Friday Sept. 21 Tour of Bornholm Island
“It is known as the town of 100 chimneys.”
Today we are off for a day’s car tour of the East Coast of Bornholm Island with Jorgen and Jette as our guides. But first comes breakfast, and what a breakfast it is. Jette has spread out before us a breakfast table fit for a King. On the table are three kinds of jams all made from the berry trees on their property. We have blackberry, current and raspberry jam to choose from. It is too hard to choose one so I have a little of each on the delicious breads.
After breakfast we have a little tour of the property and gardens. Jorgen shows us a special tree in front of their house where about ten owls sit during the winter months. This is so unusual that the tree is a gathering place for the neighbors who come to admire the owls. These are brown and white long eared owls.
Behind all the houses on their long street runs a tall natural hedge with a gate door. Passing through the garden gate you step onto a long grassy walking path that runs the length of the block behind the houses to the main street. This is a common walking path. All the neighbors have these garden gates opening onto the path. When you are through walking, you find your own garden gate and turn the handle. You are home. I love that. Al tells me that such garden lanes are common in England.
Bornholm Island lies on the Baltic Sea and is part of Denmark but it is also very much its own unique place. The island has its own language, its own climate and its own nature which is a mix of Scandinavia’s wild rock landscapes and the warm air of Mediterranean countries. The language is defined as half Swedish. It is an old East Danish dialect. Spring is cool here but summers are long and hot which accounts for exotic animal and plant life. The island is a calm place with well preserved fishing villages and medieval neighborhoods which brings peace to the souls. Bornholm Island is known for its round churches, herring (salted, smoked, pickled, or marinated), awesome rocky coastline and white sand beaches.
Today we visit two of the four round churches found on Bornholm Island. Our first stop is in the town of Nyker to see the Ny Kirke (New Church) which is the smallest and the youngest of the four island round churches.
It is awesome to stand and sit in a church that is so old (built in year 1200) and get such a sense of history. We also walk around the outside of the church and through the old gravesites.
The four round churches of Bornholm were built in the 12th and 13th centuries. These churches served as places of worship, storage facilities and fortifications to guard against enemy attacks. The thick walls and round shape helped them stand strong in the face of battering rams. Upper sections of the churches could only be reached through narrow passageways providing a place of safety for local peoples.
Free standing bell towers were built centuries later near the churches. All four of the round churches are still used for religious services and are open to the public. Inside the Ny Church we find a series of 13 frescos depicting scenes from the Passion. The chandelier in the choir was built in 1594. Later on in the day we stop at the Osterlars Church. This is the largest and oldest of the Bornholm round churches.
This morning following the visit to Ny Church we drive on through the old Danish towns of Klemensker and Ro stopping to tour the Kunst Museum on the East Coast. This is a wonderful museum showing all kinds of Danish history through oil paintings and modern art forms. We loved spending time at this unique museum. We follow the rocky coastline stopping many times to see admire the scenes.
Today is a very windy day and the waves from the Baltic Sea come crashing onto the shore line sending up spumes of white spray. I have never seen such rocky coastline beauty and I am struck speechless. I just want to stand there forever and fill myself with the sight and sound. The rocky coast is also home to small clusters of old houses hugging the shoreline. Many of these private homes have old smoke house chimneys attached to them. Bornholm Island is known for its history of smoking fish which started in 1866 in the town of Gudhjem. Smoked herring is a favorite food here. At one time there were so many house chimneys in Gudhjem that the town was known as “the town of 100 chimneys.” Today there are 10 smoke houses in Bornholm, many of them attached to restaurants.
Just outside the town of Gudhjem stands the Baltic Sea Glass building. This is a must stop. The glass works of art that are made here are sold and known throughout the world. We watch the demonstration of glass blowing and walk through the store admiring the clusters of hand blown glass arrayed in bright colors. Many glass vases, etc. stand in windows behind which shines the sea. Al and I succumb and purchase a special flower vase plus two clear glass crystal candle holders.
Our next stop is lunch in the town of Svaneke. We are seated in an old restaurant where we order open faced sandwiches with a glass of local beer. I ordered an egg and shrimp open faced sandwich and Al had the roast beef. Jorgen ate his favorite herring sandwich. It was all delicious. After lunch we walked down to the water’s edge and admired the old stone wall inner harbors which looked like small areas of refuge from the sea.
Suddenly it starts to rain hard. We drive on home through more little towns showing the red tile roofs and brightly painted exteriors. I want to jump out of the car and walk through each town, but Jette holds me back and promises “tomorrow”. Okay…”tomorrow.” Now it is the end of a long day and nothing is better than one of Jette’s wonderful meals. Tonight it is large floured meatballs (cow and veal mixed) along with peas & carrots, chicken sauce, parslied potatoes, wine and water. This has been a day we will never forget.
Next Day of Journey