Baago - Flensburg, Germany (30 June 2019)

On Thursday 20 June we slipped our mooring just after 0930 and sailed the short 4nm passage to Assens on Fyn. This was a quiet town with plenty of attractive buildings. It had clearly enjoyed an industrial past with a sugar refinery and a tobacco factory.

Some attractive buildings behind the main street

Former factories and warehouses

Interestingly they still have a small ship building industry as we could see from the ferries being built across the harbour from our berth.

Two fast ferries under construction

The next day was cloudy with a light to moderate F3/4 W breeze. We headed 18nm W mixing close hauled sailing with motoring into the breeze to Haderslev on Jutland. For the last 7nm we motored through the narrow channel of one of the most attractive fjords in Denmark.

There two seagulls looked very comfortable!

We had a little trouble mooring up as the first box we picked in front of the sailing club appeared to put us on the ground at the bow as we crept up to the pontoon. A hasty withdrawal and the chance to pick a new berth in front of the sailing club with the luxury of 0.2m under the bow! Later we were told by a local that the water levels were unusually low that day!
Haderslev turned out to be a very attractive town with some fine old buildings and attractive squares. We wandered through the main and back streets enjoying both the buildings and the typically Danish relaxed atmosphere.

The shoe and boot maker

Cafe life

Half man, half woman statue

Merchant figures on wall

Variety of buildings in most streets

We noted with interest a war memorial with Images of German soldiers and details of those from the district killed in Flanders and elsewhere during WW1. Of course this part of Denmark was part of Germany or its predecessors at various stages in its history. The most recent occurrence was as a result of the Second Schleswig War in 1864. The war was over the Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg and Denmark had to fight the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire. Denmark lost decisively. However part of the post-WW1 arrangements required a plebiscite in disputed parts of Schleswig Holstein and many parts, including Haderslev, voted to return to Denmark. This resulted in the present border notably down the middle of the Flensburg fjord.

Memorial in Churchyard

On the Saturday afternoon we went for a 20km bike ride around the dam to the W of the town. This included passing through the deer park established in 1994 and containing around 200 fallow deer and about 20 red deer.

Deer park

View up the harbour

On Sunday 23 June we had a sunny day and returned up the fjord mainly heading into a SE4 wind and then sailed S and then W to the town of Aabenraa , a distance of about 30nm. This is more of a modern town.

Typical town centre street

We were there on the Sunday evening to witness the excitement of the traditional midsummer pagan ceremony of burning the witch. There were bonfires accompanied by food and drink in most towns and villages.

The bonfire is ready!

The witch burns!

Just after 9 o'clock on Tuesday 25 June we slipped our mooring and with another warm sunny day began tacking up the sound heading 17nm E towards the island of Als. We headed into the first bay towards Dyvig. We had to pass through a very narrow channel about 6m wide, on the port side was some rough meadow on which belted Galloway cattle were grazing and some paddling in the shallows!

We then turned into a narrow channel between two headlands into a small bay called Mjels Vig. Here we choose a spot in about 3m of water and dropped the anchor. We had a very enjoyable and warm afternoon and evening watching and listening to the birds singing and taking in the peaceful surroundings.

Glorious sunset

A favourite location for a heron

Very still in the morning

Next morning we sailed again S and SW down Als Sund in a NE3/4 towards the bridge at Sonderborg. We have been this way once before a couple of years ago.

Sailing down the sound

The bridge opens once an hour and we just made one of the openings and after passing Sonderborg (which we stayed at before) headed E to the village of Horuphav on the S of Fyn. The harbour has an amusing old look out box with model and old equipment recognising that we were on the border looking out over Flensburg fjord and Germany.

Lookout

Thatched cottages in the village

 Here we did some maintenance and cleaning as we were nearing the end of this leg of the cruise. But we also cycled along the coast and on the way visited the site of an old water mill at Vibaek. The mill is the only one of 10 original watermills on Als still preserved. Built in 1756 It was in use until 1938.

The mill buildings in the valley

Mill on the right

Inside the watermill

A limited water supply often caused difficulties for running the mill and so a windmill was installed on the hilltop about 100 metres away in 1853. Unfortunately this was burnt down

in 1983 but in 1996 a windmill on Zealand was moved brick by brick to replace the original windmill! Unfortunately it’s sails were missing! A lady coming to close the water mill in late afternoon told us more about its history and the retired people who now maintain it.

The windmill

Our last passage was on Friday 28 June, 23nm W into the Flensburg fjord and to Flensburg itself. Again a very sunny day and we sailed nearly all the way. As mentioned earlier, the Denmark/German border runs down the centre of most of the fjord, but as we turn S near the head of the fjord it then becomes exclusively German waters.

Passing a notable military building on approaching the town

Flensburg has many attractive town centre buildings.

Interesting courtyards

Hollyhocks in bloom

A mix of old and new

Oldest merchants house on edge of market square

North gate

In the plebiscite mentioned earlier Flensburg voted to remain in Germany. Indeed there is a large concert hall built in 1930 as a gift to the town from the Weimar Republic as “an expression of the gratitude of German loyalty”.  But there remains a significant Danish minority in the town as well as various Danish establishments including a church.

Inside the Danish church with old wall decorations and votive ship

In the cemetery park is an impressive lion that originally marked the Danish victory in a war of 1850. It was subsequently bought back from Copenhagen and stands today for Danish-German friendship on its old spot.

Flensburg has a long history of trading and the quays have many industrial buildings and sites associated with this. It still has a shipbuilding industry including building a number of ro-ro ferries in recent years. Along the quays in the centre are a collection of historic yachts and motor boats.

Just a few of the many historic boats

Crane used to tackle masts on tall ships

Looking towards the historic quays from the other bank

At the weekends the steamship Alexandra takes people on trips around the fjord. Built in 1908 it is the only sea-going saloon steamer in Germany.

Alexandra sounding its whistle

It is a vibrant town with some good restaurants and bars many serving the excellent Flensburg Pilsner. We also discovered that the town historically had a number of rum distilleries. Initially the sugar cane from the Danish West Indies but now from Jamaica.

Flensburger brewery

Of course, the town has to have an English pub

The rum museum

We very much enjoyed walking along the harbour side and through the town during the few days that we were there. On the eastern side of the harbour many of the small alleys have captain's and fishermen houses in the Kapitansviertel (Captains Quarter).

Captains Quarter

Also in this area was the oldest place of worship in the town, St Johannis, built in the 12th century firstly out of field stones.

St Johannis Church

Sunset on the remaining mainly industrial quays.

So that ended our second leg of this year’s cruise. We saw some interesting parts of Denmark and as previously very much enjoyed the ambiance, the clean and attractive towns and villages and the relaxed style that the Danes have. It was a bit of a culture shock returning to a big German town at the end! One other very noticeable point is how, certainly over the last 70 years, the borders have slowly disappeared. Of course countries and cultures are still distinctive; but people seem to seamlessly live and work across these countries (Sweden, Denmark and Germany) and ferries, trains and buses go backwards and forwards the whole time. Let’s hope that it lasts!