In Bornholm

The Copenhagen airport is really one gigantic shopping mall: gates and flight information seem incidental. I find it hard to believe that all those shoppers are actually going somewhere. I had just come through the ubiquitous perfume section of yet another duty free shop, wondering whether to turn right or left or just turn around, when I practically walked into Laura Lee Howard and Erin Kielly, who were heading to Bornholm, too. Suddenly the airport didn’t seem so big. I was able to relax and take it all in – the fashions that might make their way to Prince Edward Island NEXT year, the designer kitchenwear and jewellery. the smell of hot dogs following me around with "canine loyalty"…

 We eventually got to Bornholm – an island of 43,000 people a 35-minute flight east into the Baltic Sea. The island is solid rock, with sandy beaches on the south side.  “Born” has been shortened from “Burgundy,” where the original inhabitants of Bornholm came from, and “holm,” of course, means “island”  (reminding me of Bill Holm, author of that wonderful book, Eccentric Islands). A bunch of us conference-goers – from PEI, Australia, the US, Malta, Hawaii – caught a local bus to the town of Gudhjem, the site of the Islands of the World XI conference.  And some of us PEIslanders are staying at Gudhjem Feriepark, or, as Laura Lee calls it, "Good Time Ferry Park" so we’ll remember it. We overlook the Baltic Sea, and the only place to use wi-fi is beside the pool. I know, it’s rough. But it’s not like it’s 25 degrees or anything… I’m wearing a sweater and my jean jacket, while the hordes of Danish school kids frolic in the water in front of me.

The Conference is pretty amazing: papers from islands from all over the world. I gave mine in one of the art museums – the perfect place to be talking about island culture. My topic was: “'Just isolated enough to be real': The island factor in creating culture."  Here’s a link to the abstract online.

There were 10 of us from PEI – the biggest single contingent. But my nametag identifies me as “University of Tasmania” – another sign that this is really happening. (As if lugging my bags from the bus down to the feriepark wasn’t enough of a reminder!)

On the first night we watched the movie, Pelle the Conqueror, which was filmed on Bornholm. The book was written by Martin Andersen Nexo, who grew up in Bornholm; he took the name "Nexo" to remind him of his home town just down the road from Gudhjem. The next afternoon we hopped on a bus to tour and have sessions at a fabulous art museum 15 kilometres from Gudhjem. 

 

The painting above by Bornholm artist Oluf Host reminded me of the farm Pelle lived on. 

Another evening we visited and had coffee and cake at the Bornholm Folk High School. We then trekked through the woods for an hour, arriving just in time for a three-course banquet – totally magical all-round. We even got everyone up dancing after supper!

On Thursday some of us went on a tour to the island of Christianso, a 45-minute ferry ride from Bornholm. I’ll write more about that next – and show you some amazing photos!