Tag Archives: Horuphav

Brunch at Hotel Baltic

Last year Hotel Baltic in Høruphav was reopened under Silje Brenna and Jonas Mikkelsen. The pair already run other restaurants, including the Michelin-star owning Hotel Frederiksminde in Præstø so we’ve been looking forward to trying it out. We finally managed a visit for Sunday brunch on Mother’s Day.

Sunday brunch at Hotel Baltic is served family-style in the bistro overlooking the harbour. We were first to arrive (a bit before opening time of 10:00) and were warmly welcomed in and shown to our table. On sitting down we were offered juice, tea and coffee (all included in the price).

Once the drinks were in place, the food started arriving. The food arrives at the table on shared platters. We first got a muesli and yoghurt bowl each. This was then followed by cold dishes such as cold cuts, cheeses, salmon and prawns, then hot dishes of liver pate and bacon as well as scrambled eggs and sausages. The final offering was pancakes.Throughout all this there was delicious homemade bread and butter, both of which were replenished as needed. I particularly loved the  prawns with lemon mayonnaise and, surprisingly (as I was very sceptical on seeing it) the scrambled eggs.

Reading those items you might think it doesn’t sound like it’s different to any other brunch in town. However, on tasting the food it is clear that the quality of the items is significantly better. This is also reflected in the fact that the source of the ingredients is told to you as the food is brought to the table. They are clearly proud of their suppliers, and they should be.

The brunch costs 245 DKK (or 125 DKK for children under 12), including tea, coffee and juice, which was a very fair price for the amount of food and the quality. The brunch is served on Sundays from 10:00-12:00 and you should plan to spend two hours there. If planning to go we would recommend you book or at least phone ahead as, although not full when we visited, the place is not that big. The staff was very friendly and attentive.

The bistro is kid-friendly but since the experience is cozy it can be a challenge combining the “slow-food” with energetic kids. We were lucky to have one kid sleeping and the other one happy for a run just outside in the grass for a while and a trip down to look at boats. If we didn’t have two small kids on our hands we would definitely try out the evening menu in the restaurant based on what we experienced for brunch. Maybe for our next kid-free evening!

Gendarme path sonderborg

Hike or Bike the Gendarm Path

The Gendarm path, known as Gendarmstien in Danish, is the former border guard patrol path between Denmark and Germany. It was in use from 1920 until 1958, where each gendarm (or border guard) had a specific section of the coastline to patrol. They would walk along the water as best they could and thereby created a small walking path.

By Bent Rasmussen
Picture by Bent Rasmussen – used with permission

The Gendarm path is one of Denmark’s best know and popular walking routes and follows a very scenic landscape along the coast of Flensborg Fjord. The full length of the path is 74km from Padborg in west to Høruphav on South Als.

Gendarm Path Sonderborg

Trekking the 74km s not something we planned to do at one go, especially in our unfit state! However, walking the path is a good way of enjoying and experiencing the natural beauty of the area. So our aim is to get through all the path in smaller chunks.

This is our progress so far. We will add more as we cover more of the path:

  • Sonderborg – Horuphav: Hiked on 23rd September 2012. Easy path through open fields and forest, with views over Flensburg fjord. You can walk closer to water, but if you follow the marked path this does not happen much. Buses running from Sonderborg to Fynshav or Kegnaes and back stop close to the start of the Gendarmstien in Horuphav, making it a pleasant Sunday trek on a nice day without having to backtrack.
  • Sonderborg – Vemmingbund: Biked on 23rd July 2012. Beautiful views along the water’s edge. If you are not much into hills, the path along the water is easily manageable (from someone who abhors cycling up hills with a passion) and you can walk up the hills if you prefer. However, if hills are your thing you can knock yourself out on the various side paths. Perfect on a warm summer day as the sea breeze keeps you cool
  • Looping Broager Land peninsula: A mountain bike ride with lots of different vistas and road conditions, through forests, over beaches and fields.

If you are interested in following the trail yourself, the tourist centres in the area have developed a leaflet with maps of the path divided into 10 manageable chunks. The leaflet is only in Danish or German, but a map is a map so you should be able to find your way around. The path is also well marked on the ground with small wooden poles with a blue border guard on them.

Gendarme path sonderborg