Artificial Plan Substitute, please check for stupid

[fivemack]

		SLEEP	CYCLE
Sat 9 August	Take sleeper to Hamburg (via Brussels)	Train
Sun 10	Explore Hamburg	Hamburg
Mon 11	Explore Hamburg	Hamburg
Tue 12	Morning train to Copenhagen, day+evening there	Copenhagen
Wed 13	Hire bike, cycle to Roskilde, explore	Roskilde YH	32km
Thu 14	Cycle across rest of Zealand, Belt bridge (12-minute train leaves every 30 minutes), up a bit	Kerteminde YH	80km + 20km
Fri 15	Cycle across Funen	Fredericia YH	80km
Sat 16	Up half of Jutland	Aarhus YH	95km
Sun 17	Explore Aarhus	Aarhus YH
Mon 18	Cycle to Grenaa, ferry to Varberg	Varberg YH	65km
Tue 19	Cycle to Halmstad	Halstad hotel	70km
Wed 20	Cycle to Helsingborg	Helsingborg YH	95km
Thu 21	Cycle to Copenhagen, return bike	Copenhagen	55km
Fri 22	Explore Copenhagen	Copenhagen
Sat 23	1538 to Hamburg, sleeper to Brussels, get to Cambridge around 11am Sunday	Train

It's not the most natural circle, but it's impractical to get the boat from Harwich to Esbjerg (it seems intended as a cruise ship, at least one of the Web sites doesn't admit the possibility of sharing a cabin with unrelated travelers, and it would cost about six hundred pounds return). I think I'd rather hire a bike than deal with the fuss required to take my bike, unwheeled and wrapped in a box, on five changes of trains at inconvenient times.

No insanely long days, total cycle of about 400 miles, fairly flat bits of country though I am going against the prevailing wind at the end of the first week; the part along the Swedish coast is pretty much south-north. Three islands, two and a half major cities (sorry, Aarhus), six youth hostels, a ferry and a Really Big Bridge. No allowance for weather, but I'm not sure it's possible to allow for weather if you're cycling between pre-booked hostels.

Comments

[rezendi.livejournal.com]

My only comment is that from the relative reputations of Copenhagen and Hamburg, leave the latter a day earlier and reach the former a day later.

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a lot of fun!

[htfb.livejournal.com]

Guy Towlson and I took the DFDS ferry from Cuxhaven to Harwich with bicycles in 2004. We'd only booked ourselves onto the lounge seats in advance, but had decided to upgrade when we got on board. Clearly this is usual and a small queue formed at the reception desk: we teamed up with a soldier who was there on his own and got a 4-berth cabin between us, paying only for three.

After a long week's cycling getting a proper bed was among the best money I've ever spent, I think.

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

A lot of the ferry lines stopped doing lounge seats altogether, and now only do large cabins which have to be booked in advance with names and passport numbers of all travellers and similar such crap. At least, all the lines sailing to Gothenberg were doing this as of 2006.