Holiday of a lifetime. That’s how you can describe in a nutshell a 5-day stay on the Danish island Bornholm, affectionately called the Mallorca of the North. Located 120 km from Poland, every year the island attracts thousands of cycling aficionados as well as fish, beer and chocolate connoisseurs. Why should you also visit that place of striking beauty? Find the list of reasons below. Hungry for travel? Don’t hesitate and read!
HOW TO GO THERE?
One of the simplest and most frequently chosen options of getting to Bornholm by Poles is a catamaran cruise from the port of Kolobrzeg. The two-way ticket costs 280 PLN. In the summertime, the catamaran to Bornholm (NEXO) departs every day at 7:00 am and at 6:00 pm from Bornholm (NEXO) to Kolobrzeg. You can find more information here. If you suffer from motion sickness or if you suppose you do, you should purchase medicines to prevent its symptoms. The sight of green-looking and vomiting people is not a pleasure, however, it is still an experience, such as a strong wind and waves hitting the catamaran’s windows.
Another way of reaching the island is to travel by car to Sassnitz in Germany, where you can take a ferry to Bornholm (Ronne) together with your vehicle. The cost is 100 euro one way, regardless of the number of passengers.
Accommodation
Bornholm is a land where you can find quite a number of campsites and apartments for rent on Airbnb. During our visit, we stayed for a few days in Lyngholt Familie Camping, which is one of the most popular campsites on the island. Founded by a married couple – Pia and Werner Lyngholt, it is distinguished by an extremely familiar and friendly atmosphere. Guests can rent a holiday home, a caravan or a place to pitch a tent. The places to be found in the area of Lyngholt Familie Camping are: barbecue space, a swimming pool, a free car park, bike rental, a grocery, a kitchen with a dining area, a laundry and a drying room, WIFI (very fast!), playgrounds for children and many other places. At the campsite, you can rely on the helpful owners and staff.
WHAT AND WHERE TO EAT OR DRINK ON BORNHOLM?
1/ Restaurant Pakhuset, Brænderigænget 3, Svaneke
Here you can enjoy the authentic Danish hospitality. Ice cream buffet for everyone! You can eat as much ice cream treats as you want for 45DKK. There is a choice of over a dozen ice cream flavours, including sprinkles and other additives, eg. fruit. The place is famous among tourists and residents of the island for mouth-watering steaks from the oven, served on the wooden boards, together with a lot of green lettuce.
2/ Bay Frost Kaffebar, Store Torv 5, Rønne
Discovered by chance, an interesting, although quite small place with high-quality coffee and small snacks. The choice is between standard offers, ie. caffe latte, cappuccino, americano, and more sophisticated forms of this satanic drink, eg. with David Rio’s spices, so-called Chai Latte that you can associate with the menu of Costa by Coffee Heaven.
3/ Allinge Røgeri ApS, Sverigesvej 5, Allinge
Fish smokehouses which are also restaurants and fish boutiques are common places on Bornholm. Reaching one of the most popular Rogeri on the whole island, you can come across a fish smorgasbord (imitating the ship, filled with the ice cubes), salads (including potato salad), delicious mustards and delicacies peculiar to Bornholm.
MUST-TASTE:
- Friskefrikadeller, that is, Danish meatballs, can be served both hot and cold. They create a perfect match together with potato salad, thick-cut rye bread and fresh beetroots.
- Romoulade or traditional French mayonnaise sauce, used in the Nordic countries as an additive to fish, tastes delicious in combination with fresh salmon.
4/ Cafe Gustaw, Store Torv 8, Rønne
Located in the very centre of Ronne, the restaurant offers a variety of dishes – from pastas, through French fries, to hamburgers and craft beers. The average price of a meal is about 120 DKK (which gives us some 60 PLN). What is worth recommendation there is a tzatziki burger with pork, lettuce, Greek tzatziki sauce, feta cheese and basil pesto. In addition, the restaurant offers stewed fruit in a bottle. They are really delicious!
5/ Kiosk w Hammerhavn
If someone once said that a sandwich can steal one’s heart … many of you would probably say that they’re nuts. However, having eaten the sandwich with a phenomenal, fresh, delicious, perfectly seasoned salmon with amazingly selected additives and warm bread at the harbour stand in Hammerhavn, it can be stated that the place is A HYPERDELICIOUS POINT on the food map of Bornholm. The prices of sandwiches range from 50 to 70 DKK (25-35 PLN). You’ll find them with salmon, beef, and chicken, as well as in a vegan version.
6/ Bech Chocolade, Snogebaek
It is a tiny boutique with chocolate and dozens of hand-decorated chocolates. The real hit in this place is the chocolate-covered cream foams, the taste of which will definitely be engraved in your memory. The motto of the founders is: tradition and the quality of products. An additional advantage is that the process of making the divine pralines can be seen live. What is more, here you can order not only coffee and tea but also little sandwiches.
7/ Cafe EastWind, Snogebaek
The cafe with a wide choice of: sandwiches (chicken, salmon, or vegetarian and vegan), salads, cakes and pressure-brewed coffee. Developed by and for water sports lovers. Eastwind company, which owns the cafe, is well-known on the island for sharing windsurfing, kitesurfing and kayak equipment.
8/ ICE-CREAMS – Krølle-Bølle
It may seem weird, but Bornholm is also the land of the most tasty ice creams on earth. It’s all thanks to the troll Krølle-Boll (children’s favourite and an urban legend) who takes care of the island. Despite playing occasional pranks, he closely watches over the quality of SoftICE. There are various versions of ice creams, for example with chocolate and different toppings. However, at the beginning it is worth picking the saute version in order to get the taste of their unique flavour. Ice cream parlours are as common on Bornholm as bank headquarters in Polish cities, so no worries – certainly no one will be left without the chance of having a scoop. The price is, for example, 45 DKK (about 25 PLN) for one portion in a large wafer cone.
WHAT TO EAT ON A CAMPING?
Going to Bornholm, it is suggested that you buy some food earlier in your country. Food prices in Bornholm are not the lowest (Welcome to Scandinavia!). Therefore, you may want to buy: ham, cheese, preserves, spices, ketchup, mustard, sugar, tea, coffee, cereals and your favorite delicacies just before leaving. There are plenty of ideas for quick and delicious meals. From spaghetti, through stuffed whole grain baguettes to a barbecue with some hospitable Danes. Below you will find a few photos of food from the campsite.
what to see and where to go?
1/ STUNNING VIEWS
Keep your eyes peeld! Bornholm has landscapes which none of the European citizens would be ashamed of. Several kilometers of forests, tiny coastal towns, picturesque villages, endless green glades, pastures with grazing cows and sheep – all those views can be taken for granted there. The ruins of Hammershus castle, situated on a seaside cliff in the northwestern part of the island, which moves back from 1255, is particularly worth a visit.
2/ BEACHES
Sunbathing on Bornholm is an essential element of the trip to that magical place. The beach Balka, which we visited as one of the first, is extremely friendly to families with small children due to its very shallow water. Balka made a great impression on us because of the white sand and blue water (it is hard to believe that this is the same Baltic Sea as in Poland), which create the atmosphere similar to visiting an exclusive resort in the Maldives. Despite the windy weather, most of the beaches offer a secluded place that allows you to take shelter from the wind. A perfect example here is Dueodde Strand whose dunes are widely covered with flora. Each of the beaches is equipped with clean free toilets. The paradise-like aura also derives from ubiquitous swings. Long live freedom and liberty!
3/ PORTS AND HARBOURS
Bornholm is a place where you can see beautiful ports, houses or fishing harbors. The largest of the port can be found in Ronne, which also is the cultural and administrative centre of Bornholm. Besides the infrastructure for mooring catamarans or ferries, you will also find there, among others, pools or stages adjusted to celebrating different kinds of festivals and performances. The Danish island also has a large number of lighthouses. Situated near the old granite quarry, the lighthouse Hammer Fyr is a very photogenic and pleasing to the eye place.
4/ WIND AND ROTUNDA CHURCHES
It is enough to go to Arsdale to the south along the coast in order to see the beautiful Dutch windmill, which still grinds grains for tourists. Then we recommend a further trip to Osterlas, where you can see the church of St. Lawrence. The admission fee is 10 DKK (Danish Krone – DKK shortcut will appear also in the rest of the text). The architecture of the temple is similar to all those churches which you can come across on Bornholm. Osterals Kirke consists of three storeys, and the width of the building’s walls reach almost 2.5 meters. Besides its defensive role, Ostelars Kirke was also a place for storing food.
5/ THE FAMILY MUSEUM – BORNHOLM TECHNICAL COLLECTION
The museum is situated between Hasle and Alligne at Borrelyngvej 48 Street, Alligne. The admission fee is 60 DKK. That’s the place where you can feel like in a real time machine! At The Family Museum you will see exhibitions with toys, tools, electrical devices, agricultural machinery, bicycles, buses, and even… something less enjoyable, that is – coffins from a couple of years ago. Get ready for thrills galore awaiting for you in that reconstruction of a house from a bygone era. Old tableware, bed sheets, tablecloths, dressers and pictures… it’s really impressive!
WHERE FOR THE SUNSET?
DEFINITELY AT THE HAMMERHAVN PORT. Although the photos do not reflect the atmosphere of that charming moment whatsoever, it must be said that the sunset over there is remarkable. Take your significant other and go in that direction. It is certainly one of those moments that you will keep in mind for many years.
3 BORNHOLM TITBITS YOU MUST KNOW
1/ LAND OF HANDICRAFT
In every city you will find several shops with designer accessories, glass factories and ceramic workshops with boutique shops. Some people design and make drawers, and others … decide to show their heritage to a wider audience. The latter are the domain of people living on Bornholm. Over the past 20 years crafts on the island has developed to such an extent that The Danish Design School Nexo and its graduates have become well-known worldwide.
2/ “HEN FIGHTS”
In Svaneke (though probably it is possible to observe this in other cities on the island), you can come across “concrete squares” with several dozen numbered infields. As it turned out, this is where hen fights are organised. The show is so much fun and unusual that you cannot miss it in the guidebooks around the island. Why is that so? The winner of the battle is the player who manages to predict, possibly as accurately as possible, which hen will leave its droppings and on which of the fields.
3/ CYCLE TRACKS
Even cycling lovers will find something for themselves on the island! Bornholm has about 235 cycle tracks covered with asphalt or gravel surface. The majority of the aforementioned routes was made on the place of old railway tracks, abandoned for decades. Therefore, cycling around Bornholm is safe and family friendly. It’s worth remembering that Bornholm is a highland area, thus, sometimes 5km of cycling, which in Poland is not even considered a warm-up, can make you really exhausted.
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TRANSLATION: KATARZYNA MRÓWCZYŃSKA