A day after Spain won the World Cup for the second time, our strategy days began. This time they weren't going to be the usual kind: instead of a meeting room, we chose a bike, a map, and 421 kilometers between Berlin and Copenhagen.
We set off with a celebration hangover and legs still warm from a historic weekend. The first kilometers already warned us the trip would ask for more than we'd planned: flat tires, a rack that came loose, and a night by Lake Fleesensee in a cold we hadn't expected for the season. The next day the plan changed — we had one mission: find the best German cake and coffee. In Linstow we found a Gutshaus that became the clear winner, candles included for Joan's birthday.
Rostock was where the trip stopped going as planned. A detour through roadworks got us lost in the city and cost us two ferries in a row. When we finally crossed, Denmark greeted us with rain in Gedser and endless, beautiful beaches. That same night, in an improvised bed & breakfast with a sauna, cold plunge, and home-cooked food, we understood something simple: the best moment of the trip came right after the most chaotic one — maybe the same thing happens at Monk, who knows.
The last two days, crossing a flat, quiet Denmark, were the ones that actually mattered. Not for the scenery, but for what gets said after hours on a bike, when there's nothing left to fake: which collections are coming, which markets we're going into, what we're leaving behind.
We didn't take this trip to disconnect from Monk. We took it to remember why it exists. The best brand decisions don't always come from a room — sometimes they come from a road, with tired legs and a head that's finally clear. Copenhagen was the destination. The road was the strategy. Stay tuned