Because of the long summer days (sunrise 3:30 am, sunset 10:00 pm during midsummer) Denmark is an ideal place to have summer vacation. In our trip we explored parts of Fyn and Jutland.
H.C. Andersen's House
Our stop in Odense was the birthplace of H.C. Andersen.
This is the house where H.C. Andersen was born. It has been turned into a museum where H.C. Andersen artifacts are on display. The museum entrance is on the other side of the building.
This is the road on the left side of the H.C. Andersen house. Follow this all the way around, keeping to the right to arrive at the entrance of the museum. The street has been restored to reflect the original architecture.
The entrance to the H.C. Andersen museum. A modern look surrounded by water. During the outdoor play, the little mermaid swims here.
An open air stage is located next to the entrance to the H.C. Andersen museum. Plays are shown several times a day which feature stories from his works. Can you guess which story is being shown in this picture? Hint: the main actor is actually not correctly dressed for the part.
The H.C. Andersen museum is a collection of several connected buildings, including the building where H.C. Andersen was born. The picture above shows a mural on display in the central round room.
Egeskov
Egeskov is located on Fyn, south of Odense. Egeskov contains a 40 acre park, many museums, an outdoor maze, and a castle.
To get to Egeskov castle, you of course must cross a large moat. Inside you can tour many of the rooms.
The Duke of Egeskov commissioned a copy of the suit of armor worn by his ancestor 450 years ago.
The Duke of Egeskov is a collector of movie memorabilia. Shown here is the Superman outfit used by Christopher Reeve during the filming of the flying scenes in the first Superman movie. It is teal colored to for use in blue-screen filming, with the proper color added in during post-processing. The cape is not padded like the non-flying outfits allowing it to "flap" properly.
In the attic of the castle is a wooden doll lying on a pillow. Legend has it that if this is ever moved, the castle will collapse into the moat on Christmas eve.
I'm not fond of heights, so my wife and kids had a treetop walking tour while I stayed on the ground and took pictures.
This lotus is on display in the car and aircraft museum. The museum itself was once a large barn.
This is an interesting airplane. The elevator has fixed pitch. Instead the main wings act as a Canard, taking over the function of the elevator.
Somewhere
On the way to Hegedal Strand, we stopped somewhere to eat.
The main attraction here was railway bicycles. Hundreds of railway bicycles setup for tourist use, but nobody riding them. In a few years, this place will be known as the railway bicycle ghost town.
Hegedal Strand
Hegedal strand is located on the west coast of Jylland, a little south of Aalborg.
These were our accommodations for most of the trip. This is a six man tent, with two separate sleeping areas and a "living room" where we set up our camping furniture. The camping trips when I was growing up involved packing our horse with equipment and supplies and two weeks of hiking somewhere far in the Cascade range. In comparison, a trip with a car and huge tent is decadent.
My oldest daughter is flying a HQ NPW5 LK88 on the beach beside the campsite. It's only half a square meter, but the wind was strong enough to drag her down the beach. This kite has some sentimental value, as it is the first NPW I ever flew. The kite store dragestedet.dk has good customer service. After complaining about getting the LK88 (I had ordered a larger model), I was asked to keep the LK88 in way of apology for the mis-filled order.
Frederikshavn
We lived in Frederikshavn when we first came to Denmark. Back then we stayed with my grandmother in my father's childhood home. Seeing Frederikshavn again brought back a lot of memories.
The Gunpowder Tower (Krudttårnet) was constructed in 1688 to guard the harbor. The naval mine came much later, this one was discovered sometime after WW2.
A new attraction to the Frederikshavn area is "palm beach" complete with palm trees, volleyball nets and an icecream stand. It was a little cold on the day we visited. (I think it is a little cold on most days. :-)
Skagen
Skagen is the northern most city in Denmark.
The northern tip of Denmark is located at Skagens Gren. In the picture you see the tip where Kattegat and the Skagerrak (straights connected to the North sea) meet. The Kattegat waves are travelling towards Skagerrak, and the Skagerrak waves are heading towards Kattegat. At the tip, where the waves meet, the seas are confused.
A bunker constructed during the German occupation of Denmark during WW2. More information about these bunkers can be found at The Atlantic Wall.
The Sand Church ("Den Tilsandede Kirke") located just outside of Skagen. It started life as a large church with a tall bell tower. Over time, the moving sands covered the church, and now only the bell tower can be seen.
Personally, I'm suspicious of this story. It seems much more likely that someone ran out of money after building a short tower and made up a story to attract gullible tourists. However, the sand dunes surrounding the church are quite large, so I'm undecided on what the truth actually is.
In exchange for money, you are allowed to climb a small unlighted stone stairway to see what the "back side" of the brick dome construction looks like. From there, climb wooden scaffolding to look out the upper windows.
Thanks for dropping by!
