16 NOV 2020
Here we are with another destination to add to our travel wishlist!
This month we’re heading north, to Denmark, in a trip that takes us from its capital, Copenhagen, to the far north, where landscapes stretching as far as the eye can see and steep cliffs overlooking the sea await, ready to charm and astound us.
So, let’s fasten our seatbelts and set off to explore this new destination on board our trusted Fiat Ducato-based motorhome!
Copenhagen, a record-breaking city
Our adventure couldn’t help but start from here, the nation’s capital city, where modern design and ancient buildings, cutting edge technology and culture meet, together breathing life into one of the most surprising cities in the world.
Walking through the streets in the centre, we are instantly spellbound by all the beauty and colours around us, and by the glimpses we catch of the city’s buildings, some overlooking the sea. The countless different sides to this city and the harmony that you breathe as you walk through its streets liken it to the setting of a watercolour painting.
The city of Copenhagen feels like a veritable open-air museum and the Danish culture helps boost this sensation, thanks to the tranquillity of its inhabitants and the cleanliness of all its locations, including the port, where taking a dip in the water is a possibility.
This is where we find the Royal Palace of Amalienborg, the queen’s winter residence, still in use today, part of which is open to visitors. Here, luxury and splendour honour the oldest royal flag in the world: yes, we’re talking about 600 years ago!
As we continue our tour of the capital, we must visit one of the most ancient attractions on the planet: in fact, Tivoli Gardens was the world’s very first amusement park. With its roller coasters, relaxing boat rides, flowers and the evening concerts staged there in summer, this pleasure garden is sure to charm you off your feet.
Wandering around the capital, we can then stop and visit the National Museum, the Kronborg castle and the beautiful Round Tower, the oldest working observatory in Europe. And it’s precisely while we’re wandering around that we reach the port, where the world famous statue dedicated to the Little Mermaid, commissioned by Carl Jacobs in 1909, welcomes all those arriving in the city by sea.
It’s time to hop back on board our Fiat Ducato-based motorhome and head westwards to continue our journey of discovery through Denmark’s treasures!
Odense and the way to the west
Having travelled for a few hours and crossed the bridge over the sea that links Halsskov and Nyborg, we arrive in the country’s third largest city, another great tourist attraction for all the visitors to the region every year.
Here we can’t help losing ourselves in the little streets of the old town centre, where today we can still see some of the characteristic wooden and masonry houses of the area, the house in which writer Hans Christian Andersen was born - now a museum dedicated to him-, and then the Danish Railway Museum, a perfect destination for all the family!
Another unmissable destination is the Egeskov Castle, with its park consisting of mazes, in which classic cars, play parks, aeroplanes and many other surprises await the young and the young at heart alike.
Finally, near Odense, we also come across the village of Funen, where present and past merge, bringing to life a reality that is the accurate reconstruction of the Danish environment between the 18th and 20th centuries: yet another unique, unmissable destination! And the perfect end to our day? A fantastic river cruise is just what we need in order as we sit back and relax, basking in our admiration for the beauties offered by this fairytale city.
The Jutland of the north and its wonders
We head to this point towards the north, where we will also be in a better position to get the most out of our beloved Fiat Ducato-based motorhome. In this wild area, the keyword “adventure” reigns supreme, and even if there are lots of places to visit, it is also true that, thanks to the freedom offered by our vehicle, we’ll have no problem exploring them all!
Driving northwards, in about 2 and a half hours we’ll arrive in Aalborg, our destination, and the departure point for this journey on the trail of the most remote parts of Denmark.
This town hosts lots of attractions for history and culture buffs, notably including the ancient Viking cemeteries in Lindholm Høje, the burial ground of the famous population who inhabited the area no less than 1500 years ago.
Continuing even further north, towards the far side and the place where our journey ends, we soon encounter two of the country’s most interesting attractions.
The Råbjerg Mile desert, the largest migrating dune in northern Europe, which moves an impressive 15 metres per year, will bring us out into an unrivalled landscape, giving us the impression that we’ve been transported to another planet in the space of a few minutes. The whitish sand here creates a wonderful optical effect at sunset, melting into a myriad of colours that merge on the horizon.
Here we also find the Rubjerg Knude, the lighthouse which - due precisely to the movement of the desert - from year to year moves nearer and nearer to the sea and which will soon be permanently submerged.
Our last destination is the furthermost tip of Denmark, Grenen, the place where the Skagerrak and Kattegat seas meet without ever joining, creating a unique spectacle. But be warned: you can’t go for a swim here and in fact the strong currents in this area even make it inaccessible for boats!
Our journey of discovery through Denmark ends here, on the shore of the two seas, between magic and curious tourists gazing at the horizon, dreaming about their next adventure on board their Fiat Ducato-based motorhome.