we're boating, and sailing. and eating. and likin' it.

Day 12 (Thursday 1/15)

I again got up fairly early this day, sometime around 7:30 or 8 I think. After getting some breakfast and coffee Pete and I said goodbye to Maibritt who was going to Copenhagen an hour or so later for a lecture/conference. The two of us drove up to Gudhjem, about 5 or 6 km north, and at 10 we took a little ferry to the Christiansø, an island off the northeast coast of Bornholm. By “ferry” I mean that we were on the mail boat to the island, the only boat that goes back and forth during the winter. There was maybe 10 people on board—including crew—and it was made for big waves so it was bumping up and down and side to side the whole ride.

The island is so small you can walk all the way around it in about 20 minutes. Only about 100 people live there year-round. It was originally a naval base but a while back it was converted to solely civilian use. Mostly it relies on fishing and tourism. During the summer it’s a mad house with loads of people everywhere. In January, however, it is nearly dead. The Inn, restaurant, and café were all closed, as was the museum and church. About the only thing open was the little grocery store, and that was only for a few hours.

Once we got to the island I almost immediately realized two things: it was really cold and we were probably the only people there who didn’t live there (I was DEFINITELY the only person there who didn’t speak Danish). We walked through the little “town” or closest conglomeration of buildings (maybe 20) and past the grocery store where the old men gather in the winter time to sit in the back and drink Tuborg and Carlsberg while smoking and being cold.

We walked around quite a bit and I started warming up or at least getting used to it. It was really beautiful and desolate. On the horizon was Bornholm which looked huge and everywhere else was just grey, turbulent water. The island is very jagged and even a bit brutal as it’s almost entirely granite. Anyway, we took some pictures and walked around a bit more before sitting down and having a couple of the sandwiches we brought. We ran into a couple people Pete knew and they chatted for a bit. We went into the grocery store to try to get some coffee but the lady was a bit apologetic because the pot she had was cold (and probably from the day before, too). We grabbed a couple Squashes and some cookies and went back on the boat we came on which left about 1. The pilot heard we were looking for coffee so he brought down a couple cups of the black stuff for us. I love Danish hospitality. Once the boat took off the two of us went down below deck and laid down on the benches and slept on the whole ride home. The ride home was so incredibly relaxing as the boat was swaying back and forth and I was right by a heater. Uncle Pete went back to the studio when we got back but I just went to their place as I was kinda tired from the boat ride and coldness.

That night we reheated the leftovers from the night before and then the two of us sat around drinking/sampling some Scotch Whiskey and Caribbean Rum for a while. Good night, all told.