Round an island on a tandem in a day. (Ven)

Member Name: sparkleem

Product:	Ven
Date:	03/06/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quaint, quiet and very pretty. Excellent daytrip destination!

Disadvantages: Not great in bad weather.

Ven is a small island that lies between Sweden and Denmark in the strait of Öresund. It is an excellent day trip destination -although you could spend a slow and very relaxing week in a B&B or rented house.

Just like many parts of southern Sweden, the island has in the past belonged to Denmark. It is classed as part of the town of Landskrona in the southernmost province of Sweden, Skåne.

GETTING THERE
Ven can be visited by taking a small ferry from Landskrona harbour. This ferry is part of the local transport system, is reasonably proceed and if you are staying locally you can buy cheaper pre-pay cards to buy your journey. There are ferries that operate summer time only from Copenhagen and Helsingborg.

The ferry journey lasts around 45 minutes and on a sunny day it is lovely to stand outside and just stare at the sea and coastlines of Sweden and Denmark and try to spot Öresund bridge to the south and Hamlet's castle to the north (Danish side)

The island covers and area of 7.5km square and has around 350-400 year round inhabitants. Traditionally these inhabitants were fishermen and farmers. Now, although there is still some farmland on the island, most inhabitants are local commuters or small business owners and also a fair number of artists.

THE BIKES AND WHERE TO RIDE THEM
When the ferry from Landskrona arrives at the small village of "Bäckviken", many of the day-trippers climb the hill up to the bike hire shop. Pedal power is definitely the way to go. A bike and a small map of the island (and maybe a picnic or cash for the hotdog and ice-creams stands and cafes) is all you need.

The bikes for hire come in all shapes and sizes, with helmets, trailers, child seats and tandems all being optional extras! If you can't or don't want to ride a bike there is a bus service that runs the length of the island, but you may miss some of the "hidden gems" of the place and be restricted by its running times.

In my experience the main joy of visiting Ven is its quaintness and beautiful views. There are lovely little villages dotted around the island (4 in total) and houses here and there in-between. I often imagine myself living in one of them as a pensioner, as it seems such a tranquil life.

There are little beaches here and there and a few (a growing number) or places to grab lunch. However save room for ice cream later as the ice cream kiosk at the ferry harbour serves ice-cream made on the island and is possibly the best ice-cream ever! A perfect way to end your visit.
Other things to see on Ven are St Ibbs Church and the Tycho Brahe observatory and museum.

ST IBB'S CHURCH
The church is a tiny but stunning white building perched on the top the hill at one end of the island. It is worth the trek over to this side just for the (windy) view itself. Inside, the church is quite plain in a beautiful way and has a huge old oil painting of a prominent family on the island. The children that didn't make it into adulthood are also included with hazy halos above their heads - made me quite uneasy!

TYCHO BRAHE
Tycho Brahe was a famous Danish astronomer, who lived on the Island in the 17th century. He built a castle called Unraniborg and an observatory and conducted, with his own team of scientists, many experiments, many using instruments he designed himself. The castle no longer exists, but a garden has been planted in his memory where it stood. He also built an observatory, Stjärneborg, the remnants of which can be viewed from above through domed windows.
The museum is inside a church (not the one above) which has been deconsecrated.

More information can be found on
www.landskrona.com
www.tychobrahemuseum.se
http://www.turistgarden-ven.se/e_hven.htm

Summary: A pearl in the sea between Denmark and Sweden!