HOME TOUR

Copenhagen was lovely and you can relive it over and over with me on: Copenhagen–part 1 of exploring lovely Denmark. It far surpassed any expectations I had. The food was delicious, the city clean and the people kind and wonderful. It was the perfect city to explore with kids, even little ones! But the countryside, oh the countryside. I think my heart loves wide open spaces with a little wildness thrown in and the countryside of Denmark did not disappoint. Matt and I have discovered over the years, that driving in a country really lets you get to know it a bit more. But I will say, we have never driven such a big car before. We asked the hotel to rent us a car and I mentioned “maybe a van” thinking of the normal soccer mom minivans. We didn’t know that that would translate into a huge commercial-feeling van. It was hilarious. So we drove “the tank” out of Copenhagen, praying the whole way, until we were in the wide open countryside. The kids loved it. We could almost see them back there.

We left Copenhagen and headed west on E20, loving every minute of the rolling countryside. Eventually you come to a huge bridge which is a toll. Brace yourself, it costs a whopping $40 USD to cross ONE WAY! But the view was magnificent, the windmills in the water were fun to see and I’m pretty sure you don’t have any other option if you’re driving. Take the first exit after the bridge, exit 45-Nyborg Ø onto 163 towards Svenborg. You pass through some cute towns and eventually a windmill we couldn’t resist stopping at which is part of the joy of driving.

 

The countryside was lovely and being here the end of August meant fields-full of summer bounty, wildflowers and the start of harvest.

Our destination was the ferry terminal in Svenborg because we didn’t want to miss our ferry to the island of Æro. We used this site to book our ferry tickets from Svenborg to Æroskøbing. If you have a rental car, you’ll want to book in advance (for us, “in advance” meant two days, I imagine it is busier in the heart of summer). If you take the train from Copenhagen to Svenborg, you can walk on the ferry and easily buy same day tickets. We had two hours before the ferry departed so we ate a leisurely dinner at Bella Italia. It’s literally a stone’s throw from the ferry so we parked our car in line and grabbed a table. It was delicious Italian food and a huge hit with the kids. We took the left overs with us since we were staying at the rental on the island and had a kitchen. You can see close ups of our rental in this post.

THE FERRY FROM SVENBORG TO ÆROSKØBING

I walked Svenborg briefly with Aubrey, waiting for dinner to come, because she’s two and couldn’t sit still. It looked like a sweet town that I wish we had more time to explore. But the ferry came, we hopped in the car and excitedly drifted out into the Baltic. We took the normal ferry, the crossing was 75 minutes but there is a new fast ferry that leaves from Rudkøbing to Marstal.

We took the 9:05 pm ferry which was already two hours past the kid’s bedtime. It was a 15 minute drive from Æroskøbing to our rental house in Marstal. Given the choice, I would have stayed in Æroskøbing because it’s just so magical but there were no rentals or hotel rooms available. Æroskøbing is a fairytale town on a sleepy little island on the southern edge of Denmark, about 9 miles from the coast of Germany. It is a seafarring town with shipping deeply rooted in its heartbeat. Denmark has recognized the significance of this perfectly preserved 17th century town and no new buildings can go up in the town center. It’s the only town in Denmark with this distinction and given the modern-minded Danish building aesthetic, this is saying something. So you’re left to wander back in time to the 1680s, through the quaintest streets you’ve ever seen in awe of the gentleness of life.

BIKING FROM MARSTAL TO ÆROSKØBING

We woke up for our first full day on the island, Matt grabbed us bananas and croissants from the local grocery store until we could get to a restaurant in Æroskøbing. We walked out of our rental home and across the street to the bike rental. They were very kind and fit us for bikes, both kiddo-size and one with a seat on the back for Aubrey and I. And we started off. I used google maps initially to weave us through Marstal since the rental house was down by the harbor but we eventually made it to the local bike route 92. We were mainly on roads until we got to the dirt path along the harbor. The island is quiet and use to bikes but I still felt more comfortable with my little riders on the dirt path. This is not a hard ride and took us about 45 minutes because there were lots of stops. It’s mostly level, easy and stunningly beautiful.

I loved every minute biking along these quaint country lanes, past charming thatched roof cottages and flowers.

As you bike you’ll see small stands set up selling homemade goods–jam, honey, fresh garden produce. It is completely on the honor system and just so sweet. I could have spent a week on this island and my only regret for this whole trip was not allocating two full days to this gem. Which leads me to…

GIV DIG TID

On a little heart on the island you’ll find “Giv Dig Tid” which translates “give yourself time.” I think it’s meant to mean “drive slowly” but oh how it resonated with my heart. How quickly we sprint through our days–checking emails, answering calls, feeding littles only to turn around and immediately feed them again. It feels hurried. Like life is trying to get somewhere and living itself is the obstacle. I think we all know deep inside that this is not exactly how it is supposed to be but we can’t find a way to break the grip this rhythm has on us. Giv Dig Tid. Give yourself time here to meander the lanes, smell the flowers, sample berries cascading along the paths and listen to the sounds of the ocean.

ÆROSKØBING

Cobblestones, muted candy-colored buildings, unique doors and quaint shops, Æroskøbing is a delight and must-see. It’s the kind of town where you meander down a lane and find a beautiful flower arrangement outside a home just for lovely’s sake. Like it’s occupants set it there just to bring happiness to a passerby. It’s been awhile since we wandered cobblestone lanes soaking in a different pace of life. With all the hardships that life brings, this gift was not lost on me.  Æroskøbing was a sweet sleepy village when we got there, only a handful of people out walking the streets. I could have spent hours walking the lanes but we were on a mission to find brunch.

In the town square near the church, we had brunch at På Torvet Cafe which is part of a hotel. I had a vanilla oat milk latte which was frankly the best I’ve ever had. Now whether that was post-biking bliss or actually the most delicious beverage ever, I guess we’ll never know but you should definitely get one if you find yourself in this neck of the woods. We found out the hard way, while trying to get coffee before our ferry the next day, that they are only open to guests of the hotel until 10a. The kid’s meal looked like this:

It’s the prettiest kid’s meal I’ve ever seen and they ate it! When the dietitian-side of me complimented the waitress she said, “kids like to pick and graze but they do that better when it’s pretty.”

It is said that every door in Æroskøbing is unique, no two the same. Which leads you on a bit of a treasure hunt. We would get to a new door and declare that it was better than the last. A joyful hunt for even the littles.

These were just a few of our favorite doors. I loved the bottom left one. The kids loved the “fork door”, see if you can spot that one above. Another interesting tid bit, per Rick Steves, some of the houses have these antique mirrors called “snooping mirrors” that allow the occupants of the home to see what is happening in the lane. They were adorable and very clever.

BIKING TO THE BEACH COTTAGES

From the town center we hopped back on our bikes and headed out of town to the summer beach cottages. I had seen pictures prior to arriving and couldn’t wait to see them in person. They dot the shore like a necklace. We didn’t realize until we were leaving the next morning that there is a similar row of beach cottages in Marstal as well.

We decided to eat our leftovers from Bella Italia so we rode back through town along the lane skirting the harbor. It was absolutely magical to peek in the back of the salty little cottages we saw from the front. This lane, Molestian Lane, is nicknamed “virgin’s lane” as the teenagers could court in view of the parents back in the day when that was actually honored.

And then it was back to Marstal, stopping first to pick blackberries on the outskirts of town.

We headed out bright and early which frankly looked good on paper but we regretted once we were on the ground. Getting three little kids up early is hard! In our heads, the point of leaving early was to give us time to get our covid tests in Odesse, tour the Hans Christian Andersen Museum and then drive back towards Copenhagen weaving up through Hillerød to see Frederiksborg castle. A full day that involved lots of stops and required an early start. The highlight of the morning ferry boat ride was watching dolphins jumping through the wake.

COVID TESTS

Covid tests were trickier than we expected so we ended up nixing the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odesse so we could make it to Frederiksborg Castle before it closed. Denmark doesn’t do rapid covid tests on anyone less than 6 years old. Which is unfortunate because their rapid testing sites are efficient and easy and all the rest of us got our results in a few minutes via a text. However for Aubrey’s PCR test, the method by which they release the online results using a two factor authentication does not work with American and Canadian numbers. The first testing site we went to only did rapid tests. They sent us on a wild goose chase to a second location to get Aubrey tested and the lady at that testing site, set up my online account using her own Danish phone number. Which is fine until you need to access the results a few hours later and can’t. So skip all the hassle and get your tests done at the airport. They’re use to working with American phone numbers and helped Matt through the process. We did have to get Aubrey retested because we couldn’t access her first set of results. Good news, tests are free in Denmark.

FREDERIKSBORG CASTLE

Onward though to the castle. Frederiksborg Castle was built by Christian the IV and is the largest Renaissance complex in the Nordic Region. It’s been referred to as the Danish “Versailles” and it did not disappoint. We got there at 4 pm, the lighting was magical, there were few people and we had an hour to tour the inside practically by ourselves before it closed. The outside gardens stay open past the castle closing time so we toured those after.

The Six Forgotten Giants

Because of some last minute flight changes, we gained a day to explore the outskirts of Copenhagen. So we set out in search of the giant trolls. Thomas Dambo, a recycle art activist has created a troll map, where you can hunt for his amazing trolls in locations around the world. He happens to be from Copenhagen and the 6 Forgotten Giants outside Copenhagen are so fun. Here is Teddy the Friendly although we called him “Sneaky Teddy” after he “pushed” Aubrey into the pond. Luckily we had back up clothes for her in the car and we set her pants out to dry while we played at a nearby park.

The next two were Lille Tilde and Thomas on the Mountain. It was a much longer walk to find these two which are on opposite ends of the same park from each other. But the walk itself was magical.

VIKING SHIP MUSEUM

In between these stops to find trolls we found ourselves close to Roskilde which is where the Viking Ship Museum is located. This is Denmark’s National Viking ship museum, featuring the preserved finds of 5 real viking ships. The kids loved all the activities. From Viking games to a whole section where you can “build your own viking ship” and then float it, this stop was a big hit.

We had an early dinner and bed because our morning flight left at 6 am. Luckily we stayed at the airport hotel and could walk over to the terminal at 3:30 am to check in. Morning flights are hard with kids and we would not have chosen it had we had another option but the hurricane affected our plans and we needed to pivot. Despite Covid, hurricanes, flight changes and potty training little ones, this was a sweet trip and I couldn’t recommend Denmark more, especially with little ones in tow. We came home healthy, overjoyed at being back to Europe and brimming with sweet memories. If you’re on the fence right now, all I can say from my experience was travel was wonderful, reentry into the USA easy and fellow tourists few and far between.