Bacon, Vikings and "That Mermaid".

April 28, 2015  •  2 Comments

The tourist guide tells you that, to blend in with the locals, you should wait for the green man when crossing the road. It does not say that you need to be tall and blonde with broad shoulders and very pale blue eyes. So with our cameras around our necks and map in hand we went forth to explore Denmark looking every inch the tourist!
 

Up until now, if I thought about Denmark at all, I thought about Danish bacon, Vikings, flat landscapes and of course 'that Mermaid', but more about her later.  My ideas about the country were not too far from the mark.
 

Moesgaard Museum We flew in to Aarhus at lunchtime and drove straight to the Moesgaard Museum to get a couple of hours there before it closed. As you can see from the picture the museum does not impose itself on the landscape and there are great views of the surrounding countryside from the roof.
 

Terracotta warriors at the Moesgaard Museum.
 

Bog body on display in Moesgaard Museum.
 


 


 


 


 


 

The museum is most well known for its bog bodies of which many have been found in this part of the world but there was also a temporary Chinese exhibition of terracotta warriors.
 

Silkeborg museum.Open only at weekends! Next we made our way to Silkeborg. The main attraction here was another museum. It is this museum which houses Tollund Man, one of the best preserved bog bodies in Europe, that Gilly was particularly keen to see. Unfortunately we arrived to discover that the museum was only open at weekends!
 

Silkeborg is a small town with a parade of shops and a picturesque stretch of river but seemed to have little else to commend it to visitors. We had a mediocre meal in an overpriced Italian/Mexican restaurant.
 

We had heard that Jelling was a quaint medieval village so that was our next stop.
 

The church at Jelling, taken from the top of a burial mound.

Jelling is said to be the birthplace of Christianity in Denmark. The church is set between two burial mounds and within the area of a symbolic Viking ship burial site which has been marked out with white stones. Again we were met with a closed museum, this one closed for renovation, so after a quick look around the village we moved on to Vejle (pronounced Vile).
 

The river near Vejle.

The next morning we drove almost as far as the German border for Gilly to visit a former concentration camp. Those of you who know Gilly will know that this is an essential part of any European holiday!
 

Watch towerThe watch tower in the centre of the camp with a school located in the renovated barrack blocks in the background.

A perimeter watch tower at Froeslev. Froeslev was unusual in that it was run by the Danish not the Germans. The Danish government insisted that all prisoners remained in the country which meant that they had more control over the conditions in the camp. This agreement continued until the Nazis took over the running of the camp in 1943, when conditions worsened and the political prisoners were removed to death camps in Germany and elsewhere. Inside one of the barracks.
 


 

At the end of the war the camp was re-named Faarhus and was used to house German prisoners of war.
 

Today the barrack blocks have been renovated or rebuilt and half the site has been given over to a school. The other half is an eclectic mix of museums. Some of the barracks form a museum dedicated to this site; others are taken over by such institutions as the UN and The Royal Danish Navy. FroslevA view of the camp from the central watch tower. Above is a view of the camp from the top of the central watch tower. Original buildings are painted brown, reconstructions are painted red and hedges mark out the place where some barracks were demolished and have not been re-built.
 

The next major stop on our tour was the Viking museum and ship burial at Ladby where I got talking to one of the craftsmen who were constructing a Viking ship using traditional methods, tools and materials.
 

Danish craftsman

   
 


 

A short walk from the museum was a burial mound which contained the excavated remains of a Viking ship. The remains are preserved behind glass in a controlled environment.
 

Big kidCarts were at hand to take your kids to the ship burial site. Burial mound with a mini museum inside.
 


 


 


 

A typical Danish farmhouse
 


 


 

We moved on to another Viking museum at Roskilde where several ships had been found at the harbour mouth. It is thought they had been deliberately sunk as a kind of blockade against invasion.
 

Gilly inspects one of the reconstructed ships.


 

A girl takes a photograph of the ship. I stopped to photograph this church on the road from Lejre to Copenhagen.
 

We finally dumped the hire car and spent a few days just exploring Copenhagen.
 

Our first stop was at the picturesque Nyhavn where we spent a pleasant hour soaking up the atmosphere with a sandwich and a drink before taking a boat trip around the harbour.
 

NyhavnProbably the most picturesque part of Copenhagen.


 


 


 


 


 

Back on dry land and we found this graffiti wall. The little doors are all painted black on one side and coloured on the other so you can flip them to make a new design. I confess I thought that this was a great idea. Graffiti wall in Copenhagen.

In the centre of Copenhagen there are 5 streets collectively known as Stroget; this is the main shopping area and is totally pedestrianized. At the heart of this area is the Rundetaarn (round tower) which has some interesting architecture. RundetarnInside the round tower. . . . and some great views from the top.
 

The view from the top of the Rundetarn.
 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

In the park we found one of Copenhagen's most famous past residents, Hans Christian Andersen.
 

The guards outside the palace are very smart but not as disciplined as those in London. This one even smiled for the camera.
 

Hans Christian Andersen.
 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

On the way to the harbour we passed St Alban's church; I thought this was worth a photograph. The Little Mermaid St Alban's church.
 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

I had been warned to expect to be disappointed by the Little Mermaid. Apparently the locals cringe at the mention of her and even the travel guide says that tourists shrug and say "is that it?" at first sight of this 'small underwhelming' statue.
 

Personally I failed to be disappointed. The statue is about life-size, as I expected. Although, as I had seen photos of her, I did expect her to command pride of place at the main entrance to the port instead of being tucked away in a corner, but love her or hate her she is the most photographed object in Denmark. I saw these two walking in the evening sun and thought it made an attractive picture. On a morning walk I spotted a little girl playing around some statues so I sat back to see if she did anything interesting and was rewarded with this shot.
 

Below left: something scary in Copenhagen.
 

Below right: I decided to climb this spiral tower which, as you will see, was not for the faint hearted.
 


 

Above: Two views looking back down the spiral staircase. At the top the stairs narrowed to nothing.
 

Once again the views from the top made the climb worth while. A rooftop viewed from above.
 

These open sandwiches in the market made for a very tasty lunch.
 


 


 


 


 


 

The last item on our itinerary was the Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum where I took these final few pictures.
 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Food and drink are expensive in Denmark and we felt a bit ripped off with additional charges on the hire car but the locals are friendly, everybody speaks English, and breakfast buffets are amazing! 
 

Copenhagen has a laid back atmosphere and some great museums, all in all this was an interesting and very enjoyable trip.
 


Comments

Susanne(non-registered)
Superb Jon, I particularly liked the silhouetted tree with 2 small people and the child offering a statue a bite. Very interesting reading and photos xx
Ann(non-registered)
Wonderful insightful blog Jon, absolutely loved it. Thank you again for sharing your and Gilly's holidays with us, I now feel I have visited Copenhagen. :)
No comments posted.
Loading...

All images on this site are the property of Jonathan Bartlett and are protected under UK and international copyright laws.

None of the images on this site may be used (including but not limited to copying, downloading, saving as digital files, printing or any form of reproduction or manipulation) without the prior consent of Jonathan Bartlett.

 

Subscribe
RSS
Archive
January February March April May June July August September October November (2) December
January February March April (1) May June July August September (1) October November December
January February March April May June (1) July August September October (1) November December
January February March April (1) May June (1) July August September October November (1) December
January February March April May June July August September (2) October November December
January February March April May June July August September (1) October November December
January February March April May June July August September (1) October November December
January February (1) March April May June July August September (1) October November December
January February March April May June July August September (1) October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December