The Round Tower and Nyhavn
The day started shrouded in sea mist. This failed to lift even after we had travelled the 18km by metro from our campsite to the city centre. We started our day attempting to orientate ourselves by climbing The Round Tower. This 15th century Copenhagen landmark consisted of a tower with internal ramp along which horses could ascend to the top although quite wat they did once they got to the top seems mysterious.
From the round tower we walked to the Nyhavn canal. This is the picture postcard area of Copenhagen on the cover of most of the guidebooks. By the time we arrived the mist had started to lift and we could enjoy the spectacle of the coloured houses and canal side cafes along with the other tourist hordes
The Great Belt Bridge and Koge
Today we drove from the island of Funen to the island of Zealand on the 18km Storebæltsbroen (Great Belt Bridge).
We then visited a friend of Danny’s who lives in Koge, south of Copenhagen. She provided us with a delicious lunch and showed us the centre of Koge. We then had a lovely walk on the beach. We’re now camped just south of Copenhagen ready to visit tomorrow.
The oldest house in Denmark which is in Koge
The beach at Koge. You can just make out Copenhagen in the distance.
Vikings and Volleyball
We drove a short distance from Odense to the seaside town of Kerteminde. This is a pretty little seaside town with a small centre and a marina.
Our main reason for visiting Kerteminde was the proximity to the Viking ship burial museum in the nearby village of Ladby a few kilometres from here. We saw the excavations of the buried Viking ship at the museum together with a life sized reconstruction of the ship - afloat in the nearby harbour.
Returning to our campsite we noticed the reason why accommodation in this town seemed so hard to obtain. The Danish Beach Voleyball championship was happening pretty much adjacent to where we are currently camped. It was fun watching some of the games on the beach.
Hans Christian Andersen Museum
We left the beautiful Lake District and drove to Odense. This meant crossing the bridge from Jutland to the large island of Funen and leaving mainland Europe.
In Odense we visited the Hans Christian Andersen museum. (He was born here). The design of the building was wonderful. The exhibition involved wearing headphones which activated near exhibits and spoke to you (in English for us). This was a lovely, inventive idea but Danny’s headphones weren’t working properly and he got cross traffic or they cut out. We got half way round before he realised this wasn’t the intended content and swapped them. By this stage he was very confused. I enjoyed learning about HCA’s life and the exhibits of some of his fairytales. The best was a mirror you stood before and it showed you in fancy clothes, but people looking from the other side saw you as you were (the Emperor’s new clothes). There was also a stack of 20 fancy mattresses for the Princess and the pea. I hope there’s no pea under my camper van mattress tonight.
Some photos of Odense old centre. The footsteps are the HCA trail!
Extra pic from Danny: I enjoyed the display about the princess and the pea!
Danish Ice Cream
In Odense we experienced traditional Danish ice cream: a scoop of ice cream in a waffle cone topped with guf (which looks and tastes like uncooked meringue), a bit of strawberry jam and a dark chocolate stick. Very tasty.
The wristband which matches the pistachio ice cream beautifully is from the Hans Christian Anderson museum.
Himmelbjerget
At 149 metres, the Himmelbjerget (optimistically named Sky Mountain) is one of the highest points within Denmark. We cycled to base camp from our campsite only to discover that most of Denmark had arrived there before us. From the carpark/hotel it was little more than a 100 metre stroll to the summit. Today the storm had finally passed and the view from the top was enhanced by sunshine and warmth.
The Tower at the top of Himmelbjerget surrounded by the crowds who had successfully scaled the summit
View of the lake from the top. Our campsite is situated on the lakeside approx 4km to the left.
Not satisfied with our mornings exertions, Mellany decided that today would be the day that we would finally inflate the kayak that we had dutifully lugged all the way from London in the back of the van and which had been occupying a not inconsiderable amount of our precious cargo space.. We kayaked from our campsite almost to the foot of Himmelbjerget (the tower can just be seen on top of the hill). The lake was still and beautiful in the sunshine.
Hjejlen Paddle Steamer
This is the Hjejlen, the world’s oldest operating paddle steamer (since 1861). It sails between Silkeborg and Himmelbjerget, past our campsite. There were clouds of black smoke coming from its funnel. I think it needs to be converted to solar or wind power!
Silkeborg
Today we paid 90 Danish krone (£11) to cross about 50m of water (Danny says 10m) with our bikes on a solar ferry from the campsite to the other side of the lake. We cycled into Silkeborg and visited the museum where we saw the 2400 year old Tolland man who was found in a peat bog 72 years ago. Or at least we saw his head as the rest of his body is a reconstruction. It was both fascinating and macabre.
We then explored the town centre which was a mixture of old and modern. The European kayak marathon starts here tomorrow. Danny is in training but might not qualify. We walked by the river which was very scenic
We returned on the opposite side of the beautiful lake to avoid another ferry fare. We came across a swimming spot, the equivalent of Hampstead ponds, but we didn’t have our swimsuits. Danny would probably have gone in. I wouldn’t!
The cycling was surprisingly hilly and I realised I’d forgotten how to cycle up hills. It was a relief to arrive back at the campsite. On the way back we saw a deer and fawn cross the road which was lovely.
Back in the van
The hotel breakfast in Aarhus is now a distant memory and all mutinous ideas have been fully suppressed. The storm has passed and we are now back in the van at a rather lovely campsite in The Danish “Lake District”. the campsite wins my prize so far for the camping spot with the best view. here are a few of my pics from today:
View of Aarhus Bay from our hotel
The Queen in front of her summer palace
View of the fishing lake from our van
Dinner is served
The lakeside at 10.30 pm
The Danish Lake District
We have now arrived in the Danish Lake District, near Silkeborg. It’s a beautiful campsite called Skyttehuset but unfortunately the weather is rather like the English Lake District, windy and showery and cool. Let’s hope it improves as we have 3 nights booked here!
An Infinite Bridge and a Royal Palace
This “infinite bridge” was next to our Aarhus hotel. It’s a circular structure over the sea you can walk on
And this is the Danish queen’s summer palace. Walking distance from our hotel. When the family aren’t in residence you can walk round the grounds.
Aarhus
Following on from the treacherous decision to abandon the van and stay in a hotel in Aarhus, we spent the evening exploring the town and visiting the central art museum (The Aros Museum). The Aros has a circular panoramic viewing platform on its roof (designed by Olafur Eliasson)glazed with rainbow coloured glass panels. Viewed from the outside you can see the silhouettes of visitors within the building. It was a very spectacular sight both from inside and out.
Click on the photo for more pictures
Abandon Ship
Torrential rain and thunderstorms were forecast for 2 days so we decided to book a hotel for 1 night. We viewed this not as cheating but common sense. We drove to Aarhus very carefully in driving rain, stopping at a large camping shop near Frederikshavn because someone I won’t name left the gas on which meant the kettle boiled dry and the handle melted.
We’re staying at the Helnan Marselis just south of the city of Aarhus on a pretty bay where I saw dolphins. It’s rather strange having so much space in our room after 2 weeks in our cosy van, which is the longest since we acquired it 2 years ago. (I blame Covid restrictions myself). It’s wonderful to have a hot shower without worrying how much it’s costing as Danish campsites give you a card to activate the hot water and every drop costs krone. The continental breakfast was a vast spread of Danish pastries, freshly baked rolls, cheese and excellent coffee. A nice change but it’s back to campervanning tonight. After all the cost of 1 night equals 4 nights in a premium campsite. Plus we love our van.
The rain has now stopped and the above photo shows our hotel room and terrace with sea view.
Grenen
Today we stood with one foot in the North Sea and the other in the Baltic. We cycled 3km out of Skagen along a long straight road busy with pedestrians, cyclists, cars and camper vans heading in both directions. We parked our bikes and joined the hordes of people walking along the beach towards the long sand spit in the distance. The people standing on it looked as though they were standing on the surface of the sea. Walking in sand was tough so we took off our shoes and socks to walk on the wet sand. A strong wind blew from the east, but it was mild. Still we went, onward, while the Sandormen (sand worm) tractor bus drove people nearly to the tip of Denmark. Because the narrow end of this sand spit is Denmark’s northernmost point. Would there be this many people at John O Groats? Finally we made our way to the end and paddled. Then it was back along the sand for a well deserved ice cream.
The Baltic (technically the Kattegat Sea) was much rougher
Than the North Sea (technically the Skagerrak)
Gammel Skagen
A hill is such a rare thing round here that the tourist office specifically pointed out the location(of the fairly small hillock) where this panorama of Gammel Skagen was taken. This the posh end of town, facing the west coast with the best sunset views (not today)! I enjoyed this view as I thought it looked suitably Nordic.
Gammel Skagen
And this is Gammel Skagen, the posh old town. This week it’s full of millionaires from Copenhagen we’re told. I spotted a Masserati and a Bentley.
Stjerneskud for Lunch
Which means shooting star and is an open sandwich with fried fish fillets, prawns, asparagus, black and red caviar, cucumber, lemon, dill and a thousand island dressing. Delicious!
And the coffee came with a tiny bar of dark Belgian chocolate.
Skagen
We have arrived in Skagen (pronounced Skain) Denmark’s northernmost town, largest fishing port and a popular tourist destination. It’s famous for its landscape and the Skagen painters who formed an artists colony here in the 1870s. Tomorrow we’re going up to Grenen point where the North Sea and Baltic meet!
Blokhus Salt
Prior to leaving the UK we purchased the Danish PinTrip guide. PinTrip is a scheme which allows mobile home and campervan owners to park for the night in selected locations at little or no cost. Mostly the locations are based at small business, cafes galleries, breweries and tourist attractions. Although you pay nothing to park your van for the night, the expectation is that you visit (and spend a few Kronas) at whichever site you are staying. We chose to spend the night at Blokhus Salt which was handily located between our last stop and most northerly tip of Denmark (Skagen) where we were heading. The owners collect sea water from the nearby beach and then use solar power to dry the salt prior to adding flavourings for cooking salts or perfumes for bath salts. We were given a guided tour of their salt drying facility including their solar powered salt drying racks and adjacent shop stocking multiple varieties of their home produced salt. There was also a rather bizarre doll museum in their garage, in the midst of which resided a restored golden Cadillac. The whole place had a slightly surreal feel. Our van was parked on their driveway along with two identical VW campervans owned by a Danish couple and a German family. The whole place started to look a bit like a traveller encampment, particularly once we all started cooking up our respective dinners on their front drive. This was our first PinTrip experience. We left with slightly mixed feelings and slightly more solar dried salt bath salts than we actually needed.
Cold Hawaii
We stopped off at Denmark’s premium surf spot, The Klitmoller beach also known as “Cold Hawaii”. Today it was more like “damp Hawaii” with a light drizzle, some sea mist and a few hardy surfers riding the smallish waves.
If you get a bit chilly after your time out on the surf, the mobile sauna could be just the thing to warm you up.
After this we saw lots of wind turbines!