SUMMARY Another day in Odense where we find that several of the things we want to do would require a car. Which we don’t have. So, we narrow our options and take a train to the outskirts to Funen Village, an outdoor museum with very old farm buildings you can tour. They were moved on site from all over Denmark to preserve them. It’s really cool and we have a very good lunch of Funen pork sandwich on the grounds. Back in town we tour the H. C. Andersen Museum then have a fabulous meal at an oddly named French restaurant called Kok and Vin. - Karen
DETAIL We wake and it’s 59 degrees and slightly overcast. No rain today or for many days to come. High today will be in the upper sixties, low seventies. Perfect.
Our hotel, the Odeon, has a good reputation for their breakfasts and it seems well deserved. Everyone’s room includes breakfast so there are a lot of people. The food is spread out across many tables and rooms. We hear lots of languages, including a bit of English. There’s hearty bread, hams, and cheeses. There’s a nice breakfast salad with arugula, cherry tomatoes, beans? Not a lot of fruit on offer other than dried and whole (banana, apple, kiwi).
Finally we’re off for the day. Step one: get some steps. We need exercise. A ways away is the H. C. Andersen harbor. We head that way. On the way we walk through their famous food hall, StormsPak, or something like that. It’s huge, long and chock-a-block full of food booths, coffee booths, bars, and sitting areas. It has a tall ceiling and the whole place is decorated very fun, funky, and hip. At 10:50 a.m. almost nothing’s open. We’re still full from breakfast, so that’s OK. In the evening this place must get rocking!
We walk on to the harbor. En route we see road work going on. There are lots of buildings around us. We’re not sure of what period or in what style these buildings are, but they’re not to our liking. The harbor looks nice enough. There are very few businesses or people. Not the rocking part of the city. Where we are there are a few if any boats. There is a huge swimming pool that looks nice. It is, by contrast, well attended with people bobbing and doing laps. The Danish do like their exercise.
We head back towards the HC Andersen museum/house. On the way, we call an audible and change plans to go to the outdoor museum, the Funen Village, first. It’s a place where they’ve relocated lots of really old buildings from around Denmark. We catch a train two stops and walk the rest of the way. From the train station to the village is a walk through the woods. There’s a big children’s playground and lots of kids and parents having a blast.
As we get closer, we see something that appears to be the entrance. Our map says “no”. It is ‘an’ entrance, but it’s for the zoo. We zig and zag and get close to our target. We see a huge building but it has a different name: “Den Fynske Landsby”. We inquire inside as to the location of “the Funen Village”. This is it, we’re told. Karen asks why are there no signs outside for the Funen Village? The lady behind the counter says visitors point this out constantly. And…? (We don’t ask)
It’s a great museum. Very kid friendly. There are farms and animals, mills, shoe make’s house, prison, stables, vicars’s house, brick maker’s place, bakery, weaver’s cottage, etc. etc. There are workers there, in period costume, doing stuff. The buildings have tools and furniture appropriate to the time and building. Very cool.
We bus home after. We ask the desk lady where we can buy a ticket for the bus. Maybe on the bus? No. Online. Here, let me write down the URL. Sure enough I was able to buy our tickets on my iPhone, pay with Apple Pay, and then show the driver. Pretty slick.
We finally do the H.C. Andersen museum. The lady who sells us the tickets points us to the locker room where we have to leave Karen’s backpack purse. We pass the same lady coming back and we smiles and waves. We then start at the wrong end of the exhibits and without the required headset. The place is pointless without a headset and it’s included with admission.
Thankfully a very tall, lean, young Danish lad who works there says (in essence) “What are you doing here without headset, starting here??” He takes us back to where they set you up with the headsets and get pointed in the right direction. The place is really well done and amazing. It’s room after room, connected by looping and winding hallways. Everywhere is something to see or experience, and always an appropriate story or enactment plays on the headset. They’re all just two or three minutes long. Bored? Just keep walking.
The bottom line of H. C. Andersen’s story? He was born very poor and soon wanted to be an author (books, plays, stories, something). When very young a sprite came to him and said he’d be famous one day and all of Denmark and the world would revere him. He was a bit of an odd duck. He tried his hand at love (mostly ladies, but also..?). Anyway, it’s really well done.
Dinner? At Kok & Vin, an awesome French restaurant. Karen thankfully made a reservation the day before. We were impressed from the start and with each successive dish we were more so. Inventive, delicious and expertly assembled. Not too pricey. Lots of seating and it was very full, understandably.
Long, meandering walk home to try (in vain) to off-set some of the calories from dinner.
Photos
Just a small part of all the options for breakfast at The Odeon. Also eggs, bacon, cereal, juices, coffee. Too much.
The StormsPak food hall. Funky and fun and thankfully not all that open as we're coming through at 10:50 am
The H.C. Andersen harbor. Pretty but not a major destination for visitors to the city. We're there for the exercise.
In the harbor we do see H.C. Andersen
The outdoor museum, the Funen Village. Very cool. Thirty-some buildings, moved here and put back up and filled with interesting artifacts from when these were busy.
We always love a good windmill. And the whole building can turn, that's crazy!
What is a farm without animals?
Many of the houses were of the middle class. Those better off had people to wash their clothes and ensure they're well pressed, with lots of irons in the fire.
Goats, both mom goats and the kids. They seemed happy with all the lush green grass. The roof behind might be tasty, too. It's a thatch roof (straw?) and this one is very new. We're told they can last 80 years.
We see an H.C. Andersen statue on the way to his museum.
In the museum were a lot of his things and writings and books. He wanted to be famous and world known and succeeded. Apparently when invited over by friends he'd tell tales to the kids, who loved them.
The emperor's new clothes. Stand in the right place and non-existent clothes were overlaid on your body.
Where the princess slept, for the Princess and the Pea.
Arriving at 6 pm at Kok & Vin. It looks empty but behind me and downstairs it's already packed. Those empty tables around were quickly filled. Delicious.
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