Denmark travel guide

On the high cliff of Rubjerg Knude a lighthouse was constructed in 1900. For the first many decades the lighthouse was struggling with drifting sand. Then navigation technology made the lighthouse redundant in the 1960s, but the lighthouse building was kept as a landmark (and housed a sand drifting museum at some point). However, every year the harsh North Sea took a bite of the cliffs. Eventually the edge of the cliffs had moved so close to the lighthouse that it was in danger of falling into the sea. So in 2019 the lighthouse was moved 70 meters inland, hopefully prolonging its life for many years.

This giant runestone contains Denmark's longest runic inscription. It was probably erected in the early 10th century, during the Viking Age, by Ragnhild in memory of her husband Alle the Pale, who should have been a chief and pagan priest. Like some other runestones the text ends with a curse for those who tamper or steal the stone. The stone was placed as part of a stone ship (setting of stones shaped like a ship) on an even older burial site of two barrows dating back to the Bronze Age, more than 3,000 years ago. In the 1900s more stone monuments were placed at this site and trees were planted.

The Skjoldungestien is considered one of the best hikes on Zealand. The 30 km route connects the train station in Hvalsø with the train station in Roskilde and takes you through some of Zealand's finest landscapes shaped during the last Ice Age. If you want to break the journey in two, Lejre station is about midway. The route has a few sections through villages and along roads, but else it takes you over rolling farmland, through lush forest and past tranquil lakes. The section closest to Roskilde goes along Roskilde Fjord and the coastal meadows there. The most beautiful part is probably through the Bidstrup forests and past Avn Lake (pictured). The peculiar name, Skjoldunge (in English Scyldingas), refers to the descendants of the mythical King Skjold, who is mentioned in the Icelandic sagas. However, excavations of several impressive royal halls (similar to the replica at Sagnlandet) do show that the land of the National Park of Skjoldungerne was once reigned by great and powerful men during the Iron and Viking Ages, so perhaps the ancient king really did live here in the distant past.

There are a fair bit of old windmills on Langeland. Some stand dilapidated and neglected, while others have been carefully restored. Skovsgaard Mill is probably one of the finest on Langeland. It was rebuilt in 1904, after a fire, and is still totally functional to this day, where it grinds ecological flour for the Skovsgaard Estate. The mill is open for visitors.

Stevns' Cliff is a dramatic stretch of coastline where the land breaks off at vertical cliffs, some as high as 40 metres. It's a natural oddity and a paradise for geology and fossil buffs. Each year, the sea eats away the cliffs some more, making Denmark a bit smaller than it already is. The old church at Højerup is a fine proof of that. It was built inland at the end of the 13th century, but the sea slowly ate away the cliffs. In 1928, the graveyard was swallowed by the sea, leaving the church balancing right on the edge of the cliff. Today, the church has been secured and it's possible to visit the balcony at the back where the chancel once was.
Stevns' Cliff became an UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014, due to the exceptional evidence of the meteorite crash in Mexico about 65 million years ago which extinct over 50 per cent of all life on Earth.

A few kilometers from Skagen lies The Sand-Covered Church (in Danish Den Tilsandede Kirke). The church was constructed in the late 14th-century, but during the last half of the 18th-century the church was getting buried by drifting sand. The congregation had to dig out the entrance each time a service was to be held. The struggle to keep the church free of sand lasted until 1795, when it was abandoned. The actual church was demolished, but the tower was left to act as a sea mark and was therefore whitewashed.

The Six Forgotten Giants are six wooden giants, each placed at a different location in the suburbs of Copenhagen (Rødovre, Hvidovre, Vallensbæk, Ishøj, Albertslund and Høje Taastrup). They are all placed at scenic locations, but off the beaten track, and semi-hidden so you have to go looking for them, like a treasure hunt. The quirky looking giants are built from scrap wood by the artist Thomas Dambo, who wanted to lure people out in nature with his giant art pieces. You can find treasure hunt maps for each of the giants on his website: thomasdambo.com/works/forgotten-giants/. Note that the distances between the giants are great, so it’s best done with a car, if you want to see all six in a day.

The hills, forests and lakes at Tystrup-Bavelse are a gem in the otherwise flat farm landscape of mid Zealand. The valley and lakes were shaped by the moving icecap under the last ice age about 15,000 years ago. At the north end of Tystrup Lake is Suserup Forest, which hasn’t been touched for centuries, leaving it full of old and crooked trees. The artificial sandy beach at Frederikskilde on the shore of Tystrup Lake is obviously popular, particularly during summer. Twisting Suså, the longest river in Zealand, runs through both Tystrup Lake and Bavelse Lake, and is perfect for kayaking and canoeing. History buffs might find the Bronze Age burial mounds interesting. Though there are several parking lots around Tystrup Lake, the largest is at Kongskilde Nature Centre, where there also is a map of the hiking trails.

Denmark is an archipelago (expect for Jutland, which is connected to Germany). There are more than 400 islands, but only about 70 of them are inhabited. Most of the major islands are interconnected with bridges, but the minor ones are only reachable by ferry. The island of Ærø is one of the latter. The island is 20 km long (88 sq km) and has a population of less than 6000 people. There are three small towns on the island; Marstal, Æreskøbing and Søby. Charming Æreskøbing is particularly picturesque with its well-preserved historical (18th-century) houses and cobbledstone lanes, which has remained unchanged since Medieval times. Due to Ærøs manageable size, it's popular in the summer with cyclists and hikers. Since Ærø lies within the South Funen Archipelago, the marinas are equally popular with yachts.