Biking Trip in Denmark, Day 1: The Island of Ærø and the town of Ærøskøbing!

Biking Trip in Denmark, Day 1: The Island of Ærø and the Town of Ærøskøbing

One summer, my husband and I were staying with his family in Denmark, when we decided to take a small getaway to see other parts of Denmark. Since our time, funds and means of transport were limited, we debated on what type of trip would work out best for us. This is when we decided to take a biking trip in Denmark to explore the islands of Ærø and Fyn (Funen). With a loan of a pair of bikes and helmets from a family member, padded bike shorts and two backpacks, we were ready to try something completely new and see what wonders we could find in Denmark by bicycle.

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My husband and I were staying on the small island of Als in Denmark when we started our maiden voyage by bike. After waking early one morning in July, we had a filling breakfast of fruit and rolls with butter, jam, and cheese before starting out on the road heading south towards Mommark*, Denmark and the ferry to Ærø, another small island to the east of Als.

The morning was cloudy and looked a bit as if it would rain. Luckily, it didn’t, and it only took us about 45minutes to ride our bikes to the ferry. Since we were early, we looked around at the small boats that were docked in the harbor, which was one of the smallest harbors I’ve ever seen. Once the ferry arrived, we found some seats and got comfortable for the one-hour trip to the island of Ærø.

(*Side note: The ferry no longer leaves from Mommark.)

This ferry was much like the one and only ferry I had ever been on before this trip, which was when I first came to Denmark in December of 2007, but this time, I was able to see outside, since we weren’t in the darkness of winter or the fog. My husband and I sat inside for a bit and drank a coffee and hot cocoa. We talked about the trip and did a bit of planning. What had once started off as cloudy was becoming clearer as we got closer to Ærø, and as we approached the island, we could actually see the sun come out to shine on the island´s lighthouse and rolling meadows. We both looked forward to our ride ahead.

Arriving on Ærø

Our first stop once we got off the ferry was to the tourist information office. Though no one was working there at the time, we were still able to get a map of the bike paths on the island. One thing that I really loved about Denmark was how bike-friendly it was. There were many bike paths throughout the towns. The bigger cities had bike lanes on the roads, and when you were in the rural parts of the country, you’d find signs that marked a bike route that was also shared with cars and even tractors in certain spots! It didn’t take us long to find a sign marking the way to a bike path from the harbor. The town of Søby, which was where the ferry landed, was quite small as was the harbor, so making our way to path #90 was pretty easy.

Bike route #90 took us along the northern coast of the island as we traveled south east to the town of Ærøskøbing. This path was one of the most beautiful spots I’ve ever seen. The combination of sea, fields, flowers and old homes really added to the comfortable atmosphere and laid-back feeling of the island. You could feel the remoteness of it all and experience the quiet simplicity of country living. We encountered only a few other bikers and a few other vehicles along the way, which helped us relax and enjoy our surroundings.

One house on the route had a beautiful front yard of wild flowers that grew high and colorful to the roadside. It was the most picturesque home I had seen at that point on our trip, and it really captured the essence of Ærø. Many yards and gardens in Denmark were filled with flowers, but I had heard that this was mostly common in gardens of older people.

(I’d love to hear from younger Danes on this! Please leave me a comment below!)

If I had a house like this in Denmark, I’d want to have all of these beautiful flowers to look at. This yard was without a doubt the most flower-filled that I had seen in Denmark.

This route took us also on little paths by the sea. Most often, the sea was separated from us by a large field of some type of grain, but there were the few times during our ride when we could get on a beach. It was a nice place to pause on our trip to look out, take a breath, and reflect.

Though most of Denmark is flat, there were times when we encountered hilly spots. Gravel roads were also common from time to time. It gave one the idea that the road was less-traveled, which made the hills seem not so bad. We even were able to see some very cute sheep who were grazing in the fields. The whole trip was very peaceful with many beautiful views. Biking Ærø was the best way to see the island. We were able to go slowly with our travels and take some smaller, less-populated roads. It gave us a view of Denmark that was not like any we had experienced in other parts of the country.

The Town of Ærøskøbing

After riding our bikes for about two hours on the island of Ærø, we reached our destination of Ærøskøbing. Ærøskøbing was the most popular and largest town on the island. This wasn’t saying much since the island and towns were all relatively small; however, this town retained much of its ancient charm since the buildings and streets in the town’s center were mostly kept the same way as they were in the Middle Ages. It is something that I have to admit was very nice about Denmark. When other countries had to rebuild buildings and towns after various wars, Denmark managed to retain its original, old charm with tender upkeep and preservation.

We decided to park the bikes near the harbor and visit the information center, which was in a small building that resembled more of a shop than a tourist bureau. The women working there were helpful and gave us some information on the island, and I also was able to get a few things to remember Ærø like stickers and postcards. We then decided to walk around the very small town to get to know the general make-up of the town and take in some of the beautiful scenery. We saw many lovely buildings along the stone-paved streets and managed to stop for a few quick photos of the ones that caught our eyes. One building in particular was quite unique, since it looked slanted! 🙂

Since it was lunchtime, my husband and I took a moment for a quick bite and tried one of the island’s microbrews. The beer was simply called “Ærø,” and my husband and I shared a bottle of the “Ærø” ale. The brewery, as we learned from the tourist office, was in a smaller town south of Ærøskøbing by about 20 to 30 minutes by bike. Because of the limited time it was opened and because the gift shop was the only area we could visit, we decided to experience the beer from Ærøskøbing instead of making the trip to the brewery. We had a nice light lunch of open-faced sandwiches and afterwards, decided to ride to the campground where we would be staying for the night.

Camping on Ærøskøbing

We weren’t supposed to check at the campground in until around 3pm, but we thought we would see if we could check in earlier. Much to our surprise, the office was completely closed until 3pm, so we decided to ride our bikes around to see the area where we would be staying.

The campground had a main building where the kitchen, restrooms, store and office were kept. Just to the left of this building were the little cabins where my husband and I would be staying for the night. We didn’t have a tent or a camper, so the cabin was our only option. Behind the cabins were open areas for tents, and further back were grassy areas for campers. It really seemed like a nice, family place with a large jungle gym on the other side of the main building. We went a little further past the tent area where there was a small walking path to the beach. My husband and I were still on bikes, so we rode there. It wasn’t far off, and the day was perfect for time spent in the water.

(Interested in other camping spots in Denmark? Check out a post on our time at Jesperhus Campground.)

Exploring the Beach

Denmark normally has warm weather in the summer, but this summer was an exception. It was very hot by the time we arrived at the beach, and my husband and I thought it would be nice to cool down in the water. Our suits were still packed, so we decided to get into the water as far up as we could, which meant just getting our legs wet. The water was a bit cool, but it was so clear. You could see your feet and the sand/rocks/seaweed below for as far out as we could walk. We took our time in the water and walked around until we could no longer feel the coolness of the water and were just content to be at such a relaxing spot.

We wanted to check out the small beach cabins that were along the coast, so we got back on our bikes. We had to walk them for a bit to wait for our feet to dry off. The little cabins along the beach were built by those who visit the beach often. They reminded me of ice fishing cabins, which like these small buildings were not for an accommodation. The beach huts were more for eating lunch or changing clothes. Many people could not be in one at a time, but they were very quaint-looking giving the beach scene a multicolored, unique feel to this area of Denmark.

After riding along the coast for a short while, we were also able to take some pictures of the boats in the distance before we went back to the campground to check in. This spot proved to be a nice area for pictures and relaxing.

Flaske Peter Museum

At the campground, we quickly put the bags in the little cabin and went back into the town to see the Flaske Peter Museum, or the Bottle Ship Museum. Apparently, the world-famous, master of bottle ship making was from Denmark, and though dead, his spirit and bottle collection live on in the town of Ærøskøbing. Though the picturesque appearance of the town was valid enough, one of the main reasons to see this town was to go to this museum.

Nowhere else in the world can a person find such a unique and skilled display of something specifically Danish. I loved the bottles that seemed to be misshapen and the large bottles with naval battles. Everything was so detailed down to the buildings in the background, water underneath and the fuzzy pieces of red thread that served as the gun and cannon smoke. There were even tiny little wooden bodies floating in the bottle’s “water.” This guy thought of it all, and we were very impressed.

My husband found one of the largest bottles that I had ever seen with an entire town and harbor scene in the bottle. It was truly amazing how this man was able to get everything inside these bottles and have them look perfect.

Even though battle scene with corpses in the water isn’t everyone version of perfect, the fact that he could make such small pieces into such a grand piece of art (in my opinion) was just the type of unique experience we were hoping to find on our bike trip in Denmark on the island of Ærø.

Sygehus (Hospital) Museum

Next to the Flaske Peter Museum, was the Sygehus Museum, a very small exhibition within the grounds of the bottle museum dedicated to early history of the hospital.

Though we weren’t planning on seeing this museum, we were glad to been able to witness such hilarious teaching tools as wooden butts with syringes sticking out of them. I guess it is better than practicing on a real person, but it also goes to show how far we’ve come in the means of training people in the health field.

I had never been in a museum like this before, and though many of the items were a bit embarrassing to look at, I couldn’t divert my gaze away. Ærø and Ærøskøbing really showed me a side of Denmark that I hadn’t anticipated!

After the museums, we went to the local grocery store called Netto, which is also a chain, to get food for supper. We had thought of going out to eat, but since we had a community kitchen at the campground, we thought it would be nice to cook our own food and eat on the porch of our cabin. Why stay at a campground if we weren’t going to experience what camping was like in Denmark? I was ready for yet another new experience.

Back at the Campground

Our little cabin was quite cute. It was just big enough to give us what we needed for one night. It had 2 sets of bunk beds, two small tables with four chairs each: one inside and one outside, and enough plates, cups and silverware for a family of four. Had we stayed longer, we could have made more use out of the refrigerator, coffee machine and small, two-burner hotplate, but we mostly just used the refrigerator to keep our drinks and breakfast food cold. We would need to make sure the cabin was clean before we left, so we didn’t use more than we needed.

For cooking, our little cabin was equipped with pots, pans, and cooking utensils, so we were able to make the fish that we bought at the grocery store. We chose to use the community kitchen instead of the small hotplate that was in our cabin. We also washed our dishes in this community kitchen when we were done with our meal.

Though very basic and quick, we had a nice meal of salmon pitas with salad and cheese on our porch. Netto also had more of the Ærø beers, which we thought would go nicely with our meal. Biking in Denmark, especially on the island of Ærø was proving to be a nice, relaxing way to see the town of Ærøskøbing! We were having a great time staying at our first campground in Denmark!

Biking for Berries

After supper, we decided to take a bike ride around the area of the town and campground. I was determined to find a road-side stand and buy some fresh strawberries. I loved the idea that they used the honor system, where you were expected to pay the price of the fruit or vegetable in a drop box before taking the food.

Strawberries in Denmark are always very delicious, so buying fresh and local was just something that added to the whole experience. We took the berries back to the cabin with us to eat on the porch of our little cabin.

Perfect weather in a very picturesque town on a small island was really a one-of-a-kind experience. It showed me just how Denmark is one of the most charming countries in Europe, and exploring the country by bike was the best decision we made for this trip!

Settling for the Night at the Campground

After a long day riding our bikes in the sun and fresh air, we were ready for sleep. Our little cabin did not have a bathroom, so we needed to get ready for the night in the shared shower house. This was rather large and very clean.

As we were getting ready for bed, we realized that there were no linens. This is very typical for cabins at campgrounds, but luckily, it was very warm in the cabin at night, so it didn’t matter so much that we were without linens on the beds. It would have been nice to have had them though, but the thought of carrying any more on our backs in the backpacks while riding our bikes was not that exciting. We knew it would only be for one night, so it wasn’t something that was too unpleasant.

(Check out other campgrounds we have visited in Europe at our Camping in Europe section!)

I should also mention that the campground had a nice playground, which made it a nice place for a family. We didn’t have any children on this trip, so we didn’t explore more of what this campground had to offer in that regard. If we find ourselves in Ærø again, we would love to return to this campground. The location, cleanliness and amenities were just what we needed for our stay.

The next morning, we needed to get showered and ready to leave Ærø by an early ferry, so we used the showers in the shared shower house. These only had warm water if you used a coin. It was good to find this out when we checked in, since a cold shower would not have been the best way to start our day. We were only given one coin each, so we needed to make sure that we took quick showers before the warm water wore off and the cold started to kick in.

Saying Good-bye to Ærø

Since Ærøskøbing is a very small town, it didn’t take us long to ride from the campground to the ferry. This wasn’t the same ferry we had taken from the island of Als, because it wasn’t going to Als. Instead, this ferry was going to Fyn, one of the much bigger islands. We had more exploring to do on Fyn as well as more miles to ride. We were ready to see just what we’d find, which would include a castle, lots of new scenery, and a Danish-style bed-and-breakfast.

For the next part of our trip, check out my blog post on Danish Bike Trip Day 2: Egeskov Castle. Coming soon!

Have you taken a couple’s only bike trip somewhere? Where did you go? What were some of the interesting parts of your trip that made your destination worth visiting? How was traveling by bike much different/better than any other means of transport?

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