Monthly Archives: August 2012

Flensburg Nautics 2012

Leave a reply

The coming weekend, 17th to 19th of August, it’s time for the biennial Flensburg Nautics – a celebration of the city’s maritime history. There will be big sail boats visiting and a lot of things going on.

Some of the big ships that are scheduled to visit are:

You can even get on a sail boat yourself to experience first hand the historical activities on a traditional ship. There are short trips (1-2 hours) and long trips available (6 hours). Booking can be done from the page here.

On the harbour you can go see traditional crafts like rope makers, net weavers and carpenters and by some of them you can take part in them their craft. There will be all sorts of foods and drinks you can try. Plus live music from a couple of stages.

Friday the 17th August there will be a ‘parade’ as all the ships arrive and on Sunday around 3pm-4pm they will all leave again in another parade.

Friday night at 11pm there will be a 30-minute fireworks display, which you can enjoy good views of from all around the port.

From what I can tell from the website it might be even bigger than the Rum Regatta we went to earlier this year and that was a great experience.

Music fit for a King: Sonderborg Slot

Leave a reply


Traditionally the abode of kings, and nowadays the site of the area’s museum, Sonderborg Castle also hosts a number of musical events throughout the year. This might be an unlikely music venue, however, having served as a location for royal entertainment for centuries, it has the locations to satisfy modern expectations as well.

Queen Dorothea’s Chapel

During the summer, the chapel plays host to a number of concerts, mainly revolving around the chapel’s organ. The organ, which was reconstructed in 1996 in accordance with 16th century traditions, was built in 1570 by the organ builder Hermann Raphaelis. The programme of organ concerts in the chapel can be found on the castle’s website under arrangementer.

The Great Hall (Riddersal)

The great hall used to be the reception room for guests to the castle, and the scene for many parties and dances. Nowadays, it is used for both one-off concerts as well as for concerts of the Sonderborg music union. From here you also have the added bonus of a marvelous view of the harbour.
Camera Roll-507

Concerts

Our first experience of music events at the castle was during our visit to Sonderborg in September last year before we moved here. This was a vocal and organ concert in the chapel, and was excellent proof that we can find good quality music in the area should we move here.

Danish German Brass Academy

Recently we then attended an excellent brass concert following the annual Danish-German Brass Academy in Gråsten. The quality of the performances and the enthusiasm of the performers belied the fact that they had only been working on these pieces for a week! Ending the concert with Brahms lullaby as the castle’s clock was chiming the time was a fitting coincidence to this excellent concert.

Enjoy the Bounty of the Sea at Cafe Brag’s Fish Buffet

Leave a reply

Brag is a fishing/shipping shop and smokery on the banks of the Dybbøl side of Sønderborg. However, if tackle and nets do not feature anywhere on your shopping list, there is still one major reason why you should check this place out. After all everyone has to eat right?

Brag Fisk Cafe Søsport

The history of the smokery goes back several generations and the family has been having a business in the current location for decades. During the winter you can drop by the shop to buy a portion of fish to take home and enjoy. They smoke their own fish and among the variety of items we have seen on sale (and recognised!) have been smoked herring, halibut, eels and salmon – but there are also other fish brought in by the fishermen. It’s a nice treat to cycle down there on a weekend and grab whatever takes our fancy for our lunch.

IMG_1470

However, from the first weekend in May to the end of August, Cafe Brag, which is to the back of the shop, is open for business. And you can sit and enjoy the view of life on the pier and Sonderborg across the water. This means that you can indulge in the food right there on the spot. The cafe serves fish dishes during the week, but on the weekends a fish buffet spread is organised.

Spinatrolade med dampet laks

Michael’s parents were visiting recently so we grabbed the opportunity to try it out. Now I am not necessarily the biggest fish fan (rarely if ever order fish at a restaurant), but the wide variety of items meant that this was not a problem. My favourite items were the fiskefrikadeller, the salmon/spinach rolls, and the steamed salmon. Every thing is made in their own kitchen and even the bread is homemade. The dishes were continuously replenished, so I didn’t have to forgo my favourites when a big group of people came in for their lunch.

Laksebrød

The fish buffet is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 to 16:00. In 2012 it costs 145 DKK per person. Perfect for the fish lovers out there. However, if you are completely averse to fish and seafood, this is probably not for you, since every item, including the salads (though not the fruit basket), contains fish or sea food.

Ur Hellefisk

Swimming in the Baltic Sea

1 Reply

I come from the middle of the Mediterranean; growing up the swimming season extended from June to September. And even then, I thought that the water was often cold, especially at the start of summer! So when people mentioned swimming in Denmark eye-rolling was my standard reply.

IMG_7465

However, when a friend from Australia staying in Sonderborg said that she has been swimming and enjoyed it, and after a week of hot weather, I challenged myself and Michael to try it out in Sonderborg. The water was cold. Very cold! Definitely colder than whatever I considered ‘very cold’ in Malta! But I made it in successfully. Let’s just say that I am not ‘winter bathing‘ material as yet and leave it at that.

This year’s summer (2012) has not been good for the temperature of the Danish waters. In Vejle, four fjords from here, the average bathing temperature was 16,8 degrees. Compared to a normal average of 18.6 degrees this has been the coldest in the 16 years they have measured the bathing water temperature in Vejle. If you are interested in keeping an eye yourself DMI measures temperatures in harbours and TV2 measures bathing water temperatures on beaches at 1 meter depth.

Water Culture

One thing I have noticed though was that while Maltese people can easily stay in the water for 30mins to an 1hr and even longer, Danes tend to just go in for a very short time, maybe 10-15 minutes, and then get back out. You might think it is because of the temperature, but when Danish friends (including Michael!) visit Malta, they do just the same. I seem to think that once I have tortured myself getting into the cold water, might as well stay in as long as possible!

The picture for this post is actually from Brighton beach in UK. When we get out of the water in Sonderborg we shake too much to take pictures 🙂

What is the video that best showcases Sonderborg?

Leave a reply

There has been a number of great videos showcasing the town of Sonderborg. Have you seen them all and which one is you favorite? Let us know in this poll.

  • A Common Cause by Bellamondo
  • Here You Can Build Your Own Future by Kim Groth & Fynn Laue
  • Kulturen er mangfoldig by Anonyme Sønderborggensere
  • A New Cruise Destination by Avid Cruiser
  • A romantic tour by Bellamondo
  • Vores Countryside Metropolis by TMODSAI

A Common Cause by Bellamondo

Here You Can Build Your Own Future by Kim Groth & Fynn Laue

Kulturen er mangfoldig by Anonyme Sønderborggensere

A New Cruise Destination by Avid Cruiser

A romantic tour by Bellamondo

Vores Countryside Metropolis

http://www.youtu.be/P0lPNxbliSA

Take part in the poll I’m really interested in hearing what people think.

tour of city Sonderborg

Take a Tour of the City

Leave a reply

It is often difficult to learn all there is to know about a city , or even tiny village, just by walking around on your own. You will undoubtedly miss some corner with its intriguing story that you would have loved to learn about. A good way of taking a stab at getting to know about these corners and stories is by going on a tour.

tour of city Sonderborg

Typically, most tourist offices offer city walks on a number of themes, sometimes by professional guides, and others by highly interested volunteers from the city itself. Sonderborg is, of course, no less.

Sonderborg tourist office organises a series of guided walks in the municipality, mainly in the summer holiday period. Among the tours offered there is an 1864 town walk in Sonderborg, a walk around Grasten castle and gardens, as well as town walks in Sonderborg, Nordborg and Augustenborg. Unfortunately for me only the 1864 town walk is advertised as offered in English, with all the others only offered in Danish or German, so I decided to check it out.

1864 Town Walk

This walk around the streets of Sonderborg takes you from Radhustorvet, in front of the main Sonderborg tourist office, down to the castle, along the pier and up towards Sct Marie Kirke. During the walk you see locations connected to the 1864 war, learn about what went on, as well as hear stories about the people living in Sonderborg at the time.

The walk appeared interesting. However, there was one downside: the languages! The walk was intended to be given in Danish, German and English and on the day I attended all 3 languages were required. Unfortunately, the guide didn’t appear equally comfortable in all of them. This resulted in the walk being around 90% Danish, 6% German and 4% English! If it wasn’t that some of the Danish people took pity on me and translated the main points it would have been very difficult to understand much of anything (thank you family from Blans!).

Therefore, if you understand Danish, I urge you to try it out (and come back and tell us how it really is), if you understand German and are interested in it, do check it out (after all my German/Danish recognition is not the best in the world. However, if you only understand English I can only recommend that you not bother with it…unless you get another guide, that is!

Events south of the Border

Leave a reply

Every month we look at what is going on on this side of the Danish-German border. However, as well explained by the Sonderborg 2017 European Capital of Culture bid, there is a commonality between the two regions, and a need for all of us to work together if we want to succeed. So we decided to take a peek at some of the major events going on south of the border in August.

A good source of information for events going on in Schleswig-Holstein is the region’s own webpage. Although the website also has an English translation, we couldn’t find the events calendar in English. However, there are ample tools out there to help you translate the text and held you decided which events you want to travel for. This is what caught our eye:

Husum Harbour Days: Starting today, Husum is celebrating its connection to the sea with 5 days of activities around the harbour.

Busum kutterregatta: More sea-connected activities as shrimp boats compete for the ‘Blaue Band’ in this 2-day regatta (4-5 August)

Gottorf Castle celebrated its gardnes , especially the newly restored baroque ones on the 11th of August

Flensburg Nautics: Enjoy tall ships, gaff ships and yachts just across the border on the 17-19 August.

Lubeck Museum Night: Enjoy late night museum opening on the 25th of August (just after Sonderborg’s Culture night on the 24th)

So if you haven’t ventured south of the border during these holidays, what are your waiting for?