Day #148 - Denmark - Odense

The Daemon Roller-Coaster -- Tivoli Gardens

Walking to Egeskov Castle

Waiting outside a small, middle-of-nowhere train station

Fairy-tale house ouside Hans Christian Anderson's Museum

Birthplace home for Hans Christian Anderson

Monday, August 9th

Today I took a train to the island of Funen,Denmark -- specifically, to the town of Odense. It was about a 1-1/2 hour train ride from Copenhagen. Not too bad. Denmark is pretty accessible to all parts of the country. This differs from Norway, Sweden, and Finland - whose long-bodied countries stretch near the North Pole.

I wanted to see a new part of Denmark. I walked around the city for some time. Pretty low-key. Although the 3rd biggest city in the country, it felt small. I toured around the streets and made my way to the Hans Chrisitan Anderson house. Born in 1805, HC Anderson is best known for his children stories. 2 of the stories that I've read are: "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Little Mermaid".

They had a museum and across-t0wn was the home he grew up in. I toured around both sites. Pretty interesting and very focused on kids. The coolest thing about the museum was this story-book type house outside along this small pond. I guess Anderson was a big traveler. He has published a number of long travelogues. Interesting.

After touring around Odense, I took the train south to the small town of Kvaerndrop. When I say small, this would be in the middle-of-nowhere. I walked a couple miles to the Egeskov Castle. I didn't give myself enough time and I had arrived close to 5pm. The place was closing at 6pm so I didn't pay to get inside. This was a really neat site. I'm disappointed that I couldn't see more. Unlike other castles I've toured, this place was much more than that. It had over 30 acres of ground. It had mazes made of shrubs. I've always wanted to do one of these. Wouldn't that be pretty cool? The castle itself was much more interesting in appearance than many others. It was an island castle accessible only by a suspension drawbridge (unique). It was constructed in 1554 - known to be Europe's best preserved Renaissance island castle.

So many interesting things to see - you could spend a day at each site. I'm in 'stick and move' mode however - so I pick my battles and where I can spend the time. I took the train back into Copenhagen.

I had a free ticket to get into Tivoli Gardens. The park is across the street from the train station so I decided to check it out. Character. That's the word that comes to mind. This place has it. Old, genuine, filled with alot of character. I walked throughout the park first. Then, I went up to one of the younger guys working a booth and asked: "I'm wondering who the best is - the best roller coaster in this park". His respone: "Dude, it's the Daemon man, it's awesome, you gotta try it man - it's awesome. You gotta do it". Solid - with that sales pitch, how could I not try it.

I'm a huge fan of roller-coasters. The taller and faster they are - the better. Some buddies and I went to Cedar Point several years ago. This is a legendary park outside Sandusky, Ohio (along the shores of Lake Eerie) which houses some of the best roller-coasters in the world. I don't think the Daemon could match - but I had to try it anyway. It was this twisty, upside-down, type coaster. You were seated but your legs were hanging free. It was an awesome ride. Way too short - but still awesome. I didn't hang out too long in the park. This is one of those things that you just don't do by yourself. It was definitely fun to see. It was a Monday night - the place was completely packed. All good.

Back in the hotel. Tommorrow I exit Denmark and head to Sweden. Plus, I have some great news. I'm meeting up with this Swedish family I was telling you about. I'm meeting them at a McDonalds at 5:45pm tomorrow night. They have 2 sons, 1 of which will be coming to the US in a couple weeks as an exchange student. This should be great sharing stories providing some perspective of US life while also hearing all about Sweden.