Heading towards the capital on the Berlin-Copenhagen bike trail, C and I stopped for a week’s break on the Danish island of Bornholm. The nature and climbing impressed us a ton, but there was even more to see in the towns around the island and its many attractions.
Cities
Rønne
Yes, it was 5:30 am when we arrived on the island, so we pedaled a handful of kilometers to the airport, dozing in the lobby until we could pick up a rental car. We dismantled the bikes enough to get them in the car, when the rental guy came out and told us he wasn’t exactly allowed to let us do that. But since we had nearly finished, there wasn’t much he could do about it at that point and he let us go. Otherwise we didn’t see much of Rønne until we were leaving Bornholm. We walked around a bit, but I found other places on Bornholm more interesting to visit. Rønne is the capital of Bornholm and where the airport and main harbor are located, so it is most people’s first view of Bornholm.
Nexø
After a way too short nap upon arrival, we sleepily wandered around the town we called home for the week using a recommended walk from the climbing book we had borrowed from the DAV climbing association. This gave us a good overview of the town and where things were, as well as some historical information. Nexø was a good base for exploring the island. It was never more than 40 minutes to anywhere. The delicious Chris and Mario’s ice cream has a stand on the market square.
Snogebæk
Or, Schnooga Booga as we liked to call it as we drove past each time. The guide book praised it as much more happening than we found it. But maybe that was because we were there in early evening and not during the day time. The main street was short and didn’t seem to offer very much. We walked around a few blocks to see if we had missed something, but couldn’t find it if we did.
Svaneke
This town is the CUTEST! I loved spending a morning walking around here. Svaneke is known for many Bornholm crafts like chocolate, ice cream, and glass. There are several galleries, shops selling crafts, and locally produced sweets. We finally caved and tried a Flødebolle – a chocolate covered marshmallow. This was HEAVEN compared to the (in my opinion) gross, mass-produced Dickmann’s you can get in Germany. Um, and then we had…more…ice cream? But this one was produced in Svaneke, so you know, we just had to make sure we tried all the local things.
The next local thing was one of the coolest all week! We got to sandblast our own glass art. I had never seen something like this before and it was totally cool! You get to do everything in the whole process. C and I made a bottle together. C&C heart Bornholm. Cute, right? First you pick out the kind of glass you want to make (a cup, plate, vase, etc.), decide on a sticker theme and/or letters, decorate your glass, blast the glass, wash it, remove the stickers, and voila!
putting stickers on our bottle at the glass workshop 
sandblasting our glass art
Attractions
BornPark
After more napping, we went out to the most popular place on Bornholm for minigolf – BornPark Mini Golf. The wait time complained about in many reviews is true, but definitely worth it (we did wait nearly an hour). The park is designed like a miniature Bornholm! Each hole is dedicated to a specific landmark on the island, complete with rivers, beaches, churches, and famous rocks. There’s also an informative stand to explain what each landmark is. It was really cool to get to know some of Bornholm at the beginning of the week and to get excited about some of the things we would see. At the end, the loser (me) bought the winner (C) ice cream (but who really loses when ice cream is involved?).
can you recognize the church and harbor in Rønne? 
it’s Rytterknægten at Ekkodalen
Osterlars Kirke
Across the street from BornPark is one of Bornholm’s 7 round churches. Osterlars is the most famous of these. It was pretty touristy and busy when we visited, but also interesting enough to wade through the crowds. The church has massively thick walls and other features which make some think it was used for defense. Inside the church, there is a center circular part and a more open area. Following the narrow circular staircase which winds the outer wall of church leads to two upper floors, one of which houses a small exhibition on the history and use of the church.
Hammerhus
I love castles, and Hammerhus is no exception. There’s not much castle interior left to see, as the former fortress is in ruins. It had an interesting and volatile history going back and forth between the church and king. But I could really see why you’d want to live there – the view is fantastic! The visitor center is ecologically built into the ground (to not mess with the landscape) and contains a few interactive exhibits on the history and life during the time of the castle.
Christiansø and Frederiksø
Christansø and Frederiksø are two islands in a group of very small islands off the coast of Bornholm. They make up a strategic defense point and so the islands were home to Danish military for a while. The islands’ occupation went back and forth between Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. The barracks remain a landmark, as do a few residents. It takes about an hour and a half to get there via the ferry from Gudhjem. Tickets to the islands can be booked here and a round trip usually includes 2.5-3 hours for visiting the islands. It doesn’t seem like much time, but it is plenty to walk completely around both islands and visit the 2 museums. At certain times of year you might be lucky enough to catch some seals sunbathing on the rocks just off the coast.
Frederiksø 
Christiansø
The ferry ride is quite expensive and there are lots of places of interest on Bornholm itself. So while I did enjoy our trip to the Pea Islands, I wouldn’t say they are an absolute must on your trip there, but that it is a fun excursion.
I could have stayed on Bornholm a while longer! I definitely would visit Svaneke, the beaches, and the nature parks multiple times over. Visiting Bornholm was such a fantastic “end” to our bike tour.
