scandinavia: aarhus and odense, denmark



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What you'll find here

Tour Itinerary
Flights
Accommodation
Food
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We're down to our last country in our trip: Denmark! If I'll be really honest, I didn't know anything about Denmark except the colorful buildings in Nyhavn in Copenhagen, so I'm glad that we included Aarhus and Odense in our itinerary on the way to the capital city!

We transferred from the overnight cruise back to the tour coach when we reached Hirtshals and we stopped by the city of Aarhus. We went to visit the Aarhus Cathedral which is said to the longest church in Denmark and dedicated to St. Clement who is the patron saint of sailors.


We continued our tour til we reached Odense. Fun fact: Odense is derived from Odins Vé, meaning "Odin's sanctuary", as the area was known as a sanctuary for worshippers of the Nordic god, Odin (I know---all I could think about is Thor 😂)

We visited the Odense Municipality and played around the controversial sculpture, Oceania, which is placed in front of the building.


Perhaps Odense is most famous because of the fact that it was Hans Christian Andersen's hometown. The Danish author, who penned The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling, and so many more well-known stories and pieces was born in the city.

We roamed around the place with our tour guide, Christian. To be honest, I think he's the reason why I loved the walking tour so much. He was so adorable and he clearly loved what he does and he shared the greatest stories. 💖

There is a 1-day ticket available with which you can visit the museums. The Hans Christian House is newly built and opened in 2021 (this trip was in 2019). In our trip, we visited the museum, the old house, and the childhood home.

Here are photos inside the Hans Christian Andersen Museum.

HC Andersen was so tall we were all wondering how he fitted in his bed.

Hans Christian Andersen's birthplace at 45 Hans Jensens Stræde.


Andersen's childhood home in Munkemøllestræde. I remember Christian saying that the author's family is just one of the three families who lived together in the small house. HC Andersen didn't like to talk much about his childhood when he reached adulthood but was said to have spun imaginative stories when asked instead.


Roaming around Odense and seeing all the beautiful, well-preserved buildings. There are sculptures about Hans Christian Andersen's tales all around the city.


The Odense Cathedral under renovation.


Some more of the beautiful sights that made me think how good life must be in Denmark.

Thumbelina

A photo with our beloved tour guide, who's named, well, Christian 💓


We had dinner at Den Gamle Kro. It was set in an old building set in 1683 (😶) in a very quiet street. The dining was lit up with candles that the group joked about ghosts being present. The food, especially the dessert of ice cream was... amazing.

We went straight to the hotel afterwards, tired and fulfilled by the storytelling day.


Flights
Manila - Amsterdam - Helsinki
Copenhagen - Amsterdam - Manila

The Tour
All arranged by  Kuoni Global Travel Services  which is a global group travel provider. Kuoni offers customized group tours.

Accommodation
First Hotel Grand - It was good but it was set in an old building that I just didn't want to be alone in the room 😂. No need to worry about the amenities, the beds, and all other else---they are new and modern as they can be. I just... There's a vibe. 😂 I researched just now and found out that it's a classic hotel which dates back from... 1897. Cool, cool, cool, cool... The breakfast was good too!

Food in Odense
Dalle Valle - We had this for lunch and it was a buffet, I think they have a nice, wide selection.

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This is a work trip that I started organizing a year in advance.

This post is part of the Scandinavia series. All transportation, accommodation, itinerary, and meals are sponsored by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Kuoni Global Travel Services.

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