Day 42: Sun 20 Aug: Helsingborg to Copenhagen

Cycle: 55 km - Total so far: 1,535 km

Start time: 8am
Stop time: 2:30pm
Weather: fine and sunny early in the morning then drizzle period; a storm five minutes after stopping for lunch at a marina 

Another late start due to an 8am breakfast; the Swedes certainly like their sleep-ins. Rode away from the hotel at 8:45am and all downhill to the ferry terminal only 1.7km away. Ferries every 30 minutes on the weekend so no need to book here. Caught the 9:30am ferry which was the bigger ship and were in Helsingor, Denmark 21 minutes later spot on time. Straight onto a lovely Danish bicycle path and found our way onto the coastal route. There was only one section of about 12 km where we had to mix it with the cars but due to the low speed limit, 30km/h it wasn't a danger. We were entertained most of the way by 100s of Ironman cyclists riding in the opposite direction. We could have burned them off if they'd been riding in the same direction. (In our dreams). We were lucky the event was on as the traffic was severely restricted due to the event. 

Copenhagen was easy to negotiate due to its marvellous bicycle infrastructure and the fact that we knew sort of where we were going; we were "home" in no time. A nice short ride for the last day on the bikes. It was good to see the bike boxes still in the garage where we'd left them.  

After the pre-dinner admin, drinks were had in the hotel lobby down the far end away from reception. No-one questioned us drinking our own drinks in the hotel and we were soon having dinner in the in-house restaurant (our choice).





Lunch stop at a marina just north of Copenhagen city


Just before the rain came down



Room 236 Park Inn by Radisson Copenhagen Airport


Our ferry for today

On board

Bye bye Sweden

Out through the Harbour


Pleasant looking restaurant along the way


Ironman turning point

Lucky we were under cover eating our lunch

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 45: Wed 23 Aug: Dubai to Singapore to Brisbane

Image
Start time: 1:30am (Dubai) Stop time: 12:30am (Brisbane) Weather: fine and hot (35deg) in Dubai Met up with Mick and Kate after walking off the plane and sadly said our goodbyes while walking to the transfer area. They had wisely decided to overnight in Dubai both ways to break up the long trip.  Took ages to get from where we disembarked in Dubai to the Emirates Lounge near our departure gate C15 (a new lounge for us). Had time for a bite to eat and something to drink and then off to our gate. Wendy and Greg boarded through the First Class line due to Wendy's FF Gold status. We were all loaded and ready to fly but the airport was very busy so we had to wait in a queue for about 20 minutes. The plane was absolutely chock-a-block full and as it was a fairly old 777-300, it was very tight and uncomfortable, made worse by a rough ride especially closer to Singapore and the tall chap who overflowed into Greg's seating area. The aircon was set either too hot or it couldn't...
Read more

The End: Reflections

We loved our tour in Scandinavia and the people we travelled with couldn't have been better. A big thank you to Mick, Kate, Ken and Maree. Greg always wanted to show Wendy where he'd toured years ago and have a look at some other places in the region so this is why were in Scandinavia. However, if you are considering doing a cycling tour in these countries here are a few pointers: 1. It is expensive, VERY EXPENSIVE, so do your sums carefully before you go. Greg was there in 2006 and didn't notice it that much; maybe because it was a "boys tour" and they weren't that fussy about where they stayed or ate. If you are camping and cooking your own meals, then it wouldn't be much more expensive than other parts of Europe. However, if you're staying in hotels and eating in restaurants be aware it will cost you. Examples, equivalent to in US$, hotels US$200 per night, glass of house wine US$10, main course at a normal restaurant US$26, cup of coffee US$5.  2...
Read more

Day 44: Tue 22 Aug 17: Copenhagen to Dubai

Image
Start time: 7am (Copenhagen) Stop time: 12 midnight (Dubai) Weather: some clouds and sun, 14 to 20deg (doesn't matter as we aren't riding)   We did not have to be at the airport till 12midday so no hurry with breakfast again this morning. Took us about an hour to clean (must be very clean for Oz Quarantine) and box the two bikes. We have a well drilled system and seeing we're using the same boxes and packaging it's dead easy. Greg has reinforced two QANTAS bike boxes and glued high impact foam inside to protect the vital "organs" of the bikes.  We then finished our packing in the room. This time we brought a small wheely suitcase each to make it easy to move around. Of course, all this only works if you fly in and out of the same airport and use the same hotel. Getting to the airport with a fairly large box each, in addition to a piece of luggage each can be problematic. Wendy asked the reception to book the same maxi cab (4 bike boxes, luggage and fou...
Read more