The Island of Star Gazers (26.07.2018)

Today I went to the island of Ven. It is located in the Öresund between Denmark and Sweden. The island became known for astronomical observations and research by Tycho Brahe, who received the island from the Danish king in 1576. Here, Tycho Brahe built the Uraniborg Castle and the Stjerneborg Observatory. The remains of these were excavated and reconstructed in the 20th century. Today, a museum has been set up in the old church on the island, and the observatory offers a sound and image show.

But before I went to the Tycho Brahe Museum, I had to get to the island first.

At 8:20 am, I took the ferry from Landskrona. I had booked the tickets online the night before. After a 30-minute ride, I finally arrived on Ven. There, I rented a bike from the bike rental and started exploring the island. First, I rode to a small square by the sea where I enjoyed my packed breakfast. Since I was there so early, I had the place all to myself and could enjoy the view of Denmark.

About half an hour later, I was back on the bike and continued. I stopped frequently because you had such a great view from the island. Then I arrived at the Tycho Brahe Museum and realized that it only opens at 11 am. Since it was only 10 am, I decided to continue and visit the museum again later.

I went to the St. Ibb church, which is located on a hill. Very exhausting with the bike in the heat. Once I reached the top, I took a short break and enjoyed the view once again.

Then I went down to the fishing village of Kyrkbacken, where I took another break at the beach to cool off my feet. It felt good!

I continued along the north coast. I rode outside of the path, right along the cliffs, where I had another fantastic view. Back on the right path, I went to the Tycho Brahe Museum again. For the sound and image show, you had to be there at a certain time so that it was in the right language for you. So, I had an hour until the show. During this time, I explored the rest of the museum. It was very interesting, and I absorbed the information, whether in English or Swedish. Sometimes there were no English texts available. The show was in English and very visually appealing. It explained Tycho Brahe's view of the universe, with additional information. Very interesting, also suitable for children.

After these interesting 1 1/4 hours, I cycled back. I went down to the campground and continued along the sea towards the ferry.

But before returning the bike, I went to another museum. This is the oldest preserved farm in Sweden. The woman working there happened to speak German because her parents were German. So, she could tell me a lot about the history of the farm. It was very interesting.

Afterwards, I went back to the spot by the sea where I had breakfast this morning. I wanted to cool off in the sea and wait until it was time to catch the ferry. But since there were only rocks everywhere, and they were very slippery, it was difficult to walk further in to swim. So, I went in a little bit and still enjoyed the small refreshment.

Then the time had come. I returned the bike and went to the ferry, which took me back to Landskrona. From there, it was another 40-minute drive home.

Finally, when I arrived home, I fell into bed, exhausted from the day.

Kilometers driven today: 86