The Æbleskivestenen (“Pancake Puff” stone) as it is known is a sacrificial stone from the Bronze Age and features 105 bowl marks. The main stone is surrounded by 13 mill stones, and the whole setting was preserved at the request of the Weber family. In Denmark, the Bronze Age lasted from 1800 to 500 BC.
Route:
We now turn onto the old railway line, signposted as “Østersøruten” (the Baltic Sea Route).
Information:
This is the route of the train service that operated between Svendborg and Nyborg from 1897 until 1964. To the right, you can just make out the long buildings constructed by the Danish trade union SID as a course centre in 1977, and which are now home to Svendborg Media and Sports College (previously Rantzausminde College).
Farther to the left is a wide open area featuring a large number of visible Iron Age burial mounds. As many as 23 have been found here, along with the remains of two settlements. Today, it is a popular place for walking dogs.
Route:
Where the trail crosses Huusomvej, we continue straight ahead and cross Huusomvej to reach the Aqua Vitae distillery and Skårupøre Vingaard (winery), where there is a truly breath-taking view from the heady heights of the South Fyn hills.
The railway path then crosses Egenappevej and becomes a standard track, which we follow all the way to Holmdrup Huse, where the route passes a large stud farm and riding school to the right.
At the T-junction, we turn right towards Holmdrup Huse. The road climbs slightly to Skovmøllevej, where we turn left and continue on up to the busy Nyborgvej. Here, we cross the road, turning right onto the two-way cycle path. Fortunately, we only have to follow the busy road for a short distance.
A few hundred metres further on, we turn right down Skårupørevej (Signposted: Destilleri og Vingård (Distillery and Winery)). It is the first road on the right-hand side.
Information:
Here, at an elevation of 50 metres, there are two “sweet shops” for adults.
Aqua Vitae Sydfyn (The Little Distillery), Skårupørevej 22, Lene True +45 61 36 81 83 or Karsten Kjer Michaelsen +45 21 34 21 67.
The “Spirit Factory” doesn’t look like much from the outside, but on the inside there is an attractive shop and a large room that can easily accommodate a coach-load of visitors. Lene is pretty much always there, and Karsten needs little encouragement to talk humorously about the noble art of distilling. The apple-based aperitif Pomó is most definitely worth a taste.
We then continue on down the road to meet Lene’s and Karsten’s neighbours Bente and Carsten.
Skårupøre Vingaard, Skårupørevej 28, Bente Rasmussen and Carsten Andersen, +45 61 26 03 68 or +45 61 26 05 68.
Bente and Carsten have waved goodbye to their careers in social psychiatry and devoted themselves to their small winery with its café and shop which are housed in two giant “wine barrels” with thatched roofs. They are happy to talk about all the intricacies of wine-making. They primarily produce sparkling wines here, and the entire area is a delightful oasis right next to their romantic timber-framed home.
