DANISH BIKE TRIP

             A Note From My Diary

Discussion with a granddaughter the other day brought this Denmark adventure to mind. The gal who was going to go with me chickened out close to departure time when she informed me she thought Denmark would be hilly. I didn’t agree with her and off I went. So let me quote my diary from the moment:

 The ferry ride was the easy part of the day. We had  nothing but hills all day, most of which forced me and everyone else to walk the last 1/3 to reach the top. At the top there was always a wonderful downhill ride but then another big hill loomed right up in your face. The hills were so steep you had to break nearly all the way down to avoid going 50 miles an hour. Often there was a curve at the bottom of the hill and one never knows what loose rocks, grit or other hazard, might be waiting on the road for a careless biker.

I’ve never had such an aerobic workout, as I huffed and puffed all day often gasping for what would seem to be my last breath! And I thought Denmark would be flat. Wrong!

At one of the rest stops I was muttering about my discontent when I was asked, “Aren’t you having a good time?”

“No, I’m not. Sweat is running into my eyes, my head is dripping wet, I’m so wet my clothes are clinging to me and I sure don’t need this cardiac workout. I’ve been in first gear all day, in fact for most of the trip so far.”

To make matters worse that day, after the rest stop we picked up a headwind. I’m thinking ‘and I paid  good money to torture myself like this.’

We stopped at a lovely beach for lunch. The area was called the Great Bend as it separated the Baltic Sea from the North Sea. The water was cool and the beach crowded. We observed many topless sunbathers. By then I was about ready to pack it in and ride in the van. One gal did ride the van for a day and a half. She developed severe stomach cramps, probably from dehydration. One of the fellows simply packed up and went home.

I approached our guide, “Be honest with me, is the whole trip going to be like this? Don’t give me any rhetoric! Just tell me the truth because I’ve about had enough.”

He replied, “The worst is just about over. There’s not too much left today and tomorrow will be better. You’re really a much better biker than you think you are. I’d like to see you continue on as I really think you can make it.”

The van driver also encouraged me to continue. They were right and I did end up peddling all the way. I remembered the year before when my #10 was always last. Well, this year #3 started in the middle of the pack and ended up in the middle every day, so I guess that was an improvement. This group were good bikers but not as fanatical or fast and competitive as the group last year in Austria,

After lunch the hills flattened out some and I could at least get into 2nd gear. The wind tempered the heat and made it feel a little cooler, tolerable anyway. It wasn’t too long before we hit a dirt path through a forest. It was very scenic and the tree cover cooled us down a bit more.

Coming out of the woods we rode past a gorgeous large castle. Along the ocean bike path the ocean breeze was behind us offering welcoming relief. It was a treat to bike on level ground!

At the very end of the day two huge steep hills had us all dismounting half way up for a walk to the top, but at the top of the second hill we had a nice long gentle downhill coast through the forest. Suddenly we were in Svendborg. Our hotel was in the center of the square, but it turned out to be quiet. After our bikes were secured our guide said, “It’s been a long hard day so I’m going to treat you to some Svendborg bitters.”

After that day the terrain was much friendlier, the trip was interesting and I was really glad I’d stuck it out to the end.

IRISH MEMORIES AND TRIVIA

                                    Fun Moments

            Between the walking and sightseeing in Dublin we stopped late one morning at Bewley’s Oriental Café for Irish coffee and a pastry. Bewley’s coffee and tea was founded by Quakers in 1842. Stain glass windows and marble top tables decorate the café on Grafton Street. The place was crowded, but we were lucky to find a small round table for two just as a couple was leaving. The pastries in Ireland were scrumptious and I really enjoyed too many of them.

            We learned and confirmed every day that main courses are served with vegetables that represent the colors of the Irish flag. The green might be peas, broccoli, beans; the orange often was carrots or turnips and the white may be potato, cauliflower. It’s a pretty neat concept.

There is a meandering path around the harbor to Kinsale that ends at the city. The Scilly (pronounced silly) trail is paved and weaves alongside homes overlooking the harbor. The homes on the hill were landscaped obscuring them from the path below. Our progress was interrupted often as we stopped to pick and eat wild blackberries. I estimate I ate about a cup of them before lunch. Yummy!

Temple Bar is a section of Dublin known for its traditional Irish food. In the area is a restaurant called the Bad Ass Café. I had to take a picture of the sign as no one would believe it existed. Although we did not eat there I understand the food was good.

At a bus stop I spotted a large sign in some city I presently can’t recall that  said Neuter Your Best Friend. Of course it meant a pet, but I turned to my buddy saying, “You’d better be good now or I’ll neuter you.”

A bar is a walkway along the River Liffey in Dublin.

            The unveiling of the Nelson pillar in 1868 in Dublin provoked serious sectarian riots in Belfast. The monument was destroyed in 1966 and replaced with the Millennium “needle” called The Spire, a 400-foot high abstract sculpture. Pointing skyward over the historic Irish capital like an enormous needle, the monument, built at a cost of a million Euros, is the focal point of rejuvenating the O’Connell Street district, Dublin’s traditional shopping and cultural hub. 

            It took 130 tons of hot rolled stainless steel to create the Spire, which tapers from a nine-foot base to 15 centimeters at the tip where a powerful light is housed. The competition to replace the Nelson monument was won by a London architectural firm.

In Ireland a park is a green. St. Stephen’s Green, occupying 27 acres, is an oasis in the city center. The oldest park in Dublin (1664) was once an open common for punishment. After a long period of decline it became a private park in 1814 and mid-century certain residents had keys to enter the park. In 1880 Lord Ardilaun, chairman of Guinness, bought all the keys and landscaped the area before giving it to the city. Among the meandering paths are a Victorian bandstand, flower gardens, formal lawns and ornamental lake with waterfowl, bridges and islands. Buildings surround the green heartland.  We were in and out of the lovely green several times. It is a great area for a bit of respite in the middle of a busy city.

TURKISH BATH EXPERIENCE

                   A New Bathing Experience 

Budapest, Hungary is famous for its thermal waters, its Art Nouveau and 16^th century Turkish baths.  Hungarians are great believers in the medicinal powers of thermal bathing. The baths have a long and proud history going back to Roman times, but it was under Turkish occupation that the bath culture flourished.

In Budapest eighty thermal springs feed twelve spa baths with a daily output of 70 million liters of thermal water.

One can visit any of the 10-12 bathhouses still in operation. Four of us decided to spend the afternoon at the Szechenyi Baths in the park. We were strongly encouraged to take an English speaking person with us. Our guide found a sweet young lady from a travel agency to accompany us.

During our visit, a few years ago, we found the employees at the baths not very friendly, and the list of prices for various parts of the bath was endless. English translations were non-existent and no one spoke any English. We were happy we had  a local gal who could translate and show us the routine. The process of actually getting to the pools is not difficult, but rather complicated, and we all agreed that without her we would have been in for a trying and stressful afternoon.

We went in all the pools. The water was clear and odorless, except for the hottest pool that had a yellow tinge and a whiff of sulfur. Inside, having lost our guide and being unable to read any of the signs, we all just hoped we wouldn’t wander into a male only area. But all went well.

Walking to one of the pools I remarked, “It looks like a lot of people come here for the day, just like we go to the beach.” 

She agreed. The place was huge and could accommodate a lot of people. We didn’t have any trouble getting a locker.

When we were leaving I couldn’t remember which pocket of my cargo pants I’d put the little plastic tag. After checking all the many pockets, I found it, but I wonder what would have happened if I had lost it. Would they have kept me there forever? The stern fellow at the turnstile was not the slightest bit helpful. I think a smile would have cracked his face!

One gal misplaced her admission ticket, so she had to leave without her refund, which we never would have been aware of, if we hadn’t had a translator along to show us the ropes. The partial refund was because we had not stayed the entire time the ticket covered. It was a fun experience and we had a good time. After leaving we strolled through the park before catching the subway back to the hotel.

STONEHENGE

                       One of England's Icons

          After several trips to Britain, Stonehenge was at the top of my list on a separate trip to London. Stonehenge, located in central southern England, is a little over an hour’s drive from London. The guide said that it had been his experience that most people found Stonehenge smaller than they envisioned.      

           Having seen several stone circles in my travels, this was not true for me. The soil is chalky and because it drains so well is good farmland. It is in the county Wiltshire, only about 9-10 miles north of Salisbury. It is often windy and cold as there is little to block the wind at the site.

            Much has been written about the famous circle and there have been numerous TV programs highlighting it, so this is intended only as an introduction. Some years after a chartered trip to the site I had occasion to stop again while moving from one location to another.

          Henge means suspended or hanging. Stonehenge, probably the most famous of the 900 ancient stone circles found in England and France, is not the largest. The original purpose is unknown as there is no written history, but Stonehenge has a definite relationship with the sun. Originally there were 160 stones, 60% of them remain and 40% of them have been lost or destroyed. From the parking lot there is a pedestrian under-street tunnel to the site.

On arrival our guide said, “Interest in the ancient stone circles started in the mid 1700s. The generally accepted theory is that Stonehenge was built in three stages over a period of 1300 years by three distinct groups of people from 2800BC- 1500. The first stage was built by Neolithic man who dug a large trench/ditch (mote like) in a circle placing all the excavated dirt in the center forming a mound. The Circle is 90 meters in diameter. These people used no stone.

“For 700 years there was no activity. The second stage was in 2100BC by people who were potters and were called Beaker People. Many pottery cups with no handles have been found, hence the name. These people brought several 4-5 ton blue stones and planted them in the middle of the circle. This blue stone is found only in one place—200 miles away in the Preseli Mountains in Wales. The entrance into the circle faces northeast. These people disappeared.

“The third stage in 2000 BC involved the Wessix people who placed Sarsen stones weighing 18-20 tons in the outer circle. Eight of these stones weighed more than 45 tons. The Sarsen stone comes from 20 miles north. The stones were dressed, meaning they were cut in rectangular shapes with the corners rounded. The project was finished in 1500 and in the process the blue stones were rearranged. The stones are buried 5-6 feet into the ground. Originally the outside stones were hinged with a stone across the top of each two stones. This cross stone is called a lintel stone. As the sun rises and sets in mid-summer it aligns the heel stone with a direct line into the center of the circle.”

Several ancient burial mounds can be seen in the background. It is fairly certain that Stonehenge was a religious site, and that worship involved cycles of the sun. Most scientists agree that Stonehenge may have been a kind of Neolithic computer with a sophisticated astronomical purpose.

It is an amazing feat which lends itself to making it one of the wonders of the world. It was pretty awesome to think I was standing in a special place viewing a structure that was 5000 years old! Was it a temple to the sun god?

FLORENCE, ITALY HIGHLIGHTS

         City Highlights of Florence (Frenze), Italy

The main roads around Florence are located where the ancient walls were located making Florence a walled city. The old walls were torn down when Florence became the capital of a united Italy. Five years later the capital was moved to Rome. Florence is the capital of the state of Tuscany. The Arno River runs through the city.

Accademia to see Michelsangelo’s David.

        Michelangelo was 26 years old when he started David and it took him two years to complete.

 David stood outside city hall for 300 years until the early 1990s when some crazy took a hammer to the statue.  The original now is in the Accademia and a reproduction is in front of city hall.

            Michelangelo never made a pre-sculpture as he could feel his statue in the marble, and he always did all his own work. In his day an artist often would create a work and then anonymous craftsmen would do the actual carving.

            The renaissance movement started and was nurtured in Florence and from there it spread.

The Duomo

            The Duomo (St. Mary’s of the Flowers) church was started in 1296, taking 148 years to complete. It is the third largest church in the world. The structure is in the heart of the city, an architectural marvel of its time. The huge octagonal dome has been a city landmark for hundreds of years.

            Across the street is St. John’s Baptismal, a large hexagon building which originally had a large tub in the center used for total submersion. The tub had been removed and replaced with flooring. The inside of the building was very plain but the story of the Bible was done on the dome ceiling in five layers or rows. Those paintings are all done in mosaic and it took 85 years to complete them. The Baptistery is famous for its bronze doors done in the 1400s by Andrea Pisano and Ghiberti.

           Santa Croce, another huge church, is located on the town square. It is the burial ground of many famous people including Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante, and Giovanni. The church also houses many flat frescos by Gioeti.

Florence is a lovely city and definitely worth a visit when in the area. There is much to see and one could spend a minimum of three days  just to take in the highlights.