One of the highlights for Day 2 we knew would be the breakfast by Eva Larsson, our host. Eva is as all B&B owners we met, a very hard working lady where her success depends on taking good care of people like us. She was tireless in answering any question we had about Goteborg or the way to get there as well as finding a plan to have our bike well stored for the evening. But she excelled in preparing us the breakfast. The fruit was very sweet, the pastries very fresh so she had to wake up early to get them and have them ready when we got there. As we ate, she popped in now and then holding her son's parrot and we had the chance to speak about a bit her challenges of raising two boys and as we have four boys which are older we spoke about our experience. She is doing a wonderful job and to her we say "Bra Gjort' Eva".
After breakfast we got on the bike and aimed South towards Copenhagen, Denmark. After discussing with Eva we decided that rather than riding all the way south in Sweden we would ride to Helsingborg in Sweden and then cross by ferry to Helsingor in Denmark and then ride to Copenhagen in a road that is very close to the sea and is supposed to be one of the most popular in Denmark.
I had also read that beaches in this south western part of Sweden are quite rocky in the north and then become more sandy towards the south so we rode close to the sea from Goteborg and went through the towns of Asa, Sweden, Varberg, Sweden. We liked Varberg, Sweden as there was a lot of people on the road and we felt the summer vacation feeling in the air.
Eva had told us a about a small town by the seaside where there was a place that made their own ice cream that was well known and people came from different far off places to enjoy it. So we did go to Traslovslage, Sweden and enjoyed a locally made ice cream. English is not as well spoken as in bigger cities so we had a bit of difficulty in getting understood but eventually with a lot of pointing and hand gestures we were able to get what we wanted. We were told that we could not photograph but a bit too late and as no large bouncer came out and ripped our cards off our cameras we are able to show you inside an ice cream factory in Sweden. The small fishing village is also quite quaint and we got some nice shots and came to another piece of information we would like to share with you. Looking at most of the houses in this small village they are for summer vacation and they are quite close together and we compared it to Finland where majority of Finnish people's dreams is to also get their summer cottage but the more isolated the better. We found it very interesting that in two countries neighbors to each other one nation likes the village approach whereas the other prefers the individual cottage approach.
Our next stop was in Tylosand, Sweden. This is the most well known beach in this part of Sweden and we wanted to see how it faired to other beaches we have been to. The beach is very large and not as rocky as other beaches in the area with very nice houses close by. The detour was worth it and we took some nice pictures.
When we looked at the watch we realized it was quite late and we still and quite a lot of Kms to cover so we got on the bike and took fastest way to Helsingborg, Sweden. We were very impressed with Helsingborg. There are beautiful buildings, a very nice castle and on the other side of the sea you can see Helsingor, Denmark and the very well known "Hamlet" castle. We were supposed just to get into Helsingborg and take ferry but we were so impressed we decided to do a quick motorbike tour of the city and were able to take some very nice pictures.
We then made our way to the ferry dock and took it to Helsingor, Denmark. As we had not eaten lunch yet we had a quick snack (very nice sausages in bread, similar to hot dogs but nicer) and we were able to take pictures of the "Hamlet" castle as we were coming in.
In Helsingor, Denmark we stopped to buy our new country flag and noticed a very interesting particularity which is that the Danish love their flag. Everywhere we went we saw the red with the white cross flag. Later on we would learn the "Dannebrog" is the oldest state flag in the world still used by an independent nation. Although no historical record support the legend, as I love legends here it goes (thanks Wikipedia).
The legend states the origin of the flag to the Battle of Lyndanisse, also known as the Battle of Valdemar (Danish: "Volmerslaget"), near Lyndanisse (Tallinn) in Estonia, on June 15, 1219.
The battle was going badly, and defeat seemed imminent. However a Danish priest on top of a hill overlooking the battle prayed to God, which meant that the Danes moved closer to victory the more he prayed. At a second he was so tired in his arms that he dropped them and the Danes then lost the advantage and were moving closer to defeat. He needed two soldiers to keep his hands up and when the Danes were about to win, 'Dannebrog' fell from the sky and the King took it, showed it to the troops and their hearts was filled with courage and the Danes won the battle.
According to the legend the flag, Dannebrog, was given to the Danes from God himself, and from that day forward, it was the flag of Denmark and the Danish kings.
With flag mounted on bike we then made our way south towards Copenhagen in one of the most picturesque roads we would actually travel on. Distance is about 50 Kms but it took us over one hour to do as in the way we came across many cyclists and we remembered the great Dane cyclist Bjarne Riis (which is the only one who has won the tour). Later on we would be impressed by number of cyclists in Copenhagen so went to read more about it and found out Copenhagen won the best cycling city award and that in Denmark there is a strong tradition for people from all strata of society to cycle. Most Danes associate the bicycle with positive values such as freedom and health, and in recent years cycling has actually become a symbol of personal energy. The bicycle has become ultramodern again, aided by societal development, successful political initiatives and conscious marketing. The three largest Danish cities – Copenhagen, Århus and Odense – have all carried out large branding campaigns that put cyclists in a positive light on advertising billboards, on the internet and by actively including cyclists in new bicycle projects. The result is an increasing number of cyclists and cleaner, healthier and more lively cities. As a keen cyclist and a great believer of these types of programs, hats off to Denmark.
On our arrival in Copenhagen we liked the city immediately. Lots of people and activity (later on we would contrast with cities towards the South where economy woes are strong), beautiful buildings, well planned streets with plenty of space. Our hotel was in the center of the city overlooking the Nyhavn canal and we took some of most beautiful pics in this area. The boats, the people, the cafes, the sun shining all made it picture perfect. We were specially happy with view from our window as we could see the canal.
We parked our motorbike in the courtyard of the hotel and got ready to have dinner with a colleague of mine and his wife that are Danish. And a great dinner and experience it turned out to be. They took us to an amusement park which is an unique experience and has nothing to do with other amusement parks we had visited. Called Tivoli Gardens (or simply Tivoli), this is a famous amusement park and pleasure garden and if you are ever in Copenhagen take a couple of hours and go and visit it. The park opened on August 15, 1843 and is the second oldest amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg. Tivoli's founder, Georg Carstensen (b. 1812 – d. 1857), obtained a five-year charter to create Tivoli by telling King Christian VIII that "when the people are amusing themselves, they do not think about politics".
We loved walking the gardens, seeing the people, "not think about politics" and just enjoy the "happy and unbuttoned air of relaxed fun".
For dinner we went to one of the restaurants in the park and we were treated by our friends to the delicacies of Danish cuisine, again nicely tucked in by a Carlsberg beer (now in the country of its origin).
We also had the opportunity of experiencing the Tivoli Gardens in the evening which may be even more impressive.
To close up another very full day, the Juls took us around Copenhagen in the evening and showed us the most well known places that in the next day we would do during the day.
The evening star was of course the Little Mermaid that we saw and photographed in the moonlight. "The Little Mermaid" (Danish: Den lille havfrue, literally: the little seawoman) is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince. For all of you Disney fans, here is a piece of important trivia ... in the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, at the end when Ariel is sitting on top of the rock looking longingly at Prince Eric, she is in exactly the same position that the "real-life" one is.
And that is all for Day 2. In Day 3, we keep going South now to German lands and to the famous autobahns. We will test the top speed of the GSA ...
Click HERE for all the pictures for Day 2
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