One more good sweat, and now the final leg is behind us!
In gorgeous weather, we started today by crossing the Stevns Peninsula from Rødvig, heading north. We had to earn our breakfast—chocolate rolls (Tebolle) and cinnamon rolls (Kanelsnegl)—by walking over 9 km first, since we didn’t stop at the bakery until we reached Store Heddinge.
Refreshed (or on a sugar high), we then made our way back to the sea, where Ainhoa took some detours on purpose so we could get a better look at the horses. (Yeah, yeah, of course the route went right around the paddock 🤫😉).
When we finally arrived at the seaside, we spotted another VW Bully—had it followed us all the way from Fehmarn? The view was definitely spectacular, and on the horizon across the bay, we could already make out our destination, Copenhagen.
Passing luxurious villas with breathtaking lakefront properties (we were envious), the road took us right along the coast to Køge.
In Køge, we had to make another pit stop to pump up a tire, and after 36 km, we treated ourselves to a well-deserved brunch (or lunch? Second breakfast? Well, if you’re exercising, you have to eat a lot).
After passing Køge, we had actually been looking forward to continuing our drive right along the water, but were then surprised by numerous towns and American-style industrial areas. Only now and then could we catch a glimpse of the Baltic Sea, which sparkled azure blue in the sunlight. We also got to learn a little Danish: “Badebro” refers to a swimming spot with a pier that juts directly into the water.
After about 55 km, the Baltic Sea became too tempting to resist: We carried our bikes along a path through the dunes down to the beach and finally cooled off in the water!
Only to discover shortly afterward that, unfortunately, the water was teeming with jellyfish… Fortunately, they didn’t have tentacles, so while the unexpected encounters were unpleasant, they weren’t painful.
While we lay out in the sun for a little while longer, more and more Danish teenagers arrived at the beach to test their skills playing soccer or water wrestling.
At some point, our fear of getting sunburned outweighed our reluctance to get up, so we ended our little siesta and set off on the last few kilometers to Copenhagen.
We decided to ride further into the city center than we had originally planned—we were determined to find a town sign! The bike paths remained fantastic, but they were getting more and more crowded with people (especially cyclists and red lights), which got on our nerves a bit after our four rural stages. We couldn’t find the town sign either—at the entrance to Copenhagen, there was just an inconspicuous sign that lifted the previous speed limit and indicated that we were now entering a built-up area. The people of Copenhagen really didn’t need to be that modest!
The further north we rode, the busier it got. We rode through the western districts of the city, first through the somewhat more tranquil Frederiksberg, and then through Nørrebro. Our ride, which had been very relaxed up to that point, now turned into an obstacle course as we weaved past cars, pedestrians, slow and fast cyclists, cargo bikes, mopeds, and just about everything else you could imagine. We almost lost our cool as we crossed several yellow lights—while these maneuvers allowed us to shake off our pursuers on two wheels, we ran the risk of being run over by the next horde of cyclists.
After about an hour and 12 km, the traffic thinned out a bit as we arrived in the suburb of Gentofte, where Merle lives. The quiet streets and abundance of greenery were downright refreshing after our ride through Copenhagen. Once we finally arrived, there were still a few tedious chores left to do (laundry, grocery shopping, unpacking), but the evening had a surprise in store for us: we were spontaneously treated to a free dinner, since there were plenty of leftovers from a conference held in the neighboring building. So we were able to wind down the day in a relaxed way.
We’re now looking back on five days of action: 377 km and 810 meters of elevation gain by bike (plus additional travel on foot, by car, on the German rail network, and by ferry) at an average speed of 22 km/h in 17 hours and 10 minutes from Horst in Holstein to Copenhagen! We’re proud of our achievement, and we’re looking forward to doing a little sightseeing tomorrow before Ainhoa takes the train back on Thursday.
The takeaway from today: we’re good swimming buddies 😶🌫️
