Hey Præsto

This is the first day of the tour. Ray drives down through Sweden to cross the bridge into Denmark while I fly to Copenhagen airport to meet him.

For me, the journey to Copenhagen was really easy. Coach from Oxford with no traffic delays (for a change) then time for a coffee and snack before boarding. Only a 90 minute flight with a view of the legendary Øresund bridge that links Sweden and Denmark as the aircraft banked to land. It’s a hazy picture but you can just about make out the bridge.

They built a tunnel for the last bit so the road from the bridge disappears into the sea as it approaches Copenhagen.

Flying over Denmark makes me realise just how many islands there are here. Copenhagen airport is very modern and well organised. Ray was waiting for me in the arrivals then we drove south. The traffic was very heavy going out of the city but it was generally easy going. Another realisation for me was that Denmark is essentially one big farm. Largely arable, lots of yellow rape seed and vegetables. A few fields of sheep, occasional cattle and horses. All very flat land.

In the late afternoon, we arrived at Præstø, a small town on the Baltic coast of Denmark and half way to the ferry. We are staying a night in the upstairs flat of “Sweet & Coffee” (https://sweetcoffee.dk) on the main street.

It was recommended to Ray by M. C. Hanson, a Danish musician friend. It’s a nice large flat with two double bedrooms, kitchen, sitting/dining room and balcony. The sitting room has two lovely wooden chests, one dated 1755 and the other a soldiers chest from the 1800’s. Nice apartment to stay for a week but we have only one night here.

The coffee shop has a lot of space out back with room for an old Trabant, the standard East German car from the soviet-era. In German, Trabant is an astronomical term for a moon (or other natural satellite) of a celestial body. It also means “companion”. The car’s name was inspired by the Soviet Sputnik satellite.

The garden behind the shop leads down to the river with two canoes to hire and two hammocks to laze in afterwards. We walked down to the coast to watch the evening sun.