Lovely Bornhholm
Trip Start
Aug 20, 2008
1
5
15
Trip End
Sep 15, 2008
Bornholm,
Denmark
Friday, August 29, 2008
BORNHOLM
After a day at sea we arrived at the island of Bornholm, a place that until we signed up for this trip none of us had ever heard of. A more charming island you could not ask for. It is about 12-15 miles across with small coastal villages along the shore and well-kept farms in the interior. There were tidy fields of corn and new plantings of what was probably winter wheat, the stubble from the old crop interspersed with new green shoots. The houses were colorfully painted with fenced gardens full of flowers.
We took a public bus across the island from our port of Ronne to the small village Gudhjam on the north coast. It was billed as a picturesque fishing village. This conjured up visions of fishermen mending their nets alongside quaint old wooden fishing boats. Not quite. It was definitely picturesque with beautifully preserved old homes and cobblestone streets, but Bornholm is part of Denmark, just about the richest country in the world. Modest homes went for around $400,000 while the ones with seaside locations topped $1 million. The boats bobbing picturesquely in the harbor were for weekend sailors on holiday.
Joe and I, hoping to get out into the countryside, left Marilyn and Bill enjoying the village streets and shops and followed the shoreline to the edge of the village. There we found a path that climbed to the top of rocky bluffs overlooking the sea. The sun was bright and the water reflected a deep blue as we followed the walking path through woods and meadows. Wild apple trees were beginning to drop ripe fruit which was attracting hungry yellow jackets. Once or twice we had to wade through a swarm of them devouring apples that had piled on the
path. There were some scary moments but they were interested in the apples, not us and we did not get stung. Blackberry bushes laden with fruit were everywhere and we enjoyed snacking on them as we traipsed along. One could see why Bornholm is the tourist destination that it is for Swedes and other Scandinavians. What a wonderful place to enjoy summer!
