25 July 2012 – Svendborg

Svendborg is a charming town.  How much of the attraction is the town and how much the weather I’m not sure, as the wind dropped yesterday and the sun shone – and has shone ever since!  Today it’s  been 29C, and almost too hot.

Motoring gently up from the anchorage yesterday we got here about 12.30, and were fortunate enough to arrive just as a Taswell 49 was about to leave.  So we have the plum spot – on the inside, right at the end, of a long pontoon in the handelshavn, opposite the boatyard where there are dry docks and slipways – lots of interest all the time. Here is a pic of the view from the boat looking towards the town.

The town centre location comes at a premium – 230 DKr a night, with electricity in addition.  There is an automatic payment machine (which takes a credit card) that dispenses a sticky label that is placed conspicuously on the boat to show you’ve paid.  The machine also dispenses the card for the electricity.  Later on in the afternoon the harbour filled up and most of the boats rafted up.  On both evenings we’ve had German boats alongside – this evening a family in a cruiser racer on their way back to Lubeck.

The tourist info office gave us lots of brochures in English about the archipelago and the South Funen.  There are cycle routes and so we bought a map – which was not of sufficient scale in practice.  This morning we pfaffed about and ended up getting away on the bikes at noon.  (Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.)  The plan was to have lunch en route: an aspiration that was kiboshed firstly by us getting comprehensively lost; and secondly by seeing no shops or bars open en route.  We cycled past a field of peas, drilled through with parsley, and the scrumping kept the wolf from the door.  We aren’t entirely clear where we went, but we do know that we ended up at the big dolmen at Brodeger.  Getting back was more straightforward – the round trip was about 20 miles.  The cycling was good – a lot of cycle lanes, and quiet green lanes.  The problem was the map!

We’ve been drinking beer – Weiss bier.  The shops are close to the harbour.  As a “Cittaslow”  the town takes its food seriously.  There is an ice cream stall with immense queues outside; our neighbours have commended the chocolate cake at the Café Citronen at Brogade 33; and I queued about 20 minutes for fish and chips the head of the harbour yesterday.  The fish was breaded, indeterminate (whiting?) and entirely acceptable. 

Roger’s just showered and sitting in the cockpit drinking whisky, deploring the fact that he hasn’t got a sarong.  This tells you more about the heat than anything else – it’s 10.30pm!