It was a match between the perfect country for the perfect age for a trip that was perfectly planned then perfectly executed. No other major insights. Not sure I would have enjoyed the country as much if I wasn’t traveling with a four-and-a-half year old. Some of the sites I thought were a bit underwhelming and passed through rather quickly. With Charlotte we lingered at the sites catering to children. This trip focused mostly on cities from Copenhagen to Odense to Aarhus to Kolding to Billund. We added a few castles, including spending a night in one, and a Viking sailing experience. We visited in September 2026.
DENMARK SUBPAGES
COPENHAGEN
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CASTLES, VIKINGS, AND FAIRY TALES
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BILLUND - LEGO CAPITAL
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JUTLAND - AARHUS, RIBE, KOLDING, RANDERS
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A few other notes:
Happiness: Danes are supposedly the happiest people on earth. That’s one of the reasons you visit Denmark - to see why the Danes are so happy. What’s the secret? As an American, I visit any European country and think how wonderful the public spaces from the pedestrian streets to the plazas and squares and outdoor drinking to the gardens and waterfronts. There’s great public transportation. There’s universal healthcare. Denmark adds a biking element. Is that what makes Danes happier - building physical fitness into their daily commute? I don’t know. Eight days in Denmark and I don’t get the sense that they are any happier than anywhere else in Europe. There’s a book called The Little Book of Hygge that I purchased (in the US it was $10 more expensive in Denmark) to incorporate some of the Danish happiness secrets into my lifestyle. I’m picking up candle, creating a cozy corner in my bedroom, and I’m even going to purchase a bike this spring and ride the river trail. We will see how it goes.
- The weather changes frequently. The phrase if you don’t like the weather just wait fifteen minutes. That’s a bit too pithy when you are trying to determine which days to visit an outdoor dependent site like Legoland, Tivoli, or the Viking boat. Fortunately, we had clear days when needed. The rainy days were spent at an indoor pool and Lego House. On our Legoland day, clear skies were forecasted yet we had three instances of intermittent downpours - each last about ten minutes. When planning the trip, and while in country, Denmark’s official weather forecast site, DMI.DK, seemed more reliable than Apple’s weather app.
- The country is crazy expensive and there’s not much you can do about it. The primary driver of the higher costs is the 25% VAT tax on EVERYTHING and built in service charges for food and drink purchases. A Happy Meal costs $10 because there’s a 25% tax and a working wage applied. These means that universally, the cheap stuff, like a cappuccino, a croissant, a bottle of water are disproportionately higher relative to the American cost then say a nice dinner out. When I ate well, I thought the costs were reasonable - I would have tip 20% at home. There would have been a 6% sales tax. A stuffed quail dinner, a local fish dinner, and a lobster pasta dish all cost about $50 which is what I would have expected the all-in meal costs to be back home. Yes you can get a VAT refund at the airport on purchase - that assume the store completes the paperwork for you and you don’t mind a potentially long wait when you are running to catch a plane.
- Hotels also offer price “tiers” based upon size, views, etc. that vary significantly. The lower “tiers” are reserved weeks in advance of the actually stay. Nabbing one of the cheaper rooms saves $100 a night.
Happiness: Danes are supposedly the happiest people on earth. That’s one of the reasons you visit Denmark - to see why the Danes are so happy. What’s the secret? As an American, I visit any European country and think how wonderful the public spaces from the pedestrian streets to the plazas and squares and outdoor drinking to the gardens and waterfronts. There’s great public transportation. There’s universal healthcare. Denmark adds a biking element. Is that what makes Danes happier - building physical fitness into their daily commute? I don’t know. Eight days in Denmark and I don’t get the sense that they are any happier than anywhere else in Europe. There’s a book called The Little Book of Hygge that I purchased (in the US it was $10 more expensive in Denmark) to incorporate some of the Danish happiness secrets into my lifestyle. I’m picking up candle, creating a cozy corner in my bedroom, and I’m even going to purchase a bike this spring and ride the river trail. We will see how it goes.