I can say with some confidence that Denmark is a great place for a holiday. We went for just over a week and it was emphatically not long enough. There was so much to see and do, we could not fit it all in. The weather was mixed but that did not matter, it only rained a couple of times. Denmark is small so driving times are not long (a bit like the UK) and it is full of amazing history, culture, art, nature, food, good, cheap and reliable public transport and also very lovely people.
We stayed in a summer house near Vejby, a pretty town (village?) on the north coast of Zealand. It was 90 minutes from Copenhagen and in an area known as the Danish Riviera. We chose a location fairly close to the capital as we knew we would want to go in and visit, which we did a couple of times.
Our summer house was comfortable, charmingly rustic and quiet. It was a main house with a collection of small buildings (sheds or out buildings once i imagine) converted, restored and perfect for two families together.
The accommodation was surrounded by lots of decking and a big garden with seating, sauna and hot tub. I can take or leave a hot tub, but i do love a sauna. As an aside, I have to say - it was not a patch on the sauna experience in Finland last year but that is not Denmark's fault. The house we rented in Finland had a wood fired sauna then a short walk to your own jetty from which you could jump straight into the sea. I don't think any other holiday will beat that one, ever, and we talk about The Finland House a lot. This house had a lovely, modern electric sauna and then you stood under the cold outdoor shower (I mean you didn't have to, but I like the hot/cold experience) and then you could get in the hot tub when you'd cooled down a bit.
Another lovely aspect of the house, was access to a private, community-owned beach. It was perhaps three minutes from the house and there was a little locked gate leading to a small grass area. From this cliff-top view, you could look out to the sea and then walk down 200 steps to the shore. There was a handy little resting point half way down. They first time we went, on the first day, it was high tide and pretty windy, so the beach didn't look that inviting.
However on a calmer day at low tide, it looked really inviting. Sadly we didn't have time to visit the beach for a swim - something else we would have done if we'd had longer.
We did often walk down to the beach in the evening, after dinner, to look at the sunset and that was lovely.
Days out included the city of Roskilde to visit The Viking Boat museum and cathedral, Kronborg Castle in Helsinor (inspiratiion for Elsinore Castle in Hamlet), Louisiana Art Museum and small local villages like Gillerleje, as well as days out in Copenhagen.
Louisiana Art Museum was wonderful. A good combination of art and architecture: the location of the building by the sea is as much a part of the experience as the exhibits inside.
The Yayoi Kusama Gleaming Lights of the Souls installation was fun. You stand in a small room, on a platform above water, surrounded by mirrors on all side. The coloured lights pulse on and off, changing colour, so you have no real sense of how big the room is or quite where you are in it. It's amazing
The landscaping is beautiful and it was as nice to wander around outside and inside.
Copenhagen was a delight. John and I visit in 2013, in April when it was very cold, so it was really nice to go back at a different time of year, and with the children. We visited the Little Mermaid statue then wondered why we bothered. It's not that the statue isn't lovely - it is - it's just one of those things that's hard to appreciate when it is very, very busy with people taking selfies. Probably nice to see very early in the morning, or late at night, when it is quiet enough to appreciate.
We had lunch near Nyhavn so definitely needed to revisit this incredibly picturesque part of the city.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Tivoli Gardens but we were keen to visit as it was closed when John and I last came. It's essentially a theme park, but a really charming, tasteful, small one, right slap bang in the middle of the city, with gorgeous planting everywhere you look.
We also squeezed in a visit to the Round Tower. There is something so mesmerising about that long, continuous upward slope, all the way to the top.
Here's a photo of Bella, walking towards the Design Museum through a very pretty and royal looking square.
The design museum was everything I hoped it would be. This is my kind of museum, where I read all the information on all the signs.
I especially loved the fabric section. Inspiration everywhere.
The chairs are pretty iconic.
Excellent views from the top, too.
Gillerleje was a fishing village close to us and one of my favourite places. It feels like a real, working village. It is pretty, yes, but not a museum. It is busy and active with real people. I really liked it. We also had an amazing fish lunch AND I had liquorice ice cream too.
It was also where I spotted a (sadly closed, it was a Sunday) shop called Strik og Sy (Knit and Sew) and, in its window, was an incredible miniature version of the entire shop. A dolls house craft shop! Can you imagine? I pressed my nose up against the window for as long as I could without holding up everyone, and took a million photos so that I could zoom in on them later.
When we weren't out and about we sat around the house, reading, chatting, sitting in the sauna or hot tub. We ate some truly delicious food (honestly some of the best bread I have ever had), and a lot of liquorice, and just recharged out batteries mostly.
