeltoft. Ebeltoft is an adorable town that I have been to a number of times before. We were supposed to do this part of the trip yesterday according to our original plan. Today we originally planned to take a drive along the west coast. But the rain and gray skies dictated our plans. We remained flexible with our plans and that provided us with a comfortable journey.
At the hotel entrance, a stone carving of a sleepy girls welcomes hotel guest.
Another view from the patio space just outside of our room - looking north we see the city.
Looking south we see the forest.
Jens taking in the amazing view.
The view from the room.
And way in the background is the other side of the Aarhus bay.
And just beyond that is where we are driving to today.
And way in the background is the other side of the Aarhus bay.
And just beyond that is where we are driving to today.
It weather was gray but it was still warm enough to kayak.
These 2 sports freaks paddled past our patio.
These 2 sports freaks paddled past our patio.
We could have driven there in just under an hour but we took the Marguerite route though the national park. The Marguerite route is a tourist route in Denmark passing approximately 1000 of Denmark's smaller and larger attractions, sights and historic sites. The total length of the route is 3600 km / 2,240 miles. In other words - it took a long time. The country from east to west is only 290 km / 180 miles (not including Bornholm which is an island on the other side of Sweden) The route was opened on April 21, 1991 by Queen Margrethe II. The route is named after her favorite flower i.e. Marguerite aka Daisy which is also the Queen's nickname.
Here are just a few of the sites we passed by.
Kaløvig Slotsruin
It's a long walk to the ruin from the road so we just stop to take a brake and have a smoke and step in dog shit. I spent about a half hour cleaning the dog poo off of Jens' shoes and the car carpet. There were lots of people there this hazy day and many with dogs. And Jens being the crazy dog person that he is, stepped into a pile of poo without realizing it and then tracked it into the car.
Click this link to see some Google pix if you are interested (of the ruin - not the dog poo)
The sign above was posted at the start of the trail from the parking lot to the ruin. It was a dirt trail with pot holes and totally muddy from all of the rain. So we admired the ruin from afar with a zoom lense.
Below is a photo of a type of a summer school for adults. It was here where I went on a two week language course with 2 other American guys. The school is close-by to the ruin. I had been to the ruin the year before going to the school. I was telling my 2 American buddies in the best Danish that I could at the time about the castle ruin which is slots ruin in Danish and pronounced: slots woo een. But I kept saying: slots uoo ween - which of course means castle piss.
For nearly 2 weeks I kept talking about castle piss
and the other students just nodded their heads as if I was making sense.
The above pix is of a Viking grave. I tried to find more info about it but no such luck.
I will continue to try and when I do...........
This is a very fancy road marker pointing the way to different destinations.
We have arrived to our destination at Ebeltoft. We have been on the ship Fregatten Jylland before but we only had lunch here this time. The Ship is not wheelchair friendly but it was so enjoyable to just sit and have lunch in the shadows of the masts - well.......... it would have been if the sun was out. We almost grabbed a table outside. Glad we didn't. We noticed that those who did sit out were wearing jackets and wrapped in blankets provided by the restaurant.
Here is the quick info from Wikipedia:
During the Second War of Schleswig in 1864, she participated in the naval action against the Austrian-Prussian fleet in the Battle of Heligoland on 9 May 1864. Jylland along with Niels Juel and Heimdall bested two Austrian frigates and three small Prussian gunboats, but was unable to maintain the blockade of the Prussian North Sea ports. Jylland sustained considerable damage during the battle.
In the 1890s she was reduced to stationary use and barely escaped scrapping in 1908. It was, however, decided to preserve her and she was towed to Ebeltoft in 1960. The hulked frigate further deteriorated until she was placed in dry dock in 1984. Restoration proved to be a major task; over 60% of the timber had to be replaced in addition to the rigging, armament, engines and loose gear.
In Danish, she is known as simply Fregatten Jylland, although several ships have used this name. The restoration efforts were completed in 1994 and she is on permanent display in dry dock at the town of Ebeltoft, Denmark.
And now we have finally arrived in the old town of Ebeltoft. Below is a handful of photos that I randomly snapped. It was a late Saturday afternoon so the town was getting ready to close up for the day. Here's the skinny on the town:
It is known for its old town center with cobble-stoned streets and centuries-old half-timbered houses. Plans for the conservation of this peculiar environment, was initiated in the 1960s by the city council and the National Museum of Denmark. Apart from this overall old-village charm, Ebeltoft holds several other notable institutions such as Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, one of the world's first glass museums, Fregatten Jylland, the longest wooden warship in the world and the European Film College, offering short and long courses in film making, especially for young people.
A comical statue of Lodvig on Adelgade street in Ebeltoft in Denmark. "Lodvig" was the pharmacist's apprentice in the early 1900's . He fancied the mayor's servant, Katrine. One day, Lodvig sneaked into her room when the town mayor caught them and he put them on trial for immoral behavior. During the trial the young couple and the mayor became the talk of the town - and throughout Denmark. The trial ended with a sentence for both which the general public thought was out of proportion to the event.
The statue was raised in 2001 to Ebeltoft's 700th anniversary celebration. Every year since 1965, the Lodvig Award has been awarded to a person who has done something special in the local community.
Took 10 steps and put the chair back into the car.
This walk was a killer for Jens.
Click here to see day 4 of our tour.
You should be a travel writer Eddie. The photos look great too. Beautiful Danish buildings. I miss it. But I don't miss that dismal weather. It looks just as I remember it! -Chris D
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