Concussion

For the first time, it’s warm enough in the morning to write outside. With a mild concussion, since I hit my head hard against the shelter. I can assure you: those things don’t give way. The result is a big bump on my head.

On to the big city… Vejle

Yesterday, it was quite a hassle finding these shelters in the woods, mainly used by scouts. That’s what a man says who is already sawing and hammering early in the morning. There’s no time to sleep in. That’s fine, because today I want to go to Vejle. There’s a laundromat, and I need to buy gas and anti-tick stuff.

By train to the laundromat

Since I’ve already walked the last 15 kilometers to the fjord on the way here, I decide to take the train back. At the outdoor shop, I am quickly and kindly assisted, and after treating myself to a dürüm kebab, which I really couldn’t resist, I head to the laundromat.

I finally belong to the thru-hiker club

Except for my boxers, I strip everything off and put on my rain jacket. Everything goes in the wash. I have to chuckle. I only know this from movies and stories of thru-hikers in America. But I feel like I really belong to that club now, even though I’m hiking in Europe.

With a bang, everything is sorted

The laundromat seems to come from the fifties. Everything is old and rickety. The washing machine works by giving it a good bang, the owner explains to me: a chubby man with a short shirt. When I say my clothes cannot be washed too hot and without fabric softener, he nods understandingly. Then he pulls out an old dented bottle from behind a machine with a little bit of special detergent for merino wool left in it. Great!

An abandoned city, but a busy shelter

As I leave the laundromat, Vejle has become deserted. On Saturdays, stores close at three o’clock. So, I head towards the shelter I have in mind. There I meet Jim, a Brit who fled to Amsterdam due to Brexit and is now cycling through Jutland.

Surviving on the Arctic Circle

Later, the Danish Morten arrives on his motorcycle. He is a teacher and teaches survival skills at the Arctic Circle. His students must survive for five days with only a knife and a firesteel. I think that would be something for Dutch students too!

Overnight stay: Jelling