Stege, Mon, Denmark

Stege and the island of Mon is quite the contrast to the citites we've been in so far. It's like Wisconsin's Door County or Michigan's UP. But right after the tourist season ends. It's a sunny September 4th and the place is like a ghost town. Apparently, their tourist season is July and August only.

We're here because of the Mons Klint, or white cliffs of Mon. They rival the cliffs of Dover for sheer size and awe inspiring views. The east end of the island is chalky white limestone mixed with black veins of flint. But Stege is the main town on the island and on the west side. Not having a car is problematic, but we worked it out. There are public buses, but they don't run on Sundays, the day we have available to see the cliffs. There's a tourist office, but it's closed on weekends. Rumor had it there was a free green bus that made the trip, but there's nothing online, there's no mention of it at the bus stops, and most locals only heard a bit about it. But, we did find it and asked for the schedule from the driver. It's a modern, new long distance bus and was a great comfortable ride through the countryside to the cliffs at the GeoCenter, a museum.

We found a lovely house to rent and it will probably be the biggest place we stay in the whole trip. A path in the back leads to the lagoon and there's a dock and swimming area. It's sunny but very windy so we took a pass on the swimming. There was a small end of season festival going on when we arrived, with people dressed in 1800's era costumes giving demonstrations on weapon making, wool spinning, etc. Later a band played American classic covers in a tent, but the whole deal didn't attract too many people.

This morning we took the 50 minute ride to the Mons Klint and hiked several miles on a path through woodland and to the top of the highest cliff. Then it was down a long series of steps to the Baltic Sea, where we walked along the base of the cliffs. It was so beautiful.

And finally, we hiked up another series of steps back to the top. It's been a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of cities. Tomorrow it's back to it, for 5 nights in Copenhagen!Read more