Tag: Denmark travel

H. C. Andersen’s Story

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

After we said goodbye to the Vikings, we crossed the Storebaeltbro (Great Belt Bridge) and headed into Odense, on the island of Fyn. This is the birthplace of one of the world’s great storytellers, Hans Christian Andersen.

The museum is housed in a very modern building, with a flower-covered roof and high tech displays explaining Mr. Andersen’s life and works.

The displays, one good-sized room for each story, are interactive and very fun. Liza got involved and all of them! My favorite was the story of a very choosy princess, (I couldn’t find the name!), which got Liza’s competitive impulses going. She kept going back to try and win approval of the very unpleasant princess.

The exhibits were designed by 25 different artists, so each one has a distinct feel.

The interactive nature of the exhibits even got Auntie Olga dancing!

I was pleased to see that Auntie Bridgett’s favorite story, The Ugly Duckling, was also Mr. Andersen’s favorite. He said, “It is my story. It is the story of many of us, who are born into a world which will not have us.”

It was a spectacular, exhausting visit!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Off to Meet the Vikings

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

After the Forest Tower, we were all happily exhausted, but our day wasn’t over yet. There were reservation snafus and rearranging of expectations, which is a bit jarring, but always good experience.

We found a beautifully renovated hotel called Portgaarden in Skaelskør, had a delicious dinner, slept very well, and had a fabulous breakfast. Part of our morning was spent chucking rocks on the beach under the Storebaeltbor, the Great Belt Bridge that connects the island of Sjelland to Fyn.

This huge construction has a suspension part that is more than four miles long (more than twice as long as the Golden Gate Bridge). Then there is a lower causeway section hat is also just a bit over four miles long. It is an amazing accomplishment. We will cross that this afternoon.

But we were headed to see some old, old friends. The oldest friends in Denmark, in fact. The Vikings.

At Trellborg, we got to see the archeological remains of an actual Viking village, where hundreds of families lived, worked, raised children, and fought off enemies, starting in 980 A.D.


We saw their clothes, their weapons, and their graves.

Then we walked out into the round berm where they placed their houses, arranged for safety and society.


A model shows the overall view… some houses inside the berm, some outside for tending the sheep and the crops.

The outlines of these houses are still visible, covered in concrete to preserve them for future study. This is the best preserved Viking fort in Denmark, and there is still a lot to learn about it.

And it felt very real, very personal. These were mothers and kids, fathers and husbands, working together in a difficult situation, doing the best they knew how. From the archeological evidence, it looks like the fortress was built quickly and only occupied for about 15 years, then abandoned after a massive battle and fire.

The futility of all their work and vulnerability in a violent time leads me to think less about raiding Viking armies and more of the people who stayed home, keeping their society going. I have learned a new viewpoint. Travel does that.

Love,

Grandma Judy