It was a 9-day trip with 4 people in the summer of 2017. It is worth to travel to Scandinavia in the summer, because the weather is good, but not so hot as in the rest of Europe: the mornings are cool, but during the day it can be over 20-25°C. I traveled by train (the others by plane) and we rented bicycles and a car there. The accommodations were in Copenhagen (4 nights) and in Aarhus (2 night) and I have also accommodation in Hamburg (2 nights). This trip was focused on the architecture of the two Danish masters: Arne Jacobsen and Jorn Utzon.
01.07.2017 – Hamburg
The trip starts in Zurich Main Station at 6:00. The train goes direct to Hamburg and it arrives at 13:35. In Hamburg you have time to walk in the famous Speicherstadt and the Hafen City. You should book a ticket for the architecture tour of the Elbphilharmonie [photo] by Herzog & de Meuron. After that in the evening you will have time to walk around in the centre of Hamburg.
02.07.2017 – Copenhagen
At around 8:30 a train goes to Copenhagen and you should change the train twice [in Flensburg-D and in Fredericia-DK]. You arrive to Copenhagen at around 14:00. [Tip: The public transportation is solved with busses and it is basically slow. If you do not have so much packages, than I could recommend you to use the public bike system. After you download the app, you can use the system with the help of your mobile phone.] You should discover the city by bike. Some architecture highlights: Nyboder is a former workers quarter with long terraced houses, Nordhavn [Amerika Plads – photo], Charlotte garden, Nyhavn, Strandgade, Trangravsvej, new opera house.
03.07.2017 – Copenhagen
Another day is waiting for you to see some interesting places in the Danish capital: Carlsberg Brewery area developement, Sluseholmen quarter [photo], Danish National Bank by A. Jacobsen, Rundetaarn [tip: nice view to the old city], the Harbour of Copenhagen with its bicycle paths, Christiania [tip: it is a famous place, but for me it was a little bit creepy.]
04.07.2017 – Between Copenhagen and Helsingor
Rent a car and drive to Helsingor [tip: if you drive, you should be careful in Denmark, because there are a lot of bicycles all around]. The fortress and the harbour of Helsingor and the new naval museum by B. Ingels/BIG and the atrium houses “Kingo” [photo] by J. Utzon are really worth to see. After this very Danish town a cultural place is waiting for you: the Lousiana Museum of Modern Art by V. Wohlert and J. Bo was built near the sea and it offers many programs and a beautiful garden with café and restaurant [tip: it is one of my favorite places in Denmark]. A bit further away from the sea coast you reach Fredensborg, where you find atrium houses by J. Utzon and the famous summer palace of the Danish royal family. In Hillerod you can see a typical nordic-style palace and a contemporary conference building by SeArch Architects. On the way back to Copenhagen you should stop in Sollerod, where the city hall was designed by A. Jacobsen.
05.07.2017 – Copenhagen
In the agglomeration of Copenhagen there are many interesting buildings by famous architects: the beach estate by A. Jacobsen in Klampenborg [photo] [tip: on the way to the town you can also see a small petrol station with an expressive roof by A. Jacobsen.], the art museum by Zaha Hadid in Ordrup [tip: the garden is nice and the house of Finn Juhl is also there], the church by J. Utzon in Bagsvaerd [tip: it is open for visitors], Munkegaard school and the Allehusene estate by A. Jacobsen, a school extension by B. Ingels/BIG, Grundtvig church, Superkilen, city hall in Rodovre by A. Jacobsen. End of the day you can visit Orestad, Dragor and the beach in Kastrup.
06.07.2017 – Roskilde, Odense, Aarhus
Leave Copenhagen and drive to the West. Take a brake in the former Danish capital, Roskilde and visit the cathedral. After that go over the Storebaelt bridge, which is 18 km long and 254 m high. This bridge connects the the two main islands of Denmark: Sjaelland and Fyn. In the middle of the island of Fyn is the town of Odense, which was the home town of H. C. Andersen. If you would like to feel the atmosphere of a calm Danish town, than Odense is the right place to visit. Slowly you reach the mainland of Denmark and the second biggest city: Aarhus. The city has an industrial, modern look, and it is worth to see the harbour, too [photo].
07.07.2017 – Aarhus, Ebeltoft
In the morning you should visit the Aros Modern Art Museum. There are always some temporary exhibitions in the museum, but the permanent exhibition is also interesting: the “Boy” by R. Mueck and the “Your Rainbow Panorama” [photo] by O. Eliasson are the main masterpieces of the collection. It is also really worth to visit the city hall of Aarhus by A. Jacobsen, which is maybe one of the best buildings in Denmark. In the afternoon drive to Ebeltoft, which is a tiny small town with nice houses by the sea.
08.07.2017 – Ribe, Kolding, Hamburg
Leave Aarhus and go to Ribe, the viking town of Denmark. Next to the cathedral you can see a building covered with roof tiles, it was designed by Lungaard & Tranberg Architects and it is a multifunctional building of the local church community. After a walk in Ribe, you can go to the swamp land of the Vadehavet National Park. The Wadden museum is designed by D. Mandrup and it is covered with reed. Before you leave Denmark take a brake in Kolding. The train goes to Hamburg.
09.07.2017 – On the way to home
On the train.
And here is the map:
ADAM BALOG 