HIKING, BIKING AND BALTIC BEACHES

As I wrote previously, biking has never been my favorite activity. Despite my aversion to cycling in general, my adventure trip this past weekend was absolutely fabulous. We spent the weekend on Bornholm, a small island in the Baltic Sea that is actually closer to Sweden and Germany but is still a part of Denmark. It’s a popular summer destination for many Danes; I’d liken it to something like Cape Cod/Nantucket/Martha’s Vineyard as an American comparison.

We boarded a late, overnight ferry on Friday and got as comfortable as possible in chairs and on the floor to try and sleep before we docked at approximately 6am Saturday morning. We arrived in Bornholm before the sun had come up and sleepily boarded the bus to head to Gundjem, a little town on the opposite side of the island. I signed up for the trip with a friend from Georgetown but a girl from my Danish class and another Hoya (whom I knew by association but had never actually hung out with) were there too so the four of us spent the weekend exploring together. DIS gave us suggested biking routes so we opted for the Wilderness Tour. After breakfast at the hostel, we picked up our bikes and readied ourselves for the day.

The first leg of the trip took us through rolling farm hills en route to the most famous round church on the island. From there we pedaled through a picturesque forest on our way to lunch. Emerging from the woods we headed to Svaneke, a cozy town famous for smoked herring, glass blowing and candy shops. 

We had biked over 45km by the time we reached the hostel for dinner and after a quick outing to the local ice cream store for dessert, we turned in early so we’d be well rested for more exploring the next day. The weather was a bit sunnier on Sunday so we opted for a quick ride out of town to explore the rock formations, Black Cauldron cave, art museum and Denmark’s “highest” waterfall.

Despite the light rain and stubborn clouds, Bornholm was beautiful. I can only imagine how it must be in the summer when the streets are bustling and the sun is shining. The trip fit perfectly in to my "explore Denmark" theme of the month and I doubt I'll ever have the chance to go back again. It was truly a YOLO kind of weekend.

I'm not sure what it is, but the further I get from Colorado the more I crave being outdoors. The further I get from DC, the more Georgetown people I meet with whom I've overlapped but never actually spent time with. I never would have guessed it would take a weekend of biking for me to realize just how small the world really is. My thighs are as hard as rock and I don't think I'll be able to sit comfortably on a bike again for at least month but if nothing else, I've come to appreciate my nature-girl side, expanded my Georgetown bubble and proved to myself that I can, in fact, ride a bike without injury.