Rail System and Public Transportation 

Copenhagen to Svendborg

During my time traveling through Denmark, I was able to take many modes of transportation. To start, we first departed from our hostel in Copenhagen and took a quick ride on the metro to the Copenhagen Central Station, where we promptly boarded our hour or so train ride to Odense, where we planned to get off and take another 30-minute train ride to Svendborg. I was a bit nervous for the train ride, as transportation sometimes makes me anxious from motion sickness to theft to delays to weird people, I get overwhelmed. However, the train was very easy, smooth, and clean. My favorite part was passing over the ocean and looking out the window to see a beautiful ocean view. The switch of trains in Odense was simple and quick as the trains run from Odense to Svendborg every 30 minutes or so. I have taken a train in Europe before, from London to Paris, but I was 7 and I do not remember it. It was truly inspiring to take in the high-speed rail system of another country; It was convenient, smart, quiet, efficient, and just overall a great way to travel across Denmark. Though it is easier to have a rail system here in Denmark due to how small it is, I long for this sort of transportation in the United States. For example, my family is from the Bay Area, and I live in Eugene. It would be more affordable and sustainable if there was a train for me to take to get home when need be.  

Svendborg to Ærø Island 

After one night in Svendborg, we woke up bright and early to load our bikes onto a ferry and embark on a one-hour ferry ride to Ærø Island! We went to Ærø Island to explore bicycle recreation, trails, and touring (see Recreational Bicycle Network). I have never experienced anything like this awesome ferry ride. We began by gathering in the bicycle loading area right next to the harbor and soon after, our ferry arrived. We then checked in and about 15 cars loaded in underneath the ferry. Then it was our turn! All we did was roll our bikes onto the ship, put our kickstands down, and we walked up to the deck to take a seat. I then found a seat and enjoyed an easy, smooth ride watching the beautiful coastline and sea full of jellyfish. The whole process of loading bikes and cars onto the ship took a maximum of 15 minutes. I was shocked at the efficiency and ease of the process. When we arrived, I just biked myself off the ship and onto Ærø Island. We then did the exact same thing to get back to Svendborg at 5pm that day! What an epic experience! 

Danish Countryside to Odense 

We then spent the next day biking from Svendborg to Korinth, which you can read more about in my Recreational Bicycle Network post, but after a night in Korinth, I was burnt out. After biking 26 miles on Ærø Island and another 26 miles to Korinth, I was not sure how much more I could do. Luckily, public transportation was able to assist me! I biked around 11 miles to Ringe, where I then boarded with my bicycle a 25-minute train ride to our next stop in Odense.  It was awesome to be able to bike right up to the Ringe station via a restored rail trail and when we got there buying tickets was a breeze. Unfortunately, then things went a bit downhill. We boarded the small train and realized there was no logical place for our bicycles. And there were four of us. We had to stand with our bikes in the doorway for 25 minutes and move our bikes and bodies around anytime anybody needed to get on. I must admit, this was mildly embarrassing. Once again though, the train was smooth, quiet, and fast and when we arrived in Odense, we had just an easy 2-minute ride to our hostel. 

Reflection 

Overall, there is improvement necessary for public transportation and rail system in the United States. The cleanliness and quietness of the public transportation in Denmark has been something I have found a real appreciation for. Coming from the Bay Area, our public transportation system there sometimes feels unsafe to me as a young woman and is often just not very clean. I also notice there is a sense of trust the Danish have in each other, as for some of the train rides I took, they did not even check my ticket. Finally, I could write about this forever, but I would love some investment in a better rail system in America. The lessons from the Danish system and European rail systems are very inspiring.  

Yours,
Macy