Woodworking in Denmark and our visits with the Mad Rhykenologist

One of the great pleasures in traveling is the opportunity to engage in interests with more intensity and from a different perspective than in our everyday environment. Thus, take lots of photos, eat different foods, experience different approaches to shelter and cram in as many museums as time allows. Our side trip to Wetzlar was decidedly photo-centric in general and Leica-centric in particular and we expected the trip to be bike-centric given that we signed up for a bike tour along with Copenhagen’s well known cycling culture (Berlin was not far behind in that department to our very pleasant surprise).
What I did not anticipate was how relevant Denmark would be to my interest in carpentry and woodworking, even as we were looking forward to meeting Mads F in person having already formed an on-line friendship through Lumberjocks.
The first exposure to Danish woodworking came with our visit to Middelaldercentret. DW had been predicting how much fun I would have there; I figured it would make for some good photo-ops. How much of the living history museum featured wood and metal crafting in retrospect should have been expected given how important seafaring and predation were to the middle age Danes/Vikings. Not only was the technology way interesting but how it was presented was entertaining and photogenic as well.

The actors were in effect trained craftsmen in the technology of the era.

The place was also near heaven for those with a Wabi-Sabi sensibility- simple, well-worn and crafted.

Finally, Tormek has nothing on this set-up.

Christiania is well known for it's libertarian mindset, although in pursuit of mind altering substances rather than the Koch bros version. Another aspect of this spirit is a strong DIY/maker culture. There is a large shop area there, not as photogenic as Middeladercentret but sufficiently engaging that I lost contact with my group while exploring the area. Dimensioned lumber, sheet goods and moldings along with power tools demonstrates the communities intention to have control over the means of production (one thing Marx was right about).

My introduction to Mads came while researching Moxon vises on Lumberjocks. He had posted a Milkman's Workbench renovation which caught my eye as it could potentially be used as a Moxon  vise. I commented to that effect with a prompt response that that indeed was his intention. While I went in a different direction in my project, his craftsmanship both as a woodworker and a technical writer/photographer were impressive (not to mention that he's writing in a second language) and marked him as someone to follow. Upon meeting in person, we found him to be an entertaining and amiable polymath. We were fortunate to be able to spend a good part of two of our four days in Copenhagen hanging out with him. His workshop/studio was only a couple of miles away from our hotel in a very lively and eclectic part of Copenhagen.
While my projects arise more from necessity (furniture for the house, picture frames for photos, DW honey-do stuff, stuff for the shop), Mads projects (and he's been prolific) are non-commerical (see the sign on his front door) and run the gamut from the practical to the near-whimsical. https://www.lumberjocks.com/mafe/projects

                                                                                              

The sign on the door- "This is not a store!"

The sign on the window kindly request bicyclists from leaving their bikes there as just about any wall fronting a street is an invitation to a local needing somewhere to lean a bike up against.

As a souvenir, Mads gave me one of his chisel engraved with his trademark.

 I initially protested with the lame excuse that it could pose a problem boarding our flight. DW noted that could be solved by checking my bag instead of carry-on. Once home, it sharpened up nicely, held it's edge and took its alongside the rest of my arsenal of chisels

The best source for things to do when visiting come from locals, thus part of our chats were recommendations for places to check out.  We had already been to the Design Museum. That had been an easy choice with minimal research needed to given our interests as makers and predilection for museums being one of the more worthwhile things to do. Sure enough, both DW and I found much that was relevant to us. This image would have saved me some time as it contains much of the information I had to forage through on-line when learning about seating and workdesk heights. In addition, it’s an art-piece in its own right.

It seems that anyone who’s shopped for furniture has come across Danish chairs. The exhibit featuring the variations on the generic Danish chair was so comprehensive that there had to be a tongue in cheek spirit in its presention.

Courtesy of Danish Design Review

This sense of playfulness was “on exhibit” elsewhere. Being a longtime PNW resident, bicycle “woodies" is old hat, though

Roorkee chairs had been on my mind’s list of future projects thanks to Chris Schwarz’s writings. He has a book on campaign furniture which includes plans for one. The museum had a nice version on display- always a plus to be actually able to see the actual chair.

Our bicycling tour-mates had gone to the Roskilde Viking Museum earlier in the week and had recommended it even though it involved a train ride. We were thinking we had already seen one living museum and there was still much to see in Copenhagen, thus were inclined to pass on it. Mads persuaded us otherwise. Thus we added another sorta wood-centric experience. Ship building demands a particularly high level of woodworking craftsmanship which make it interesting even if one is a landlubber. We were not able to see the woodworking demo's but just seeing the shop area was plenty gratifying. Their workshop area was the bitchin-est I've ever seen.

And I wonder what would have been the price and shipping charge if this guy had been for sale?

Thus Denmark turned out to be kinda busman's holiday- and DW very much enjoyed it also. Really!

Berlin to Copenhagen: Copenhagen

Berlin to Copenhagen Bikeway Finish: Copenhagen.

While the Freewheeling tour had ended, we continued to hang out with each other while pursuing our agendas as most of the group had booked added days at Hotel SP34.  We avoid guided city or museum tours in general and DW does not like urban bicycling but Jesse persuasive person that she is, talked her into it. She sold the concept as a great way of getting a more bird’s eye view of the lay of a city as one covers much more ground than walking and is more engaged with one's surroundings and able to stop when desired compared to using public transportation. Pretty much the same reasons why we like bicycling vacations. Thus the day following our arrival in Copenhagen, our Freewheeling group (minus two who had left town earlier) went on a guided city bike tour.

Our guide was personable, experienced and patient.

 We were able to take in many of the tourist-y attractions in Central Copenhagen.

and were able to spend some time in Christiania.

I briefly lost track of the group while wandering around the craft area of the enclave. As mentioned earlier, we had many experiences in Denmark that were relevant to my interest in woodworking- in the spirit of if you’re a hammer the world looks like a nail; enough to merit a separate post. Our guide took the Cristiana group photo.

I had become online friends through LumberJocks, a woodworking site, with a fellow hobbyist who as it turns out, keeps a workshop space within walking distance from our hotel. Our visits with him were a wonderful memory and evidence that us humans tend to treasure experiences with other humans over places and things we have seen and done.

Not only was Mads great company, he provided us with one of my favorite photos of DW and I and the cover for our cat-centric holiday card.

In our walkabouts, DW noted  the abundance of hotdog stands. 

Being a foodie, she had been looking forward to elegant dining while in town. But she knows that hotdogs are one of my favorite, if infrequent, indulgences.  Reading up on it, it turned out that Copenhagen can make the claim to being the Hot Dog Capital of the World. Thus, after some research as we wanted beer along with our hotdog as well as a sit down setting, we went off to the meatpacking district to have dinner at Johns Hotdogs.

My all time favorite hotdog remains the chilidogs we ate regularly at House of Burger in Watts. A childhood memory, my sister and I still wax nostalgic about that place 50-some years later.

John’s however made it to my top three and takes first place for breath of selection.

Tivoli Gardens was DW’s top priority destination having been advised having been advised as a must see attraction by more than one of her friends. Arriving in late afternoon, it felt sorta Disneyland/Universal City.  However we lucked out with our timing as it became magical at night and indeed was a memorable experience.

Berlin to Copenhagen Bikeway Continued: Denmark Stage

Berlin to Copenhagen Bikeway Continued Part 3:         Denmark Stage

A note of exasperation before resuming the story. Bless it's little heart, Blogger is fairly user friendly and up to now has not made my life miserable. An attempt to go beyond the basic format has resulted in losing the draft twice now. After the first loss, both DW and a buddy in the tech business both advised backing up periodically in another platform- Word lends itself well to this.  Misguided optimism led to neglecting the back up step upon starting this account with- guess what.  So, here goes again after blowing off this little activity  for several weeks.

Rostock to  Nykobing Falster and Gulborg

Ferry rides have been as close as DW and I have gotten to a cruise like experience and, for the most part are a novelty for us. The ferry was, at least as large, if not larger, than the ones we've taken to cross over to Victoria BC from Anacortes. Boarding a ship this size added to the high spirit of departing for Denmark- a new country for both of us and one we had long had on our bucket list.

The group kibitzed for a bit after taking in the view of the shoreline. Sophie, who had branded me as a paparazzi at the start of the trip, turned out to be sufficiently interested in photography to use a film camera in addition to the trusty phone camera. 

We talked shop and I predicted she would take up using a rangefinder camera. We also traded posting and sharing info.

Bicycling tours, along with experiencing new places and getting some exercise in the great outdoors, also makes for opportunities to get to know people and have conversations outside of what one encounters in everyday life at work and at home. 

V, our oldest group member was legally blind and eminently qualified to have a service animal. She was retired from a career in academia as a psychologist and has done multiple bicycling tour vacations. 

Her dog was just as noteworthy. Garnet is the end product of a very selective training process. As previous mentioned she has better manners and discipline than a lot of humans. Her love and caring for her human was just touching and admirable.  

As the novelty of the ferry wore off, I felt obliged to go in the cabin and took a nap. Tired though I was, my inner clock was still sufficiently functional to have me wake up shortly before landing ashore and in time to locate the group and make our way to the van. It was great fun to see evidence of Danish character in general and signs of its bike-centricity so shortly after arrival.

The landscape was different as well-groomed forests for open farmland and shorelines which better suited my respiratory tract in its condition at that time. 

DW had been looking forward to visiting the Medieval Center (Middelaldercentret) and had been building it up as likely to be one of the highlights of the trip. I had just figured on seeing some folks in period costume and good for a few photos. There was some haggling over how much time to allow as some wanted to keep it short to have more time to go for a swim. We decided for at least an hour.  DW indeed knew her husband as with my interest in woodworking and architecture it was an absorbing experience. 

Denmark would continue to provide sufficient woodworking-centric experiences that I'll write a post specific to that in Lumberjocks. Surprise, surprise that a seafaring culture would emphasize woodworking and forging.

Surveying the fancy crowd and facilities at the Bandholm hotel, DW and I began to consider the possibility of being the underdressed rubes at dinner. When packing DW had advocated for taking coats in the event more formal attire was appropriate, but given the weather forecast and activities we favor, packing sport coats did not seem to be worth the bother. Fortunately, the Danes- at least the ones attending dinner that evening- were in casual attire.

The food was consistent with a four star hotel. D (one of our fellow cyclists) however, was most disappointed that the staff did not know how to make a proper martini. His explanation of the deficiencies was beyond my mixology ignorant grasp.

Bandholm to Mon

We arrived at Stobbekobing well before ferry boarding time. The town was sufficiently large to look for a pharmacy as I was using an albuterol inhaler pretty frequently and was hoping to add a steroid inhaler and try antihistamines for my respiratory issues. Thankfully, there was a pharmacy within walking distance from the ferry loading area. But steroid inhalers in Denmark need a prescription just like in the US and I was advised by the clerk that I should see a doctor if I felt sick enough to need one. OK. Zyrtec and saline spray are OTC, so I bought those in the can't hurt might help spirit. 
When returning the group was lining up for ice cream; anyone who has my slightest acquaintance knows that I'd have to be feeling seriously ill to pass up ice cream. 

A full day of bicycling in Denmark revealed more contrasts to the portion of Germany we had traveled through. The countryside provided plenty of photo ops as farmland so close to shore was a new visual experience for us.

While there is some evidence of the effect of time on structures, by and large the Danes have the discipline, energy and resources to keep entropy at bay. The buildings may be centuries old but there is little evidence of wear and tear.







This attention to upkeep can be seen in the vintage cars seen while riding through the countryside. The difference was striking in comparison what we saw in the former GDR. 

The rural churches were very appealing in their quality of construction, modest scale and lack of ostentation. 

Today was when we first saw small sailing ship models used as an interior motif- makes sense given the perils of seafaring especially then and even now.

Noted earlier was the scarcity of roadies in spandex zooming by. Well, we crossed  paths with the Tour of Denmark today (our paths would cross again 2 days later. One of the locals quipped that it would be a perfect day for criminal activity as all of the local police were involved with traffic control.

The days ride ended with a little hill climb to Liselund Ny Slot, a small castle restored and converted to a hotel. The climb left me gassed but I got over that once we set eyes on the hotel and grounds. Captivated by the regalness of it all, DW did her best royals wave.

                   The ever attentive Martin captured the moment.

The five course dinner that evening was among the best I’ve experienced. Unfortunately, it was followed by a particularly restless sleep. I dreamt being hospitalized and DW the following morning commented that my breathing sounded horrible. At that point, it was only a matter of time before checking in for medical care.

Mon to Praesto

Another part of the trip advertised as a highlight was the white cliffs of Mons Klint so a doctor visit was going to have to wait especially as it was a Sunday in rural Denmark. Thus off we went to Mons Klint which was indeed a spectacular sight and we were fortunate to be there on a sunny days which makes the cliffs even more striking. 

Then it was time to climb up the 497 steps.  
But, hey- I only got one “are you alright?” 

inquiry from a concerned bystander.

The vegetation along the stairway was an attraction by itself along with the graffiti along the way. In keeping with Scandinavian civility, it was confined to man-made structures and in chalk white. 

The stairs did me in however, and taking note of my bicycling speed on the way to the next town, the Freewheeling staff informed that, even though it was Sunday,  I needed a visit with a doctor. So Frank, our SAG wagon driver, and I drove off. We did not find any place open along the way. The concierge at Hotel Frederiksminde we were staying was able to make an appointment for me at a hospital ER not too far from the hotel.

Medical Tourism.

The ER waiting room was nearly empty and I met the on-call doc shortly after checking in. He was a most collegial gentleman, a fellow Family Physician, who diagnosed me as having an asthma exacerbation, which I expected, but also a right lower lobe pneumonia, which I was not expecting but in retrospect should have been obvious. Denial as a working strategy could be replaced at that point. In Denmark he noted outpatient pneumonia is treated with amoxicillin,  acknowledging that in the States, azithromycin is the drug of choice.  “You’re the doc” was my reply, although I did nudge him to prescribing a short course of prednisone as that was going to be more helpful in improving my exercise tolerance in the short term. 

Insightful gentleman that he was he made no suggestions regarding activity restrictions and I did not ask. Turns out that he travels to Florida for CME courses almost yearly. His medical bag had almost immediately caught my attention. 

He was quite proud of it noting it had been in his family for three generations. He slightly ruefully noted there not be a fourth as his sons had gone into dentistry.

I had resigned myself to a rather stiff charge, being an ER visit on Sunday. He cheerfully noted that my medicines were from the samples supply as he did not want me to risk not starting treatment if I could not find a pharmacy open on Sunday. The cost of the visit under the “tourist fee" was the equivalent of $40.00. Like earlier noted, a most collegial fellow.

Recounting the experience with my woodworking friend in Copenhagen, he noted that Europeans dread the prospect of becoming ill while in the US as our hospitals have a reputation as being downright predatory. He did note that when he became ill and received treatment in New York, his bill was pretty manageable. He joked however that for the next several months he dreaded going to his mailbox in fear of finding an “adjusted” final bill along with extradition papers.



When meeting up with DW and the rest of the group, they informed me that, while I had only missed 34 Km of the route, they had to deal with rain and a headwind.  Oh, well.
I made sure to thank the concierge at Hotel.
Another great meal this time as our hotel had a Michelin starred restaurant. We were served in a separate dining room which left some of us wondering if due to our informal attire we had been segregated from the more elegant dressed guests. WTH, it was a great dinner and breakfast even though they kinda went overboard on the taxidermy.

Praesto to Koge

Another day of well cared for, scenic and relaxing (seldom encountering motor vehicles). DW was most patient with me in my suboptimal state and I was relieved in a way to have an explanation for my pokiness. Another reason it was great to have V in our group was being able to draft a tandem.

Interesting sights along the way were the immaculately maintained thatch roofs

And an over-sized chess board set on a boardwalk- I’d venture to say small to nonexistent chance of finding this in a US beach town.

There was also what appeared to be a decommissioned barracks and a large estate both of which had atmosphere reminiscent of The Shining.

Also along the way was another, smaller area of limestone cliff, also accompanied by a stairway; mercifully not as long as yesterdays.

We also had another crossing with the Tour of Denmark. This time we had time to stake out a good viewing spot, were provided with noisemakers and got into the spirit of things.

I made sure to get a photo of the Lanterne Rouge (I could relate).

We began to feel a bit nostalgic as this would be our final group dinner. Our meals together were one of the many great memories of this trip.

Koge to Copenhagen

The wistfulness developed further our last day. Our stalwart Freewheeling guides gave us our T-shirts (great company, but some of us would prefer a, em- more understated design) that morning  and we took our group photo at a location Martin chose.

We then had our last swimming break. In my state of health at the time I passed but DW joined in the fun.

The countryside gradually became the Copenhagen suburbs. I was not subtly reminded by a roadie in spandex whizzing by that side by side riding was verboten (in English of course but with a German affect). Once in Copenhagen, other members of our little group were educated in no uncertain terms by the locals on bicycling etiquette.  Duly educated and a bit stressed with the abrupt transition mwe arrived at our hotel.

Just a few doors from the hotel was a bike shop which  displayed a bike with the local heritage.