Odense

Today I leave the Jutland peninsula, the continental portion of Denmark and head to the island of Funen, or in Danish, Fyn. There was potential that Rachel would meet me in Aarhus, but ultimately decided we’d rendezvous in the middle. Our live locations this morning and a visual of the plan:



After transferring trains in Fredericia, we crossed the Old Little Belt Bridge - here’s a photo including the New Little Belt Bridge in the distance which only handles cars:



We decided on Odense as the family has never been, but also was curious on the town. It’s the hometown of Hans Christian Andersen, most famous for his fairy tales such as “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, “The Little Match Girl”, “The Ugly Duckling”, “Thumbelina”, and of course, “The Little Mermaid”.

After finding parking in the underground city garage, we explored the Hans Christian Anderson House where I learned about his life and read more about his stories. Here’s Rachel turning into a beautiful swan - the displays and exhibits were lovely:



He also had a hobby of making cutouts and here’s one on display:



Here’s the memorial hall where we left messages on the tree:



The museum is attached to his birth home which we perused and admission includes his nearby childhood home which we decided to skip.

We decided on sushi for lunch and enjoyed the lunch price fixe at Koi Sushi which had tempura, dumplings, tuna tataki, and of course, sushi.

Our plan was to visit nearby Egeskov Castle, considered the most preserved Renaissance water castle in Europe. However as our lunch was leisurely, and we were tired from sitting in the sun, we decided to head home.

The new home, just north of Copenhagen, is totally adorable and I got to see the dogs and meet the new bird pets. We enjoyed wine from a bag and played a card game that I brought the family.

We played with the idea of heading into the city, but decided to relax and eat tofu curry and rice and catch up. My health app alerted me my behavior had changed with the reduction of steps, but I enjoyed the day reconnecting with the family and looked forward to the rest of the weekend!

Aarhus

I slept in and barely made it to breakfast, but that was okay as I didn’t have any time constraints and no real agenda for Aarhus.

When I finally ventured out around 11 am, I walked to Old Town and saw the Aarhus Theater:



It’s right across the square from Aarhus Cathedral which is apparently the longest church in Denmark:





The altar was made by Bernt Notke, the same sculptor who did “Saint George and the Dragon” in Stockholm. The altarpiece is considered a Denmark treasure and is actually movable as it can display different liturgical scenes:



A ship also hangs in honor of those lost at sea and as an offering:



I then walked around the Docklands, Indre By, and the Latin Quarter:





I stopped in Café Krone to rest and enjoy a Chai Latte. The city is also known to have a big coffee shop culture as it’s nicknamed “city of cafés”.

After resting, I visited the Church of Our Lady which is a crypt church and apparently, the oldest stone church in Scandinavia still in existence. The organist was practicing and it was delight to listen the music:

Then I stumbled upon this adorable street of 13th century homes called Møllestien:



Also nearby was this mural which is part of a series throughout the city:



I’ve also crossed over the canal several times today and last night:



The only official agenda was ARoS, a notable art museum. I bought my ticket in advance, but could enter anytime up to a year. Inside, it made me feel like the NY Guggenheim with the concentric pattern in bright white. Outside, it’s known for the “Rainbow Panorama” on the roof:



This circular skywalk is by Ólafur Elíasson and you get a great view of Aarhus and in various colors:





Elíasson is also known for the New York City Waterfalls circa 2008. I remembered enjoying the Waterfalls by taking the free Brooklyn IKEA ferry back and forth!

You could also see the James Turrell dome which will be a Skyspace above a new addition to the museum. The project is called “Next Level” and was supposed to be open, but has been delayed until 2026. A photo through the green pane:



In following the museum guide for the top treasures from the permanent collection, I sought out Vilhelm Hammershoi’s “No. 30 Strandgade”:



Australian sculptor Ron Mueck’s “Boy” which was as high as the ceiling:



Their current exhibition was filled with Picasso, Braque, Miró, Léger, and Modigliani… artists that my dad loved.

In the basement were awesome installations including James Turrell’s “Milkrun III”:



I really enjoyed Canadians Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller’s “Storm Room”. It is a sound and space installation of an abandoned Japanese dentist office with a storm occurring outside, cycling 10 minutes of different intensity. The couple apparently experienced this in their travels:



And then Ólafur Elíasson’s “Surroundings” which positioned mirrors in different ways to repeat the reflections:



I then made my way to Dokk1 which is part of the much larger development project called Urban Mediaspace Aarhus of the port area. It’s a public library, meeting space, and cultural center all in one. I rested on some couches surrounded by folks reading, playing games, or working on laptops…



For dinner, I decided on Europa which was nearby and rated highly for authentic Danish cuisine. I ordered an Anarkist wheat beer and the national dish, Stegt flæsk, also known as stegt flæsk med persillesovs. It included fried pork belly served with potatoes and a creamy parsley sauce and tasty beets. It was hearty and popular as other patrons ordered the same.

I didn’t finish mine, but I think it was respectable for someone who hadn’t eaten lunch and walked a ton today. It also still felt authentic despite the American country music that played - apparently, the waiter and owner like the ambient and relaxed sounds of country music even though he doesn’t always appreciate what’s going on in America. Couldn’t blame him as I lament over the news daily and especially today…





All over the city and throughout the day, they were getting ready for the Aarhus Festival - it begins tomorrow and is a multicultural festival with 10 days of partying. It seems to validate that Aarhus is the 2nd largest city in Denmark, growing quickly with a young demographic as it’s also home to the largest university in Scandinavia.

It seemed appropriate as college students were drinking everywhere and felt like it was one big Zog party as I winded through the streets back to my hotel!

Bricks & Stones

My hotel required a breakfast reservation booked through a QR code - the first I’ve ever seen and pretty smart as the Stockholm hotel really struggled with their crowd management.

After leaving my luggage, I walked through the Sculpture Park on a lovely path that passes by the International School of Billund - I bet all those kids’ parents work for Lego!

Billund is where Lego started and the 2nd most popular place to visit in Denmark after Copenhagen. Lego is also one of the biggest companies in Europe and the largest toy manufacturer in the world by sales - 36 billion pieces are produced annually.

I had booked a combination ticket which included timed-entry to Lego House. There are various activities including robots, models, uploads of designs to digital formats, and just general fun. The parents were having so much fun and it was nice to see such an international mix.

Some photos from the visit including designs built by guests and Lego Masters:























A mathematician figured out that with 6 pieces, 915,103,765 combinations can be made and I was assigned #329,960,635 with my free 6 piece set:





You could also see the Legos being made:



I also participated in this Lego robot game where you could plant flowers, so the bees can come and you can collect honey - it was surprisingly really fun:







I then left, walked past company headquarters, and arrived at the original Legoland and the most popular attraction outside of Copenhagen. I had never been to a US Legoland and was impressed by Miniland, a recreations of cities and buildings:

Here are some of sites in Scandinavia…Copenhagen Harbor:



Lego House:



The airport:



Aarhus where I’m staying two nights:



They also had a safari with animals made out of Legos which reminded me of my South Africa trip last year:



Also some famous international sites…like Tower Bridge in London…



Rome’s Coliseum…US Congress behind it and the Statue of Liberty…



The Taj Mahal…



Mount Rushmore…



My morning was full of Lego Bricks and after 1-ish, returned to the hotel to pick up my luggage. I then walked about a block to the stop where I boarded the #43 bus to Vejle. It took about 40 minutes through the countryside. At the train station, I stored my bags in luggage lockers and boarded the #211 to Jelling for a 30 minute ride.

Conveniently, I’m using the Rejsekort app as the Denmark buses and trains don’t take Apple Pay or credit card like they did in Stockholm and Italy. The reason being the public transport is a zone system, but the new app is pretty easy as it tracks my location. I didn’t use it in 2022 as we had purchased the Copenhagen Tourist card that included public transportation.

Jelling is a UNESCO heritage site known for its famous runestones which are raised stones inscribed and often in memory of the dead.

These are from the 10th century - one raised by King Gorm of Old in honor of his wife and another was raised by his son, Harald Bluetooth in memory of his parents. It celebrates Denmark and Norway and the conversion of the Danes to Christianity.

With one of the first stone churches in Denmark, and the north and south burial mounds, the Jelling Stones are considered the premiere example of “pagan and Christian Nordic culture” - one stone refers to “Danmark” and the other, a depiction of Christ. Here are the stones:







Inside the church, there is a hanging ship like in Storkyrkan in Sweden. I learned it’s an offering, thanking God for safe passage and common throughout Scandinavia:



View of the church from the southern mound:



I timed the bus and boarded back for downtown Vejle where I grabbed a tuna sandwich from the bakery attached to the station, picked up my luggage from storage, and caught the train headed to Aarhus.

The ride was only about 45 minutes and packed, but felt like an eternity with the woman across the aisle who couldn’t stop talking to her friend. She barely took a breath and I think it would have been better if there was some more back and forth, but this woman was on some sort of loud diatribe before I boarded and continued until our destination.

After a five minute walk rolling my luggage and just west of the station, I arrived at Hotel Oasia which I found on booking.com. The hotel seemed really clean and I rested for a bit as my legs and arms were very tired.

When I started to get hungry, I left the hotel and found my way to the Strøget shopping promenade and got a shot of the church as the sun was setting…



I read that Aarhus has been on a burger frenzy and it made me want a burger. So I mapped to “Burger Boom” itself where I ordered a Ceres beer, homemade lemonade, and a Boom Burger and fries:



The city was hopping as there were scores of folks drinking outside and hanging out. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the nice weather and chatting the night away as I strolled back to my hotel!