Ven

Two weeks ago, DL had the idea to spend Sunday in Ven, a small Swedish island in the Øresund. Dave, DL, her mom and I boarded a ship at 9am and enjoyed the sunny 90-minute ride to the island. Here is a view of the Copenhagen opera house (on the left) from the boat:


Upon arrival, we rented bicycles (I had my own) and proceeded to have one of the most memorable Sundays... the weather was perfect: sunny and around 25C. The island is extremely peaceful: it is a giant plateau with slightly rolling landscapes of huge grassy fields with all kinds of flowers (mostly wild orange poppies). The homes are traditional Swedish bungalows, and the gardens are meticulously kept. We cycled around for awhile...


... and descended from the plateau towards the coast.


We swam in the (cold!!!!) water, lay on the beach, then ate delicious freshly-smoked fish (mackrel and salmon). After lazing around some more in the sun, we biked along the coastline back to where we started. The ride was out of the movies... cool breeze, pebbly paths, views of sailboats in the water, and I even managed to see some cute scotties having a nap in a backyard! Before boarding the ship we split a big basket of fresh strawberries. They are in season now and are in abundance (global warming has made them arrive early this year), and are incredibly sweet - not the genetically-modified humongous strawberries from back home...

Once back in Copenhagen, I cycled home then went for a 12km run. What a perfect day!