Denmark Trip

[payneib]

So, this year I've been working in Denmark. I've done eleven weeks so far, with five more to go. Fortunately, I managed to wangle a ferry ticket on expenses from work (apparently it saved them money over the price of the flights they've been booking). While I've bought a new (to me) Triumph Sprint 1050st, because I've been away I've not had time to prove it, so the old faithful FZ6 is going to spend five weeks away from home. I see it as a kind of "last hurrah" for the girl before she's relegated to purely work horse duties.

I'm currently sat on the ferry, waiting to leave Hull, supping a fermented beverage. The only picture so far (sorry, I've been stressing all day about making the ferry, so wasn't feeling too snap happy) is this one:

 

[Cloggy]

Have a good journey, looking forward to seeing your pics from Denmark :thumbup:

 

[payneib]

I've made to Aalborg! I'm absolutely knackered.

Left Rotterdahm at about 1000 yesterday morning, and mostly broke the journey up in to two hour stints. My first stop was for lunch in Weirengerwierf, Holland.

Then I rode through to Nieuweschans (I think) right on the German border for some coke and toilet stop.

Then headed up to Cuxhaven to camp the night. In the spirit of "Winners Wing It" or if you prefer, "Improvise Adapt and Overcome" I had absolutely no accommodation booked, but managed to find a campsite that let me squeeze in to a corner.

Had an early night there, after some awesome pizza. The plan this morning was to head to Wischafen and get a ferry across the Elbe to Gluckstadt, instead of riding the big loop down to Hamburg. But as luck would have it, while googling the times for that ferry, I stumbled across a ferry direct from Cuxhaven to Brunsbuttel and shaved about two hours off the journey.

I was lucky to make the 0900 crossing after getting a random stop and document check from the German Police on my way back through Cuxhaven.

After that were some lovely German back roads before linking up with the long motorway run out the top of Germany and up through Denmark.

I've done a good twelve hours in the saddle over the last two days, and really looking forward to a nice hot shower now!

 

[Cloggy]

Thanks for the pics, looks like you had a great road trip :thumbup:

I don't know why you stopped in Wieringenwerf (not far from where I live), the place only exists since 1931 (it has been reclaimed from the sea), but this means that it's pretty modern, but I guess when you're on the road you stop when necessary.

I've thought about doing this trip sometime as my cousin moved to Denmark a long while ago (originally with his job), and I haven't seen him in a long while (he lives in Aarhus).

Let us know how you get on, and are you planning the same route back?

 

[payneib]

The only reason I stopped there was because I'd seen the big dyke on the map and wanted to cross it. It was also a convenient point for a break as I generally chop particularly long trips up in to about two hour segments. I can do more in one go, but not more than once (so I can do a four hour ride, non stop, but any longer and four hours between stops is too much).

I'm a bit lazy in navigating too. I keep a map book in the tank bag, just incase, but mostly use a smart phone GPS app for navigation. I study the route I want, and then pick points along it that look "about two hours rideish", and just use the "navigate to here" function to force the GPS route I want. I also use the fuel gauge as a rest timer. I run from a brimmed tank until two bars left on the gauge and then stop at the next petrol station. I find that quite helpful for regulating rest stops too.

I'm not sure about the route home. I'll be finishing work at around two o'clock on the Friday afternoon, and I'm booked on the Saturday night ferry from Rotterdam, so I'll have to look at my camping options. Hopefully I can do something similar, and cross the Elbe in the same place.

Thoroughly enjoyed all the tunnels coming out of Rotterdam, and the standard of driving through Holland and Germany was superb (as well as the quality of the roads). Unfortunately, driving standards dropped again once I was across the border in to Denmark.

I think it has more to do with motorway speed limits than anything else.

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

 

[payneib]

Had a nice little ride out after work yesterday. Took the bike along the fjord on the south bank, then looped round the top. Some stunning scenery, unfortunately I didn't stop for photos as I was enjoying the relatively empty roads too much and really got in a good flow with it. Mostly rolling on and off the throttle in third and fourth gear. I finally got the opertunity on the way back to pull up outside the pub we congregate in and join in with the locals obsession for giving loud exhausts a damn good blow at traffic lights, much to the amusement of the lads from work. Definitely had to give my lid a damn good scrub when I got back!

Hopefully out again tomorrow if the weather stays nice. I'll pick a different direction and see where it takes me.

 

[payneib]

Made it out again, and managed to stop for pictures too! If you look at that sat nav screen shot from before, I did a big southeasterly square. I went east from Aalborg along the fjord to a place called Egense, then south along the coast to Odde, where I found this little spot:

Then I went west and cut through some woodland to place called Vebbestrup where one of my Danish colleagues promised me I'd find an ice-cream factory and shop that makes the best ice-cream in Denmark. I wasn't disappointed:

 

[payneib]

A good run up to Skagen (say the "g" as a "y", whilst pretending you have a potato in your mouth, and you're prety much fluent in Danish right there) this afternoon, the very northern tip of Denmark, where the North Sea rounds the corner towards the Baltic. Loads of bikes out and plenty of good views.

 

[payneib]

Well, I'm all packed up and ready for the long ride home tomorrow. A couple of trips to update on from the last couple of weeks.

I did another lap of the fjord and remembered to stop for photos this time.

I had a good trip out to the Viking Centre at Fyrkat on a grey Saturday morning.

And last Sunday went for my biggest route around Northern Jutland yet, a quick dash south-west, before island hoping up to the west coast and following the coast road before heading back inland to Aalborg.

It's been a good five weeks with the bike out here, weather wasn't brilliant (when is it in Denmark?!) but a few brief outbreaks of summer made it worth. Overall though, it's been a very long four months away from home, and I'm glad to be heading back now.

 

[payneib]

I got home yesterday morning. Had my stop in Cuxhaven again, and made the ferry at Rotterdam with an hour or two to spare.

Quick question for [MENTION=673]Cloggy[/MENTION] were you buy any chance on a blue FZ6, wearing white and blue leathers on the motorway near Arnhem on Saturday morning by any chance?

 

[Cloggy]

I got home yesterday morning. Had my stop in Cuxhaven again, and made the ferry at Rotterdam with an hour or two to spare.

Thanks for sharing, looks like you had a great trip :thumbup:

Quick question for [MENTION=673]Cloggy[/MENTION] were you buy any chance on a blue FZ6, wearing white and blue leathers on the motorway near Arnhem on Saturday morning by any chance?

Nope it wasn't me, I ride the faster red one Blah