KatelynJune 18, 2022 – July 3, 2022
Where We Stayed:
Lena’s House Airbnb – Aalborg
Solbjerggaard B & B – Millinge
Airbnb – Aeroskobing
Trip Highlights:
- Harry Potter Studio Tour
- Legoland Billund
- Den Gamle By
- Aeroskobing
- Copenhagen & Tivoli Gardens
Favorite Restaurants:
- Hoop & Grapes
- Any Danish Hotdog Stand
- Creperie Aero
Over the course of this trip, we would end up from the very top of Denmark throughout nearly the entire country. But, before we arrived in Denmark, our trip began in London, England.
Travel to London
Sam and I flew to London on KLM airlines, with a layover in Amsterdam. Being a Dutch airline, there were a few funny Dutch elements of travel, including these cute clog salt and pepper shakers on the plane and the little blue houses all over the KLM lounge. After arriving in London we had a relatively relaxing evening, meeting up with the rest of the group and eating dinner at our favorite nearby pub, Hoop & Grapes.
The cutest salt and pepper shakers 
Harry Potter Studio Tour
Our only full day in London was spent at Leavesden Studios for the Harry Potter Studio Tour. The two main studio lots where the original Harry Potter movies were filmed have been transformed into a massive museum, with many of the original sets and costumes on display. This was a major highlight of the trip for me. Visiting this place was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and it definitely lived up to my already high expectations. One of my favorite parts was at the end, when you enter a room with a massive model of Hogwarts castle that they used to film exterior shots of Hogwarts for movies 1-6. Even after spending the entire day there, I’d love to go back.
Dragon from Movie 8 
The Great Hall 
The Fat Lady 
An Early Draco Costume 
Butterbeer! 
Gryffindor Common Room 
The Leaky Cauldron 
The House Hourglasses 
In The Great Hall 
Tiny House Elf Armor 
Dumbledore’s Office Entrance 
Hogwarts Express 
Buckbeak 
Moving Portraits 
The Knight Bus 
On the Bridge to Hogwarts 
Basilisk 
The Many Flitwick and Griphook Costumes 
Giant Hogwarts Model 
Diagon Alley 
Outside the Studio 
Gringotts 
In the Lestrange Vault 
An Original Chess Prop 
The Massive Hogwarts Model 
Sirius/Hagrid’s Motorbike
Travel to Billund
The next day we were scheduled to travel to Denmark. However, when leaving the Harry Potter Studio Tour, we began to put two and two together that a massive transportation strike was beginning the next day, and getting from Central London to the airport may end up being very difficult. After spending the day at the Studio Tour, we decided to pack up and move to a new hotel that evening that was closer to the airport to make it easier for us to catch our flights.
There were several cancelled flights that night, so most of the hotels were already full. We had a bit of a rough night at the hotel we were able to book, but it did set us up to easily catch our flights to Billund, Denmark.
Legoland Billund
Billund, Denmark is known primarily for one thing: Lego. Lego Corporation is headquartered there, and they are also home to the first ever Legoland. We spent the morning and early afternoon at Legoland, getting our first taste of Denmark. This Legoland has a massive miniature world, where many famous sights and cities were recreated in Lego. We also got our first taste of Danish hotdogs at Legoland, something we would end up indulging in quite a few more times throughout the trip.
We made ourselves in Lego! 
The First Danish Hotdog 
Travel to Aalborg
After finishing up at Legoland we picked up our rental cars and began our drive North to the city of Aalborg. Along the way we stopped at a Danish grocery store for supplies and had a picnic at a park along the way. We also stopped at saw the Jelling stones, two runestones. One of these runestones was created by Harald Bluetooth, honoring his parents and celebrating his conquest of Denmark in the 10th century. Harald Bluetooth is who modern bluetooth technology is named after.
Jelling Stones 
We settled into our Airbnb in Aalborg. This house was big, with plenty of space for all of us to spread out. It also had a big backyard with an inground trampoline and balcony. While we didn’t spend much time exploring Aalborg on this trip, this house and its location was a great place to settle each night after our various day trips to the surrounding area.
Den Gamle By
We spent one day while staying in Aalborg at Den Gamle By, a historic park dedicated to showcasing different eras of Denmark’s history. This open air museum is a collection of historic buildings from throughout Denmark that were relocated to the park to showcase three different eras of history. Many of the buildings were restored inside and out, so it really felt as though you were wandering through a historic town.
Churches of Denmark
We also spent time on several different days visiting some of the historic churches and towns where Sam’s family had lived several generations ago while they were still in Denmark. This brought us off the beaten path, and allowed us to experience more of the Denmark countryside, which was very interesting.
Blokhus, Denmark
One evening we visited the town of Blokhus on the coast. Here we stopped by the world’s largest sandcastle and enjoyed more Danish hotdogs while looking out at the ocean.
World’s Largest Sand Castle 
Skagen, Denmark
We spent an entire day wandering around Skagen, Denmark. Skagen is located at the very northern tip of Denmark. While some baltic cruises stop here, making it a bit more touristy than some of the other places we had visited, the town really felt like a sleepy little fishing village. We wandered through some of the little shops, enjoyed their art museum, and tasted the local fish and chips and softice (a treat similar to vanilla soft serve ice cream, though lighter and often coated in chocolate shavings).
We also ventured to the very tip of Denmark, where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea meet. You could tell you were looking at two different bodies of water on either side of this tip of sand. On each side, the water was a slightly different color. One side was warmer than the other. One side also had slightly rougher waters than the other.
Softice!
Travel to Millinge
Our next stop in Denmark was the tiny town of Millinge. Along the way, we started to see the beginnings of advertisements and excitement about the Tour de France, which was scheduled to begin in Copenhagen in just a few days. We also saw several busses of high school graduates celebrating in the different towns we passed through. It’s a tradition in Denmark, when you graduate high school, to rent out a party bus and ride around town drinking and partying for an entire weekend to celebrate. We saw several of these groups of kids throughout our trip.
Our lodging was a bit different in Millinge. We were staying at a bed and breakfast that was a renovated horse stables. The building was adorable, with a thatched roof and a beautiful garden out back.
Graduates Celebrating 
Our room 
The B&B 
Picnic in the B&B’s Garden
Meeting Ebba
Our main reason for staying in this area was to spend a morning with Ebba, Monica’s former host mother that she had stayed with as a teenager. We had a great morning with Ebba and her son Steen at their home. We were lucky to be able to spend the morning that we did with her, as Ebba passed away several weeks later.
Egeskov Castle
After visiting Ebba, we went to Egeskov Castle with Ebba’s son, Steen. The castle had it’s own moat surrounding the building, and its garden was made up of several large hedge-maze looking areas. In the attic of the castle, there was a mini museum of retro and historic Denmark toys, and a creepy doll on a pillow that was supposedly haunted.
Creepy Doll in the Attic 
Svendborg to Aero
From Millinge we traveled to the town of Svendborg, returned our rental car, and caught a ferry over to the island of Aeroskobing. Here, we stayed at two small Airbnb apartments to experience Denmark island life for several days.
Aeroskobing
Aeroskobing was an adorable little town on the island of Aero. Every street was lined with colorful little cottages and cobblestone streets. While here, we visited a ship in a bottle museum, ate quite a few more Danish hotdogs and spent time watching the ships go by and the many jellyfish in the ocean. We also made friends with the owners of a crepe stand that had opened recently and tried out nearly everything on the menu over the course of the three days we spent there.
Crepes, Hotdogs, & Softice
Every day on Aero, we had a pretty set food schedule. Get savory and sweet crepes for lunch at the creperie, Danish hotdogs for dinner, and softice/sorbet for dessert.
Beach Huts
One thing Aero is known for are these small, colorful beach huts right on the ocean. These huts are passed down through generations of families, as little beach getaways.
Marstal
Across the island from where we were staying is the town of Marstal, which we visited by bus one of the afternoons we were on Aero. While here we did a bit of shopping and visited a ship building museum, talking about the area’s history.
Leaving Aero
After several days on Aeroskobing, Sam and I left the island one day before the rest of the group to make our way to Copenhagen. This trip involved several different forms of public transportation. First, a ferry to Svendborg on the mainland. Then a train from Svendborg to Odense, transferring in Odense to another train that would take us to Copenhagen. From there, we needed to catch the subway to Malmo, Sweden, where we could walk to our hotel.
The ferry and first train were pretty easy. Hardly anyone was on the train, so it was a pretty comfortable ride. The train from Odense to Copenhagen was another story. Every seat on the main train seemed to be either reserved or taken. We wandered around for a while before finally finding a seat in one of the outer corridors along the side of the train. The closer we got to Copenhagen, the more busy the train got. When we finally arrived in Copenhagen, every inch of space in front of our feet was taken up by someone standing. Eventually some backpackers stood in front of us, with their giant packs pushing right up against us until we finally arrived in Copenhagen.
What we didn’t realize, was that the Tour de France was beginning in Copenhagen that day. So, while we were just trying to make it to Copenhagen for the final couple days of our trip, everyone else was trying to get to Copenhagen to see the Tour de France begin. The entire city was packed with people. But, we were able to make it out to our hotel and rest for the remainder of the night after our slightly chaotic travel day.
Packed up to our knees on the train 
Wandering Copenhagen
One day in Copenhagen just isn’t enough, but we made the most of it. The main Tour de France had left, but they had the route fenced off and were allowing locals to bike it. We went to a massive Dungeons and Dragons and game store, wandered around to see the major sites. After one last hotdog, we made our way over to spend the evening at Tivoli Gardens.
Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli is one of the first theme parks in the world. Walt Disney was inspired by and took inspiration from Tivoli when originally creating Disneyland. It was beautifully themed, with lots of flowers and interesting shops and games. We went on one ride, which was a dark ride based on Hans Christian Andersen stories. One fun thing was their Roomba-like lawnmower that looked like a bunny.
Traveling Home
We had a long, but relatively easy travel day home from Copenhagen. We began with a flight from Copenhagen to London, England, followed by a flight from London to Chicago. At the end, it took us about 22 hours to get back to our apartment, though we had no major hiccups along the way.
Night in Malmo, Sweden 
A surprising full-English breakfast on a plane 
Rose & Sparkling Water 
Whitefish, salad, and berries
Over the course of our two week trip, we saw nearly every corner of Denmark. it was an awesome way to be introduced to Denmark’s culture, and we’re excited to go back to further explore Copenhagen and maybe revisit a few of our other favorites, in the future.
