Getting to Ærø by ferry

Every island has its own special appeal, and for us Ærø ticks all the right boxes. It is sufficiently far from the mainland and other islands to have a genuine sense of isolation. Yet with three year-round ferry routes connecting Ærø to the rest of Denmark, the island is easy to reach. The journey time on each of those three ferry links is much the same: about 70 to 75 minutes. So long enough to communicate a sense of distance, but no time-consuming voyage.

Island pleasures

That’s the thing about islands. It is all a matter of psychology. When God designed Ærø, he clearly had in mind that the islands’ residents should be forever reminded of their offshore status. For the roads twist and turn, run up and down, but it’s never long before you crest another summit to reveal a gorgeous view of the Baltic. The hilly nature of Ærø means that from higher ground you often catch sea views in every direction at once.

But the hills are not so steep as to defy keen cyclists. The island is small enough to cycle from one end to the other (and back) in a single day. The dense network of minor lanes is tailor-made for walkers. And visitors can hike from one village to another and then ride back in the comfort of the local bus. Bus services on Ærø are all completely free (yes, where did you last see that?).

The island boasts a wonderful medley of colorful houses. Photo: © hidden europe

An island with ideas

Small island communities around Europe’s coast have often been wonderful incubators of innovation. And Ærø even more than most. This is an island with a buzz—a very good buzz. A keen maritime history has ensured that Ærø is outward-looking. It keeps in touch with wider trends. The island has been a leader in alternative energy and is now set to cut a dash in the slow food movement.

For after island adventures and recreation, visitors demand Ærø on a plate. A local champion for real local food on Ærø is Louise Badino (who has far more Ærø blood in her than the Italianate surname might imply). Louise describes herself as a “learning-by-doing” entrepreneur. She already has a niche in the Ærø marriage market but has latterly created the island’s first serious store for local produce. With a plum spot on the main square in the island’s ‘capital’ of Ærøskøbing, Louise’s shop is the obvious first stop for visitors wanting a bite of Ærø. “Buy local,” is Louise’s clarion call as she leads visitors to shelves laden with locally-brewed beer (made at Rise brewery on the island), tempting displays of Ærø mustard and honey, organic herbs and local lamb.

“Can we really say we are a community when most people go shopping at the local supermarket,” Louise asks. It’s a point we might all take on board as we travel. Supermarkets are soulless, impersonal places. If we are to breathe new life into our town squares, we need them to bustle with business, with energy and with enthusiasm.

Making a difference & where to stay

We ran across energy and enthusiasm aplenty in Ærø last week. It was there in the voices and faces of men like Erik Kroman who runs the marvellous maritime museum in Marstal. We saw it in the dedication of Maria and Steen Larsen who in 2006 “came from across the sea” (Maria’s nice way of describing their move from urban Denmark to the island of Ærø) to revive an inn called Vindeballe Kro in a great location in the very middle of the island. While Steen demonstrated the wonderful things that can be done with local Ærø beef, Maria told the tale of how the couple had shaped new lives on the island.

We discovered how Ærø’s own peculiar magic has a way of catching hold of incomers. When Susanna Greve moved to the island in 1974, she could barely have imagined that 40 years later she would still be on Ærø. Susanne now runs an extremely comfortable small hotel (called Pension Vestergade 44) in Ærøskøbing.

Island challenges

It is people like Susanna Greve, Louise Badino and Erik Kromann who are the life and soul of Ærø. And the island relies on dozens more like them. Ærø is exceptional—and very well deserving of a visit. And yet there is a sense in which Ærø is not exceptional. For the story of Ærø is replicated in dozens of island communities around Europe. It is the challenge of having loyalty to community, a sense of being rooted in a particular place and being able thrive locally in a global economy. Ærø just seems to have found particularly good solutions to that trinity of challenges.

The post Portrait of a Danish Island: Ærø appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Prussia meets Poland

If you are looking for another Kraków, think again. Szczecin offers something very different. No great Italianate piazzas. The Prussian imprint is evident in the Szczecin streetscape with some bold 19th-century buildings akin to those you might expect to find in Berlin. Throw in some superb examples of brick Gothic – of the kind you’ll run across throughout the Baltic region – and Szczecin makes for an appealing mix.

Key sights

One of our favorite Szczecin corners is the museum on the history of the city housed in the old town hall. It traces the story of the city’s early development and recounts how German Stettin morphed into Polish Szczecin. You’ll find green parkland aplenty, especially north of the city center. For riverside strolls head for the esplanade above the River Odra, where you will find the impressive nautical academy and a clutch of decent cafés.

Top choice: the Hotel Focus

The top overnight spot is undoubtedly the Hotel Focus (just a stone’s throw from the nautical college) where contemporary chic comes at budget-friendly prices. Double or twin rooms from about 200 Polish zloty (€50 or US$68). The Focus offers modern rooms, free Wi-Fi, free sauna, and a superb breakfast spread. Watch your eggs cooked to order just the way you like them. The Focus also has a first-class restaurant, where tasty regional dishes are served with great panache. Starters for just 12 zloty (€3), while mains are typically 24 zloty (€6).

Hotel manager Dominika Dulat appreciates that many travelers work to tight budgets, so it’s a nice touch that a free pack lunch is there for the taking as guests leave the breakfast buffet. “Don’t forget to take your lunch,” reads the big sign.  The Focus also offers an all-inclusive overnight rate where the cost of dinner is bundled in with the overall accommodation charge.

Cafés and bars

Szczecin is not just a place to see, but a place to be. Expect modest prices and a great range of city center bars and restaurants. There is a good quartet of cafés on Jan Pawel II Boulevard (recently renamed in honor of the late Polish Pope). Other restaurants we rate are the Bombay, which dishes up some of the tastiest Indian food in Poland, and the Chata, where you’ll find pierogi aplenty in a folksy vaulted cellar.

Getting there

Szczecin’s quaysides no longer buzz with passenger ships the way they did of old. Direct ferries from Denmark and Sweden nowadays dock at Swinoujscie, from where there is a good rail link to Szczecin, complemented by a seasonal hydrofoil service called the Bosman Express.

There are excellent train connections with half a dozen direct trains each day to Lübeck, Warsaw and Kraków. Szczecin has a very comfortable once-daily direct Czech train to Prague, and great connections with Berlin, which is just two hours away. The one-way fare from Berlin to Szczecin is just €10 – one of those wonderful cross-border deals that you cannot buy online. Just buy the ticket from the machines on the platform in Berlinbefore hopping on the train. German regional rail tickets (so-called Länder Tickets) can be used across the border to Szczecin, so there are real opportunities for budget rail travel to this corner of Poland.

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