Cannons and Cardamom

Nyborg – 11th May

Our ABBA tribute today is ‘Soldiers’ (1981)

What’s that sound, what’s that dreadful rumble?
Won’t somebody tell me what I hear?
In the distance but drawing near
Is it only a storm approaching?

At 10.00am our peaceful accommodation with castle views was rocked by the sound of cannon fire. After a further round at 11.00am we went on a self-guided walking tour of Nyborg and discovered that the cannons are the starting guns for six running races being held around the lakes and rivers of Nyborg. I’m not sure how the runners’ hearts coped with the noise; as you can see from the photo and video the competitors are right next to the cannon. 

The cannons were less than 100m from our lounge…

The pleasant part of the race for the spectators is the solo singer belting out an eclectic  variety of songs in English and Danish including: ABBA tunes, Living Next Door to Alice (Smokie), Achy Breaky Heart (Billy Ray Cyrus), Jolene (Dolly Parton) and Summer of 69 (Bryan Adams). The pleasant part for the competitors is the finishing line goodie bag which includes a bag of chips and local brewery products.

The Airbnb we stayed in at Nyborg is the section under the blue arrow and the lower section immediately to the left. We were in the roof space which was very nicely done except for the ghastly stairs/ladder to get up there
The castle (closed for repair) on the other side of the lake as seen from our bedroom window

The photos from this point show our walking tour: The haven and apartments, our accommodation across the lake, the castle, the museum and a random nesting swan. The castle is currently closed for restoration work.

Street view of our Airbnb. We were in the roof space of the white building which extended through to the next house to the right with the lower roof

The museum in the old mayor’s house allows free self guided tours in English and has a special exhibition about King Christian II. He was born locally in Nyborg castle and reined in the 1500s as King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. King Christian II is believed to be responsible for the Stockholm Bloodbath, he also fought for the commoner at the expense of nobility, they however fought back and exiled him to the Netherlands, not Germany surprisingly.

My Danish treat from the popular local bakery was a cardamom and walnut swirl, the photo shows it half eaten. I took my service number from the ticket machine and stood wondering how I was going to determine if my number had been called, lucky for me there was a LCD number display. Cardamom is widely used in Scandinavia, particularly Sweden, as a baking ingredient, it is believed to be first used by the Vikings when they had contact with Asian spices via Turkey.  

A swan, none to happy to be photographed, three meters from the walkway around the harbour in Nyborg. She will be sitting there until her chicks hatch.
Described as a super-yacht of the '90s - it is in beautiful nick and a credit to her owners and their probably diminishing bank balance
Housing along a canal in Nyborg. There are many many larger apartment blocks in this area
Another group of apartment blocks, slightly more upmarket from the adjacent canal photo.