Ice and cold in Denmark too!

I was fleeing from the very cold and early winter in Norway, hoping for better conditions in my old homeland, Denmark. I brought along my baidarka, a new paddle (bent shaft Aleutian type), dry suit and other gear for winter paddling.

I was quite disappointed when I found out that winter had really come to Denmark for once. Normally, winter is quite cold and rainy in Denmark, but it seldom involves lots of frost, ice and snow – until this weekend!

My first attempt was in the Faxe bay – by my home town. The sea was calm, but lots of ice made paddling difficult. It was no problem to go through, it was just that it slowed down the speed of the kayak so much that I felt there was no point in paddling very far. I took a few nice photos, though, and got back to my dad’s summer cottage, that had become my base for the weekend.

I also filmed a short cut with my new canon camera. I think the quality was really impressive – check out the sound also!

Later, the ice disappeared with the strong westerly wind, and I had a great time paddling in lee, along the coast of my childhood’s landscapes and beaches. I had one trip to the Fed peninsula where I felt that this one trip was worth the whole trip. The kind of experience where you feel a strong unity with yourself, your craft and the elements, and you get the feeling that you can go on forever, and that time stops. Truly a good experience!

Later in the weekend, the wind became stronger, up to gale force! It was 6 degrees below minus in daytime, so I gave up paddling any more, and spent some valuable time with my father, my mother and my sister and her family.