Czechia

After the stop at Roskilde on June 7th we got back on the bus and soon crossed the Great Belt Strait using the Great Belt Bridge—a tall suspension bridge, a short road across Sprogø Island, then another bridge for a total of 11 miles. At a rest stop, Heidi had Flødeboller for us—it’s a Danish chocolate-covered marshmallow puff. We then took a ferry to the town of Æroskobing on the island of Æro.

Ærø

Once on the island we walked through some beautiful tunnels on cobblestones to get to our B&B. For this special location we had a two bedroom apartment with a kitchen, a living room, and a fun entrance with a couple of chairs outside the entry.

Side note about Ærø: When the shipping industry dried up and the town was in an economic downturn around 2011, the community came together to problem solve. They were already having around 200 international weddings a year (Danish paperwork for getting married is very simple compared to other countries if you want to marry a foreigner), so they decided to expand that. In 2018, there were more than 5,000 weddings. An old warehouse became a coffee shop and place that locals and tourists like to hang out, wedding-related businesses took off (photography, baker, hotel, restaurant,...), and the town was labeled a top wedding destination in major publications around the world.

We started our tour in the coffee shop. Behind that is a garden where we taste-tested beers from the local brewery and whiskey from a local distillery. Then we exited the garden through a fabulous medieval gate and headed off to dinner, with fruit porridge for dessert. Later Rodney and Karen and new friends Dot and Patricia went on a 3.75 mile bike ride returning just after sunset (about 10pm).

We had the morning of June 8th on our own so Rodney and Karen rode bikes around town taking in all the sights. Turns out today was "Hat Day”, an annual event where ladies in their very creative hats parade through town and end at the town square for drinks, singing, and prizes.

We boarded the bus and rode about 20 minutes to have a traditional Danish lunch, some Schnapps, and a joint “skoal" with the owners. Right next to our lunch spot was the beautiful Bregninge Church, first built in the 1200s. On the pulpit sits an hourglass so the priest can watch the time on his sermon. Sailors made models of their ships and hung them inside the church asking for prayers for their journeys. The rope which rings the tower bell came through the ceiling in a hole that has a jesters’s face painted around it.

A quick bus ride through Bregninge and the beautiful Aero countryside took us to Voderup Klint — a cliff that stands 33 meters high and consists of several kilometers of long terraces that link the sea with the elevated area of the island like giant steps. We returned to Aeroskobing where Theresa and Karen enjoyed some ice cream on the square, and Rodney took off for a bike ride (turns out in the rain) for some blue hour photos.

Later when it was time for dinner, we didn’t know how to get to Café Aroma, the recommended restaurant, so we asked our bus driver who then escorted us (in the rain) right to the door! A great dinner in preparation for the next day filled with ferry and bus rides on our way back into Sweden and to our next stop, Varberg.