travels with janne

I park my car in the southernmost part of Denmark by
the town of Bov. This is as far south as it gets before turning into
present-day Germany. However, this was once Denmark. That was before 1864,
before one of those disastrous wars in which Denmark lost parts of itself. I walk unhindered across the unmanned border
and find myself in Germany. Such a different way to enter into a country
compared to less free or more paranoid areas of the world, where being
fingerprinted, checked and frisked by stern men wearing weapons is the order of
the day. Here, nobody even notices me.

This is where the Danish section of the historic road
Hærvejen begins – or ends, depending on your approach. Hærvejen means “army
road” and denotes that this road has often been used by armies marching to wars
further south in Europe. It has also been used by merchants on their way to the
markets in cities like Hamburg and by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, Rome
or other places holy to them.

The ancient cobblestones are visible here. This part
of the road was the way to the city of Flensburg from the end of the 13th
century until around 1800 when it fell into disuse because other roads were
used instead.

Along the way are stone markers. They indicate who had
the responsibility for maintaining the road. Sometimes it was a farm, sometimes
a whole village, but in general, the locals helped each other with the work.

The air is chill and brisk but pleasant for walking. I
walk through the town of Bov. After a while I come to Bommerlund Plantage, a
quiet and peaceful wood. Here, the story goes, is the origin of the famous
Bommerlund snaps. In 1760, an exhausted, sick and wounded French soldier asked
to stay at the Bommerlund Inn. When it was time to leave – and pay – he had no
money. Instead, he offered the recipe for a special, fragrant aquavit flavoured
with aniseed, caraway and other herbs. This was the origin of the snaps that is
now sold as Bommerlund snaps. The old inn no longer exists but there are still
remnants of the stones that were used to fence in the cattle when they and
their owners rested at night on their long journey through Jutland. And a stone with a relief showing the travel-soldier was erected in 1960.

Further along, I pass over a lovely granite bridge
with two arches (Gejlå Bro). The present bridge is from 1818 but earlier
versions have been in place for centuries. Since Jutland is crisscrossed with
streams that empty either into the North Sea or the waters on the east coast of
Denmark, there were lots of places where it was difficult for the travelers to
ford the streams with their cattle and vehicles. Hence the need for bridges to ease the way between north and south. The road passing over the bridge is paved with cobblestones.

After passing through woods, agricultural landscapes and small towns with old churches, I arrive at the next bridge, which is Povl’s Bro. This is where I rest for the night, exhausted and footsore after 24 km on my first day.
The bridge is from 1844 and has one self-supporting arch in stone. There used
to be an inn here but I stay at a farm nearby. It is in the middle of the wood,
wonderfully quiet and pitch black at night.

On the second day my energy reserves are rather
depleted. My knees ache and my feet are killing me. Most of the route is now
past farmland. Flat and boring. It is still early in the season, so the fields
are not ploughed yet. The lark hangs high in the sky, trilling happily, and
keeps me welcome company.

The walk along Hærvejen mirrors Denmark very well. Modern
agriculture, asphalted roads, and industrial areas blend with woods, moors, old
churches and history. This is Denmark in a nutshell: old and new, cultivated
and natural.

The first stage of this crazy project has brought me
through 42 km of Southern Jutland. Just over 435 km to go!

Denmark has an old road, which winds its way through
the backbone of Jutland like a crooked spine. Sometimes it is a mere gravel or
dirt path. Sometimes the road’s ancient cobblestones are still visible. Sometimes
the road almost disappears as it makes its way through a grassy meadow. Other times
it shouts its presence in the shape of a busy asphalted highway. This route has
been the life nerve of Jutland, connecting its farms, hamlets and towns with
the markets, wars and religious destinations south of the border in Germany and
beyond.

Countless merchants, farmers, soldiers, pilgrims,
adventurers, bad guys and good guys, Danes and foreigners have travelled this
route through the centuries and found hope, despair, disappointment, fear,
romance, robbery, rape, adventure, murder and enlightenment. Some have gone
home richer, some poorer, some not at all.

I also intend to follow this route. Armed with a
backpack, map, good shoes and toothbrush, I will walk from the border between
Denmark and Germany all the way up through the peninsula of Jutland until I can
smell the North Sea from the northern coast. This will take me a while, but
even the longest journey begins with one single step forward. So let’s do it! Follow
me as I walk through the landscape and history of Denmark.

Ah Sicily! Lemons, mountains, sunny days, fresh fish,
fog, gelato, greenery, Greeks, Romans and a whole lot of others, architecture
and the ever-present sea. I hope to see you again some day.

Our ways part for a couple of days and a night so
while my friends stay on mainland Sicily I take the ferry to Lipari. This is a
beautiful little island, one of several volcanic islands north of Sicily. Small
islands have an ambience all their own and this one is no exception. Fishing
boats, yachts, a laidback atmosphere…as usual I just mosey around drinking it
all in. I discover a castle with archaeological goodies from Neolithic, Greek,
Roman and Byzantium times, including Greek sarcophagi lined up in the shade and
with stunning views of the water.

After I again meet up with my friends, we go for a
drive in the Nebrodi Mountains, part of which is a nature reserve. Pigs and
horses roam freely here, as do the cows, who wear bells. We enjoy the shade
offered by trees such as cork oak, elm, beech and ash and spot orchids,
delicate pink cyclamen and a marten. We pass babbling brooks and little
waterfalls.

We get lots of good, clear views of Mount Etna from
its north side as well as lovely views of the landscape before heading back
towards Catania, from where we fly home. The last stop on our itinerary is to a
place called Alcantara, where there is waterfall and some rather odd cliffs
that look like they were modelled using strips of clay. I cannot resist taking
off my socks and shoes and wading into the icy cold water. Last chance before
returning to Denmark!

We stay at the B&B Villa Maria Giovanna on the
outskirts of the small town Giardini Naxos, which is a short drive from the
pretty but touristy town of Taormina. Our B&B offers a sumptuous breakfast,
the elements of which our very friendly host describes to us in details. I fall
head over heels in love with the homemade lemon cookies.

In fact, I am pretty hooked on several of the lemony
delights of Sicily. They include the aperitif Limoncello (I simply must make
some myself at home), lemon marmalade (I’ve already made some with lemons I
brought home – huge success) and lemon ice cream (I’ve made some of that here
at home, too) and of course the lemons themselves – they are wonderfully
fragrant, cheerfully yellow, yummily sweet and rustically bumpy.

We sit down to breakfast outdoors with the snowy top
of volcanic Mount Etna as a backdrop. What a view to dine by! The sky is clear
and we can see the shape of the cone and the smoke that it emits. We look
forward to our excursion to the top of the volcano after breakfast.

As it happens, we are bitterly disappointed. The
further we drive up in the mountain, the foggier it gets. It is my turn to
drive, and I am not particularly keen on driving on the winding road without
being too clear about what lies just a few metres ahead. Almost at the top of
the mountain, we park the car and take the cable car to go further up. It
squeaks and creaks as we rise in the eerie mist that prevents us from seeing
pretty much everything there is to see.

At the end of the ride, a special vehicle that can
drive in the rough terrain waits to take us up to the craters. At the end of
the ride, we get out and walk. It is pretty chilly up here and hard to see
anything, but we do see the five most recent craters and we bend down to feel the
warmth of the rock. How strange that snow lies on top of such a warm mountain!

The next day we walk around Taormina – yet another
town that offers glorious views of the sea, ancient ruins and buildings and
lots of history. The Greek theatre from the third century BC. It was rebuilt by
the Romans in the first century AD, and this is mostly what stands today.

Our next highlight is the absolutely amazing Villa
Romana del Casale. Even if you are only moderately interested in mosaics, you
will be impressed by this place.

Sometime between the third and fourth century AD, a
rich Roman, possibly even Emperor Maximianus Herculius, built this magnificent
mansion in the fertile countryside close to the town of Piazza Armerina. The
architecture of the villa is in itself pretty amazing and includes rather
ingeniously designed spas, steam baths, saunas, cold baths, swimming pools, and
latrines in addition to a gymnasium, massage room, fountains, guest rooms,
bedrooms, halls, dining rooms, courtyards and servants’ quarters.

The most truly amazing features, though, are the
mosaics that cover an area of about 3500 square metres. It almost goes without
saying that this villa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The mosaics depict all manner of scenes, from young
girls in bikinis practicing sports to extensive and detailed hunting scenes
showing the types of animals that were captured in India and Africa to be
brought home to the Romans, and from fishermen demonstrating four different
methods of fishing to illustrations of favourite Roman myths.

We are truly
gobsmacked by the high artistic level and the huge extent of it all. The man
who set all this in motion had exquisite taste and must certainly have been
very rich and powerful.

I meet my friends at the airport and after a good
night’s sleep we head south out of town. We catch a glimpse of Mount Etna but
save taking a closer look at the volcano for later. Our first stop as a
threesome is the Baroque town of Noto. The buildings are very ornate with lots
of curlicues, swirls and mythical figures. Fascinating but after a while
somewhat overwhelming.

We then head for Syracuse, which oozes of history. It
was established in the 13th century BC and later became the cradle
of Greek civilisation in Sicily. Do you remember Archimedes? The brainy guy who
lowered himself into the bathtub and noticed that his body displaced the water
in an amount equal to the mass of his body? This scientific genius of the
ancient world came from Syracuse.
Syracuse is also famous for its large Greek amphitheatre that offers
beautiful views of the town and the sea.

After the impressive architecture and ancient ruins of
Noto and Syracuse, we need a nature fix, so we drive to a nearby bird
sanctuary, where we spot lots of flamingos and herons.

Cursing at myself for my hopeless inability to find a
place to drop the car in Cefalu, and fed up with cities, I head for the hills. Surely,
there is more elbowroom up in the mountain villages. I enjoy driving on the
winding mountain roads. I pass through several towns before stopping in
Nicosia, where I park (Yes! I found a spot!) and wander around.

The views are pretty and it is nice to get lunch and a
cup of coffee, but after a while I have had enough of traffic noise and people
so I leave for the countryside in the Madonie mountain range. Here, I
occasionally stop by the side of the road and go for a walk, taking in the
mountain air and enjoying the peace and quiet. A cuckoo bird cuckoos, cowbells
ring, and lizards rustle in the grass.

This area has mountains second only to Mount Etna in
height. Although much of it is covered in forest, there are also wide swathes
of farmland with olive groves, lemon trees, and cereals. Although it is still
only May, the grain has already been harvested and the bales of straw are being
brought home.

It is soon time for me to drive back to the airport at
Catania to pick up a couple friends with whom I will spend the second week of
this May holiday. Many of the roads in Sicily are good. Signs with EU’s yellow
stars on a blue background are often prominent, which goes to show that Sicily
has been good at getting EU funding.

I choose not to travel on the sleek highways but
instead on the mountain bi-ways. They lead me up and down and around mountains,
and through villages that wrap themselves around the mountaintops. Each town
has a church and a town square. It is almost as if the size of the church is
inversely proportional to the size of the town.