Biking the back lanes of the island of Ærø, I come to a lonely little church. Wandering through its graveyard, I notice the name on every tombstone ended in “sen.” The inscriptions, such as “Here lies Christian Hansen at anchor with his wife. He’ll not weigh until he stands before God” seem to fit the salty charm of this tiny island on the southern edge of Denmark.
Ærø is the kind of island where baskets of strawberries sit in front of farmhouses—for sale on the honor system. And most people here don’t bother locking up their bikes.
Ærø statistics: It’s 22 by 6 miles, with 7,000 residents, 350 deer, seven pastors, no crosswalks, three police officers, and a pervasive passion for the environment. Pedaling against a steady breeze, I pass sleek modern windmills hard at work. Along with windmills, Ærø has one of the world’s largest solar power plants. Well on its way to being completely wind- and solar-powered, this little Danish isle was recently recognized by the European Union as the greenest in Europe….