Heavyweight prehistorical overnighter in Denmark
I love mixing two of my passions, bike touring and archeology. The simplicity of throwing into my panniers everything I need for a comfortable, slow-going two days ride and taking the bike on a train for 30-60 minutes to a destination with interesting prehistory and serene nature is so amazing for me. I'm reading a chunker of a book on the Danish iron age, weighing 2.3kg, and I just love that it's possible (though not very practical) to bring on a bike. Reading this book, hunting down the archeological sites it describes, and immersing myself in the world of our ancestors - their ancient monuments and the landscape that shaped their lives - really was wonderful.
The route I rode 130 km of is called Istidsruten (the ice age route). I've ridden most of its 390 kms by now, definitely recommend it! Lots of lovely nature in the form of forests and fjords as well as interesting geological and historical features. It passes through the occasional town/village, so good food and beer is never far away.
The first 8 pictures are of the good bike touring life of Sjælland. Last handful is of various prehistoric sites. I won't bore you with details of them except for the very last one which is of a kind not commonly encountered in the Danish landscape. The short, thick wooden poles mark the contours of what was once a mighty viking hall. With a size of 500 square meters, it likely was the dwelling of a family of chieftains. I love imagining their mead fueled feasts and loud songs when they gathered here to celebrate. In the background, you see Tissø, originally Tyrs Sø, meaning the Lake of Týr. Týr is a Norse/Germanic god of war who was honored by naming a weekday after him - Tuesday. The was a lot of viking activity around Tyrs Sø. From this lake, they would sail to the sea by a river with their flat bottomed ships, onwards to trade, work, and raid all over Europe.
May the wind be with you all!