Denmark: Storebælt Bridge is a toll bridge which costs $36 USD to cross. It connects the island of Fyn and Zealand and is 18 km long and one of the longest of this type in the world. We are glad we waited a day and crossed during nice weather as it was still quite windy on the suspension part. 
Ærø, Denmark: Denmark is a country of islands, actually 1400+ islands and ferries connect some of them together. We took this 75 minute ferry to the island of Ærø. 
Ærø, Denmark: Many half-timbered houses, similar to those in the Alsace region and lots and lots of cobbled streets. 
Ærø, Denmark: This island was gorgeous and since the busy season had already ended we pretty much had the place to ourselves. 
Ærø, Denmark: Many of the houses had these mirrors attached to the windows so the inhabitants could “see” what was happening up and down the street. We have never seen these before on our travels but thought they were a great idea. 
Ærø, Denmark: Many houses on this island still had the traditional thatched roof, Tony’s favorite type! 
Ærøskøbing. Denmark: This lovely church was all lit up during our evening stroll through the town. We literally only saw 3 other people during this walk and therefore had a very peaceful nights sleep in our marina campsite where we were the only campers. 
Ærøskøbing, Denmark: As this place was historically a busyfisherman’s port, many of the windows had a pair of these ceramic dogs on the windowsill. If the dogs were facing out, that meant the fisherman were out to sea (and also that the wives might be a wee bit lonely lol). 
Ærøskøbing, Denmark: The town hall on the main square. We really enjoyed our time on this island which felt untouched by time as laws forbid any modern buildings. 
Ærø, Denmark: We met the farmer of this property and bought some of his vegetables, too. He had an honesty box, but came out to greet us when we stopped to look at his offerings. We found the Danish people quite friendly. 
Ærø, Denmark: Although Denmark is the leader in wind (turbine) technology, there are still plenty of traditional windmills, too. 
Ærøskøbing, Denmark: Many German sailboats in the harbor and interestingly many of the signs were written in both Danish and German since it is such a popular German spot. 
Ærøskøbing, Denmark: Tracey loved these adorable beach huts all uniquely built and all painted in different colors. There were about 30 of them in total, but most appeared to be already closed up for the season. 
Ærø, Denmark: As we were cycling around the island we saw several of these cut your own flower patches with honesty boxes for payment. This would never work in the US (as people would steal the product AND the honesty box), but in Denmark is seems quite common. 
Ærø, Denmark: We did the Rick Steves self-guided bike tour of the island and it was great! This is the lovely Bregninge Kirke built in 1250. 
Ærø, Denmark: We have never seen ships hanging from the ceiling inside a church before, but we saw this is both churches we visited on this island. 
Ærø, Denmark: One of the small details in the church we learned about from our Rick Steves tour. This “fool” was painted on the ceiling as the painter did not feel he had been provided a fair wage for his work. The mouth opening has been enlarged over the years as the rope which used to hang through it rang the church bells. 
Ærø, Denmark: We almost didn’t do this bike ride around the island because of the weather, but after riding in a brief shower the weather was lovely and we are so glad we pushed through. 
Ærø, Denmark: We spent 2 days and 1 night on the island and it was perfect. This was hygge at it’s best. 
Ærø, Denmark: Built in 1250 this was a very interesting church with lovely painted murals inside. We were the only people there, of course. 
Ærø, Denmark: This yellow color paint is very popular in Denmark. There were towns where almost all of the houses were this same color. We learned this is because this ochre colored pigment was once one of the most affordable. 
Ærø, Denmark: Tony is back to doing push-ups after his shoulder fracture 12 weeks ago. He is doing inclined push-ups and working up to regular ones. Slow progress is still progress! 
Ærø, Denmark: Our return ferry was almost empty with only 6 total vehicles on board. 
Aarhus, Denmark: This is one of the larger cities in Denmark, but with a lovely old town area we enjoyed exploring. Our Voicemaps audio tour was not our favorite, but nevertheless we enjoyed our walk through town. 
Aarhus, Denmark: Tracey loved the Viking symbols used for the walk lights in Old Town. 
Aarhus, Denmark: A wonderful exhibit at the KØN – Gender Museum about Afghan women who continue to be ranked as the most oppressed in the world. The images were both beautiful and surprisingly hopeful in tone. 
Aarhus, Denmark: A quick stop in the KØN – Gender Museum. We enjoyed this museum especially this part where we learned about the Red Stockings Movement which was the Women’s Rights movement in the 1970s and 80s in Denmark. 
Aarhus, Denmark: The modern waterfront with many new residential buildings being erected. 
Aarhus, Denmark: These are the ride share bikes from Donkey Republic. They were terrible!! They were classic bikes (non electric), weighed 40+ pounds and were in horrible condition as we both only had two of the three gears available. Tony’s peddle was also bent at a 45 degree angle. We have never laughed so much as when riding these giant and heavy bikes around town. We call them the “be-donk-a-donk” bikes. Our next outing we opted for the electric boosted Lime bikes that were 3x the cost but a 100x better experience. 
Aarhus, Denmark: The ARoS Aarhus Art Museum is now Tracey’s favorite modern art museum beating the Louisiana museum we just visited in Copenhagen. This is the panoramic color installation on the top floor. It was AWESOME! 
Aarhus, Denmark: The ARoS Aarhus Art Museum with its colorful panoramic installation on the top on the building was a highlight of our visit to this city. We arrived at the museums opening and we had the entire walkway to ourselves. 
Aarhus, Denmark: The ARoS Aarhus Art Museum walkway was 150 m long, 3 m wide and provided a 360-degree circular walkway made of glass, featuring all the colors of the visible spectrum. 
Aarhus, Denmark: The ARoS Aarhus Art Museum was 8 floors of amazing modern paintings and sculptures, including these Marilyn Monroe’s by Andy Warhol. 
Aarhus, Denmark: The ARoS Aarhus Art Museum has this very popular 15-foot tall hyper realistic sculpture. Tony is in front for a size comparison but also playing a jokester. 
Aarhus, Denmark: The ARoS Aarhus Art Museum was sensory overload, but this room called “Psychology” was one of Tracey’s favorite rooms. 
Lindholm Høje: The Viking Museum which also had an interesting display about the use of flint but we mainly came for the large Viking graveyard. 
Lindholm Høje: There are over 600 graves in this pasture and the site was excavated in the late 1950s. 
Somewhere in Denmark: The roads can be skinny in Denmark, BUT the speed limit is much much lower in these areas than in Ireland and Wales. The small lanes on each side are for bike traffic and the middle single lane is for 2-direction car travel. It all just works and it works quite well. 
Grenen: Our campsites aren’t always the most beautiful but sometimes it’s all about the location. This “campsite” was free, being close to other vehicles protected us from the strong winds and it was the actual start of our hiking route the following day. 
Grenen, Denmark: This is the point where the Baltic Sea and the North Sea meet. Water is moving in opposite directions and has differing salinity levels leading to this wave formation pattern. 
Grenen, Denmark: A peaceful morning beach walk 
Grenen, Denmark: It was such a lovely (and EASY!) walk to see the sights, but the riverboat tourists elected to be herded onto a trolley and dragged through the sand and dunes by a tractor. 
Grenen, Denmark: After making our way to the Jutland Peninsula, we learned that this part of Denmark is almost all sand and dunes. Quite beautiful and remind us of coastal Oregon or the Outer Banks, NC USA. 
Skagen, Denmark: This lighthouse is still an active lighthouse and built in 1858. It is made of brick and has metal straps holding it together at different places from top to bottom. 
Skagen, Denmark: Den Tilsandede Kirke (the sand covered church). The sand is unrelenting and overtook the church in the 1600s and now all that remains is the steeple sticking up through the sand. 
Skagen, Denmark: In addition to lots of sand and dunes in Jutland, there are also peat bogs similar to what we saw in Ireland. 
Råbjerg Mile, Denmark: Råbjerg Mile is Denmark’s largest migrating sand dune, located near Skagen, which covers an area of approximately 2 km² and moves northeastward at a rate of about 15 meters per year. It is unstoppable. 
Råbjerg Mile: Walking in the soft sand up the dune was harder than we expected. Also, sand has worked its way into every crevice of our shoes and also covers the floor of our van no matter how many times we sweep. 
Råbjerg Mile, Denmark: The dunes are larger than we expected them to be but still smaller than those of the Imperial Sand Dunes (USA). There have been lots of tactics used to try to stop the dunes from migrating, but all have failed and the dune “marches” on. 
Råbjerg Mile, Denmark: Another area we pretty much had to ourselves while we were there. September in Denmark has been fantastic and highly recommended for travel.
Day #: 143-147
Date(s): 16SEP -20SEP2025
Location(s) Visited: Svendborg, Ærø Island, Aarhus, Aalborg & Skagen Denmark
Overall Impression of Location(s): Svendborg = 2, Ærø Island = 4, Aarhus = 4, Aalborg = 2, Skagen = 2, Grenen = 3
4 -added to our favorite list and we would return again
3 – a great place to visit
2 – OK for one visit, but we would not return again
1 – we wish we hadn’t wasted our time here
Distance Driven on Leg/Trip (km): 535
Weather/Temperature (°F): Autumn has officially arrived in Denmark, although a few summer weather days breakthrough occasionally. Daytime temperatures are now in the low to mid 60’s and overnight temperatures are in the low 40s. We have had more rain over the last few days, although it was not continuous so we were able to get outside between the bands of storms which seem to be spaced about 1 hour apart. The biggest change is the wind. Denmark is very, very, very windy. There is a reason they are the world leaders in wind turbine technology. We have had to break out our gloves, hats and scarves but just when we think the weather has officially cooled, we get a day that is sunny and 74. Auxiliary heat is being used at night along with duvets and our slippers have been pulled from the far reaches of the cabinets. Interestingly, none of the trees seem to be changing color yet but lots of migrating birds have been seen.
Road Conditions: No issues although we have learned Denmark does have skinny roads of its own in the countryside. The Denmark roads are especially skinny on the Jutland Peninsula, but they are still wide in comparison to Ireland and Wales. Overall, driving in Denmark is a pleasure. We would say that Denmark has been the easiest place to drive of all of the European countries we have visited.
Chickpea Mechanical Status: The Hymer dealer in Aarhus on 18SEP2025 easily and quickly replaced our failed (again) kitchen faucet and it came in right on estimate at $300 USD, but boo on the Hymer warranty process as this should have been covered, in our opinion. Tracey is taking the broken faucet home with us and says she is going to take it apart and fix it so we have a back-up next year. Overall, all systems continue to be good with Chickpea but we have one last appointment scheduled on 26SEP2026 for some minor warranty repair work in Northern Germany. We most appreciate the heated front seats, diesel/electric upgraded Truma heater for the living section of the van and the combi boiler which provides hot water (something we don’t have in our other van) for washing and showers. Overall, we are happy to have purchased this van and we would make all the same choices if we were to purchase again today. We regularly comment about how lucky we are to have this vehicle to travel in Europe.
Health Update: Tony is getting stronger every day. He has times when he forgets his arm was broken and nights where he has no pain. At 12 weeks post injury, he is back to doing 100% of his normal activities (sans heavy liftings) and this includes driving and resuming his role as the sanitation engineer (Tracey is VERY happy about that). Tracey’s leg is hanging in there and she is walking without pain most days. Her wasp/hornet stings are still not really healing and there are still scabs where she was stung over a month ago and Tony is continuing to dig out pieces of stinger on a not infrequent basis. The whole situation is still a bit crazy.
Highlights:
- Rick Steve’s did not let us down on his suggestion to visit the island of Ærø. A drive across the 18 km long Storebaelt Bridge and then a 75-minute ferry ride dropped us off in Ærøskøbing. This quaint fairytale town has been frozen in time with half-timbered houses, narrow and winding lanes, cobbled streets and absolutely no modern buildings (these are forbidden by law on the island) and some of the buildings are 750 years old. We really liked Molestein lane which is a gravel ocean font path that winds behind some of the stately houses and showcases their amazing gardens. The busy season was over prior to our arrival which meant this place was a literal ghost town. We were the only camper in the marina Aire/Stellplatz, we were the only people walking around the city center at dusk and there were only 6 other vehicles and 15 total people on our ferry. This tiny island that is geographically as close to Germany as it is to Denmark only has 6000 residents, but in the summer 250,000 tourists descend on this place. We are so glad we came in the quiet season as it was a very peaceful and relaxing getaway which consisted of a comprehensive town tour with Rick Steves’ guidebook, an evening stroll through town and a 15 mile Rick Steve’s bike ride which took us to several 12th century churches with miniature wooden ships hanging from the eaves, to a 6000 year old Viking burial ground where there is a buried Viking ship around a group of giant Neolithic stones and throughout the countryside which included brightly colored u-shaped houses designed to provide protection from the wind along with their trademark thatched roofs.
- Aarhus ended up being a great stop for us. Not only did we get our faucet easily replaced at the Hymer dealer we also spent some time exploring this charming city. We stayed at another marina Aire/Stellplatz close to the city via bicycle. We took another VoiceMaps GPS audio tour of the city (although this one was not our favorite), we visited the KØN – Gender Museum and the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum (modern) both of which we liked a lot and would recommend to others. Tracey especially liked the modern art museum and she would have spent the entire day there if not prodded along.
- Continuing pushing north, we stopped in Aarborg and specifically the Viking Museum with its large Viking graveyard adjacent to it. Many of the artifacts had been excavated from this site and were on display in the museum, which was small and utilitarian, but well done. There were even a few skeletons on display in their partially excavated graves, some still with their jewelry on. The graveyard was larger than we expected and included hundreds of both cremated and buried bodies.
- Our next stop was the furthest northern point of Denmark, called Grenen. We camped in a glorified parking lot that was free as it was off-season, but directly on our hiking route. This is another area where we especially enjoyed exploring including walking out to the beach and seeing where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea (violently) meet, den Tilsandede Kirke (the sand-covered church) which Mother Nature has swallowed up back in the 1600’s and now all that remains is the steeple sticking up through the dunes. Our last stop of the day was to Råbjerg Mile which is a “walking” set of large sand dunes. It is the largest moving dune in Northern Europe and migrates up to 55 feet each year towards the city of Skagen. Many mitigation efforts have been deployed but all have failed and the migrating dune “marches” on. We climbed up to the top of the dune which is 40 m (~130 ft) tall. The dunes were fun to explore but they pale in comparison to the Imperial Sand Dunes in SW USA, which we have visited several times. This entire area of the Jutland Peninsula is dominated by the coast, high winds, peat bogs, beaches, and sand dunes. There are large beautiful and powerful wind turbines everywhere we looked. We really enjoyed Northern Jutland and are surprised it was not included in Rick Steve’s guidebook.
Lowlights:
- We aren’t coming up with much, so to dig to the bottom of the barrel we will say the wind was our lowlight. Denmark is very windy which makes driving a tall van a challenge but also makes walking on the beach and sand dunes a bit unpleasant as we were constantly getting a face full of sand. But really, we love Denmark and this leg was just stellar.
Up Next: More Denmark as we make our way down the west coast of the Jutland Peninsula
Onwards! Vorwärts immer, rückwärts nimmer! Allez on y va!
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