DENMARK – PART 2, FUNEN

This one is really it – I promise!

I have had a great deal of difficulty switching between my blog writing programmes, so I apologise for all the empty posts.

21st JULY, 2019 – FUNEN, DENMARK

Funen is the third largest island in Denmark with a population of a little over 450,000. Our first stop was the pretty Egeskov castle. I particularly enjoyed the whimsical statues scattered here and there.

After a few hours of enjoying the castle we set off for Odense. Odense was undergoing a major reconstruction. Everywhere we looked, huge buildings were being erected and roads were being torn up. Sadly, this meant that much of the charm that I recalled from earlier visits was missing. Odense is best known for being the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen and hundreds of thousands of tourist flock to the old part of town to pay homage to him, to see the place where he was born and the museum that is dedicated to his life. Yet even in this carefully maintained section of Odense, we saw a gaping hole between two of the original houses – one of them being H.C Andersen’s – with engineering braces holding the walls up from collapsing. We can only hope that no modern monstrosity of a hotel will be built there.

22nd JULY, 2019 – ODENSE, DENMARK

We went to a recreated Viking village, where dedicated people of all ages, practised the crafts and trades of the Viking era. We watched the blacksmith making shears and eating implements, watched wool being dyed using natural dyes, saw wooden bowls being painstakingly carved and watched the preparation of porridge and sourdough bread. One young man explained that it had taken him more than a year to handmake his shoes, purse and drinking horn. It was another wonderful day!

23rd JULY, 2019 – RIBE, DENMARK

Ribe is the oldest town in Denmark and the Hotel Dagmar is the oldest hotel in Denmark. When I stayed here nearly forty years ago, there wasn’t a heat wave. The foundations of the hotel had subsided unevenly, the floors creaked and had a very noticeable incline – so much so that the bed legs had been cut 7 cms shorter at on end so the bed was level! That was fine, but the very tiny windows did not allow for any real air-circulation and with the temperature in the high thirties, it was stifling. Sleep was made more difficult by revellers beneath our windows and it was well after midnight before the noise abated.

Ribe is a pretty little town and clearly a favourite holiday destination for Danes. Water mills are an interesting feature of the canals running through the town. The landing place on the river is the site where Viking ships tied up in the year 700 when they first established a marketplace here.

The local Viking museum was fascinating. I was particularly captivated by the shoes, especially those that had belonged to children and how they had been so well preserved.

24th JULY, 2019 – FREDERICIA, DENMARK

I was mainly interested in see the ramparts of the town. After the devastation caused by the 30 years war in a largely unfortified Jutland, King Christian IV realised the necessity of building a strong fortress in Jutland and it was these ramparts that I wanted to see. I hadn’t counted on coming across this fabulous statue, the first ever monument in the world dedicated to ‘the unknown soldier’.

The ramparts themselves provided a lovely green space. The moats between them was teeming with life: birds, fish and ducks all shared space with the human occupants.

Quite by chance, we happened upon a local historical museum that had restored buildings and told of the life of the people who had lived there. Seemingly trivial facts about the population who were essentially dispossessed immigrants. The King had given a special decree for Fredericia allowing the population: Jews, Catholics and Hugenots to practice their own religion in peace. This was a remarkable feat of tolerance for the time.

Our hotel for the evening was a lovely looking old-fashioned ‘Kro’ (Danish country inn), complete with thatched roof. After the disappointingly uncomfortable night we had spent the night before in historic Ribe, I was concerned about the comfort level of this hotel. I needn’t have worried. While the front of the hotel was original, an extensive new development was behind the front facade. Far from being disappointed by this turn of events, I was delighted with the huge bedroom and bathroom, the completely flat, carpeted floor and the gloriously comfortable, modern bed. Nonetheless, the heat remained oppressive, of course there was no air-conditioning, and only a small portion of the comparatively large windows opened to allow some fresh air.

25th JULY, 2019 – THE SILVERSEA CRUISE

With the heatwave continuing we were all the more anxious to get to our luxurious, air-conditioned suite aboard ‘The Silver Spirit’.

Barry endured his final white-knuckle, two and a half hour drive back to Copenhagen. We dropped off our rental car, caught a taxi to Langelinie where the cruise ships dock, checked our luggage on board and then promptly caught a taxi back to Copenhagen to enjoy a cup of coffee and some of the best Danish pastry in Denmark at Konditori Le Glace on the walking street. What a wonderful few weeks!