Skagen - Grenaa

9 Friday, 26.7. Skagen - Hals/Egensee, 117 km

At breakfast I can use a coffeemachine and I have some cheese and bread from yesterday. In the house there is no sound and I do not know where to pay. A sleepy man comes up and buttons up his trousers. After I have fixed the panniers I find the madam in nightshirt in her kitchen. I give the 300 DKr. to her and go off. The first section is the final route of yesterday. This time it is lonesome.

Gravestones (Ålbæk)

A Stonecutter at Work

Then there is the road toward Frederikshavn with a bike path. We have a slight drizzle and I soon realize that I lost my hat in the cellar of Skagen.

The signs of the bikepath are now: R5, Östkystruten. The path surrounds the town of Frederikshavn, and if one doesn't know about this fact, there will be difficulties with the mental navigation.

Fishstairs (Elling)

Flade Kirke

There is the biggest hill since now, 100 m high to the Flade Kirke. There is even a emitter station up there. Around the church there shall be some prehistoric relicts. But I stand in the drizzle and watch some workers in the graveyard, as they use a rake machine (Harkmaschine) to arrange the paths on the graveyard.

Sign of the NSCR

I have no map of this region, and after some km downhill I am glad to hit on a sign of the NSCR. We now ride som  time along the busy 4-lane E45, so to say a Autobahn with bike path. We go south all the time, the landscape is not so impressive. From the left side there is the twinkling Kattegat. From Melholt I have a map and an information paper again. We have some rests, at the sea or behind a super market on some bags of flower soil. There is a strong shower outside but I can relax on the soft bags.

Weir

House at Sæby

So I come to Hals, there is a hotel. This seems to prefer to be a bowling center. And there is a soccer festival, so the hotel is booked. But I get a fine prospect with detailed maps of northern Denmark.

Invitation for Cyklists

Rest Place behind a Supermarket

This time I will stay to the route until I find any accommodation. At first we cross the eastern end of the Limfjord with a ferry. On the other side there is a Motell, but no one around, only a telephone number is given. Around the corner there is a camping site. And they have a free hut, number 1. I am enthusiastic, to sleep in a hut - that's it. There are 6 beds in the hut, may be therefore it is rather expensive (400 DKr). Nearby is a big super market where one can buy everything for dinner and breakfast. I prefer a pot of shrimps and hope this will be the right power food.

There are two flies with me in the hut, but they may survive, I am sweet tempered. I don't look for any contact to the neighbours, Germans. They sit in the evening sun which lasts until 9 pm. When it is dark I hear a loud shouting: "A rat, get a net or something like that". But some time later all is clear: it was a mole (Maulwurf).

10 Saturday, 27.7. Egensee - Grenaa/Sangstrup, 142 km

Restplace at the Kattegat

Breakfast, washing up and return the key, then we are on the road again. The next village is Dokkedal and then the R5 winds inland through hilly landscape. I prefer to stay on the road 541 and have a good progress. From Als there will be some nasty km into the wind with busy traffic to Hadsund. But the landscape is fine. After half of the nasty section I suddenly hit the R5 which is back from the hills and now on a former railway track (Hadsund - Aalborg). So we have enjoyable paths instead of the nasty road to Hadsund. Here I buy a new pump for the old one is broken.

Panorama from the Hadsundbridge

Churches on Hills

We pass a high bridge over the Mariager Fjord. There is a beautiful panorama. Then we follow the main road for a while. I see someone installing a big poster : Christmas Trees. And really, there are some plantations of  several kinds firs etc., may be this is the famous "Nordlandfichte" as we say. Soon there is the fork where one can leave the mainroad. We have to go towards Udbyhøi Vasehuse. There is a wide view over a sunny landscape, churches on hills, a tailwind. At Udbyhøi we use the ferry to cross the Randers Fjord.

Ferry at Udbyhøy

Scenic Kobmand

Traffic free we can continue and have a rest at the church of Estruplund. If one misses to go inside there, he will miss pretty frescoes, very old perhaps (1542). Some time later I loose the R5 sign (it leads inland), and near Lystrup I end at the main road. I make one side trip yet to the castle of Meilgaard and Bönnerup Strand, but that's it. I can calculate to be earlier than 5 pm at Grenaa and that means I can go to the tourist office.

Church Estruplund

Church Estruplund

Freskoes and a Shipmodel

Grenaa

Now I am highly motivated again. Nearly singing I ride to the harbour and then a nice 15 km long route north along the coast to Karlby Klint near Sangstrup. I enter a portal to a farmer's estate and this is my destination.

Figurs in the Corn

Cliff at Karlby Klint...

Rope Ladder

...Millions of Years Old

I return to my caravan and have a wonderful evening within a complete silence. There is an information paper of the family and I can translate the Dansk phrase: Mange muligheder for afslapning...(Many options to relax...). I do so.

The address of this paradise:
Klintegarden, Paul & Toni Möller
Hjembäkvej 54
Sangstrup, 8500 Grenaa
Tel. 86 33 23 04, Fax 86 33 23 15

11 Sunday, 28.7. Grenaa – Varberg - Stravalla, 142 km

At breakfast I have not enough bread for my orange jam so have to get some slices white bread from the kitchen. These will be on the bill. After breakfast a walk to the cliff again to get some photos. The cormorants are still on their poles.

The ship from Grenaa to Varberg will leave at 1 pm. So there is to much time to fix the baggage, pay the bill (incl. white bread) and then niggle back towards Grenaa. There is a nice lighthouse before: Fornæs Fyr, a nice rest.

Lighthouse Fornæs Fyr

At Grenaa I toddle around the harbour, there is much to be seen. At last I end at the mole, and there it comes in, the Stena Nautica.

Fisherman at Grenaa

Harbour at Grenaa

In front of me stands a man on the wall, he looks like the personalised sailor's desire. But then there is a child on board and waves, the man will pick it up, I think.

It is interesting to observe the masses that pour out of the ship. We check in and have to wait at lane 1, the usual place for cyclists and bikers, they will enter the ship at the first. There is a Dansk group with some weird luggage like a stool on a rucksack and some trailers. May be they want to to go fishing in Sweden.

"Stena Nautica"