Day 113: I Knocked The Bastard Off

Rødekro Aktivitetspark Shelter to Flensburg 

Distance: 40km

 

An outrageous amount of calories found the way into my stomach yesterday, challenging my digestion and thus making me comfortably warm throughout the night.

 

Getting up on the last day is never an issue, especially not today as I'm looking forward to a warm place to stay for tonight. Great motivation. 

But I have to deserve it. It's a long walk, the first half in rain (which wasn't forecasted) through very wet terrain. Shortly before crossing into Germany, I stop at the church of Bov. Not for a prayer but these churches usually feature a warm toilet. No exception here and I use it to change for dry, city-suitable clothes.

Crossing the border is - as usual - a rather emotional thing. Another milestone. 

Denmark, country number four done and dusted. Or as my Kiwi friends would say: I knocked the bastard off.

 

Now let's tackle country number 5: Germany! For now it's only for a couple of kilometers but somehow they manage to ignite my Germam Wanderlust for next year as I stroll through the adorable old town of Flensburg in the last rays of the sun with it's bustling Christmas Market. There won't e Christmas Markets next summer but longer days and milder temperatures will definitely make up for that.

 

So that was it! A hike across Denmark in November. 13 days, a bit more than 500 kilometers. 

It was certainly very different to my previous hikes. Not necessarily the landscape (which is similar to Sweden's southern part) but the hiking in constantly cold temperatures. Something, which turned out to be more challenging as I was anticipating. Luckily it was mostly just the cold. Rain was rare and only light when it did. Being outside nearly 24/7 and thus keeping myself warm wasn't always easy. It required a lot of eating. Fuel for my body. I could have worn morn but I more often than not had the impression the cold came from inside as well. Lack of sleep maybe despite the long nights.

 

Long nights. Another point I want to take up. When deciding to head to Denmark, I completely neglected this point. With only 8 hours of daylight the days are awfully short, requiring me to walk in the dark. Initially I had to get used to it but it somehow grew on me. Time at night was passing quickly and the moment the eastern sky turned from black to blue was always magical. In fact I remember every dawn of this little hike.

 

Last but not the people. Well, I can't say much about them as I have hardly met anyone on my hike. The few people I did meet though were wonderful.

I didn't mind to hike in solitude these two weeks. I actually enjoyed it. Still, if I'd continued, it might have become lonely.

 

Would I do it again? Maybe not. Do I regret it to have done it in November? Definitely not. I loved the challenge and am super happy I could master it.