Take care everyone, it's been fun, but now's the time to go. I will pop back to read messages from ...
Take care everyone, it's been fun, but now's the time to go. I will pop back to read messages from time to time.
Member since:19.04.2002
Reviews:73
Members who trust:91
I feel all inspired! I thought maybe I could write a little something on Denmark as a country. I have spent so much time in Denmark that it's my second home, but as it's where my mum was born, that's hardly surprising. It's not possible to cover every little nook and cranny in Denmark (buy a guide book if that's what you want), but this is the edited highlights for me, my choices of places to visit, plus a few things to note about the country and its inhabitants.
Jylland (Jutland for the English) =================================
West Jylland ============ This is the piece of Denmark which juts out from North Germany. Visitors who arrive by sea will often arrive here at the port of Esbjerg. This is not the prettiest of towns - but then how many ports are? As you come to land, you will see factories and docking areas. There is a museum in Esbjerg which documents the development of the town from 1900 - 1950. Although, I've not visited here!
Fanø An island just off the coast of Jylland near Esbjerg which is 11 miles long. It's got one road from Nordby to Sønderho except in good weather when the beach is used as a road (I managed to get my car stuck on this beach, I strayed too far to the front of the beach, but a very nice German man with a tow rope and Landrover got my car out of the sand!) It's a really picturesque island as it has thatched seamen's houses - my nan has several paintings from this island as this is where she grew up. It's now full of summerhouses too for tourists to enjoy.
Søndervig Further North up the coast of Jylland. It's a small little town which is mostly made up of summerhouses located on the dunes behind the beach. The beach is a beautiful stretch of white sand although marred by the occasional German bunker (Denmark was one of the occupied countries during World War II). Also, the beach is great for collecting amber - well I've never managed to find any, but one of my cousins has found a huge piece. You can drive down the coast to Hvide Sande where there is the entrance to Ringkøbing Fjord. The coast road is quite an unusual route - you don't see the sea as the dunes are banked up, but there's a great view of the Fjord!
Central Jylland =============== Holstebro Located North East of Søndervig - ok this gets a mention as it's my favourite place to shop with my favourite gift shop called Bahne. I love this shop as I love glassware, and the buyer here, seems to know my taste as I could quite happily buy the contents of the whole shop - if I had the money! I've written an op on shopping in this town, so I won't write any more here.
Billund Located NE of Esbjerg - you may fly here if you are travelling with Maersk Air (this is my preffered travelling option). However, you are more likely to come to Billund as its the home of Legoland. Denmark is the home of Lego and this is the first Legoland park. It's great when you fly in, to look down and see the park.
Herning Located North of Billund but South East of Holstebro - my second home. My family live here, but that's not going to be why you would want to visit. There is a huge market held here twice a year called Stumpemarked - there is an op on this great event if you would like to know more. In addition there is a small museum providing the town history. Nearby is Søby where the old lignite mines were located and you can find a small museum providing information on life as a miner in some very difficult conditions. You can still see some of the old miners' homes (very small) and many of the old quarries are now lakes (be careful as it's easy to fall in and not be able to get out as the quarries had very steep sides).
Silkeborg This is located East of Herning and is known as the heart of the Danish lake district. There are some beautiful lakes and summerhouses which look out onto them, or you could just visit for a day and walk round one of the lakes. Silkeborg itself is not bad for shopping and as it's a tourist area you will often hear people walking around speaking
English. For those with a morbid side to them - you may want to visit the Silkeborg museum - home to Tollund Man and Elling Woman - both are bog people - the soil in these areas acted as a preservative and these bodies have been in effect mummified. Tollund Man is particularly gross as he's got stubble and looks like a human made of leather.
Nearby is a place called Himmelbjerget, don't laugh but this basically means a high mountain, and when you visit Denmark you will soon see that there are NO high mountains in Denmark, a few hills, but definitely no mountains! At Himmelbjerget is a tower built in 1849 - it's great to climb as there are lovely views and as its by a lake its a very beautiful area. You can also go on boats from here on trips round the lake. Drive a little further on from Himmbelbjerget and you will come to a place called Gammel Ry - you won't miss it as there is an old fashioned windmill - head for this. You can park up and visit the Windmill as its now a museum and in addition to an exhibition on the windmill is a Clog museum (Træskomuseet). Also in Gammel Ry is a junk shop of an antique shop - it seems to go on forever and there are some nice pieces but also lots of junk! I love this type of shop.
Eastern Jylland =============== Århus East of Silkeborg located on the coast of Jylland. There is much to do and see here as it is one of Denmark's larger cities. The most notable attraction is the old town (Den Gamle By) which is a museum of old houses which is designed to give the impression of what life had been like in old Danish town. The streets are cobbled and you can go and inspect the houses and some are set up as shops so you can even shop while you explore. For those of you who enjoy a little tipple, Århus is also home to the Ceres brewery. For those outside of Denmark you probably haven't heard of this brewery but it is quite popular in Denmark. You can tour only on Mondays - go to the ticket office in Århus to find out more information on this.
Ebeltoft A very pretty town located North of Århus on the coast. It's quite beautiful as it has quaint half timbered houses and there are cobbled streets. It's a little tourist haven, so there are a few gift shops too. In the harbour is the Danish Navy Frigate called Jylland - a wooden full rigged ship.
Northern Jylland ================ Ålborg Another large city in Denmark, located in the North East of Jylland (it is minuscule in comparison to many English cities - I think the population is less than 150,000). I've not been here in ages, but I do remember two things - one is the Ålborg Tower which is 105m and you can get some good views of the city from here. Nearby is Tivoliland - an amusement park (not on the scale of Alton Towers) probably more comparable to a permanent fair. This is also the home of Ålborg Schnapps - I have yet to manage to get a tour of this distillery as they will only organise tours for groups, humph!
Skagen and Grenen If you get as far as Ålborg, keep going North to the very tip of Denmark - Skagen and Grenen. Skagen was the home of many artists, one particularly famous one is P. S. Krøyer - you will see many of his paintings as prints when you are in Denmark, particularly ones of him or his wife or family on the beach. Grenen is the tip of Denmark - it's a long walk out to the tip across the sand and there is a tractor bus if you don't think you can walk it. When you get to the tip - it's where two seas meet - the Baltic and the North Seas - so you must not swim as the currents are particularly severe. My mum reckons you can sometimes see a water spout here, as the two seas meet, but I've not seen it when I've visited.
Southern Jylland ================ Christiansfeld - heading back South this is a small town located just off the motorway (you don't need to ask which motorway - if you check your maps you will see there are virtually no motorways in Denmark!) Only go here if you like honey - there is a bakery here which still produce honey cakes to a very old recipe - try them!
Dybbøl Mølle and Dybbøl Banke This is a bit poignant. Denmark and Germany had many skirmishes during the 19th Century - I'm not a historian so I don't know all the details but this was the site of some of the great battles. This area was lost to Germany (and quite a bit further North of this area) in 1864 and remained German until 1920 when they voted to return to Danish rule. As a result of this Dybbøl Mølle is a symbol of nationalism for Danish people (by the way it's an old fashioned windmill). If you keep going South to the German border and kept going - the area of Schleswig was once part of Denmark too - but its now German - but if you are on a Viking Trail you may wish to visit the Viking Ship museum down there (you may also want to stop of in Padborg or Flensburg to visit the Hypermarkets which sell cheap booze!)
Jelling (pronounced yelling by the way!) Talking of Vikings, on our way back North in Jylland before we head over to the islands, stop off at Jelling - located not far from Vejle. When you get there don't be too disappointed - yes it's just two great huge mounds of earth which are grassed over and there's a Danish flag on one of them. You may wonder what is so great about 2 great mounds of earth - these are old Danish burial mounds - barrows. These ones are believed to be for King Gorm the Old and his Queen Thyra. There are also two rune stones one of which was erected by Harald Bluetooth for his parents (and no he wasn't a pirate, he was a Viking!) Bluetooth is the Viking king who accepted Christianity and converted Denmark to it and that was sometime in the 10th Century.
Fyn (sometimes spelt Funen) ===========================
Egeskov Heading to Fredericia on the coast, take the bridge across to Middelfart which is located on the island of Fyn. Near Volstrup is the prettiest castle you could hope to every see - Egeskov. It is built in a lake (and yes I do mean IN a lake), the foundations of the castle were built on oak tree piles from nearby forests. The castle is very picturesque and you will have to see it as I can't describe it well enough, and you can go round it too. In addition, the grounds of the castle include a maze and a museum of carriages, cars, planes and motorcycles.
Odense (pronounced oo-en-sa for those who have heard of their football team) The largest city on Fyn and the home of HansChristianAndersen. The house where he was born is located in a really pretty cobbled street which is well worth a visit. The house is now a museum dedicated to his life and work - I recommend a visit - you will probably be very surprised at the difference to the Hollywood Danny Kaye version of his life - especially as he was a particularly ugly man but he did have such a flair for writing for children and also for cutting silhouettes.
Ladby Continuing East is Ladby where nearby is "Vikingskibet" where you can see where a Viking chief was buried with his ship - the exhibit is located in the original burial mound. There are so many Viking remains in Denmark - I have travelled to many of them - some barrows can be particularly scary as they are open and not lit - so if you want to go exploring barrows which do not have permanent exhibitions, please make sure you are not trespassing and take a torch with you.
Sjælland ========
Between the islands of Fyn and Sjælland is a really incredible bridge - a feat of engineering in fact. For many years to get between these two islands you had to go by ferry - which is amazing when you think that the island of Sjælland is home to Denmark's capital city København (Copenhagen if you insist!!). The big trouble was that the distance between the two islands is 11 miles (although there is the island of Sprogø in the way, so to build a bridge took years of planning and construction! From Fyn to Sprogø the bridge is a combined road and railway bridge - it's quite a low uninteresting at this point. Then from Sprogø to Sjælland is a suspension bridge for traffic, while the railway goes under the sea in a tunnel. This is all very new as it was only built in 1998 and at the time it was the longest bridge in the world - but it's now been overtaken by a bridge somewhere else in the world.
København Anyhow, I digress! Let's move on to København. This is the most picturesque of capitals, there are little towers and turrets, walking streets, a harbour, a real joy to visit. I won't go into great depth - I would be here for hours, but I would recommend:-
The Round Tower - a small round tower with a sloping pathway and not steps inside - rumour has it that a king used to race horses up it. Rosenborg Castle - such a pretty 17th century castle and its home to the Danish crown jewels. Amalienborg Plads - the location of the Danish royal family's residence in København - be warned, you may see the Queen cycling around the capital. If she's not in residence, she is married to a Frenchman and they also spend much of their time in a Chateau in France. The Little Mermaid - probably for many the overriding view of København - but you may be disappointed - this tiny, tiny little statue resides at the entrance to the harbour on a boulder - be careful you may walk past and miss it! Nyhavn - the picturesque old harbour where there are many cafes and restaurants and the harbour is often full of small boats. Tivoli Gardens - the famous amusement park - there are fair type rides, restaurants and brilliant fireworks late in the evening. Carlsberg / Tuborg - now we are getting to it - both breweries offer tours - I prefer the Carlsberg one. Last time I did the tours they were free too and in addition you get a good sampling at the end. Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Factory - you can tour and see how some pieces are made and painted. Plus there is a museum and most importantly a factory shop!
I would recommend the purchase of a Copenhagen card which is valid for many of the museums, for buses and trains - it will save you lots. I don't know the current price, but when I do an op on København I will provide the information there.
Helsingør Located North of København - this is where Elsinore from Hamlet comes from. There is the castle of Kronborg which is really worth a visit - it was built as a defence against invasion from the Swedes - only located 5km away across a small channel at this part of Denmark! There is a statue in the castle of Holger Danske who will awake to defend the country if it is under attack (didn't quite work with the Germans though!)
Roskilde (West of København) - the site of a magnificent cathedral - it's a bit morbid though - it's where all the Kings and Queens of Denmark are buried. Roskilde is also the home of a Viking ship museum - where 5 Viking ships are preserved which were discovered in the nearby Roskilde Fjord.
Well, I'm going to leave the tourist attractions there - there is obviously a lot more to see and do in Denmark, but I hope you have enjoyed this taste of the country, but don't despair, this op is not over - there are a few tips on how to survive in this home of the Vikings!
Accommodation I obviously don't stay much in hotels in Denmark - I mostly stay with family. But the few times that I've stayed in hotels they have been beautifully clean and the breakfast of the normal continental type. Apart from hotels, there are Danish Inns, Summerhouses and campsites, check out the DFDS Seaways brochure for more info.
Weather I would say that Danish weather is slightly drier than England and a couple of degrees cooler - it's the same latitude as Scotland. The summers are generally warm and sunny, the winters bring some cold winds from the arctic and there is always snow at some point during the winter.
Dress Code Danes are not on the whole overly smart. Jeans are the order of the day even for many shop assistants and can be seen on bank staff (although recently they seem to be dressed in more smart casual attire). So don't feel you need to bring lots of smart clothes unless you know you will be visiting somewhere particularly posh!
Money The unit of currency is the Danish Krone - it seems to be around 11.5 or so to the UK pound in recent years.
Travel You would think that as the country gets snow in the winter, the country would grind to a halt - no that's England! The Danes get on with it - the trains and buses still seem to run on time unless its a really bad blizzard! I've yet to find a bus that hasn't run on time in the area where I visit!
***Update 15/11/02 - on my recent visit to Denmark I actually found buses running early!!! A motorway has just been opened from Herning to Bording and as a consequence local traffic in Herning has decreased and it seems the result of which is that buses run early. This is not a good thing as I missed my bus twice in a week!!!***
Road travel is generally very pleasant - there aren't too many cars on the road, however there are lots of bikes!! There are separate bicycle lanes but where there isn't - please be warned, bikes have right of way - this is especially important and traffic lights. You must let a bike go first if they want to go across the lights and you want to turn right for example. If you want to hire a bike or take your bike with you - please note that the Danes seem to go into rollerblading in a big way and the bicycle lanes are also inundated with rollerbladers! Also note that car drivers should always have their running lights on even on a bright sunny day - its part of their traffic laws in order to prevent accidents. Also, you will need to take heed of overtaking laws - you should only overtake if you are in a long line of traffic if you can overtake all the cars which are in front of you in one go (single lane roads, not dual carriageways or motorways).
Petrol - the cheapest place to get petrol are the self service places where you swipe your credit card at the pump and there is no attendant on duty at all. But be warned, if the petrol station has run out of petrol (which you don't know until after you've swiped your card and indicated how much you intend to purchase), you may be repaid in vouchers! Strange system I know, so I steer well clear of it. There are petrol giants such as HydroTexaco, Shell and BP - but these are on the expensive side and they don't bother competing with each other to lower prices, except for one - DK-Benzin. DK-Benzin petrol stations are a little more expensive than the self service places - but at least you don't have to pay at the pump, and they are always cheaper than the likes of Shell. So it would be worth looking up the location of these before travel. Petrol prices are marginally cheaper than the UK.
Smells - yes you read correctly! You must remember that apart from the cities and towns, Denmark is just one huge farm. I'm sure all the meat eaters out there enjoy Danish bacon and bacon cannot be made without smells - pig farms! So if you are particularly sensitive to the farmyard smell and plan to travel around the country, may I recommend the purchase of a very smelly air freshener for the car!! Don't worry - it's not smelly everywhere and all the time - but from time to time there are some strong whiffs!
Shopping - please read my op on shopping in Holstebro - it covers all you need to know on this subject.
Food - I don't eat out often in Denmark - but there are some very nice places. They've recently acquired one or two Chinese and Indian restaurants and the obligatory Italian! If you are vegetarian it's not easy - as such big meat and fish eaters, they don't always understand! One of the best and cheapest places to sample Danish food is in supermarket restaurants. These restaurants tend to be consistently of a high standard - look out particularly for Frikadelle - meatballs. Also, there are lots of hot dog stands - be warned the sausages are bright red and served with Remoulade (mayonaisey sandwich spread), mustard, ketchup, pickled cucumber and fried onions in a hot dog bun!
Cinema - I love visiting the cinema in Denmark and for once its not a problem. The Danes rarely dub films unless its a children's film. So its the normal sound for the film and subtitles for the Danes.
People and Language - The people are incredibly friendly and willing to try to speak to you in English (probably 75% of the country can speak English fairly fluently and the other 25% will understand you perfectly and speak a bit of English). They really don't expect you to speak Danish, although it's nice if you want to try. But you probably noticed in my op the use of three extra vowels (å, æ, ø) and the use of "y" as a vowel. Plus the letter "d" is often silent. So if you are willing to try, I recommend you listen to some Danish language teaching tapes before you travel.
I think I may have actually run out of steam! I hope that one day you will be able to visit this wonderful country.
Great, informative review. Me and my husband want to go to Denmark but need to save a little more money! Sarah x
mysse 03.09.2004 11:21
IT was so nice reading your review on Denmark, I was born there have lived there for 40 years, and I miss it, but it is not all nice, when you think about how high the taxes are, and how streesfull it is. But thanks for a very good review
Heksen 19.03.2003 21:48
Actually, Aalborg is spelled like that. They opted to leave the "Bobble A" out... :-)
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Advantages: Not as expensive as expected, friendly people, easy to get around, great beer! Disadvantages: More expensive than the UK, gets ignored when thinking about a short break
moose 18.05.2001 (31.07.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Denmark
Advantages: Not as expensive as expected, friendly people, easy to get around, great beer! Disadvantages: More expensive than the UK, gets ignored when thinking about a short break
moose 18.05.2001 (31.07.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Denmark
Advantages: Location - easily reached by car and public transport Disadvantages: Cleanliness leaves a lot to be desired, expensive rooms and substandard service
Sep 17th, 2002
(Nov 15th, 2002)
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