Pilgrims Slept Here

Not a lot has been happening these past days, though soon we should be able to start booking the trains for part of our journey. We have managed to book a few more accommodations, starting with a Bed and Breakfast in Skjern, Denmark. We will be staying for a couple of days at the B&B on a farm just north of Skjern, this will allow us to have a good length of time in Hanning and Finderup to see the churches connected with my family heritage. I also hope it gives us a bit of the flavour of the region and its people (at least more than a hotel experience I would think).

We are also confirmed in the Hotel Herman Bang in Frederikshavn, Denmark. This city will be the departure place for Norway by ferry, so we wanted a place close to the harbour. This hotel is over a century old and is named for a famous Danish writer (at least famous in Denmark, not many of his works were translated into English). I read up a little on Herman Bang on the internet, he sounds like an interesting character - though I'm still not sure why this hotel choose to honour this particular author - he wasn't born or raised anywhere close to Frederikshavn, and strangest of all, he died in Ogden, Utah (while on a speaking tour in the USA). Maybe this little mystery will be solved when we stay there - the web page for the hotel is all in Danish, so I could make out very little.

The last accommodation booking that got settled this week was in Canterbury, England. We were originally hoping to stay in the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, which is a modern facility built right on the Cathedral grounds. Unfortunately they were full due to a large group booking that weekend, but the office staff there were kind enough to recommend some places close by. Beth and I did some looking at their recommendations, plus a few others we found through the internet. In the end we booked a room at a place called the Cathedral Gate Hotel. There were a few reasons we chose this place, mainly for its character and location.

If you go to the hotel's website the first line you read is "Pilgrims slept here!" This old establishment has been around since 1438 and apparently modern guests are constantly reminded of this because of the lower doorways and ceilings. The hotel is full of twisting hallways and stairways, and each room is different from all the others - no 'cookie cutter' design here. We are booked in a room on the second floor called the Daybreak Room. One of its appealing features is a great view of the Canterbury Cathedral.

This leads to the other reason we chose this hotel, it is literally just a few paces from the Cathedral, so if we decided to take in Evensong, or Matins (quite likely) it will be nothing to get to the Cathedral and back. The decor and facilities may not be up to modern standards, but I figure if we really want a taste of old Europe then we need to stay in a few establishments like this. Who wants to go to Europe to stay in hotel rooms that look and feel just like hotel rooms back in Canada? We don't, that's for sure.

Actually there is one more reason that Beth got all excited about this hotel. Take a close look at the picture above, in the lower right corner. See what beverage chain is right next door to the hotel? So Beth is assured of at least one good cup of coffee on our travels. Thus these pilgrims will happily put up with sharing a bathroom with other guests, old decor and furniture, and a small room - as long as there is Starbucks in the morning! (I'm not sure what he's saying about my coffee addiction but I have to admit that I am a little easier to get along with after I've had my coffee. bh)