Denmark

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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neilob
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Joined: 31 Jan 2008, 3:58pm
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Denmark

Post by neilob »

A small group of us are thinking of taking the new ferry service from Harwich to Esjberb, riding across Denmark's Baltic islands and getting another ferry to Rostock. Then along the German Baltic coast to Ruegen before heading south to Berlin. Then train to Rotterdam. Any tips?
Using a car to take an adult on a three mile journey is the same as using an atomic bomb to kill a canary.
glasgowjim
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Joined: 8 Aug 2014, 6:56pm

Re: Denmark

Post by glasgowjim »

why not cycle esjberg to copenhagen . train across the oresund bridge to malmo . Overnight ferry malmo to travemunde . Trave munde to Lubeck lubeck to hamburg pick up eurovelo3 and then bremen . If you have time then onto osnabruck. then train to Amsterdam and onto the ferry at ijmuiden,

Once you are at Lubeck there are trains all the way to Amsterdam as the lines run lubeck/hamburg/bremen/osnabruck/amsterdam

or bremen zwole amsterdam
Vorpal
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Re: Denmark

Post by Vorpal »

Various threads about Denmark on the forum. Denmark is a lovely place to cycle.

The South Funen Archipelago is a good place for island hopping, but where the ferries go in Denmark, bikes generally go, too :)

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=72587
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=81692
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=70655

p.s. If you mean the Regina Line, there's no guarantee it will ever get off the ground viewtopic.php?f=16&t=93173
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
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foxyrider
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Re: Denmark

Post by foxyrider »

You could do worse than follow the Danish stretch of the Baltic sea route - quiet roads, pleasant enough with plenty to see/do. I did this several years ago, took the Rostock ferry (the all in meal deal in the restaurant is brilliant) and rode along to Rugen before heading back across to Hamburg. The north German coast tends to be windier than Denmark and camping is somewhat sparse in places. I stayed a couple of nights at different points to allow some side trips but even so i got around comfortably in a fortnight.

The latest Regina information is here http://www.reginaline.dk/index-uk.htm - hasn't changed from when i last looked in September but i await with bated breathe the 12th March 2016! :D

I would suggest booking your train to Rotterdam before you go via DB's UK office - they can do through tickets and will get you the best price. Go to www.bahn.com.
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
steady eddy
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Location: Norfolk

Re: Denmark

Post by steady eddy »

I phoned the harbour office at Harwich about 8 weeks ago to see what they new about this - "absolutely nothing" was the response! They say that Regina Line are not presently represented at the port and they are unaware of any plans to restart the ferry service. Don't book any accommodation until you are certain that this is going to run.
neilob
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Re: Denmark

Post by neilob »

Thanks everyone. Yes, the ferry is a big risk and the more I dig, the more I worry! Alternative thought is to fly to Billund (Legoland) and start from there.
Using a car to take an adult on a three mile journey is the same as using an atomic bomb to kill a canary.
iviehoff
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Joined: 20 Jan 2009, 4:38pm

Re: Denmark

Post by iviehoff »

neilob wrote:A small group of us are thinking of taking the new ferry service from Harwich to Esjberb,..Any tips?

Yes. Don't fall for scammers advertising fantasy ferry services.
Steveindenmark
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Joined: 6 Sep 2013, 7:51pm

Re: Denmark

Post by Steveindenmark »

Hi Guys,

I live in Denmark. Let me start by saying that Regina Line is the figment of someones imagination. The rumour that they intend to start a ferry service has been going on for about 4 years. Someone has made a comprehensive Web site but in my opinion it will never happen.

The cheapest way of getting here with a bike is flying with Ryanair to Billund, Arhus or Copenhagen. But you can also fly to hamburg with Ryanair or Easyjet. But be warned, Ryanairs airport is in Lübeck which is miles away from Hamburg.

There are no other ferry crossings to Scandanavia. Actually there is a crossing from Immingham to Esjberg which used to take vans but only takes big trucks now.

If there is any way I can help, drop me a line.

After a bit of research I have found that the guy trying to set this up has no shipping experience and his only business is called Miss Molly. A small business that sells prom dresses. The seafaring Union in Denmark has advised its members to have nothing to do with him and the photos used on his original website were stolen from another ferry companies website without their permission.

Walter Mitty comes to mind.
neilob
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Re: Denmark

Post by neilob »

Thanks Steve for your post. We've reached the conclusion that the ferry is not going to happen so we've booked Ryanair to Billund. The tour outline remains much as above i.e. ride across Denmark to Gedser, ferry to Rostock, ride to Ruegen, ride to Berlin. Then we will take the train to Dusseldorf and ride to Europort following the Rhine and ferry back to Hull. Two questions as you are 'local'; 1) Do you think we will find somewhere to dump cardboard bike boxes at Billund airport? 2)What are the hostels like in Denmark?
Using a car to take an adult on a three mile journey is the same as using an atomic bomb to kill a canary.
Vorpal
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Re: Denmark

Post by Vorpal »

I like the hostels in Denmark :D I stayed in the one near Givskud Zoo last year, thought it was quite good. http://www.danhostel.dk/en/hostel/danhostel-givskud-zoo is about 25 km from Billund airport.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Steveindenmark
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Re: Denmark

Post by Steveindenmark »

Neil,

How many are in the group? When are you coming? Will you be bringing any camping gear?

I have been here for 13 years and have not used a hostel in Denmark, but have heard they are good. I prefer camp sites Airbnb and shelters. Wild camping, although not allowed, can be done if you do it with some common sense. There is a phone ap called Shelters.dk which shows all the free shelters in the country.

There are shelters all over the place and rarely used. We have them in our area in some great locations.
simonhill
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Re: Denmark

Post by simonhill »

Quote:
1) Do you think we will find somewhere to dump cardboard bike boxes at Billund airport

I presume you don't want to reuse them.

I have left my cardboard box at airports lots of times. It is just rubbish.

What I do is try to find a cleaner or security person, etc and tell them it is rubbish and that I don't want it. I try not to just leave it lying around in case it sparks a security alert.
neilob
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Location: Notts/Lincs borders

Re: Denmark

Post by neilob »

Steveindenmark wrote:Neil,

How many are in the group? When are you coming? Will you be bringing any camping gear?

I have been here for 13 years and have not used a hostel in Denmark, but have heard they are good. I prefer camp sites Airbnb and shelters. Wild camping, although not allowed, can be done if you do it with some common sense. There is a phone ap called Shelters.dk which shows all the free shelters in the country.

There are shelters all over the place and rarely used. We have them in our area in some great locations.


Hi Steve
There will be four of us and we are coming in September. Definitely no camping!! We are firmly in the credit card touring category. I've been looking at AirBNB and there are some great places to stay at reasonable cost. My only worry is that we'll end up in a magnificent apartment somewhere but miles from shops and restaurants. So we'll be looking more thoroughly over the next few weeks and start booking in January.

And Simon, thanks for your suggestion. We've done the same and just hope that Danish airports accept cardboard boxes as usual rubbish.
Using a car to take an adult on a three mile journey is the same as using an atomic bomb to kill a canary.
granville2
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Joined: 25 Jun 2009, 7:37pm

Re: Denmark

Post by granville2 »

Neil

We have done two tandem tours in Denmark, in June 2010 and 2012 when DFDS were still operating to Esbjerg. We started using hostels mid way through the first tour as we had only booked two nights in advance and I was struggling to find accommodation. The second tour was fully booked up in advance and almost all danhostels. We ended up with our own room for the whole trip and relatively cheap by Danish standards, which are generally more expensive than the UK. The second trip was island hopping through the southern archipelago to Møn and back to Esbjerg. We were there for the first 3 weeks of June and the hostels seemed quite underused.
Granville
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