Denmark - BornHolm
Denmark is a heaven on earth, however a very cold one in winter. Denmark consists of many islands and one of them is Bornholm.
There are 9 big cities on Bornholm. These are Rønne, Neksø, Svaneke, Allinge, Tejn, Åkirkeby, Snogebæk, Hasle and Gudhjem.
I visited Bornholm with my friends and we were 14 in a group. We stayed at a Youth hostel (Sletten) in Gudhjem. Gud (God) hjem (house) means God’s House and as it is shown by name that it is a kind of religious city.
I hardly seen local people around the city; however, you can find some old people during day time around in cafés. It is a very cold and clam city in winter.
There are few restaurants around the coast and whenever a ship arrives on Gudhjem coast, local people wave to them and welcome them with a lovely smile.
Yachts, small boats and the boats of the company Christiansøfarten traffic the harbour. Shops, ceramists and a working glass factory, a smokehouse and a soft ice shop bring life around the harbour.
We took a ship called “Poul Anker” from Nyhavn, Copenhagen and sailed almost 6 - 8 hours to Bornholm. The ship has 7 decks and place for 1300 people. Rønne is the biggest city and the capital of Bornholm. It is situated in the south west on Bornholm. Rønne is almost 700 years old city. We arrived in Rønne and a bus which we reserved for ourselves was waiting for us. It took us almost 30 mins to arrive in Gudhjem.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
You can travel to Bornholm by train or ship. For reservation check DFDS Seaways by ship and DSB by train.
DFDS Seaways:
https://dfdsseaways.dk/dsw/da
DSB:
https://dsb.dk/Rejseplan/bin/query.exe/en?L=vs_dsb&ml=m&
The weather was very pleasant the day we arrived and the day we left and during the week when we stayed there, it was rainy and cold and fog added the charm.
We hired two guides from Copenhagen who led us around on Bornholm.
1 – SLETTEN CAMPING & YOUTH HOSTEL:
It is situated in Gudhjem on Bornholm. It is very near by seaside (500m). There are 8 rooms and 6 toilets, a big kitchen and a dinning room and a living room where you can watch TV or can play board football and other games.
There is also a Kiosk and a mini golf course adjoins. Gudhjem or Bornholm is not an expensive place comparing to Copenhagen or rest of Denmark. I’ll suggest Youth Hostel is best place to stay, though you can find many cosy hotels with old traditions.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
For more details visit the following link for booking of cheapest youth hostels (Vandrerhjem)!
https://danhostel.dk/VisNyhed.asp?lan=uk&ID=50
To be more specific here is link to the Sletten youth hostel:
https://slettenscamping.dk/?stlnocount=true
2 - Melsted strand (Melsted seaside) & Melstedgård Landburgsmuseum (The agricultural museum Melsted)
Melsted – sandy beach is very beautiful and it is not very far away from youth hostel. There are many camping sites near Gudhjem and Melsted. At night, we were use to go to the shore and sat there on rocks and set the fire and two of my friends used to play guitar while all others enjoyed.
There is a Melstedgård Landburgsmuseum (Melsted farm and agricultural museum) not far away from Melsted beach.
It is a working open – air museum situated on a farm with a farmhouse from 1796. There are many kinds of animals and stables and activities all around. However, it smells really YUK because of the atmosphere they have created there. There are some tractors to display from 1930’s and in addition to this; they have designed an old fashioned house to display the life style of a farmer or ordinary person in good old days.
There is also a big yard with almost all kinds of trees such as apple trees and pear. There is also a museum shop if you want to buy some souvenirs.
3 – SCALA
Scala Gudhjem is a modern cinema of the town and is situated in Brøddegade. Above the town, at the stadium, you can find swimming baths. I loved the place as we all went to watch some Danish movie in mid night and atmosphere was magical. Going up and down to hills and crossing rocks every time you need to go to kiosk is just so peaceful and enhancing.
4– HAMMERSHUS
It is the most popular 15th century castle and visited place by tourists on Bornholm. It is the largest castle of Northern Europe.
It’s magnificent and huge and was built for defence purpose from Nordic countries that time. It is an ideal place to visit for the people who have a lot of interest in archaeology.
5 – Churches: Østerlars Kirke
It is the biggest, beautiful and popular church among all other 4 churches. It was built in 1150 for defence purpose from Poland, Sweden and Germany. Church has two doors and room for 130, 000 people.
According to a survey more than 700 couples say “yes” to each other in Østerlars Kirke on Bornholm every year.
SHOPPING:
There are many supermarkets, a bank, bakery, electricity shop, summer shops with clothes, souvenirs, shoes, handicraft, products, art etc.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
Buses 3, 7 and 9. The service is only available twice in an hour.
Spoken language down there is Danish but people also understand English. Danes are mostly very helpful people and would help you with smile if you ever need any. To show your concern to the culture and people it would be nice if you say “TAK” (thanks) in return in Danish.
Over all, Bornholm is a nice place to visit for those who like calm places. It would be very boring for those people to visit who come from long distance.
Have fun and I hope you liked my review. Do ask me if you have any questions.
Sam!