Our Visit To Bornholm

Gudhjem

Hammershus

We said we would give you a report of our visit to the island of Bornholm.  Yes, we have been there and returned already.  As you recall the weather forecast last Sunday was for rain on Bornholm.

We caught the 7 am bus from Copenhagen on Monday morning and arrived at the ferry in Ystad, Sweden at 8:15 am.  The ferry ride was a little bumpy, but not enough to make our head go in circles.  It rained a fine mist all the way to the island.  We took our first bus out of Rønne at 10:15 and traveled to the Northern most point of Bornholm where we visited the ruins of Hammershus, a castle from the 1600s.  This fortress protected the Bornholmers from Sweden and Germany.  Otherwise the island is known for it fish smoke houses, small fishing villages, long beaches in the South, round churches (built in 1100), farmland and lots of sun.

Gudhjem

We were told the best time to visit Bornholm is the middle of August, so that’s what we planned for.  The day before we left for the trip we discovered that the summer season ends the 14th of August.   All the bus schedules we used to plan our “getting around” program changed to the winter schedule on our first day there.  We quickly made the changes necessary to see and do what we had planned, then set it in motion.

The sky was overcast, but it was dry.  The forecast said we would get sun around 2 pm.

As we moved down the East coast from village to village we saw periodic breaks in the clouds, with enough sun to keep us happy.

Gudhjem

We stopped at Allinge, Gudhjem, and Svaneke.  We wanted to taste the smoked herring, but the laws have changed since I was there 50 years ago.  It was not possible to actually visit the smoke houses and buy a fish.  We could go to a restaurant and buy a meal, but that would take time and money that we didn’t want to spend.

Gudhjem is our favorite fishing village; however, Svaneke has a water tower which was designed by Jorn Utzon (Sidney Opera House fame). 

On the way back to Rønne, where our hotel room was located, we stopped at the largest of the four round churches.  By the time we arrived there clouds covered the sun.  Though the church was locked, the priest came out to shake a rug and I asked if it would be possible to step inside for a few minutes.  He let us do that.

Gudhjem Smoke House

Our hotel room was strictly basic:  no lobby, no desk, and no employees.  Access was by a numbered code which we entered at the main door and again on the second floor, and then at our room.  It was a very comfortable room with no frills.  After eating a hamburger at Sam’s on the plaza we settled in for the night.

The hotel served a help-your-self breakfast, after which we caught the 8:05 am bus to

start our plan for the day which ended up being the “sunny schedule” because the forecast was for a full day of sun; though covered at times by big fluffy clouds.  We would stop at the four round churches and the village of Nexø.

Gudhjem Smoke Houses

We returned to Østerlars to visit the church we saw yesterday, but today we could photograph it in sun.  We were able to climb up to the safety level and the fortress level where we could see the construction and the roof supports.  Our next stop was at Olsker church, which is smaller but similar to Østerlars.  We rounded out our church trips by visiting the Nyker church and the Nylars church which are the smallest of the four churches.

We ended the trip by visiting Nexø prior to stopping at the ferry for the trip home.  We did find a smoke house, which would let us buy a hot smoked herring on the rack (just like 50 years ago) if we would come back at 11 am tomorrow.  We couldn’t stay that long so we purchased a fish from this morning’s batch and was satisfied with a cold one.

Svaneke Smoke House

All in all the trip was a huge success.

Svaneke Water Tower

Østerlars Kirke

Østerlars Kirke

Østerlars Interior

Østerlars Attic

Olsker Kirke

Olsker Interior

Olsker Attic

Nyker Kirke

Nyker Interior

Nylars Kirke

Nylars Kirke

Love Mom and Dad

Ældste og Søster Larsen