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Our summer vacation in Denmark
This summer, we both took trips to Denmark to see family and spend some time together! This is Sofie writing a blog post for once, and I ended up spending almost a whole month in Denmark, so I luckily had some time to do a few shorter sightseeing trips. One of these was to Fyn, which leads us to a quick geography lesson:
For anyone who is not familiar, Denmark is made up of a mainland that is connected to Germany, called Jylland (Jutland) and then a series of islands that sit to the east of the mainland. The capital of Copenhagen is on the East side of Sjælland (Zealand), the larger island close to Sweden. Fyn is the island between Sjælland and Jylland! Both sides are connected by a bridge, so you can easily travel between the islands.
Drive from Sjælland
For our overnight trip, which spanned from midday one day to the next afternoon, we drove from Sjælland to Fyn across Storebæltsbroen or the Big Belt Bridge, which is an impressively long bridge across the water between the two islands. It actually has the seventh-longest main span in the world and is the longest suspension bridge outside of Asia! You also drive past some huge windmills, which highlight Denmark’s well-known use of renewable energy.
Odense
Our first stop was Odense, which is the third-largest city in Denmark. It definitely feels much smaller than the capital of Copenhagen, with a lot more cute and small streets. We enjoyed walking around and getting to see the city on foot! We walked past the Odense palace, which functioned as an administrative building and was used as a place where the royal family would stay when visiting Odense. Now, it’s used as office/admin space for the community. We didn’t make it into the Danish Rail museum, but if you’re into trains, it’s definitely one to check out! We continued to walk down to the Odense Havnebad, a swimming facility near the port, and then did a loop back to our hotel area.
Hans Christian Andersen’s House
If you didn’t know, Odense is the birthplace of arguably the most famous Dane, Hans Christian Andersen. He is the author of many beloved fairy tales, such as The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and The Princess and the Pea. You can visit both his birthplace and childhood home as part of the entrance to the H.C. Andersen House. There is a whole section in the recently renovated museum that is dedicated to the history of his life and travels. There is also a section that allows you to interact with some of his most popular fairy tales, and as with a lot of spaces in Denmark, it’s very kid-friendly! You can definitely spend a few hours enjoying the space and learning about H.C. Andersen’s life.
Pastries & places to eat
It wouldn’t be right to visit a place in Denmark without stopping by a bakery to pick up some pastries! We went to Fru Lund and picked up a spandauer (Danish pastry with vanilla cream) and half of a kanelstang (cinnamon stick pastry). I’ve had better spandauer before, as the cream filling wasn’t my favorite from this bakery, but the kanelstang was delicious and also great value – I swear the kanelstang (actually only HALF of one) was a foot long and a very good price.
We ended up eating dinner at District 13, which had quite tasty Asian fusion dishes. The food all felt very fresh. Our only issue ended up being that the restaurant was quite small and quiet, which wasn’t the perfect fit for us with a one-year-old child in tow. If you’re looking for a quieter ambience, then I definitely think you’d enjoy it!
We didn’t actually eat at this spot, but we walked past Storms Pakhus, which is a street food market. Street food seems to be a popular concept in Denmark, of having different types of booths/trucks in one spot where you can get different things to try! We actually went to a street food place when we visited Aarhus, and we would’ve tried this spot too if we had enough time. It’s a good option for casual food that’s also usually delicious, plus if you’re with a larger group, not everyone has to order from the same place or menu!
Where to stay
We stayed at the Comwell H.C. Andersen Odense hotel, which is incredibly close to H.C. Andersen’s house and the museum. The rooms were nice enough, and we always love a good hotel breakfast – this one was very good! Lots of pastries, bread, savory and sweet options!
The next day: Egeskov Slot
The next morning, after checking out of the hotel, we drove to Egeskov Slot, which is a castle only 30 minutes from Odense. I had actually been here when I was younger, so I definitely remembered the castle grounds being quite impressive! The castle itself has belonged to several Danish noble families in its history, and a family currently resides there. There are some beautiful gardens that are well kept and with many different types of plants.
There are also plenty of food options, ranging from casual kiosks with hot dogs and burgers to nice restaurants. We opted for casual kiosk food, which of course meant eating a fransk hotdog!
What to do at Egeskov
We did end up going inside the castle, which is a separate cost. I probably wouldn’t pay for entry to the castle again if I were to return, because while it’s interesting, there are a lot of other things to see that are included in the ticket with access to just the grounds. There’s a whole section with a classic car display, and other small displays and museums scattered throughout the grounds. We didn’t get to explore everything, so there’s something to look forward to if we return!
One of the draws of the Egeskov castle grounds for kids in particular is the playground area, the tree top walk, and the hedge labyrinth! Our son was a bit too young to enjoy these activities, but you could most definitely spend an entire day here. We ended up spending about four hours on the grounds, so there was still plenty to occupy our time.
Return to Sjælland
From Egeskov, we made the journey back to Sjælland, essentially retracing our steps across the bridge. The whole car trip was about two hours total. We had a great twenty-four-hour journey, but we also know we missed a few things – let us know in the comments what else you would recommend exploring and what else there is to do on Fyn! Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed!
Sources
https://www.visitodense.com/tourist/plan-your-trip/odense-slot-castle-kings-park-gdk665051
https://egeskov.dk/en/experiences/the-castle/the-history-of-the-castle
