Travel Through Denmark on a Harley-Davidson
By Peter & Kay Forwood
Denmark on a Harley (18/7/98 - 20/7/98 )
Distance 461 km (102021 km to 102482 km)
This is part of the fourth section of our around the
world trip.
Complete Trip Overview & Map
Coming from the Netherlands
18/7/98 Peter Petersen was already waiting for us at the
border. A great welcome to a new country. After catch-up and a coffee, Peter
took us to watch the finals of ring riding. A unique sport, only in southern
Denmark where when riding a horse at the canter the rider must lance a hole
in a metal disk suspended from gallows. The whole gradually shrinking to
eliminate contestants until it's no bigger than a pea and still there were
five contestants repeating the lancing until only the "King" remained. Finishing
the day with traditional food and beer from a can, unusual in Denmark as
cans are banned from being sold. The Danes preferring the recyclable bottles,
our beer cans came from across the border in Germany.
19/7/98 Sitting outside in 20 degrees of sunshine sipping
a McDonalds hot chocolate surrounded by pine trees is a great place to write
up the diary. Peters sister and her husband collect old motorcycles and have
10 or more Matchless bikes and one 1915 model Indian. We followed the Indian
on a tour of the island, with windmills, castle and forest before a lunch
of local foods (almost all new to me) then headed off across the new bridge
(second longest in the world and probably the most expensive to cross at
$US 17.00 for a motorcycle and $US 34.00 for a car) and into Zealand for
the nights camping. Our first camp. We will need to move quickly having given
ourselves two deadlines (which I hate). One to try and see the midnight sun
before 27 July in Nordkapp some 2300 km to the north and also the Iceland
ferry 3000 km back South by 11/8, being the last available ferry this summer
if we want to spend two weeks there.
20/7/98 Well the self inflating mattress seemed soft enough
on the green grassy ground and the third of a pillow also soft. The all fuel
stove worked and the extra tap on the motorcycle fuel line to fill it made
cooking smooth. This stove works on unleaded petrol (straight from the motorcycle),
or kerosene where unleaded petrol is unavailable. A few pumps of the plunger
and a cup of tea is ready in five minutes, the whole unit weighing about
400 grams.
Move with us to Sweden ,
or go to our next visit to Denmark .