Northern Denmark & a 4th of July BBQ in Sweden.

Teresa suggests we spend the day driving up country.

I’ve come to Copenhagen to visit her and her husband for a few days, doing the rounds of the Nordic countries. I hadn’t originally planned to do so, but with some extra time on my hands I’ve made last minute decisions to add Denmark and Finland to my (ever-expanding) itinerary.

It happens also to be the Fourth of July and they propose we eat at a BBQ place just across the channel in Sweden. We’ll take a ferry from Helsingor to Helsingborg and drive home after dinner.

We drop James off at work and take a coffee before hopping back in the car. Teresa points the car north and we are off.

The first stop on our itinerary is Gilleleje, a fishing town and seaside resort, and the northernmost point of the island of Zealand. Along the way we stop to walk along the shore, watching the waves come in and out. I’m tempted to go swimming, but the tide doesn’t look very forgiving and I haven’t brought a bathing suit.

In town we walk along the wharf, checking out the shops and cafes. It’s too early for lunch and after we do our rounds, culminating in Gilleleje church. Built about 1530, more recent history has brought it into prominence. During the second World War the Gestapo had planned to arrest all Jews in Denmark at the end of September 1943. Most escaped to Sweden, many from the North-east part of Zealand.

In early October many Jews were still in Gilleleje waiting to sail to Sweden. On October 6th, a false rumor was spread that the Gestapo was coming. 182 managed to sail on, but several hundreds were left behind. Of them 86 were hidden in the attic of the church.

On the 7th the Gestapo arrived. The Jews hidden in the church were denounced and taken to Horserød and later deported to Theresienstadt.

We continue on to Tisvildem parking near a large park that leads to the sea. We walk along the rocky beach back towards town.

In Tisvilde we stop at The Little Cafe for refreshments. There’s a small courtyard in the back and we sit in an area shaded by the buildings around us.

It’s another fishing village where many of the houses have become summer homes for those with means. It’s known to have the highest prices for summer houses in Denmark. It’s easy to see why.

Passing signs for the Asserbo Charterhouse, we decide to take the detour, driving down a narrow tree-lined road until we reach a large parking lot. The site itself contains the ruins of a fortress and Carthusian monastery.

A moat runs around a small island upon which the ruins stand. A wooden bridge spans across. Green fields spread out from the site, reaching to the edges of a forest. A renovation project is underway and plastic sheets cover bits and pieces of the remaining foundation.

Founded by Bishop Absalon towards the end of the 12th century, the monstery functioned for a short time as a Carthusian monastery before it fell under the auspices of Sorø Abbey, the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. During that time the buildings were used as a farmhouse or small manor.

Now it’s a preserved area with cyling and walking paths running through the park. It’s a great place for a picnic and there’s one couple resting against the stones with plastic bags as if that’s exactly what they’re intending to do.

We eat lunch in Hundested, picking one of the many restaurants that line the wharf. Afterwards, we walk to the other side of the wharf for ice cream, the cone packed full.

Driving back to pick up James the check engine light goes on. We stop for gas and I check the oil, which is running low. We buy one bottle of oil and pour it into the engine at the gas station and then stop at an auto shop to buy another when the light doesn’t go off.

The last time I visited an automotive shop was in Namibia when I stopped to buy jerry cans before my road trip. It’s oddly fun to do mundane tasks and visit chain stores in other countries. I always enjoy going to the grocery store in search of a new favorite brand of granola and to see how things are packaged and laid out. Automotive stores seem to look the same around the world.

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We pick up James and drive to Helsingør to catch the ferry to Sweden. It’s a quick trip across the Øresund Strait and James tells me that some people do the crossing to take advantage of the Duty Free store. He tells me that they sell alcohol on one side of the strait and cigarettes on the other. At the midpoint, the store will close for sales of one and reopen for sales of the other. People will stand in line to buy alcohol, check out, and then get back in line to buy cigarettes once we cross the border. On the ferry an announcement lets passengers know.

On leaving Helsingør we can see Kronborg Castle from the boat. Known as the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it was originally built in the 15th century and then rebuilt in 1574 under King Frederick II to enhance its military and residential features. It sits on a spit of land that juts out into the strait.

Holy Smoke BBQ sits in the middle of fields, surrounded by a shipbuilder and vineyards. We order at the counter and grab a table under a tent, wary of the rain that has come and gone throughout the day. The restaurant has imported grills and smokers from the States and a metal plaque proudly announces that they are products of Mill Scale Metalworks in Lockhart, Texas. They’re the only set in Sweden and the proprietors invited seasoned chefs from the States to teach them how best to use them.

The BBQ is delicious. Predictably, it’s too much for one sitting and we end up taking a lot of it home. Afterwards, Teresa and I need a walk and we walk past the Nyhamns Såg & Båtbyggeri boat builders, surprised to see wooden boats sitting in the midst of all the fields.

Further on we pass a vineyard with fruit trees planted along the edge of the property. I wonder what the trees are and when Sweden started producing wine. A woman walking alone approaches us and I ask her about the trees and the vines. She tells us the investment was made a few years ago in the vines and that the fruit trees are there to help block the wind that comes off of the sea.

Teresa suspects the woman is somehow involved in the project for how she described it as investments that were made. She wears a jacket with a cool logo on it and when we get back home I do some internet sleuthing and discover we had been talking to Helena Lindberg, who had recently moved back to Sweden after 20 years as the head winemaker at Tenuta di Biserno, a vineyard in Tuscany owned by Antinori family. She’s come to make wine at Kullabergs Vingård. I’d love to go back and try their wines.

On the drive back we cross Øresund Bridge, the second longest bridge in Europe. I had seen it from the plane on arrival. From Malmö it stretches across the water to a man-made island where the road becomes submerged for the final kilometers to Copenhagen. It’s a fascinating feat of engineering, and I’m excited that we’re taking this route. I had fallen asleep on the way but wake up in time to track our journey back to Denmark. 🇩🇰