Road trip between Hamburg and Copenhagen?
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Road trip between Hamburg and Copenhagen?
Greetings everybody from our lockdown to yours. We are starting to think about where we might like to go after this is all over (say maybe June-July 2022 if not sooner) and thought perhaps of a road trip between Hamburg and Copenhagen. We have been to Hamburg before but I still don't feel like I know the place. Likewise Flensburg and Copenhagen, it's been all too long ago and too briefly. I don't know the Danish side of the border at all. Not afraid to spend time in the countryside and we don't have to get all the way to Copenhagen if it would take too long. Is Odense perhaps a better end-point? Timeframe would be about 10 days, tell me if I need more or less time. I hear the Flensburger Förde is beautiful. I have been watching a video on it (haven't finished yet), but here is the link:
Awaiting your best day-dreaming,
Lavandula
Awaiting your best day-dreaming,
Lavandula
#2
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Do you plan a round trip or intend to pay for the cross-border drop-off fee?
On the way to Denmark, thee is Lübeck and Schleswig, both attractive towns. Schleswig has a museum in its castle, of which we did not see the main sections as there was a couple special exhibits in its service buildings.
https://flic.kr/p/WJ5JSG https://flic.kr/p/XiZgPp
If doing a round trip, consider going to Ribe at some point, although nothing is very far; we drove from Ribe to a train station on the eastern side of the Danish peninsula and were in Schleswig by late afternoon.
https://flic.kr/p/Xd1LV4
Odense in a larger town, with an interesting museum complex created from a repurposed power plant (I believe).
https://flic.kr/p/X8kjyj
But if you have the time, try to see the coast south of Copenhagen which has churches with interesting frescoes:
https://flic.kr/p/VX2EMB
The pictures are geotagged which might help in organizing your itinerary.
I did write a trip report; click on my name to find it.
On the way to Denmark, thee is Lübeck and Schleswig, both attractive towns. Schleswig has a museum in its castle, of which we did not see the main sections as there was a couple special exhibits in its service buildings.
https://flic.kr/p/WJ5JSG https://flic.kr/p/XiZgPp
If doing a round trip, consider going to Ribe at some point, although nothing is very far; we drove from Ribe to a train station on the eastern side of the Danish peninsula and were in Schleswig by late afternoon.
https://flic.kr/p/Xd1LV4
Odense in a larger town, with an interesting museum complex created from a repurposed power plant (I believe).
https://flic.kr/p/X8kjyj
But if you have the time, try to see the coast south of Copenhagen which has churches with interesting frescoes:
https://flic.kr/p/VX2EMB
The pictures are geotagged which might help in organizing your itinerary.
I did write a trip report; click on my name to find it.
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Wow, thank you so much for your thoughts and photos. I hadn't got as far mentally as the drop-off fees but I think we would have to make it a round trip. We haven't been to Schleswig or Ribe, all of it is new to us (except Lübeck, we have been there). We also have the possibility of starting in Copenhagen. I didn't tell you anything about us. We are from Australia so we would fly into Frankfurt and take the train to Hamburg or potentially fly into Copenhagen. I didn't mention that there are three of us, me (51), hubby (48) and daughter (11, but when we make this trip I guess she will be 13). Daughter is not a bad traveller but if there were temptations for young people along the way that would not be a bad thing. We are confident in German.
I will be sure to search out your TR, thank you so much!
Lavandula
I will be sure to search out your TR, thank you so much!
Lavandula
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Denmark has several islands that are gorgeous in summer, there are summer cottages you can rent in seaside towns eg in Marielyst which is not far from the ferry port of Rĝdby, lots of Germans rent holiday homes there. Since you are thinking of June/July, try to be there at Midsummer if you can, it really is a special time to be in Scandinavia.
Copenhagen has alot of things for kids to do, from the Tivoli Gardens to aquarium, experimentarium etc and north of Copenhagen the coastline is beautiful with several lovely beaches and pretty villages and castles (eg Kronberg), Odense of course is the home of HC Andersen.
Copenhagen has alot of things for kids to do, from the Tivoli Gardens to aquarium, experimentarium etc and north of Copenhagen the coastline is beautiful with several lovely beaches and pretty villages and castles (eg Kronberg), Odense of course is the home of HC Andersen.
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As an outing from or on the way to Odense this castle is definitely worth a visit: https://www.egeskov.dk/en
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Thank you bilboburglar, balthy and Michael. I like the idea of taking the train part-way, and cycling also sounds good, although we always seem to have so much luggage that I don't think cycling would replace a leg of our journey. I do think if we had a base somewhere we could venture out from the point on a bike. Naive question, is Midsummer a period at the end of June? Or just 24 June? We are constrained by the academic year as my daughter will be in high school and I teach in a university. While I could possibly take the time, my daughter's school is strict and I think schools break up about that time (this year with all the COVID arrangements she broke up on 24 June) so it would be a rush to get to Copenhagen by 24 June, let alone Egeskov Castle, which looks magical. So I will put this in a 'box' of hard-to-figure out questions. We could probably take off directly after she breaks up, we have done this before, and I could only take max 3 weeks off at that time of year, but school starts again this year on 21 July. I was wavering a bit about Copenhagen but it looks like it's a must for activities for young people, and if HC Andersen was in Odense then I think we should stop there also; I will have to get a book of his tales. Is the rest of Fyn worth seeing? Would that be somewhere to cycle?
Also - any tips for Schleswig-Holstein, anyone?
Thanks for your ideas so far, I am very excited!
Lavandula
Also - any tips for Schleswig-Holstein, anyone?
Thanks for your ideas so far, I am very excited!
Lavandula
#11
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The main event is the 24th June although some people take the whole week off and some businesses can be closed. The official tourist board site has information about the festivities which were mostly cancelled this year, some places like Egeskov castle usually have an event.Even if you miss it, the time of year is really good as the nights are very short.
https://www.visitdenmark.com/search?vdkgs%3Dmidsummer
https://www.visitfyn.com/fyn/experie...s-visiting-fyn
Copenhagen has alot of interesting sites to visit, the northern suburbs are lovely, but so are the islands/countryside in general and the northern part of Germany you wish to visit. I don't know that area well as we usually drive straight to Puttgarden for the ferry but the scenery/sea is lovely and looks like a nice place to spend couple days exploring, Sylt is a popular German holiday island. People cycle everywhere in Denmark but in Copenhagen it can be stressful as there are rules/etiquette to follow and they cycle fast plus it is busy (or it was).
Odense is famous for marzipan too, its very good.
https://www.visitdenmark.com/search?vdkgs%3Dmidsummer
https://www.visitfyn.com/fyn/experie...s-visiting-fyn
Copenhagen has alot of interesting sites to visit, the northern suburbs are lovely, but so are the islands/countryside in general and the northern part of Germany you wish to visit. I don't know that area well as we usually drive straight to Puttgarden for the ferry but the scenery/sea is lovely and looks like a nice place to spend couple days exploring, Sylt is a popular German holiday island. People cycle everywhere in Denmark but in Copenhagen it can be stressful as there are rules/etiquette to follow and they cycle fast plus it is busy (or it was).
Odense is famous for marzipan too, its very good.
#12
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Thank you balthy, that means we might start in Copenhagen and drift south from there. I am not sure about actually staying on Sylt, I hear it is quite expensive. We have been to German beachside before (Duhnen, near Cuxhaven, and the island of Poel, near Wismar). But it might make an interesting stop on the way south. Thank you for the links, I will follow them up. I am a lot more enthusiastic about Denmark now, but worried that everything might shut down when we get there - I guess if we just plan accordingly it will be OK. I would ask about accommodation in Copenhagen but we don't have a budget yet, although I will start looking at options.
Thank you everybody!
Lavandula
Thank you everybody!
Lavandula
#17
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To start with Denmark is a flat group of islands, there is a hill or two but nowhere need our logical route. That means there is a wind which is 90% of the time is from the west, so cycle that way.
North Germany from Hamburg is pretty good, you can go to the sea and follow the paths there or you follow canals/rivers.
The Eurovelo maps are here https://en.eurovelo.com/germany which are like motorways for bicycles, designed to be long-distance (they cross the continent) but you also have local bike routes this is pretty good https://www.biroto.eu/en/cycle-routes/germany and https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/things-do/cycling
also Selfguide bike tour advice, links, how to in Europe; France Germany Holland Portugal UK Switzerland
Both countries allow cycling on most pavements if cycle paths are not available. In Denmark, they are everywhere, in Germany, they are almost everywhere. The odd issue is the turn left move in Denmark is different to the rest of the continent and the hand signals are more developed. You will also find that most people don't wear cycle helmets, the fear that induces plastic lids has not yet reached the northern continent.
To start with Denmark is a flat group of islands, there is a hill or two but nowhere need our logical route. That means there is a wind which is 90% of the time is from the west, so cycle that way.
North Germany from Hamburg is pretty good, you can go to the sea and follow the paths there or you follow canals/rivers.
The Eurovelo maps are here https://en.eurovelo.com/germany which are like motorways for bicycles, designed to be long-distance (they cross the continent) but you also have local bike routes this is pretty good https://www.biroto.eu/en/cycle-routes/germany and https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/things-do/cycling
also Selfguide bike tour advice, links, how to in Europe; France Germany Holland Portugal UK Switzerland
Both countries allow cycling on most pavements if cycle paths are not available. In Denmark, they are everywhere, in Germany, they are almost everywhere. The odd issue is the turn left move in Denmark is different to the rest of the continent and the hand signals are more developed. You will also find that most people don't wear cycle helmets, the fear that induces plastic lids has not yet reached the northern continent.
#18
To answer your other question, I've cycled over a fair bit of the European continent. The best three countries for touring cycling is the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. All three have massive integrated cycle routes both local and long-distance with facilities along the paths. You will find hotels, B&B and Bett und Bike (bed and bicycle) accommodation as well as bike rental and luggage movers around because that is where the market is. Such things as small ferries will help you cross seas etc.
Hamburg is a great city to start with for cycling, you'll find tourist info will give away leaflets on local cycle tours or just direct you to websites with all the details. Cycle movements on trains are also allowed to a certain extent but not often on trams, some buses will let you hand them on the back. In Denmark, rental bikes are pretty bad as everyone owns a bike and you don't need more than 3 gears, Germany is better.
Hamburg is a great city to start with for cycling, you'll find tourist info will give away leaflets on local cycle tours or just direct you to websites with all the details. Cycle movements on trains are also allowed to a certain extent but not often on trams, some buses will let you hand them on the back. In Denmark, rental bikes are pretty bad as everyone owns a bike and you don't need more than 3 gears, Germany is better.
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"I am a lot more enthusiastic about Denmark now, but worried that everything might shut down when we get there" - the type of businesses that might be/are closed during midsummer won't/shouldn't affect you. And most events are in the evening before the 24th eg bonfires on the beach. It's called Sankt Hans Aften.
#20
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Thank you for the tips, I will start looking into cycling for at least part of the trip; if I started in Hamburg likely we would miss out on midsummer in Denmark, so I will look into what facilities are available in Denmark to perhaps start from Copenhagen. Thanks all for your ideas, I will have to do some homework now and will come back with more questions soon. It's night here now so I will be off the air for a while.
Lavandula
Lavandula