denmarktravel's blog

Funen (Fyn)

2009-08-25T08:07:06-05:00

Funen (Fyn) is engagingly pretty, with rural scenery, thatched farmhouses and a surprisingly varied set of attractions. The chirpy modern city of Odense is Hans Christian Andersen crazy – sculptures of trolls lounge on street corners, duckling-and-swan mobiles dangle from gift shop windows, and even the lights at pedestrian crossings feature a certain well-known fairy-tale writer. Even if you scoff at fantastical fabrications, Odense will have something to hold you – old steam engines, manatees at the zoo, imposing churches and cathedrals, art galleries, open-air museums and chilled-out boat rides on the river. Who needs Copenhagen?The region’s castles include Nyborg Slot, palatial Valdemars Slot on the island of Tåsinge, Tranekær Slot on Langeland, whose surrounding parkland holds the brilliant Tickon sculpture park, and the absolutely unmissable Egeskov Slot, a Renaissance masterpiece whose grounds are a family paradise of mazes, antique vehicles, playgrounds and a tree-top walk.At Ladby, you’ll find Denmark’s only Viking ship grave and at the northernmost tip of
the peninsula is Fyns Hoved, connected by a narrow causeway to the rest of Funen. You can walk to the edge of its 25m-high cliffs (high by Danish standards), from where there’s a view of the northern coast and, on a clear day, Jutland and Zealand as well.The county includes about 90 islands, and there’s immense pleasure to be had in hopping between them by ferry, yacht or charter boat. The loveliest is Ærø, with historic seafaring towns, although Langeland has its own unusual attractions, including the fascinating Lange-landsfort, a Cold War military installation. There are also countless smaller islands good for bird-watching and uninterrupted peace.

Central Jutland

2009-07-19T07:02:48-05:00

Easily the largest and most varied of all Danish regions, Central Jutland encompasses dramatically different features, from the calm beaches of the sheltered east coast to the wild and woolly west coast, battered by North Sea winds. Lying in between, offering visual stimulation among the flatness, is the green and lovely Lake District, home to the country’s longest river and highest mountains (which may seem more like molehills to those of you from less height-challenged terrain). This is Mother Nature at her most gentle, so it’s the perfect place to leave your worries behind and float down a river.It’s true, you may never have heard of Århus, Jutland’s main city and Denmark’s second largest metropolis. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t have. Århus has much of the appeal of big-sister Copenhagen, but without any big-city stresses. It’s wonderfully walkable, and has embellished its rich history with the vibrant atmosphere of a university city, humming with great restaurants, bars, boutiques and plenty of live music. This is a city worthy of a few days on your itinerary, and you’ll most likely come away impressed with its attitude and attractions, which include a new art museum that would be the envy of larger cities around the globe. City appeal aside, the beauty of this region is that you can skip between themes depending on your mood. Fancy some Viking history? Set sail for Hobro. How about religious history? Off to Jelling. Want to explore the great outdoors? Head for Rold Skov or Silkeborg. Are you really up to tackling nature’s forces? Let loose on the waters of Hvide Sande. And ok, you’ve suppressed that inner child long enough – make a beeline for plastic-fantastic Legoland, and beware the accompanying pangs of childhood nostalgia.

OF STONE, BRONZE & IRON

2009-05-27T03:52:31-05:00

Humans first trod the earth and dug the region’s flint tens of thousands of years ago during the interglacial period, settling permanently in about 12,000 BC, when the glacial ice retreated enough to support the lichen and mosses of the low-lying tundra, which in turn attracted herds of reindeer.Stone Age culture relied primarily on hunting, but as the climate gradually warmed and the tundra gave way to forest, the reindeer migrated further north. Eventually hunters resettled near the sea and subsisted on fish, sea birds and seals.Villages developed around the fields and the villagers began to bury their dead in dolmen, a type of grave monument comprising upright stones and topped by a large capstone; you can still find a number of these ancient dol-men in Denmark’s meadows. Around 1800 BC the first artisans began fashioning weapons, tools, jewellery and finely crafted works of art in the new metal bronze, traded from as far away as Crete and Mycenae.The arrival of locally-available iron, was the tough raw material for a ground breaking advance: superior ploughs, permitting larger-scale agri-cultural communities. Present-day Denmark’s linguistic and cultural roots date to the late Iron Age and the arrival of the Danes, a tribe thought to have migrated south from Sweden about AD 500.At the dawn of the 9th century, the territory of present-day Denmark was on the perimeter of Europe, but Charlemagne (r 768–814) extended the power of the Franks northward to present-day northern Germany. Hoping to ward off a Frankish invasion, Godfred, king of Jutland, reinforced an im-
pressive earthen rampart called the Danevirke. However, the raiding Franks breached the rampart, bringing Christianity to Denmark at sword point.