Two weeks in Denmark for a cyclist is not enough. Not only did we have to take a train several times to catch up with all things we wanted to see, but we actually had to squeeze a big part of the planned stops, all because Denmark, as it turned out, has an incredible amount of beautiful and interesting places to offer. Even if your mean of transport is faster than a bike seeing everything in just 14 days would be impossible. Following our article about preparation of the cycling trip around Denmark, here goes one with the places to see.

It’s a love from the first sight. Copenhagen deserves much more than three days, and in a perfect world we wouldn’t mind spending there a year or two. On foot and by bike, we loved every minute in this old but modern, young and relaxed city. Check out our separate article about Copenhagen, where we tell what to see there if you are a first-timer.

A beautiful stop for a cup of tea in a picturesque village with timber-houses.

Møn is one of the numerous Danish islands, which is famous for its chalk cliffs (Møn Klint).

Even if Mon is an island, it’s connected with two bridges, so one doesn’t have to take a ferry.

We were not the only tourists on the island – the roads were full of German camping cars – an astonishing pilgrimage. A car with Danish number plate started to seem almost exotic. On the edge of the island are situated the cliffs that so many people come to see. They are amazing indeed, so the ride we’d made to get there was worth it. It is not even the beauty of the scenery which impressed us the most, but the contrast with the rest of Danish landscapes, as we talk about real huge cliffs and not little hills. There is definitely something British in these white cliffs…

The next day leaving Møn we visited a very old church Fanefjord. From outside it doesn’t really stand out, but inside it is just amazing. All the walls are painted with the fresco, the youngest of which had been created in the end of XV century. The fresco represent the Bible stories, which create such a mysterious atmosphere, that when we stepped outside, we were a bit disorientated.

We were told that Ærø was the most beautiful among Fyn islands, so we couldn’t miss it. A trip to the island took 1.5 hours on board of a big ferry. One of the reasons why we love the Scandinavian countries is the power of their landscapes. You  can feel the nature’s superiority over the human, and in this case, the nature is not tender, but cold and severe. On this ferry crossing the waves of the Baltic Sea, the heart was full of joy and veneration.

We got off the ferry in Ærøskøbing – a cute town with typical Danish houses. Its colourful streets are listed in UNESCO, as many houses were preserved since XVII century. Like many of Danish territories, Ærø used to migrate from Denmark to Germany, now it just stays popular for the tourists from both countries.

A little anecdote for our offsprings. On the map we noticed a nice spot on the western part of island. It was marked as a green zone, so without any hesitation we went  there directly hoping to install our tent. On the way we got soaked with rain a couple of times, then we got stuck near a farm of sweet lamas (!) so we reached our goal when it was completely dark. It was the most unusual night of the whole journey.

This cape is surrounded with sea from the both sides due to its prolonged shape; add to this rocky coast and very strong wind. The lighthouse lamp was the only source of light in this bluish darkness. While installing the tent we had to attach it with every rope for it not to fly away. Never again did I feel so secured. Falling asleep with the wind crying is a pleasure among the strongest.

Waking up was too prosaic though as we were woken by lawn mower sounds. Indeed, a man was cutting the grass. As soon as he saw us, he approached and politely asked us to clear off immediately… the golf pitch! The sea was calm, pleasant breeze caressed our faces; the lighthouse was not scary anymore. :)

After a week of cycling, our butts started hurting, that’s why we were more than happy to get to our next stop – Odense. Most of all I wanted to see the birth house of Hans Christian Andersen. Even if you have never heard about him, you definitely know the Ugly Duckling or the Little Match Girl. If not – something went wrong. As the thousands of children, we had grown on his fairy-tales, so the excitement level was huge! The museum includes the house itself and a great exposition on life and work of the writer. It’s so well organised, that I couldn’t help loving him even more. It couldn’t be otherwise after having seen his jaw. :D

It was a stop-surprise due to a bad logistics, but we enjoyed walking in this beautiful town in Jutland.

When I hear the word Denmark, I imagine two things at once – Skagen and Fanø. It’s just so stunningly beautiful even when it rains so heavily. Severe northern nature in modest colours. We were told that Fanø has a big colony of seals, but no luck for us – the only one we saw was a semi-putrid seal corpse. However, we saw several roe deer just in the middle of the towns!

Then we were caught by the rain. It was not just a light drizzle that one can easily tolerate, but a real cold downpour. It was time to act and to change our ridiculous summer t-shorts into something more serious. We found a sports store proposing great discounts, and bought there everything. Trainers, socks, jackets, hats and gloves. A good lesson for the future…

Fanø – is an endless beauty. If I ever write a book, the action will take place just there.

After a long walk on this severe beach, we decided to come back via the road on the western coast that passes in the sea! I mean that the road is there only during the low tide, but doesn’t it sound amazing? After half an hour of infernal efforts our average speed fell to 9 km/hour. The wind was too strong, the sandy wet surface was slowing us down and the sea level was progressively rising. So we had to push our tandem through swampy hills on the narrow paths or even without any paths at all, in order to reach the asphalted road. We were swearing like the most experienced sailors. It must have been so much better, if we had taken this road on our way there and not back.

All this part looking like an octopus is called Jutland. It’s much more empty and much less touristy than the island part of Denmark. We crossed it almost without stopping up to Sindal, but all the beauty around was much more than what we could bear.

A definite highlight of the whole trip – beautiful Skagen and the point where the two seas meet. Check our separate article about this beautiful place.

As you can see on the map, we made a somewhat weird detour in our itinerary, by passing by Sweden. Don’t ask. It was the bug in logistics, which we regret both, but at least we could visit another literature town – Helsingør (or Elsinore), a twin-town of the Swedish Helsingborg. I’m sure there is hardly anyone who is not familiar with the Shakespear’s Hamlet. Let us present you the city, where the Danish Prince was placed by his author and namely – into the Kronborg Castle. I must admit that it was the main reason why we wanted to get there, but it turned out that the locals don’t develop Hamlet-theme too much – the Castle’s history is rich enough to do without it. A great interactive museum with a beautiful park – couple of hours  passed there quickly…

On our way back to Copenhagen, we passed by the house of Karen Blixen, I wish we had more time to visit this one too!

While writing this article, I realised once more, how much there is to see in Denmark, and how often it is underestimated, when tourists only come to see the capital. In the meantime, Denmark stole our hearts once and forever.