Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
The long last day of the trip.
A trip like this cannot be complete without one truly crazy day, and for us it would be the last day. We were camping 5km outside of Birkeland and we had planned to catch a 4:30pm ferry from Kristiansand, Norway to Hirtshals, Denmark. It was only 35km to Kristiansand, so we took our time. Brad did some fishing and I was trying to dry out my clothes. As I set my soaking wet shoes out on some rocks near the shore of our campsite, Brad was casting for Trout when he dropped his new iPhone in the river. He pulled it out and quickly shut it off.
We knew we were cutting it a little close when we left at 2:00pm, but still, we only have to travel 35 km. As we began we would face some of the hardest terrain and definitely the hardest wind of the trip. While climbing some of the mountains along the way, the wind could nearly stop us.
We arrived in Kristiansand with about 30 minutes to load onto the ferry, however, the port was not the easiest to find. There was no street signs to guide us and when we did finally find our way, there was a festival going on in the city that we had to travel around. At one point in the city Brad and I became separated and we took two different paths to the port. While he was riding he needed to hop something in the road and when he landed both his tires landed in a tram track in the middle of the street. It violently threw him to the ground (and a mud puddle) and as he picked himself up, he roughed up some bushes in frustration and stood up to see the ferry float away. After missing our 4:30pm ferry we would have to wait for a 8:15pm ferry instead.
This would change our plan a little bit as we planned on arriving in Denmark around 7:00pm and riding for 2 or 3 hours, now we would arrive at around 10:30pm. As we discussed our options we checked the weather report to find out that we would be facing a 35km/hr headwind throughout the next day in Denmark. So with 70km to go to our destination of Aalborg, Denmark we set out to finish the trip that night. We rode through the night with calm winds and with no hurry to get to the train station and after arriving in Aalborg around 5:00am we began our train trip back home to Münster. It would be a very long day with us taking 7 trains and 15 long hours to travel but we had completed our 1550km adventure.
View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint
Telemark
Before leaving Bovallstrand, we thought long and hard about our next step. If we were to bike north to Oslo and then south towards Telemark, it would add at least three days to the trip. We decided instead to take a ferry from Strömstad, Sweden and Sandefjord, Norway.
While planning this trip, one of the things I wanted to visit was the area where the Kittleson name came from. Over the past few years I have learned that they lived in the Telemark region of Norway and they left for the United States from the Porsgrunn port. So as we left Sandefjord, we biked towards Porsgrunn spending Sunday night in Larvik. Museums are closed in Europe on Mondays so we were unable to visit any museums, but we were able to check out the area.
After leaving Porsgrunn, it was time for the biggest decision of the trip, how we would get to Kristiansand, Norway. By far the most common way would be to follow the coastline and major cities of the south, but we wanted a little more adventure. It took about an hour of research but we had come up with our plan. We would ride straight west towards a series of lakes in Telemark and then south to Kristiansand. This would give us the chance to see more wilderness as well as more of the Telemark region. While the total distance would only be around 250km, it would be much more mountainous and the most challenging of the trip.
View Larger Map
While planning this trip, one of the things I wanted to visit was the area where the Kittleson name came from. Over the past few years I have learned that they lived in the Telemark region of Norway and they left for the United States from the Porsgrunn port. So as we left Sandefjord, we biked towards Porsgrunn spending Sunday night in Larvik. Museums are closed in Europe on Mondays so we were unable to visit any museums, but we were able to check out the area.
After leaving Porsgrunn, it was time for the biggest decision of the trip, how we would get to Kristiansand, Norway. By far the most common way would be to follow the coastline and major cities of the south, but we wanted a little more adventure. It took about an hour of research but we had come up with our plan. We would ride straight west towards a series of lakes in Telemark and then south to Kristiansand. This would give us the chance to see more wilderness as well as more of the Telemark region. While the total distance would only be around 250km, it would be much more mountainous and the most challenging of the trip.
View Larger Map
Monday, August 6, 2012
One more stop to make before Norway.
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| Tanum, a site with stone carvings from the bronze age (1800-500 B.C.) |
Holy Mackerel!!
When we returned to 'the Swedes' house after camping we got a chance to meet his friend Janne. A long time friend who was willing to take us Mackerel fishing on his boat. So the next day we loaded onto Janne's boat and he would take us for a tour of the local islands and then we would anchor down and do some fishing. In an instant Brad is pulling up the first of what would be 26 Mackerel in just over an hour of fishing. Everyone in the group caught fish and it made for one hell of a good meal.
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| Konny ('the Swede') and Janne |
Minnesota style.
One of the goals of the trip was to give Jalen a chance to do some camping and fishing and we made the most of it by taking two days and posting up near Munkedal, Sweden. We rented a canoe, fished, cooked brats and hot dogs, made s'mores etc. Just like the type of camping Jalen would get if we were in Minnesota.
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| Jalen and Uncle Brad |
Bovallstrand
So our destination in Sweden would be Bovallstrand, a small fishing community 145km north of Gothenburg. Brad's dad worked with 'the Swede' in Sauk Rapids, MN and he was nice enough to invite us to join him at his summer home. When we started planning this trip we told Brad's brother Jason about it and he decided to drive up from the Düsseldorf area and meet us in Sweden with his son Jalen. So after a lot of hard work, Brad was able to convince me to ride the whole 145km from Gothenburg to Bovallstrand in one day with the final 60km in the absolute dark, finally arriving at 2:00 am (by far the most dangerous part of the trip). As we pulled up to the house Jason met us at the door with a couple beers and we were able to celebrate our second major accomplishment of the trip.
Ängelholm, Sweden
Ängelholm was a small village we found on the map and we set out in search of a good campsite when we arrived. We followed the first path we found and it led us straight to one of my favorite sites of our trip (Which is a good thing as I needed to replace a tube on my bike). We were able to have our first campfire and we finally got a chance to put the mandolin and guitar to use.
The first major accomplishment of the trip.
In 1996, I spent the summer with the Nastrom's in Germany and I was able to visit Denmark and spend a couple days in Copenhagen. So for me, biking through Germany and Denmark was not as much of a thrill as getting to Sweden would be. As we stood at the port before getting on our ferry the sense of accomplishment had begun to set in. We had covered over 800km in eight days of biking and we were about to begin a long stretch of road that was completely new to both of us.
Our next destination would be Bovallstrand, Sweden and as we arrived in Helsingborg, Sweden, it was important to deal with some of our logistical issues before heading north. It would be a long stretch between Helsingborg and Bovallstrand and we are not too sure what to expect. We wrote emails, bought groceries and charged our phones in preparation for the unknown. However, being in Sweden allowed us to have a campfire for the first time on the trip so far. So, we would be eating well from here on out.
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| Just before catching the ferry to Sweden. |
Our next destination would be Bovallstrand, Sweden and as we arrived in Helsingborg, Sweden, it was important to deal with some of our logistical issues before heading north. It would be a long stretch between Helsingborg and Bovallstrand and we are not too sure what to expect. We wrote emails, bought groceries and charged our phones in preparation for the unknown. However, being in Sweden allowed us to have a campfire for the first time on the trip so far. So, we would be eating well from here on out.
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| Helsingborg, Sweden |
Nothing better than a good tailwind.
The ferry from Germany to Denmark would take about 45 minutes, and once there we would find a hard-blowing tailwind which would push us through the Denmark countryside with ease. Denmark is a very flat country and with the wind we were able to complete well over 100km a day. The only problem we were facing was with our tires. We were replacing tubes constantly. Considering our bikes are so heavy, we had to be careful not to over inflate them and by this point we had replaced five tubes.
Along our way through Denmark we talked with several fellow bikers who we would ask advice from, things to see/avoid, directions, etc. While everyone suggested Copenhagen, we learned early on that trying to navigate through major cities wastes a lot of time and is difficult because we are unable to leave our bikes on the street on the fear that something would be stolen. And being our goal was to get through Denmark as quickly as possible we decided to skip going to Copenhagen and ride through Roskilde and Helsingor instead.
Along our way through Denmark we talked with several fellow bikers who we would ask advice from, things to see/avoid, directions, etc. While everyone suggested Copenhagen, we learned early on that trying to navigate through major cities wastes a lot of time and is difficult because we are unable to leave our bikes on the street on the fear that something would be stolen. And being our goal was to get through Denmark as quickly as possible we decided to skip going to Copenhagen and ride through Roskilde and Helsingor instead.
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| As we wait out a hard storm we were served this. Pure rocket fuel. |
Fishing with the boys in Neumünster
After arriving in Neumünster, we met Captain Dan and his neighbor, Hans. Hans suggested that we join him and his friend Uwe on a camping/fishing trip the following morning and being that we brought our fishing rods with us on our bikes, we decided to take them up on the little adventure.
When we arrived back to Dan's apartment we packed up and headed towards Puttgarden on Fehmarn island where we would catch the ferry to Denmark. We camped one day in near Oldenburg before making our way to Puttgarden.
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| Though the fishing was not very good, it sure was a great time. A big thanks to Dan and Hans!! |
When we arrived back to Dan's apartment we packed up and headed towards Puttgarden on Fehmarn island where we would catch the ferry to Denmark. We camped one day in near Oldenburg before making our way to Puttgarden.
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