Early breakfast
Mark with our luggage - my bags growing at an alarming rate
Hans, our Danish friend, collected us about 10 and drove us south. We took a picturesque backroad lined with trees, with barley and wheat fields. Thatched cottages. A castle - donated to create a community for aged care. Creative house boats and our entry into Stege across a wide spanning bridge.
Our accommodation, Motel Stege, right in the centre of town. When I booked last December we were babysitting in Perth, the owner, Britt, was holidaying in Cervantes, a few hours north of Perth. Such a coincidence.
Stege has a long history. A castle built in the 1300s with ramparts, a moat, a drawbridge and city gates. The castle was destroyed in the 1500s in one of the Danish/Swedish wars. A town of significance with an impressive town square, grand houses and an ancient chestnut tree. Stege was a trading port and had a significant fabric dyeing industry in its early history.
Modern Stege. Large country houses and gardens, attractive buildings and parks, activity on the water, zany art and bird life. Until recently it had a large sugar producing plant processing sugar beet but now sugar cane products are preferred.
We booked at a restaurant for dinner, Slagter, Stig and Co. We were not prepared for the convoluted process. First you selected your meat, from a huge deli display (all priced per kilo). Then you served yourself from the buffet and your meat was delivered when cooked. You were given an electronic key for drinks. The choice was red and white wine and about 4 beers - all on tap. And then by some remarkable miracle the bill was calculated. Very crowded and chaotic at times but it was a delicious outcome.
It’s holiday time and the weather has been warm. There is a lot of activity in these normally quiet villages. We look forward to discovering more about the island. We are expecting a flat walk with moderate distances and some interesting accommodation.
M&M
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