Denmark: Copenhagen, Odense and Billund
European schools are on the quarter system and so we have a full week off for a fall break. (Woot!) We left for Copenhagen where we met up with Eli’s dad, Sandy, and step-mom, Fern, to explore (a little corner of) Scandinavia.
We rented a car and I put together a circle tour to take us through Denmark for three days and along the western coast of Sweden for three days. After a night in Copenhagen, we jumped in our Volvo (how appropriate for a week in Scandinavia!) and drove about two hours to Egeskov Castle. This Denmark landmark is declared a “must-see” by all websites and travelogues and was voted among Conde Nest’s best of the world.
I wish I can tell you how much we loved it…but when we arrived, we discovered it had closed for the season two days earlier. We tried to catch a glimpse through the gates and Eli even tried to plead our case to a non-sympathetic groundskeeper. We made do with a “we were here!” selfie. Then we had to punt to a plan B attraction.
Enter, the town of Odense, the location of Hans Christian Andersen’s childhood home. Thanks to Imagine U, Northwestern’s Children’s Theater company doing a performance of Hans Christian Andersen’s musical last summer, Ben counts himself among the writer’s biggest fans. Odense managed to fill the afternoon with a wander, some history, and a chance to dress-up as an old-timey tailor.
We spent that night at Hindsgavl Slot, a 19th century castle on expansive grounds, where the former stables have been converted to lovely accommodations. Like some of our previous destinations on this trip, we seem to be reaching pockets of the world where few foreigners visit. The castle played host to several Danish events and business meetings, but we seemed to be the only non-resident guests on the grounds.
The next morning, we rallied early for the main attraction of our trip: Lego House. Lego was created and is designed in the town of Billund, Denmark. Here, about two years ago, Billund and Lego opened an extremely innovative Lego creative center. We purchased entry tickets to be there when the facility opened for the day and we stayed virtually until closing time.
Every single area was creative and engaging for the kids and adults alike. We all agreed that had we spent a night in Billund, we easily could have gone back again to explore for a second day.
The House has several zones, each of which is full of hands-on lego fun. We built pumpkins and flowers and bugs. We raced cars and built cities. We made stop-motion animation videos. We made lego versions of ourselves and swam in giant pools of Duplo. No description that I can give will do justice to this place. We all were amazed by the incredible facility.
Eli and I as Lego people. Fairly accurate representation, no?
After leaving Billund, we continued about an hour north to a small farm called Skovlide for the night. Thomas, the owner of the farm, was so welcoming and allowed Norah and Ben to meet all the animals. There was also a trampoline in the backyard where the kids jumped until dark. All thumbs way up.
