Distance: 33.05km | Climbing: 78m – Click here for GPS Route
We stepped out of our wooden shelter in the morning, startling an elderly couple who were picking berries nearby (something much more common in Scandinavia we found compared to Ireland). We had been tucked in out of the wind in the corner of the shelter, so they were very surprised to see someone emerge.
We had a great chat with them, mostly about berries and the wider nature here in Denmark. They showed us the Sea Buckthorn berries they had collected, handing us a sprig so we could try some, while extolling the health benefits, the main one being the high levels of vitamin C. Just like the Swedes, the Danish people were very reserved and unlikely to strike up conversations with strangers, so it was great to start the day with an unexpected conversation like this one.
With only 33 kilometres to cover over the course of the day, we enjoyed another lazy start, not hitting the road until nearly 11am.
We then spent the next three hours cruising through the Danish countryside on quiet backroads and gravel cycle paths.
Before we knew it, we were cruising into Aalborg with a couple of hours to spare before the apartment we had booked for the night was available for us to check in.
As we were deciding how to spend a couple of hours we passed a perfectly placed McDonalds, so we shamelessly pulled in here as we knew we could relax inside with WiFi, coffee and food until the apartment became available.
Once it hit 4pm, we pedalled the short distance into the centre of Aalborg, finishing what had been a great twelve-day journey across Sweden and Denmark. We hadn’t completed the full route back to Copenhagen like we had hoped, but that would have been a huge distance for Elana to cover on her first cycle tour. So, all things considered, we were delighted to manage 430 kilometres along the peaceful coastlines of Sweden and Denmark.
We celebrated the end of the trip that night with a lovely Vietnamese meal with a few beers before heading to bed early in preparation for the train journey back to Copenhagen the next day.
Irregular Adventures 