Denmark

Roskilde with a replica of a ship made in Ireland.

Odense

Our first stop was inspired by a New York Times travel article naming the new Hans Christian Anderson Museum among the 52 Places to Go in 2023: "A mystical new museum and garden with all you need to write your own fairy tale. Designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and Associates, the new Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense on the island of Funen is more than a museum. It's a mystical land featuring labyrinthine gardens that double as a public park. The museum explores Andersen's literary interplay between real and imaginary: You can gaze up at the sky through a glass dome and feel like The Little Mermaid; roam sunken courtyards illuminated by sunlight splintering through trees and engage with exhibits by contemporary artists and cylindrical spaces wrapped in latticed timber that suggest the city's traditional thatched-roof houses. The museum is as much about telling stories as it is about imagining your own: Creativity is encouraged at the magical Ville Vau children's center, where children can paint, draw, write and play dress-up amid colorful scenes from Andersen's fairy tales."

The city was small and easy to navigate. We rode our bikes in the first day because the weather was perfect for it. Most of the way it felt perfectly safe. There are, of course, many statues and references to H. C. We enjoyed the way the half-timbered medieval buildings leaned and bulged but were somehow still standing after four hundred years.

The internet hours had indicated the museum was closed that day but when we showed up at the attached H.C. Andersen birthplace, we learned that it was open but we were too late to tour it.  So bought tickets for the following day and received a beautifully made guide. 

Our photos here, click "i" for info.

After dinner that night I decided to brush up on some of the Andersen tales which were featured in the guide - searching out the full text on the internet. I didn't recall "The Snow Queen," so I read about three quarters of it. It's dark stuff, so I moved on to "The Shadow." It's about a learned man whose shadow takes over his life, and ultimately kills him. "The Little Match Girl" made such a strong impression when I read it as a child that I had no need to reread it. You probably already know that Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" has a far less happy ending than the Disney film. 

Despite the often frightening and sad fairy tales Andersen penned, the museum itself was very engaging with interactive exhibits that were whimsical, ethereal and often amusing. I’ve made made marbled papers so I loved seeing the lovely marbled book covers from hundreds of years ago and was surprised to learn Andersen also wrote in many others genres and loved to make paper cutouts as he told stories. Dermot's headset stopped working at some point and he wasn't motivated to get a new one. He was less impressed with the museum than I was.

That afternoon we wandered only as long as our thin blood allowed before dodging into heated stores to shop before returning to camp. That night and the next morning were very windy and cold but we happily tucked into yummy danishes for breakfast.

Roskilde

The wind formed white caps on the water and pushed our campervan around as we crossed the very long bridge between Denmark’s islands. Roskilde is famous for two things - its cathedral and its Viking Ship Museum where five Viking era ships were found scuttled/sunken in the fjord. These thousand year old boats were preserved by the waters and then discovered, excavated and carefully reconstructed. Replicas were also created and sailed to learn more. As a long time boat lover, I found it very interesting. In fact, the museum created an app that described each ship and provided fictitious narratives weaving some facts with conjecture. The app is called "Useeum" and provided information on other Denmark museums as well - its free and available to everyone.

Copenhagen 

Since we'd been to Copenhagen on our cruise a few years ago, we slowed down and focused on new experiences. We spent the better part of a day in the National Museum of Denmark. They had such wonderful Pre-history and "Viking Age" exhibits that we both were on overload by the time we reached the Middle Ages and more modern sections. It was clear that I'd learned very little about Scandinavian history. Some take aways were that Vikings treated women as equals but much that we see represented in TV and movies about them is far from truth.

The following day we went to visit the alternative lifestyle of Christiania. Here's Wikipedia's take on it: Freetown Christiania

We witnessed the tension between the relaxed "soft" drug laws and the reality when a man selling at an outdoor make-shift stand suddenly stuffed what he had in a plastic garbage bag and hurriedly dug a spot in a planter for the bag, covered it with dirt and then took off just before the police arrived.

Though there were people who looked homeless, there were also families with children, stores, eateries, and homes of many types. We had a nice shawarma lunch and wandered about taking it all in. 

That afternoon we fought the crowded streets and waited in line to take a canal boat cruise which was perfect on this sunny day. People all over Copenhagen seemed to be out making the most of the mild weather renting boats and relaxing along the canals in the less crowded parts of the city.

Next Stop: Sweden.