The lovely island of Hven

When I showed an American friend this poster for the ferry to Hven, she remarked "Ah, Heaven!" That may be overselling it a tad, but it is a very lovely spot and an excellent day-trip out of Copenhagen. Hven lies in the narrow Oresund strait between Denmark and Sweden, and has at times been Danish, but now is Swedish (see visithven.dk).

Boarding at Havnegade; some folks brought bikes and picnic lunches

We took a 9:15 ferry from Havnegade for the 90 minute trip with about 150 others - mostly Scandinavians. We bought rundstykker and coffee once on board, all the better to enjoy our little table looking out at the sights of Copenhagen harbor, the Oresund bridge, and the coastline north of the city while we motored along.

Oresundbro to Malmo and windfarms seen from the ferry

Once landed, we followed the crowd up a small road to an enormous bike rental stand with every possible combination of regular and tandem bikes, bikes with kid seats and cargo bikes. There was a bus offering a tour at the harbor, but I don't think anyone took it. This was a hearty lot of Danes and Swedish tourists and the exercise was definitely part of the outing, as it was for us. We had decided beforehand to spend the day walking the 11.7 km along the edge of the island, and ended up backtracking down to the Bagvicken harbor to catch the walking trail.

Bike rental stand on Hven

We started walking east, or counter-clockwise, around the island along the coast facing the Swedish mainland. This part of Hven really reminded me of Maine, specifically of Peak's Island in Casco Bay - home to our friend Jenny Higgins and one of the stops on our honeymoon 25 years ago. Needless to say, the coast was a bit rugged and had lots of long wooden piers for bathing. There were cottages alongside the path overlooking the shoreline, with well-kept gardens and cozy picnic tables.

Cottage with hydrangeas on Swedish side of Hven

About midway along this shoreline, we hit Ven's Stugby & Camping - a collection of hytte ( sleeping huts) and camping spots with a common bath area and kitchen. Some families had obviously come over on the ferry with bedding and food all piled up on a trailer and hitched it to a rental bike. Car-free family vacation!

Ven's Stugby and mini-golf ( not a real astronaut)

At the northern end of the island, where the cliffs were steepest and the shoreline rockiest, the path jigged left up a steep gravelly incline. This is where the walking decision paid off as many visitors were struggling both up and down the scrabbly path with their bikes. When we emerged at the top, we were in a gorgeous yellow wheat field - rippling in the wind - with low-lying barns on the horizon. The Swedish-ness of the terrain flipped into a classic Danish landscape and for the second half of the day, and from there on in, the dial pretty much stayed on the Danish side of the terrain and architecture.

Danish husband on Danish side of Hven

At the center of the island are the archaeological remains of astronomer Tycho Brahe's Uranienborg castle and observatory, as well as a Renaissance garden. There is a museum which explains his life and work housed in a beautiful old church, which is the highest point on the island. For a few decades in the middle of the 16th century, Hven was Brahe's fiefdom and he ran a full-scale observatory and entertained intellegentsia from across Europe on this little island. King Christian VI (who did so much to advance Denmark in other ways) undid this arrangement early in his reign, and Brahe removed to Prague and eventually met Kepler...so maybe it was OK in the long run.

Tycho Brahe Museum and garden

At any rate, an interesting historic angle on an island that was well worth visiting even without it.