Cycling Copenhagen to Berlin: Day 2

Weather looks good as we get ready to start about 9:00. Being Sunday morning, traffic is light as we leave Copenhagen making it much easier to navigate our way out of the city than it was yesterday. We ride on the bike paths of the city along with the locals. We goof up a couple of times trying to make a "Copenhagen left turn" but it is really nice to be in a place where bicycles are a respected form of transportation and not viewed as just an annoyance on the road. In fact, in many cases, cyclists get priority. Cars wait for cyclists to go through the intersection before making a right turn and in general are aware of cyclists on the road. Cycling is actively encouraged in Denmark's effort to make their carbon footprint zero by 2023. We asked what cyclists do in the winter and were told they ride bikes year round because that is their transportation. Apparently, Denmark doesn't get a lot of snow.

As we ride out of Cooenhagen, we go past the nature reserve of Kalvebod Fælled. It is a popular destination for the people of Copenhagen to connect with nature on weekends, go for a bike ride or enjoy an ice cream. Most of the ride today is in peaceful rural areas characteristic of Denmark. There are fields of grain, a few cows and a few farm houses. The sky provides unending beauty with ever changing cloud formations that make constantly changing patterns on the landscape. For a few minutes, sun filters through and a few minutes later, it gets cloudy and looks like rain.

We are on bike paths most of the day. Every town of any size has them. It is windy most of the time! Temperature is pleasant for riding. Our route Is perfectly flat. I've never seen a flatter elevation profile! We stop in Køge for lunch and eat in the town square at a restaurant that offers a Sunday brunch. I am hungry so Dave and I avail ourselves of the many choices at the buffet table. There are delicious salads of all sorts as well as egg dishes. The final part of our ride is on a very pretty rural road with old farm houses. I wish I had taken some pictures of them. We arrive at The town of Rødvig to Hotel Klingen right on the Baltic Sea in a little harbor. There are boats in the harbor and It is quiet and peaceful here, welcome after being in a big city for four nights. It rains just a little during the last few kilometers. We have a nice view of the water right from the big floor to ceiling windows in our room.

We have ridden 74 kilometers. I was so happy riding my e-bike. I still worked hard but had a little energy left at the end of the day. I think this may be the bike of the future for me at least if we want to continue doing these bike trips.

We have dinner at the hotel. It is a delicious buffet of traditional Danish foods. We eat at 6:30 and are back in our rooms by 8:45. I like this schedule!