Tom`s travels: Trip to Denmark (25-29/05/2023)

For the end of May vacation, Margo, Denisz, Ania, and I, decided to head to Denmark for a grand tour of the mainland, Jutland, for about four days. We had booked a cottage in a small seaside village called Høl where we would then do day tours. We left Hamburg after renting a car, and before reaching the Danish border stopped at a large supermarket to stock up for the following days. Then after a bit more driving through the border, we eventually reached our rental place. As it was the end of May and so far north, the sun set around 10 p.m. so we were able to enjoy our days to their fullest. As the drive had taken about three hours we arrived late and decided to have a quick dinner before heading to sleep.

The following day, after an early rise, we were off driving westwards to reach the town of Ribe, considered Denmark's oldest. We parked the car right outside the city center and then proceeded to visit on foot. Our walk took us first up the town's main street, sided by nice, yet very expensive shops, as typical in Denmark, and nice and old architecture including some beautiful timber-framed houses. At the end of the street, we could easily make out the profile of the Cathedral, the main monument in town and one of the most famous in the country. Once we reached the religious building we entered and explored the interior. The building was founded in the Viking Era as the first Christian church in Denmark by Ansgar, a missionary monk from Hamburg, under the permission of the pagan King Horik I. It is considered the best preserved Romanesque building in Denmark but reflects a plethora of different architectural styles and artistic traditions. This mix of architectural styles was already evident from the outside, with the apse and most of the eastern section of the building in a typical stone Romanesque while the central and western sections in a brick gothic style. Noteworthy were the 12th-century south portal, the medieval bronze doors, and the Commoners' Tower from 1333. Inside, despite being a bit modern looking and quite simple, there were still some nice highlights, such as the striking early 15th-century bronze baptismal font, the renaissance pulpit, and the curious frescoes and mosaics decorating the apse from Danish artist, Carl-Henning Pedersen who made them in 1987. After visiting the Cathedral we then continued on our walk through town, passing by some really nice old houses, including the Gamle Rådhus, as the name suggests a timber-framed red house. After a bit of walking, we then reached another church, St. Catherine's Priory, an important early Dominican friary originally dating to the 13th century in a Romanesque style and expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries. The interior featured a baroque altarpiece, a medieval baptismal font, and a nice cloister. Once outside we completed the tour of the city center and then headed to the car. From Ribe, we drove westwards and reached the coast at the village of Blåvand, the westernmost point in Denmark. The highlight was the Blåvand Lighthouse, 39m tall and in whitewashed brick. Around it was a beautiful landscape with dunes overlooking the Wadden Sea with its low tide at that moment. We walked around a bit on the dunes and on the beach and then found a spot repaired from the wind to eat our lunch, some sandwiches and veggies. At that point, we got back in the car and drove northwards along the coast reaching another sea village, Hvide Sande, where we visited another lighthouse, Lyngvig Lighthouse. Also located on dunes overlooking the sea it reaches a height of 53 meters. After admiring the view we were back in the car and driving eastwards, inland towards our accommodation. Along the way, we stopped in the city of Kolding. Walking through the old town we passed by the church of St. Nicholas, originally from the 13th century but with its current neogothic style from the late 19th century. Next up was the main monument in town, the Koldinghus, a Danish royal castle founded in the 13th century and expanded since. The castle was already close so we could only admire it from it outside with its round structure on top of a hill overlooking the town center and nearby lake. After a last walk around the rest of town admiring some traces of old architecture such as colorful timber-framed houses we were back in the car and driving to our cottage. Once there we turned on the grill and made a hearty dinner still with abundant light to spare.

The following day, waking up a little later, we left our place and drove northwards stopping first at the city of Viborg. We parked the car and then headed to the main monument in town, the Cathedral. Viborg started out as a Viking settlement in the 8th century and is considered one of the oldest towns in Denmark. Its Cathedral was constructed in 1130 however its current form dates to the 19th-century reconstruction. In fact, the interior was entirely remade and quite modern-looking with colorful scenes and mosaics from the early 20th century. After the visit to the religious building, we walked around the old town admiring the rest of the architecture. We passed another church, the Dominican Priory, which was closed, and then along the main street where I stopped to buy a cinnamon roll. Through the nice main square, we then came back to the Cathedral where we got then back in the car. Driving onwards we then reached the next destination, the town of Silkeborg, Here we decided to rent some canoes and paddle along the nearby river, the Remstrup å. Margo and Denisz went further and faster than us while we took our time and paddled slowly and for a shorter distance. Once back to the rental place and city, we had our lunch break with stuff we had brought with us, and then back in the car drove on to the next stop. We reached the nearby city of Aarhus, Denmark's second-largest. Once there it took us a while to park the car as either all parking places were taken or they were paid, and could only be done so with a specific Danish SMS system. Eventually, we found a spot but had to walk for a little while to reach the city center. Once there we found the streets packed with people, mostly young, drinking, dancing, and partying. It was sunny and warm so the Danes and any other international person living there were enjoying such weather. We managed somehow to squeeze through the people, enjoying the great vibe and nice architecture of the city. We passed by the church of Our Lady, built in 1060 and the oldest stone church in Scandinavia, but which was closed. Moving on we passed by the Lille Torv, and Store Torv, the two main squares in the city, and reached the Cathedral. To our dismay, the building was already closed so we could not admire it from the interior. It is the longest and tallest church in the country, at 93 m in length and 96 m in height, and was built in brick Gothic between the 12th and 16th centuries. From the Cathedral we continued on our walk, passing by the Aarhus Theatre and along the large port, as the city is the principal container port in the country. From there we then reentered the old town by walking through the so-called Latin Quarter, in imitation of that in Paris. This is where the oldest part of the city is located and which contains the most and best-preserved old buildings in town many of which date to the 17th century. This part of town was also filled with bars and people crowding the streets making it much more lively. Walking onwards we reached a nice part of town along the Aarhus River, with more bars and restaurants and the more modern part of the city to the south of the old town. Finally, we reached another nice street, Møllestien, right in the city center, with its picturesque 17th and 18th-century houses which looked like from a countryside village. Heading back towards the car we passed by the Den Gamle By, an open-air museum from 1914. It is the world's first open-air museum of its kind, concentrating on town culture rather than village culture, featuring 75 historical buildings collected from 20 townships in all parts of the country. However, we didn't have so much time to visit it and the price was exorbitantly high, at more than 25 euros. So after passing by we reached the car and drove to our last stop of the day the Moesgaard Museum. This impressive building is located a few kilometers to the south of Aarhus surrounded by forests, a golf course, and close to the seaside. The exhibition hall was quite large spaced out over several floors and in several rooms, each with a theme or time period. We started out with the temporary exhibition on the Roman Empire and barbarian invasions which though small in the number of objects still had some valuable pieces and played mostly on the use of special effects, lightning, and theatrics. We then toured the permanent exhibitions with objects from the Viking era, medieval period, and also a section on African and South American cultures. Particularly interesting was the Grauballe Man, the world's best-preserved bog body found in 1952 and belonging to a man dating from the late 3rd century BC. After visiting the nice museum we finally headed back to our accommodation ready for another nice grilling evening.

The next morning we woke up relatively early once again and drove off to visit our first stop of the day, the village of Jelling. The place is the site of a large stone ship, two large burial mounds, the Jelling Stones, and the Jelling Church all of which have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. After parking the car we immediately headed to see the church first, located in the middle of the site and surrounded by the local cemetery. Originally started as a wooden church by King Harald Bluetooth in 965, it was then rebuilt in its current stone structure during the 12th century. The interior simple and quite empty was heavily refurbished between the 19th and 20th centuries. Right next to the church, to the south, were the two Jelling Stones. These massive carved runestones from the 10th century are considered the best-known and best-preserved in Denmark and are still in their original location. The older of the two Jelling stones was raised by King Gorm the Old in memory of his wife Thyra, while the larger one was raised by King Gorm's son, Harald Bluetooth, in memory of his parents, celebrating his conquest of Denmark and Norway, and his conversion of the Danes to Christianity. To best admire the whole site we then climbed the southern mound which also marked the starting point of the stone ship that occupies the whole area and can easily be seen from a bird's eye view. Nearby we then entered the annexed museum which was free of charge. It presented the site with lots of information and interactive panels. After the visit, we were back in the car and driving on to the next destination, the town of Fredericia. We found a parking spot in the city center and then continued on foot. The city was founded in 1650 by Frederick III, after whom it was named, and presents a clear system of fortifications covering the western and northern semicircle enclosing the city, while to the east and south there's the sea. We walked part of the ramparts admiring the city gates, Danmarks Port and Prinsens Port, and the nearby watchtower. Det Hvide Vandtårn. We had lunch there on the grass with the sandwiches we had brought along with us and then continued our walk through the old town. We crossed the grid-planned city center, typical of new towns built in that period, and reached the eastern end where a small beach was set. Then we walked back another way admiring the rest of town. Once back to the car we took off and drove across the Little Belt Bridge, connecting Jutland to Funen island where we eventually reached Odense, Denmark's fourth largest city. After finding parking we continued on foot, passing first by St Mary's Church built in the 13th century and restored in the mid 19th century. Nearby we passed the Møntergården, a museum located inside a series of picturesque timber-framed buildings. We passed it and continued on along the main street eventually reaching the main square Flakhaven where the city hall is located. Built in 1885 in a historicist style it took its inspiration shape and appearance from the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. Not far we then reached and entered St. Canute's Cathedral, a nice example of Brick Gothic, originally from the 11th century but it took its current form during the 14th century. The interior, rather large, airy, and white, held some nice features. The baroque fittings, organ, and pulpit, the beautiful late gothic 16th-century triptych by Claus Berg, and under the altar in the crypt the remains of the Danish king Canute the Saint and his brother Once outside the church we walked by a small yellow house, childhood home of the famous danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. It is now turned into a museum but we didn't really wish to see it at that time. We continued on through the rest of the old town passing by some nice streets as well as the more busy main street. We reached the northern end where we stopped to see the Odense Palace, erected by Frederick IV in 1723, and next to it the Sankt Hans church, built by the Knights Hospitaller in the 13th century but rebuilt in the 17th century. The church was closed so we continued on, and reached a nice little street with picturesque low colorful houses, one of which was the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen who was born there in 1806. Together with the childhood home, it forms a separate museum. We completed the tour of the city and once back in the car drove to our last stop of the day, the small seaside town of Middelfart. We parked the car and walked along the waterfront enjoying the now fully sunny and rather warmer, yet windy, afternoon. We reached the small old town, where the main church, St Nicolaus, is located, built in late Gothic from the 14th and 15th centuries. It was closed but around it we admired the picturesque houses, some of which with beautifully colorful and decorated timber-framed facades. After the nice stroll around we got back in the car and drove to our accommodation. There was still some time before dinner so while the other two relaxed Ania and I walked to the nearby beach, where, as it was empty, I had a cold and refreshing naked swim in the sea.

On our last day, after checking out, we decided to visit a few places before heading back to Germany. Our first stop was the town of Christiansfeld, a bit south of where we had rented the cottage. The town was founded in 1773 by the Moravian Church and named after the Danish king Christian VII. As the best-preserved example of the town planning and architecture of the Moravian Church, it was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015. The central square with the main church served as the foundation for the town's construction, with two parallel streets running from east to west on either side. Surrounding the square are various structures such as the Sister's House, firehouse, the vicarage, and the former provost's house. Along the parallel streets, are shops, the Brother's House, family residences, a hotel, and a school. The residential buildings predominantly followed a communal design, which was typical of Moravian settlements, and provided accommodation for widows, unmarried women, and men of the congregation, and are mostly used for the same thing nowadays. The architectural style of Christiansfeld showcases homogeneity, featuring predominantly one or two-story buildings constructed from yellow brick and topped with red tile roofs. We first visited the church, large yet simple, where inside we then met a man from southern Denmark who spoke a little German and told us he is of the Moravian church and had come there for mass, he told us a bit about the church and the town's history. Once outside we toured the pretty grid-planned old town passing by the main buildings aforementioned. We also visited the cemetery simple yet orderly as the rest of the town. Moving on we drove to our next stop, the small town of Haderslev. Once there and after parking the car we strolled through the nice old town, made even prettier with the strong shining sun of midday. Following the main street we reached the Cathedral, originally dating to the 12th century it was rebuilt in its current gothic style in the early 15th century. Unfortunately just as we arrived the church doors closed on us and the priest didn't let us in anymore. We continued our walk through the rest of town admiring the nice architecture including several timber-framed houses, especially around the main square, the Torvet. We also strolled around the small lake to the west of the old town with a beautiful array of rhododendrons. After the walk, we reached the car once again and drove off to reach the village of Møgeltønder. We parked the car and continued on foot, first stopping by the beautiful Schackenborg Castle, a 17th-century baroque palace surrounded by a picturesque garden. From 1993 until 2014, the castle was the private residence of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the second son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, while now it is owned by a fund and partially open to the public. From the castle a long straight single street led through the village, sided by picturesque low 18th-century townhouses. On the other side, we reached the main church, built in the 12th century and extended in the following one, and with a tall and thick tower from the 15th century. The interior was quite astonishing with a 17th-century baroque pulpit and pews, which together with the ceiling were all colorfully painted, a gothic winged altarpiece, a Romanesque baptismal font, and the oldest organ in Denmark from 1679. After a last stroll, we headed back into the car and drove to nearby Tønder, our last stop, right on the border with Germany. Once there we walked along the pretty main street sided by nice buildings and reached the main square, the Torvet, with the historic white stone building at its center now holding a cafè. Next to it was the Old Pharmacy, a pharmacy once held inside a historic building now turned into a Christmas shop. Continuing on our stroll we passed by more nice buildings, including the gothic Kristkirke, and eventually made a whole circle around town till we reached the car. It was finally time for us to cross the border and drive all the way back to Hamburg.