We headed off early to the local Lidl to secure some breakfast. It was like a little picnic, sitting on the grass, adjacent to a high brick wall protecting us from the already strong wind.

The roads were quiet, and we retraced some of the cycle paths we had arrived on the previous day.

The land here is open and features heath like plants.

Signage indicating cycle routes,

The sealed paths are so well done. Like a road for cars, but narrower, and for cyclists and walkers.

We soon head out along the eastern coast line in a southerly direction, through some villages, with a busier arterial road close by.

First convenience stop was convenient as it enabled Tony to listen to the last eight minutes of Collingwood vs Melbourne. For my non Aussie friends this refers to AFL football. Collingwood win by one point pleasing Tony.

Self serve and pay strawberries as we approach the busy port town of Frederickshavn.

Bloated fish…

The Frederikshavn kirke is very symmetrical and was inspired by a similar church in Aachen (Germany). Many of the churches we have been past this trip have been closed so we’ve not got to peep inside.

Another standout building is this Gunpowder Tower, which played a significant role since its expansion after the Scanian War (1676-1679) also supporting the Navy during the Great Northern War 1709-1720)

These are wars I had not previously heard of as my education covered ones I guess that had Australian involvement. The wars mentioned pre date my first Australian-British ancestor who arrived with the First Fleet as a convict (Richard Morgan).

We missed something in this busy town. Over 30 palms were planted at a local small beach. It was super windy so I’m not sure how pleasant it would have been today.

Saeby was our last coastal town. It’s marina is just ahead.

Ferries heading up towards Frederickshavn.

We purchased some lunch food from Rema 1000 ( supermarket). They don’t rate. Lidl is my favoured. We find somewhere to shelter from the wind. We had ridden about 51 km and still had 53 km remaining. We were changing direction to the south west, heading inland towards our destination of Aalborg.

The wind that had been with us had been a tail wind at times, but of head, bit of side, but after leaving Frederickshavn it was pure head and slight side wind.

It was a difficult few hours riding for sure.

Roundabout of the day.

It is hard to photograph wind but I tried here. Normally the wheat would be very even in colour to look at. In strong winds, it ripples through and creates quite mesmerising patterns.

Here are two Danish flags standing up to the headwind,

The forecast was for winds in excess of 40 kmh with gusts higher. This is Tony’s bike computer showing live data with a gust of 63 kmh.

I think this has been our toughest 50 km in wind this trip. It was slow and at times scary and evil. If you got a sudden gust, it rocks you and the bike. Cussing I can confirm changes nothing!

Some quirky art at the village of Uggerhalne.

Holding the bikes tightly as we we tried to keep them in control and steady, we slowly got through the km, and made it into Aalborg.

Our hotel has a wonderful ‘jail’ as the guy at reception described it, in their underground car park for bikes. It is that, a locked jail cell, but great.

The hotel is curious in that it is Denmarks only not for profit hotel with profits supporting seafarers here and in Greenland that need support. I am not sure I’ve ever stayed at a not for profit hotel before anywhere.

We head off after showering and laundering.

Over 90 areas in the city have wall art. I liked this one although wonder about the poor guys burdens.

This statue is quite small. Similar height to is in the plinth.

Quirky building. Inside there was a sink so not sure of it’s use.

Castle like.

This is an old merchant house known as Jen Bangs (the merchants name). It dates to 1624 At a time that was river waterfront, he had his own merchant navy and the river position gave him quick access to his navy in the harbour.

No signs of any river flowing along this street today so I presume it was drained or there are underground pipes.

The Budolfi kirke is the cathedral church for the Lutheran Diocese of Aalborg in north Jutland ( the region of Denmark we are in).

We also wandered into the grounds of Aalborghus Castle, a half timbered castle built by King Christian III from 1539 to 1555 initially as a fortification.

There are some tunnels under the castle you can wander in, damp and cold, I hope no one latches the outside doors!

Back to our hotel, and guess which is our room? They dried beautifully too. This is the Yaxley flag indicating we are in residence.

So an interesting day, easy first half, evil second half. We have now ridden 2,672 km this trip! Our legs feel stronger!

Looks like rain tomorrow! Time will tell.

Thanks for reading 😊❣️🚴💪