Copenhagen and Ærø
See more travel details for recommendations highlighted in bold, excerpted from Rick's guidebooks.
Hi, I'm Rick Steves, delighted to be your travel partner as we visit the best of Denmark. We're starting in Copenhagen — Scandinavia's most affordable and most fun-loving capital.
In Copenhagen, we'll flirt with the mermaid, stroll Europe's first great pedestrian boulevard. Watch the changing of the guard. Jam on a canal boat. Take in some fine art. And party in Europe's queen of amusement parks. Then we'll sail to the time-passed isle of Ærø, for a town as cute as a ship in a bottle, and a bike ride filled with thatched roofs, windmills and Danish seaside charm.
Denmark juts into the North Sea connecting Scandinavia with the rest of Europe. After experiencing wonderful Copenhagen, we'll ride the train and ferry to the rural charms of the island of Ærø.
To explore Copenhagen you can take it easy in a canal boat, go by foot or borrow a city bike.
Leave it to the progressive Danes. This is one of 2000 free loaner bikes. They're parked all over town. Copenhagen is virtually flat, so peddling is easy. And the city's excellent network of bike lanes makes this a fun way to take in the sights.
When you're done, stick it in a rack — there are over 100 of these scattered through the old center — lock it up, and out pops your deposit coin.
A good place to get our bearings is here on Copenhagen's town hall square where old Hans Christian Andersen sits, ready to tell another fairytale. Overlooking the square, the golden girls forecast the weather: on a bike or under an umbrella — today we've got sunshine.
The train station and Tivoli Gardens are just a block that way, and Strøget, Europe's first great pedestrian mall, cuts through the old town from here.
Strøget is a series of lively streets and inviting squares that bunny-hop through the old town, connecting the City Hall Square with the harbor, a 15-minute walk away. When this was established, in 1962, a pedestrian street was a novel and very experimental notion. Though merchants were initially skeptical, Strøget has become the model for pedestrian malls throughout the world.
Helge: "Strøget was the first street in Europe of any size that was turned into a pedestrian street."
For years, local historian Helge Jacobsen has led guided walks through his hometown. We're joining Helge for a stroll down the Strøget and a few historical insights.
Our first stop is a square called Gammel Torv. This was the old town center. It holds remnants of the city's earliest days, dating all the way to the 12th century, as well this intriguing Kiosk from the Victorian age.
Helge: "The Kiosk was put up by the telephone company in the 1890's. But up there you see there's an airplane. But if you look closely you can see that it's an airplane with bird's wings. So it's an imagination of what was to come. It's as if they knew that the next great step for mankind would be flying."
Across the square sits the oldest fountain in Copenhagen. It was given to the city by King Christian IV in 1610. The statue of the mother and little boy was so offensive to people in the Victorian age that the pedestal was added, hoping to raise it out of view of easily offended passersby.
But, these days, the Danes are less modest. A revealing sidetrip through the King's Garden at the Rosenborg Castle on a sunny afternoon makes that very clear.
While Denmark's crown jewels are inside this 400 year old royal castle, the focus today is the park. We're here in July when sun-loving Danes are busy maximizing their short summer and minimizing their tan lines.
Sailors do their sun-worshipping here, where the pedestrian street ends, at the new harbor or Nyhavn. Nyhavn formerly a sleazy sailors' quarter, lounges comfortably around its canal.
Glamorous old sailboats fill the harbor. Any historic all-wood sloop is welcome to moor here, temporarily joining the fleet that makes up Copenhagen's ever-changing boat show, a scene of modern-day Vikings gone soft.
We're lucky enough to be here during the city's annual Jazz Festival, definitely a highlight of the Danish music scene. Jazz musicians, famous and otherwise, come from around the world to jam in Copenhagen's parks and squares, and even canal boats.
Our next stop is Amalienborg Palace, home of Denmark's Queen. Tourists assemble to see the daily changing of the guard.
Each of the Scandinavian countries has a royal family. While they're quite popular and have avoided the scandals that plague other European royalty, the Nordic kings and queens are only figureheads. And though preserving many imperial traditions, the modern Kingdom of Denmark is ruled by a constitution and parliament.
Denmark values her freedom, prosperity, and distinct way of life. In our generation, many Danes are unenthusiastic about joining a united Europe. And back when Hitler's Germany nearly formed its own brand of a united Europe, the Danish underground resisted heroically.
You can see this makeshift tank, at Denmark's Fight for Freedom museum.
This museum tells the fascinating story of Denmark's Nazi resistance struggle. Germany invaded and occupied neutral Denmark in 1940. As more and more Danish factories were used to bolster the German war machine, Danish resistance grew.
The small underground movement quickly swelled to a secret army of 45,000. Clandestine radio transmitters stayed in contact with London. And Danish ingenuity was evident in the numerous, creative acts of sabotage. Train tracks were blown up. Microfilm was hidden in this hollowed out coin. This homemade torpedo was addressed to a German war ship. And this crate of beer bottles packed a very powerful punch.
Just down the street from the museum is the most photographed citizen of Copenhagen, the Little Mermaid. In the much-loved Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, the little mermaid saves the life of a shipwrecked prince and sets off on a futile quest to win his love.
The target of numerous pranks, the mermaid once had her head stolen. It was never recovered. She sits...ever patient (with her replacement head), waiting for her sailor to return ... or the tourists to leave.
For a traditional Danish lunch, we're getting open-face sandwiches. And to be sure we eat it correctly, we're meeting up with Jane Klausen, a Danish friend who helps me lead tours through Scandinavia.
While these tasty beauties cost a fortune in restaurants, prices are easier to swallow at street corner smørrebrød shops.
And there's no more Danish way to picnic. Tradition calls for three sandwich courses washed down with a Carlsberg beer.
Jane: First we start with the herring, then the meat, and then cheese. Let's try a skål. You raise you glass not higher than eye level, you get short but meaningful eye contact, then you say "Skål!"
The Carlsberg family — of brewery fame — is an important patron of the arts in Denmark. The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Scandinavia's top art gallery, is an impressive example of beer money put to good use.
To lure garden-loving Danes, the museum mixes sculpture with Mediterranean plants in its famous Wintergarden. The classical statues and lush trees transport visitors into a scene straight out of Roman mythology.
You'll find an especially intoxicating Egyptian, Greek, and Etruscan collection...some of the best paintings of the Danish Golden Age — from the early 19th century... and lots of French art, including a heady exhibit of nineteenth-century French Impressionists — the biggest in Northern Europe.
The work of Paul Gauguin is particularly well-represented here...he married a Danish woman but later moved to the South Pacific. This Danish scene is by Gauguin the European. And this more primitive scene is by Gauguin, the Tahitian.
The museum's back yard features one of a handful of original castings of Rodin's Thinker. He seems to be pondering how he'll scale the garden wall. Because next to the art museum is Europe's most famous amusement park...Tivoli.
Throughout the summer, Tivoli Gardens offers a daily and nightly festival. This grandaddy of amusement parks recently celebrated its 150th birthday.
Right off the bat, pick up a map and sort through the schedule of free events. There's something happening every half hour.
Tivoli is 20 acres, 100,000 lanterns, and countless ice cream cones of fun. You pay one reasonable admission price and skip into a wonderland of restaurants, marching bands, roulette wheels, ferris wheels. While kids naturally love it, Tivoli's a resounding success with adults as well. Over 4 million visitors come through the gates each year.
Tivoli doesn't try to be Disney. It's Danish. Once you're in, you can enjoy nearly non-stop entertainment without spending another krone.
If you're catching an overnight train out of Copenhagen, Tivoli, across the street from the train station, is "the" place to spend your last Copenhagen hours. Two nights a week, the place lights up the midnight sky with a fireworks show.
Our B&B is in Christianshavn — a neighborhood named after the great Danish king Christian IV. This neighborhood — just over the bridge from the city center — is a never-a-dull-moment hodgepodge. Here, chic and artsy meet hippie and laidback.
Overlooking Christianshaven is the Church of our Savior — Vor Frelser's Kirke. Ambitious visitors are welcome to hike the four hundred steps up its unique winding spire.
Europe's most famous squatter settlement is just a block away. Christiania is a counterculture attempt at creating a utopia. Back in 1971, several hundred squatters established their community in a former military barracks here on the edge of Christianshavn.
Depending on your perspective, this is a shanty town of dogs, dirt, soft drugs, and dazed people or a do-your-own-thing haven of peace and freedom.
Residents believe that they can have their liberty, and also act responsibly. They pride themselves on their progressive attitudes toward the environment and their community take on childcare. After years of controversy, Christiania is now working to fit in better with the city at large...and even giving guided tours.
But there's no squatting for us on this trip. We've got a train to catch. Copenhagen's train station is a temple of travel and a hive of activity.
I remember being right here as a teenager, traveling through Europe with my family. Surrounded by footloose and fancy free backpackers and schedule boards clicking up all sorts of exciting destinations, it hit me "I don't need my parents. Give me a trainpass and youth hostel card — and Europe's my playground." Right then, I vowed to return on my own every year. And I have.
Think about it. You can hop on an overnight train in Copenhagen and wake up in Stockholm, Oslo, Frankfurt, or Amsterdam. Kamikaze big city sightseers blitz Copenhagen between overnight rides. But today, we're heading for small town Denmark.
This new 11 mile tunnel and bridge link now connects Denmark's two main islands. Formerly an hour-long ferry ride, trains and cars now make the crossing in about ten minutes.
This is mighty stuff for a little country and a good example of how throughout Europe, huge investments in its infrastructure are lacing the continent closer and closer together. Now, as if old Hans Christian Andersen himself was piloting the time tunnel express, we're heading from Copenhagen to the island of Ærø. The train stops in Svendborg where we catch a one hour ferry.
Schedules are synchronized. Ferries depart a few minutes after the train arrives. If the train's late...the boat'll wait.
If you're driving, park your car in Svendborg and walk onto the ferry. Ærø island is best explored by bike and local bus. Scenic downtime, a great chance to make new friends. It's easy — there's almost no language barrier. The salty breeze is filled with reminders of Denmark's seafaring history. Few visitors to Scandinavia even notice Ærø — just a sleepy little island on the south edge of Denmark.
Ærøskobing is Ærø's main town. The Danes who wash up the cobbled main drag call it the fairy-tale town. They're here for the coziness.
The Danish word for cozy is hyggelig, and that fits Ærøskobing. Modern building is prohibited anywhere in the center. It's the only town in Denmark protected this way. With a little imagination, it's the 1680s, when Ærøskobing was the wealthy homeport of over a hundred windjammers.
Stubby little porthole-type houses lean on each other like drunk sailors. Snoop around. It's okay — everybody does it. Notice the "snooping mirrors" on the houses. With these little neighborhood periscopes, antique locals may be following your every move.
We going to the "Bottle Peter" Museum — a fascinating house displaying 750 different bottled ships. Old Peter Jacobsen bragged that he drank the contents of each bottle except those containing milk.
He died in 1960 — but his delicate legacy lives on. He left a lifetime of painstaking creations for visitors to squint and marvel at.
To make your own ship in a bottle, collapse your vessel, slip it into the bottle...and raise the sails.
Our Ærø home is the family-run, and very hyggelig Pension Vestergade. Breakfast is hearty — and a new experience: you pour yogurt over the cereal. And the bread is fresh out of the oven.
The six homey rooms come with fine old town views. Our host Suzanne explains the Danish concept of hyggelig.
Suzuanne: "Hyggelig is a way of living. It's a way of when you're together with you're friends The Danes would never sit at a table without a candle between them, and something to eat. It's absolutely not possible. And invariably it's home baked. And the walls are full of pictures, and even the window frames here are somehow filled with pretty things to make it hyggelig. It's just a way of being."
Touring Ærø by car is like sampling chocolates with a snow shovel. In my guide book I recommend borrowing or renting a bike to enjoy a breezy tour of Ærø's subtle charms.
Traditional Danish farmhouses are U-shaped. The three sides block the wind. One section houses the family while the others are for cows and hay.
While Neils is the only thatcher on the island, his rates are fair in order to keep mainland thatchers...on the mainland.
This roof costs about $10,000 and will last 50 years on the sunny south side and 70 years on the north.
Bregninge is just one of many idyllic hamlets linked along the island's winding roads.
On Ærø the bikes come without locks. And tasty strawberries are left on display in front yards — for sale on the honor system.
From this viewpoint you can just see Germany...ten miles across the water. This bluff is called Voderup Klint.
This was a holy spot during pagan times. If I were a pagan, I'd worship here, the sea, the wind, the chilling view...the strawberries.
In village churches you'll find little ships hanging in the nave — a Danish tradition symbolizing our personal voyage through life. This is Lutheran country. And Martin Luther himself is in the stern making sure everything's theologically shipshape.
In a Danish cemetery good luck finding anyone whose name doesn't end in "s-e-n". Sen is son. Son of Mikkel. Son of Hans. Son of Jorgen.
Ærø has a salty charm. Its tombstones say things like, "Here lies Christian Thorsen at anchor with his wife. He'll not weigh until he stands before God."
Denmark is a leader in windmill technology. While forests of modern windmills now cover European hills from here to Spain, Ærø was a pioneer in the modern harnessing of windpower.
And this island plans to win an actual contest known as the 'best friend of the environment' competition. Denmark has one of the highest standards of living in the western world, but people here don't appear to equate well-being with material consumption. Civic responsibility is taken seriously in this country.
And though Danes have a reputation as strong individualists, they also seem to value living in harmony with nature and with each other.
Rick and Man toast: 'skål'
I hope you've enjoyed our look at Copenhagen and Ærø. I'm Rick Steves wishing you happy travels.
See more travel details for recommendations highlighted in bold, excerpted from Rick's guidebooks.