Sunday morning Flemming and I got up very early – we wanted to get the most of the day. At 7 a.m. we were having breakfast in my flying club in Holbæk:
Pre-flight check revealed that the left head wheel’s tire pressure wasn’t good enough, and Flemming quickly fixed the problem. It required removing the fairing, among other things:
We were going to Bogense, a small town on the north coast of Funen island:
Although we departed at 8 a.m., it was already a bit turbulent. We had 30 knots tail wind! But the views were spectacular, and we looked very much forward to have a nice day on Funen. Æbelø, an island off Funen’s north coast:
We landed in Bogense airport, and Ib, the owner of the place, warmly welcomed us.
Ib had already prepared coffee, and we were having a very good time on his terrace, talking about flying, life on the island, looking at pictures of various aircraft that have visited Ib’s airfield, sharing our life stories:
Flemming and I were not in a hurry, and we enjoyed talking to Ib. After coffee, Ib drove us to Bogense, and told us what the best way of exploring the town would be. We followed his advice.
The charming half-timbered building on the photo below is from 1543. It is an Inn, named after the Danish King Erik Menved, who in 1288 renewed the town’s marketplace rights. This Inn is the Funen’s oldest, and is still open. Locals call it “the eye”, because a story goes, a watchmaker whitewashed the bottom panes of the windows, made a small hole in the chalk and looked out through it. Nobody knows why; he probably was a curious person!
Coming by an old merchant’s house, we were attracted by its cobbled courtyard, leaning walls, and a beautiful wooden gate from the Renaissance times (18th century):
The water pump at the Old Market Square in Bogense. Don’t drink water from it – it is not drinkable. Flemming and I did, because we didn’t know. There wasn’t any warning. Some kind locals stopped us from drinking it. Tourists tend to do strange things!
The market square used to be the centre of town life in Bogense. The public water pump was placed there in the early 19th century, and was the main water supply. The one we drank from is a copy of the original one. It was built from 200 year old oak, which was thought to be used for building new ships for the Danish Navy, after the loss of the whole fleet in the war against Britain in 1807. The water pump was a gift from the local bank Bikuben in honour of the 700 years anniversary of Bogense in 1988.
The Old Market Square is a large open space surrounded by 100 years old linden trees and old small fisherman houses. At #15, we could see one of the smallest houses in Denmark, with a living area of 23 m2:
Flemming and I continued to the old harbour. Throughout the town, we saw beautiful streetlights, all made in the same old style. I later found out that they were not that old at all, but they fit to Bogense very well:
The strange tall building in the far centre on the photo above is what used to be a windmill. It was erected in 1943, and had three blades with a rotor diameter of 23 metres. The noise could be heard in the whole town! The windmill was unstable (in producing electricity), and later on taken out of service.
The old harbour met us with fishing boats and yelling seagulls:
We had lunch at The Smokehouse, a restaurant in the old harbour. They had very nice buffet of a great variety of smoked fish, prawns, caviar, salad, and cheese:
A stroll in the marina (one of the best in Denmark!) after lunch:
The marina was opened in 1976, and has been extended on several occasions. It is now the largest on Funen. The yachting competition, Palby Fyn Cup, starts and ends at the marina.
Back to the town, walking through its charming streets:
Bogense was probably established at the end of the 12th century, but first mentioned in 1288, when king Erik Menved made it into a borough (“købstad” in Danish). In 1575, Bogense was almost completely destroyed by fire. Despite numerous incentives and reduced taxes implemented by the Crown, the town never recovered. Today, Bogense has around 4,000 residents. With its half-timbered houses, narrow cobbled streets and large marina, it is a popular tourist spot during summer time.
An interesting fact about Bogense: Vera Strodl Dowling (1918–2015), a pilot, the only Scandinavian woman to fly for the RAF’s Air Transport Auxiliary, lived in Bogense. She was born in Britain to Danish parents (natives of Bogense), and after living in Denmark, returned to Britain where she became a pilot. Vera continued flying till she was almost 70. She died in Canada, where she moved to later in her life.
Flemming and I wanted to see the beautiful church we spotted on our way. It was Saint Nicholas church, built in 1406 on the remains of a 12th-century Romanesque
The tall spire used to serve as a landmark for seafarers. It is covered with 29,000 hand-carved black-tailed oak chips from Bornholm. The dome at the top is 60 cm in diameter. During the WWII, Nazi soldiers had fun shooting at the dome as a target, and it therefore has some bullet holes.
We heard of Manneken Pis, a copy of Francois Duquesnoy’s original sculpture in Bruxelles from 1619, erected in Bogense, and wondered what the story behind was:
The little figure has an exciting story: In the 19th century, an infant was found on the ferry from Klakring. When none of the passengers would recognise the child, butcher Levinsohn took him in care, and later the boy was adopted by Levinsohn’s daughter. He was named Willum Fønss, and grew up in Bogense. Willum Fønss was a successful businessman – he made his fortune on arms trading, among other things. In 1934, a year before he died, he gave this statue of Manneken as a gift of gratitude to Bogense.
On special occasions Manneken Pis gets dressed up. This tradition started in 1953 and since then he has been dressed as a pirate, a football player, a hippie, in a full evening gown, and so on.
A tiny side street to Adelgade that – on a smaller scale – reminded me so much of Colmar in France (a flying trip I was on together with Roskilde flying club):
We walked it back and force, it was so cute!
And then an ice cream, followed by a walk to the Harridslevgaard Castle:
The castle was first mentioned in 1231, and rebuilt in the beginning of 17th century. It is unknown, how much was left of the original building. The Harridslevgaard Castle was used to be called The Castle of The Robbers. During Middle Ages, the sea was right at the Harridslevgaard, and the castle was pirates’ residence. They placed lanterns on the tower, making sailors believe it was a lighthouse. The pirates could then quickly get onboard of a ship and rob it. What a cruel past!
Today, the castle is well-renovated, and we went for a tour through its floors and rooms. It was really impressive! Photos and videos weren’t allowed inside, so I bought a postcard to illustrate how beautiful it is:
It is possible to stay in the castle; the price is around 1,000 EUR for a small double room per night.
The grounds were nice, too. An old watermill (it smelled terrible!):
We had agreed with Ib, the owner of the Bogense aerodrome, that he would pick us up from the castle. When Ib arrived, he kindly offered us more sightseeing. We happily accepted! Ib drove us to another castle – Gyldensteen, and told us many interesting stories behind:
The castle was originally a farm called Enggård, and was first mentioned in 1400. The main building is from 1640, and was later rebuilt a couple of times.
Entrance gate, with the year 1724 on one of its sides:
We then drove back to the airport, and relaxed on the Ib’s terrace. We did around 35 km – approx. half of that was in the car. Without Ib we wouldn’t be able to see so much:
There was still time left. Ib recommended a tour to the beach. Although we were quite tired, we agreed to go. Ib went with us to show the shortest way – around 1.5 km. When Flemming and I saw how beautiful the sea was, we decided to go for a swim. It was low tide, and the water was a bit cold. To avoid walking for several kilometres before reaching deeper, we stopped at a knee-level, and went down into the water. At first, it was cold; we screamed and laughed at ourselves a lot:
And, after some time, it became very pleasant to be in the water – warm, nice, relaxing:
We splashed in the water, and even didn’t want to leave it:
It was really good: we felt refreshed and happy.
About two hours before the sunset we headed back home to Holbæk. We expected strong headwind, but actually it was only 10-15 knots, and the air was very smooth, no gusts like in the morning. Flemming was stearing, I took pictures:
At home, I washed my aircraft – I always do. I learned flying in Gørløse gliding club, and no glider pilot would ever put his aircraft into a hangar without cleaning it first. This good habit stayed with me since that time.
Flemming helped with refuelling, and my Aeroprakt was ready to have some rest in the hangar before next adventure.