Author Archives: Michael

About Michael

I am a Dane who fell in love with a girl from Malta when I was living in Prague. We moved to Sønderborg at the end of 2011. I make web applications for a living and enjoy taking photos and riding my bike. Read more...

Try badminton in Ulkebøl

The World Badminton Championships just finished in Copenhagen this year and in extension of this the local Ulkebøl Badminton club will have an open house where you can try your skills with a badminton racket and shuttlecock (yes – that is the English word for ‘fjerbold’).

Badminton (33)

The open house at Ulkebøl Badminton is this Saturday the 6th of September from 1pm to 4pm in Ulkebøl-hallen. Bring indoor sports shoes and the club will lend you the gear to play and tell you about the sport.

Ulkebøl Badminton club has about 200 members in all ages, there is a lot of social activities around the year and there are family events.

Check out the clubs website or Facebook to learn more.

Ulkebolbadminton

Try out Cricket in Sønderborg

This is a guest post by Vivek Menon a member of Sønderborg Cricket Club.

Did you know you could play the sport of Cricket right here in our lovely Sonderborg? What the hell is Cricket – most of you may ask?

Well here is the Wikipedia version – Cricket is a bat and ball game, played between two teams of 11 players each. One team bats, attempting to score runs, while the other bowls and fields the ball, attempting to restrict the scoring and dismiss the batsmen. The objective of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent. There are many rules to the game which are better understood by checking out this basics video.

It is a team sport and considered to be Gentlemen’s (and Ladies’) game with a rich history and tradition. What makes cricket stand out from football and other team games is that it has a more gladiatorial feel to it. It’s not an even 11 vs 11 contest but more of a 2 vs 11 uneven battle in the ring. The batsmen, like the gladiators of old – go out to the center with a bat, some protection and helmets to face a hard leather ball which is being thrown at them upto 100 Km/h which swings or spins in the air and after pitching and have to survive.

Cricket Sonderborg

C2

To the serious fans of the game it is best encompassed by the a quote from Jon Arlott:

“Cricket is a most precarious profession; it is called a team game but, in fact, no one is so lonely as a batsman facing a bowler supported by ten fieldsmen and observed by two umpires to ensure that his error does not go unpunished”

For the more light hearted fans/interested people the famous American comedian Robin Williams has a more apt definition:

“Cricket is like baseball on valium”.

It is game invented by the British and played in over 100 countries today including Denmark. Many of you would be surprised to hear that some of the oldest football clubs in Denmark started as Cricket clubs when the British came here to build the Danish railways?

So where can you play this game in Sonderborg. Well the Sonderborg Cricket Club has been recently formed and they are currently using the grounds of the Uklebol school (Just behind of Park Kollegium). During winter they are playing indoors in the Klovermarken hallen. They practice almost all Thursdays (from 1700 hrs) and Sundays (from 1000 hrs). Everyone is welcome to come and join in or watch the action.

The club currently has about 20 members living in Sonderborg and Flensburg. It includes players from Danish, Indian, Pakistani, Srilankan and Afghani backgrounds. They are looking to increase their membership and invite both children and adults from all backgrounds.

The aim of the club is to spread the message and team spirit of cricket and supporting integration of all nationalities living in Sonderborg. They will be present at the Sonderborg Kultur Nat on 24th August – so be sure to catch them there.

So are you or your kids ready for battle? Become modern day gladiators? (Kids will play with rubber balls)

For those who would like to read more about cricket in Denmark in Danish please read more at Dansk Cricket Forbund.

Impressions of Sonderborg

Now and then people email us with questions about Sonderborg. We are happy to answer (to the best of our abilities). Sometimes we can turn our answers in to blog posts, so feel free to send us your questions.

Ed Yandek from Ohio, US was heading to Sonderborg for a conference and his wife came along. They spent a week in town and we had an email correspondence before their trip. After they got back to Ohio Ed sent us his impressions and thoughts.

Hi, Michael—
We have been back in Cleveland now for one week but are still having very fond memories of our visit to Sonderborg. We had a nice room at the Comwell overlooking the water and that was also the meeting site, so it was very convenient to walking all over town. We found the people very friendly, especially when I would ask questions, such as why all the young people had nautical looking caps– found out it was for graduation, and then we saw them running all over the city celebrating. Weather was really fine as we came prepared with jackets and umbrellas. We had mostly lovely weather that week, except for the very wet evening of the bonfires. The Castle museum was amazing and we learned a lot about the history of that region. We also went to the mill museum and the military museum across the bridge. It was a nice walk. It made some of the old history lessons I had many years ago seem more real, since Americans really are not very knowledgeable about the Danish-Prussian issues of that period. After a week there we can see why it is a popular town for visitors. I think it would make a nice staging point to explore the larger area with a car some time. I assume there is a local rental place in the city somewhere?

 

We had only been to Copenhagen before and liked it a lot, but find we are more and more liking smaller towns like Sonderborg when we visit in Europe.

 

One thing that surprised me was how prosperous everything and every one appeared yet I would say that from an American point of view the cost of living is pretty high. Mainly it seems due to the tax structure. But, I suppose this is part of the social history and wanting to elevate the standard of living for everyone. It does seem to be successful, at least for a country such as Denmark…

 

Anyhow, we enjoyed your country and town immensely and I want to thank you again for your tips, which were all very helpful.

 

Kind regards–
Ed

 

The email is published with Ed’s approval. If you have travelled to Sonderborg we would love to hear your story or see your pictures.

Sankt Hans (St. Johns Eve) 2014

Monday the 23rd of June 2014 the summer solstice is celebrated in Denmark with an event called Sankt Hans Aften – or St. Johns Eve. It is the day where the medieval wise men and women would gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people. The Danes often meet at outdoor bonfire venues. Here the bonfire with the witch on top is lit around 10 pm. Beforehand, a bonfire speech is often made.

Getting warm on the bonfire

Here is a list of the events we would recommend around Sonderborg 2014. The tourist office has compiled a complete list. Please leave a comment if there is any you think we are missing.

Idrætshøjskolen – Swinging bonfire

There is a swing jazz band playing inside the school. Starts at 20 bonfire at 21.

By the Marina – Family event

It is from 19-21 and labelled as a Family Event.
Rad more

Mølleparken – Local talents

Danish TV celebrity Bubber is the host. Local bands will play on stage. Music starts at 19 – main acts at 19.30 bonfire around 21.45. Read more

In front of Alsion – bonfire on the water

The symphony orchestra is playing a soldout midsummer concert inside. Afterwards entertainment should start outside Alsion. Bonfire on the water at 22.10 Read more

Universe – out of town

The theme park by Nordborg will stay open longer than usual. Reduced entrance cost from 16 onwards. Workshop for the first 100 kids. Bonfire speech at 20.45 – bonfire at 21. Park closes at 22. Read more

A cycling holiday on the island of Ærø

Denmark has more than a thousand islands but the neighboring island of Ærø in the the South Funen Archipelago is something special. For a long time we have had our eyes on making a trip over here and looking back I don’t know what took us so long to make the short trip to this pocket of charm. We spent two days in Ærø and this is the story of what we did.

Off to the bicycle island

We put our bikes on the back of the car and drove to the ferry in Fynshav, the port of the east coast of Als. We left our car behind and brought our bikes on the ferry.

There is always room for bikes on the ferry to Ærø

If you are not bringing your own you can rent a bicycle so it’s waiting for you when you arrive to Ærø by ferry.

Bike or hike

The island of Ærø is best experienced on foot, by bike or by the free public busses. Bringing a car on the ferry is relatively expensive so a lot of tourists choose to come here by other means. That also means that once you hit the roads in Ærø you meet very few cars on the secondary roads.

The tour operator Tourist Erria organises a package deal similar to what we got – so everything is sorted from home. The one-day package they sell included ferry, bike rental and a picnic for the road. So all you have to do is show up, cycle and enjoy it.

The ferry from Als to Ærø
Skjoldnæs Fyr, Ærø

From the ferry the first sight we got of Ærø was of the the Skjoldnæs lighthouse as we rounded the nothern tip of the island.

When we arrived in Søby on the northern tip of Ærø we walked over to the harbour cafe where Kaj, one of the local men hanging out on the pier, was helping out the cafe’s owner and giving us our packed lunches.

Kaj bid us a safe journey and off we went on the road following the marked bike route.

Route 90 Østersøruten on Ærø

There are three signed bike routes on Ærø that are easy to follow. Route 90 (16km) goes from Søby to Ærøskøbing, route 92 from Ærøskøbing to Marstal (13km) and route 91 from Marstal back to Søby (31km). There is no online version available of these routes but a paper map can be bought on the island.

route_90-91-92_aeroeskoebing-soeby-marstal

You can buy also buy a PDF version of a cycle guide books with turn by turn descriptions of five bike loops of various lengths here. (In Danish there are two books available)

Enjoying the view

On our trip from Søby to Ærøskøbing we had varied scenery. There was almost always the view of the sea to one side. On the other side there were cute houses, an old water mill, art galleries and a valley with cows grazing.

The road was mostly paved but there were a few sections with gravel road. There was some hills and dents in the landscape that meant that a few times we had to get off the bikes to walk them up the hill. But none of the hills are long and once you are on the top it has to go downhill again – weee!

After about 45 mins of cycling we got too curious about the content of the packed lunches and we settled down in the grass outside a small gallery with view over the fields and the water.

The packed lunch from Cafe Arthur was two delicious sandwiches that really hit the spot.

Onwards and upwards we went and after another stretch of about 45 min we reached Ærøskøbing.

Going back in time

Many of the houses in central Ærøskøbing date back to the Middle Ages. The small one-story houses in a wide variety of colours ooze character. If walls could speak I bet this town would tell you many tales.

We cycled into the center of Ærøskøbing and settled down on the town square outside a cozy cafe called “På Torvet” for a well deserved break and a beer from the island’s brewery.

Cozy cafe "På Torvet"

We met Gunnar the owner of the cafe who told us about how him and his wife had fallen in love with the island and recently started the cafe/apartment rental business. Just behind the cafe they have a number of newly remodeled apartments and one of these was going to be our home for the night. The apartment was bright and spacious with a big bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen so we could cater for ourselves. Here’s a wobbly 360 of our room:

paatorvet 360

We dropped off our luggage in the apartment and went down to get lunch. The lunch for me was a delicious assorted plate which had some interesting things like garlic-herring, broccoli muffins and brie with fig jam – nomnom!

Frokost platte fra "På Torvet" i Ærøskøbing

After lunch we were ready to go out and explore more of Ærøskøbing – and there are many nooks and crannies, quirky shops and museums to explore.



Hammerichs Hus, Ærøskøbing


For the evening Gunnar had given us a hint. Go to the beach outside of town, bring a bottle of wine and some snacks, take a seat next to the beautiful boat houses and watch the sunset. It sounded like a great idea so that was how we ended the day, watching the sun sink into the South Funen sea.

Maritime Memories

Next day we cycled over to the next town, Marstal, the biggest on the island. We came across signs for a “Jættestue” and decided to check out what it was.

Around the island there are a number of ancient burial mounds, some of them dates back to the stone ages. The one we came across – “Kragnæs jættestue” is from around 3200 B.C. and was a chamber built in stone covered in a mound. It was used as a burial site used for many generations by the upper layers of society.

If you are like me and interested in sail boats and their history the Maritime Museum in Marstal is the place to see. Marstal was for a long time a big player on the worlds oceans as the artifacts and stories can tell in this museum. There are dozens if not hundreds of model ships of different ages and proportions, all either built on Ærø or sailed by Ærø people.

On the pier of Marstal the maritime theme continues in the cozy fish restaurant Fru Berg.

We felt we had cycled enough so after lunch we grabbed a free bus back up to Søby harbour, even though it was still a while till the ferry was meant to leave.

You can bring your bicycle on the bus – also for free. However do take note that there is only room for two bikes on each bus, so if you are on the island in a busy time you need some luck to get this to work out.

From Søby we cycled up to Skjoldnæs Lighthouse, which is around a 5 km trip. This was the first thing we saw on the ferry when approaching Ærø from Als, so is was fitting way to finish our trip.

You can go to the top of the lighthouse and see the grand views all around. The lighthouse is in a golf club and, if lucky, you may be able to buy an ice-cream or coffee from the club house.

Udsigt Skjoldnæs Fyr

We set our wheels in direction of Søby for the last strech. However, we had to make one more stop as in the middle of nowhere stood a shiny golden cow in a field. We stopped to check it out and we came across a beautiful sculpture garden on the other side of the road belonging to a skilled stone mason.


Back at the harbour in Søby we had time for a last ice cream. Our little island adventure was about to come to an end. Soon the ferry arrived, opened it’s mouth and swallowed us with our bikes. It dropped us off back in reality on Als – refreshed but with slightly sore behinds.

Learn more

The American travel journalist and tour operator Rick Steves that hosts travel shows on public TV and radio in USA has a tour of the best in Scandinavia and the Danish section visits Copenhagen, Roskilde – and tiny Ærø. Read or see more of Rick on Ærø.

If you want to get some of the island history before you go to Ærø do pick up Carsten Jensen’s novel We, The Drowned.

If you can read Danish there is an excellent book by Allan Harsbo called Ærø Bogen which in great detail and with humour tells about the geology, nature, history and culture of Ærø and its inhabitants.

The island is a bit challenged by its name with the Danish characters. Which means there are several ways to write Ærø in English. The official website calls it “Visit Aeroe“. But you can also find people refer to it as Aero or Erria.

Disclaimer: Our trip to Ærø was sponsored by Ærø turist (ferry ticket), turist-erria (picnic pack and books on Ærø) and På Torvet (accommodation and lunch).

Getting around Sonderborg with public transport

Busses at the station

If you are staying in Sonderborg for a longer time, you might want to explore more of the region than you can cover on foot.

Public transport in Denmark is in general fairly comprehensive and you will most likely be able to find a way to get from A to B with public transport. However if the two points are not along major traffic arteries the journey might take you a long time.

In Sønderborg there are town busses, local busses, regional busses and intercity trains.

Small town but two stations

Sønderborg is mainly located on the island of Als, but the train only goes to the Jutland side. So if you are arriving by train you are not getting dropped off in the center of town but by Alsion, the main campus area.

The train station is called typically called “Sønderborg St.” and the bus station “Sønderborg Bus Station”. They are 1,1km apart or a 20min walk.

Finding your connection

In order to plan your route from A to B I would suggest you use the website Rejseplanen if you know the address or names of your origin and destination.

Use Google Maps if you are more map oriented and want to see your options.

Google Maps Sonderborg

If you have a smartphone both Rejseplanen and Google Maps have good apps.

Town buses

There are five bus lines that loop within the city limit of Sonderborg. They all depart from the bus station in Sønderborg and make loops.

Town bus routes in Sonderborg

Local and Regional buses

There are about 30 bus routes that cover the municipality of Sonderborg. Most of them are local routes but there are also regional buses in the direction of Aabenraa-Toftlund-Ribe-Esbjerg and Aabenraa-Haderslev-Kolding-Vejle.

For the list of lines check Sydtrafik’s website. In order to find which route will take you to your destination check Rejseplanen or Google maps.

Night Buses

Fridays and Saturdays there are three night bus lines departing from Sonderborg in the direction of East (Nordborg-Kegnæs), West (Broager-Gråsten) and Aabenraa.

Trains

Trains arrive and departs on an hourly basis towards Copenhagen. The train stops in Gråsten-Kliplev-Tinglev-Rødekro-Vojens-etc. In order to go south you need to change train in either Tinglev or Rødekro.

Train tickets must be bought before you enter the train. There is no ticket office but a machine at the train station that takes cash and credit cards.

Bus tickets and prices

Prices are based on the number of zones you are travelling. To see what a trip will cost from A to B you can click on the Zones i Sydtrafik in the example below a trip from Sonderborg to Flensburg shows the that there are 7 zones and the price for adults (Voksen) is 70DKK. As of writing each zone costs 10DKK.

Zones in South Denmark

On the buses you can pay cash when you enter.

Another cheaper option for paying is Rejsekort which is a credit card size card you top up with credits and then use on most public transports in all of Denmark.

If you are staying long-term it makes good sense to get a personal Rejsekort once you have CPR number. If you are here on vacation it might not be worth it.

The card tourists can buy costs 80DKK and you need to top it up at least 170DKK. Read more here.

Ambitious Waterfront Hotel in Sønderborg

The plans for the harbour front in Sønderborg does not lack ambition. One of the pieces of the “Gehry’s Masterplan” that has gotten a bit more concrete lately is the hotel and waterpark.

Hotel_Sonderborg_03

If built the hotel will be 85 meters tall with 18 floors. That means that from the top floor you will be able to see all the way to Aabenraa and Flensburg! Furthermore the current plan is that the top floor should be open to the public (crossing our fingers for this to happen). To get an idea of what the view will be like Zoom Film made this visualisation:

The hotel will have 210 rooms, conference facilities and – look at this – a water park both with space for fun and games as well as wellness and saunas for the well-off tourists.

Waterpark in Sønderborg

The building is design by Henning Larsen, one of Denmark’s architectural icons within the last couple of decades (or his company, Mr. Larsen passed away June 22nd this year). Henning Larsen Architects have previously made The Opera House and ITU in Copenhagen and The Wave in Vejle.

Read more about the project from:

Henning Larsen Architects
Press release from 2010
August newsletter

Football Golf – Yes that’s a thing

You probably haven’t heard of Footballgolf – but that is an actual sport and we have a 18-hole course right here on Als!

When my 10 year old, football-crazy nephew came to visit us this summer I challenged him for a game of Footballgolf.

The game was invented in Sweden not too many years ago and is more or less played like golf but instead of a small ball and an iron you just have a football – and a bigger hole. The international name is “Footballgolf” although in Ireland they have named it Footee. Here’s a video that explains the game (in Danish):

Als Fodbold Golf was started in 2012. It consists of 18 very different courses that each have a special “feature”, some of them are quite innovative and challenging. For instance hole number 13 has these gates where if you hit through the top triangle you get 2 kicks deducted.

Next to the course there is a covered area where you can eat your lunch or picnic. We spent about an hour and a half doing the course and we were very well entertained and we had hole-in-ones and giant blunders to tell about when we got home.

The price is 100 DKK for adults and 50 DKK for kids under 16 – kids under 5 play for free.

To play at the field you get the ball and score cards from Egen Put&Take lake at the address below.

Als Fodbold Golf
Nordborgvej 120
6430 Nordborg

Election is coming and you should vote

Local and regional council elections are coming up on Tuesday 19th of November and you should vote – yes you!

You get to vote on two things:

  • The local council (Kommunalbestyrelsen) that makes decisions about things like schools, roads, planning, culture.
  • The regional council (Regionsrådet) that makes decisions about higher education and health care.

Who can vote?

You are able to vote in local and regional elections if you are over 18, reside permanently in Denmark and if one of these apply to you. You:

  • Are a Danish citizen with an address in Denmark
  • Are a non-citizen who has lived in Denmark for the three years leading up to the election
  • Are a citizen of a EU country, Iceland or Norway, living in Denmark

So for instance if you have studied here for more than three years or are an EU national who just moved here to work – then you can vote in this election.

How can I vote?

You might be surprised to know that you can already go vote today. From the 20th August to the 16th November you can “vote by letter“. That means you can go to the Borgerservice office, show passport and the yellow sygesikring and give your vote. If you are out of the country you can also go to a Danish embassy or consulate to vote in this way.
Most people vote on the day of the election – Tuesday 19th of November. Depending on where you live you have to go to a specific location to vote. Here is a map of the voting places in Sonderborg Kommune. You can vote from 9am to 8pm on the day so you should be able to make it before or after work.
Screen shot 2013-09-08 at 8.05.25 PM
Bring your voting card (valgkort) that arrives in the mail and some ID (sygesikring, passport or EU driving license). On your voting card it will say which table you should go to collect your ballot.
valgkort
Once you getting your ballots (one for city and one for region council) you step into an enclosed space with a small table and a pencil. You have to go in here on your own to ensure that you cast your vote in private. The voting ballot will be long with approximately 100 names on it. You need to put one (1) X next to either a party or a person. If you make a mistake you can get a new ballot.
Once your ballots are filled out you put them in the voting box and you are done.
Who can I vote for?

In Denmark you can vote for either a person or a party. Here is a page where you can see the results of last election in 2009.

The final list of candidates and parties is announced on October 22nd. In Sønderborg the parties you can vote for are:

Why should I vote?

Sønderborg City Council manages a yearly budget of 4.7 billion DKK regarding the kommune and in the election your vote is they way you can influence how this money should be used.

House of Knowledge – TeleBilling, KPMG & Rambøll

On the harbour of Sønderborg a new building is rapidly taking shape. It’s another of the pieces from Frank Gehry’s Masterplan for the harbour front of Sønderborg. The plan is to transform the harbour into a vibrant new part of town.

Sønderborg Videnshus / House of Knowledge

The first block was the white residential building (to the right in the picture above) – this time it’s a bronze “House of Knowledge” – Videnshus in Danish – (to the left). The building will be the new corporate residence for local IT company TeleBilling, the local branch of KPMG accounting and Rambøll engineering.

house of knowledge

Recently TeleBilling made a film of what the building looks like now as they are still working on the interior. (Skip to 0:23)

The offices there will have amazing views up and down Alssund and you couldn’t blame the office workers for sometimes stopping what they are doing to stare at the beautiful scenery.

interior house of knowledge

The building has 6 floors and 4750 square meters of office space. The roof will be fitted with solar panels and will comply with the 2020 standard of buildings, which means it’s very energy efficient.

If everything goes according to plan the three residents should be moving in in November. Let’s hope they have an open house reception, so the rest of us can come in and be jealous of their sparkling new office.

Read more at Byens Havn