Funen Island: Exploring The Best Of Denmark In One Week! Tim’s Travel Journal
We loved exploring Denmark for the first time. We had only been to Copenhagen for one day on our way to Sweden a few years ago. But now it was time to see the real Denmark and explore the largest island of the country; Funen Island.
This is Tim’s travel journal, so you can read all our adventures. Enjoy the read.
Let’s go to Denmark
We set the alarm for 6 am but I woke up at 5.15, oops. I was wide awake and ready to go. So, I took Nala for an early morning walk when it was still dark outside. We were treated to a beautiful sunrise before we got back home. Everything was ready to go, so we quickly went to opa and oma for goodbye and to pick up our snacks for the road (meatballs, cheese and dog cookies). Ready to go!
Fockbeck Germany
What a trip so far! We were only on the German autobahn for a short while before we were sent off to circumvent traffic caused by an accident. We drove for more than an hour through no man’s land passing wide agricultural landscapes and farms (we loved the red bricks with black wood in between!) We almost drove to Bremen before we got back on the autobahn again. Of course we still had lots of traffic due to construction, as always.
The longest delay was Hamburg with 45 minutes extra. But we had a good time, everyone enjoyed their snacks, weather was nice and we listened to our favorite Madonna songs the whole time after we managed to make a new playlist while internet kept vanishing (also, as always when in Germany). Last stop before the Danish border, we filled the empty tank (2,27€ per liter, how in the hell?!), took Nala for a short walk, peed for 1€ at a stinky bathroom and then off we went to Denmark.
Bogense Denmark – the North-West of Funen Island
At the boarder, they were still checking everyone but only very shortly, so we waited for a few minutes in line and just passed through. We entered Denmark!
Only 1,5 hours to go. The last part of the drive was quiet and we enjoyed the Danish language on the radio and tried to make sense of it. The last 20 minutes we drove through the landscape of Fyn which is very rural and hilly with some farms here and there. Really cute and picturesque. The last minute was a gravel road along the dike behind the beach. We were unsure if we were correct but we found the house quickly, so no issues. What a beauty! And the garden is huge; Nala loves it!
After figuring out the house a little we went to the nearby town of Bogense to go shopping. First Netto (cheap, but still 73€!), then Meny, which was bigger and fancier. But not that I would know because I waited with Nala outside. At Meny, we found firewood for the fireplace in the house, which we of course used later on. The house was already too chilly this time of year.
Back home, we quickly went to “our” beach (we have a private section and entrance!). Nala loved it, played and did her thing. Back at the house, time for some relaxing time on the nice big couch with a warm drink and crackling fire. That is what we needed after this long day in the car!
Nordfyn Municipality
We slept well in our beds and were ready to explore the area of Bogense. But first, we had nice muffins and cinnamon buns from the Netto supermarket we bought yesterday. Nala was patiently waiting next to the table to finally go back to the beach for her morning stroll. So, off we went. It was much nicer than yesterday, no wind and not cold at all. We walked all the way to a public picnic area with a weird wooden chair, why not sit on it and take a selfie?
We then drove to Bogense, where we first visited the bakery for some typical Danish treats for later this week. We then explored the town of Bogense which was quite beautiful actually. All those cute little streets and colorful little houses. We even found a Manneken Pis, an exact copy of the Brussels one.
We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant at the harbor where we had amazing smørrebrød. We also found a new favorite drink from Fyn with elderflower flavor, yum! When we paid, we heard that this was the last day they were open this season, lucky us!
Walking back from the harbor up to the white church, we had a nice view of the sea. The church was also really beautiful and nobody was around.
We continued walking through the streets and found even more cute houses, alleys and squares.
After walking back to the car, we drove to a nice nature area very close by with a beautiful white windmill. On the way, we came along really cute furry cows roaming in a gorgeous fenced area next to the path. Unfortunately, halfway, it started to rain but we had umbrellas with us. So, we walked up to the windmill, took the photo and walked straight back. For dinner, we got take away from a Burger restaurant in Bogense which did not allow dogs. So, while I waited in the car, Dennis waited inside for our order. The food was okay, yummy burgers, but the fries and mozzarella sticks were meh.
We spent the rest of the evening in the house, which had cooled down a lot. So, we had a nice fire again which warmed up the house a lot (too much at the end, so we even had to open the windows for a while, oops). But that meant we would have a cozy house in the morning for breakfast. Also, earlier that day, I found the button for the floor heating in the bathroom which did its thing during the day while we were gone. So, tomorrow, we will also have a cozy bathroom. It’s the small things in life!
Odense – The largest city on Funen Island
We slept perfectly and a little longer than usual. For breakfast, we had a piece of the Danish dream cake we bought yesterday. Very heavy but nice with the caramel and coconut flavor. But we both prefered the muffin version from the Netto, even though it is not the original (fluffier and lighter). The weather at the beach in the morning was similar to yesterday (a bit of drizzle in the beginning) and Nala and I enjoyed ourselves. As we had all of it to ourselves (no people in both directions).
We then drove the car to our destination for today, the city of Odense. It is the third biggest city of Denmark and the biggest on the island of Fyn. It took us about 40 minutes to drive there. The route took us through villages and farmland/open landscapes. Only the last part was much more city like. We first went all the way to the other side of Odense to visit a huge shopping center.
Dennis forgot his charger for the DLSR camera, so we wanted to buy a new one. The first shop was no success but he got a tip for another shop nearby. I was in a pet shop next door with Nala in the meantime where I bought here some snacks and salmon oil for on her regular food which we also forgot at home. At the camera store, they luckily had charger for about 30€ (expensive mistake, but we cannot go a week without the camera, can we?).
Then we made it to the city center which was really nice. There were a lot of these colorful house we saw in Bogense, but a lot more and even more beautiful. The streets felt like a little fairytale village within the city. We had lunch at a cafe next to the H.C. Andersen museum which was really modern but ecological with a lot of wood, plants, green roofs and huge windows. The food was okay, but the matcha and chai latte were really great.
They also had very beautiful salt and pepper grinders. So, we asked if they were for sale anywhere. We were lucky! The waitress told us they are for sale at a warehouse called Magasin which was very close. Of course, we went there and found them in de home decor section. Truth be told, they were not cheap (Danish design has its price). But we splurged and bought a set of 2. Also, a very nice souvenir. We also bought 4 nice glass mugs that will go very well with the smaller ones we already have (this time the prices were fine). The Danish really know how to design stuff. If I had the money, I would probably drive an empty car to Denmark just to buy all interior there.
We also went to a Christmas shop where we bought a Danish elf holding the Danish flag as an ornament for the tree and a magnet of Andersen as for our magnet collection, obviously. At the end of the afternoon, we visited a very cozy antique shop called Kramboden, in a old building that was more than 500 years old. The lady in the shop was very friendly and gave Nala treats, spoke a few sentences for our video and sold us another nice magnet of their shop.
Before we drove home, we had cinnamon snail (kanelsnegle) at a bakery which was reeeeeally yummy. I will need more for sure! Driving home took a little longer, because we could not find the car for 5 minutes. The parking garage was a lot bigger than we thought and looked very similar on both ends (we were of course at the wrong end first). But we found it! That has never happened before, but there is always a first.
Back home, Dennis played with Nala in the garden while I took care of Polarsteps and the dinner. We had bread with all the nice stuff from the Netto we bought on Saturday. Especially the Danish cheese was exquisite. The smoked cream cheese from Fyn was so unique and even Dennis liked it. After that, time to relax on the couch. Tonight, without fire as it was not that cold and the wood was gone. It was 20 degrees today, but weird. Gray, cloudy with some showers but also humid and a ray of sun every now and then. The next days, it is supposed to rain more and be a few degrees colder. But we will be fine either way in our cozy house.
Cozy time in out cottage
Today, we took things a little slower as it was supposed to rain most of the day and the temperatures would drop a few degrees. But the weather in the morning was decent. Even a hint of sun! Dennis joined me for the morning walk on the beach. But this time, a lot was different. No sea birds flying away when we arrived, some wind but no waves and very clear water by the shores. The beach can be so different every time.
Back at the house we stepped in the car and drove to a castle that was only a few minutes away. Beautiful, calm and in a nice area. But it was closed, so we only walked on the property for a short while. We spotted a pair of peacocks.
We then continued into Bogense town again and looked at some shops that were not open the first time we were here. We even found a special Danish christmas ornament, an upside down cone that is traditional in Denmark and is used to put candy or decorations in. The one we bought was from our new favorite Danish brand Kähler (same as the pepper and salt grinders). We bought it with cash for the first time, because we needed some change to buy special happy stones someone sold at their house. But first we picked up the car because it had started raining a lot. So, we drove by the stand, picked up two of the stones, and continued to the supermarket to buy some extra groceries and, more importantly, new firewood.
On the way home, we also stopped at the bakery to buy more Danish pastries (wienerbrød) and fresh sourdough potato bread. Back in the house, we had a relaxing afternoon and evening with games, yummy pastries, amazing bread for dinner and were even treated to full sunlight for the first time, at the beach! It was not warm anymore (14 degrees and windy) but so beautiful. Nala also had a great time as always!
The Fishermen’s town of Faaborg
Today, we drove all the way to the other side of the island to the town of Faaborg. Fun fact, the island has only one highway from east to west, so it took as more than an hour to get there. But it was a nice drive across the island. Also, we had the best weather so far as we had blue skies and sun most of the time. Faaborg was a nice little harbor town with many boats for fishing and the wind from the coast. The streets were cute and not very different from what we have seen in Odense or Bogense before.
When we were looking for a place to have lunch, the feeling we got the days before that dogs inside is a tricky business, was confirmed even more as we were not allowed inside a nice cafe. But we found a lunch place close by with very traditional Danish meals (they also had to quickly think about a dog in their restaurant, but were fine with it in the end). As it was such a traditional restaurant, they only had fish and meat. But luckily, they were happy to make me a smørrebrød platter without both.
Dennis had a huge portion of boiled potatoes, crispy pork belly and typically Danish parsley cream sauce. The potatoes with the sauce were very nice, that is all I could tell. Also, my smørrebrøds were nice and I could arrange them myself with potatoes, boiled eggs, a nice sauce that looked like cocktail sauce but tasted better, and some pastry cups I could fill with parsley and pea cream. The restaurant was very old-fashioned but was full by the time we finished our dinner (mostly with elderly people). At the register, we learned that the owner is not only probably very gay and old-fashioned but is also a Danish schlager singer. We need to check this out later on!
Before leaving Faaborg, we found an ice cream parlor at the harbor that sold soft ice with licorice sprinkles: sold! It was on of the best inventions ever, why is that not everywhere in the Netherlands?! Only downside, the ice melted very fast, so in the end, the floor, and my clothes, were covered in soft ice and sprinkles. Then it was time to continue to a castle 20 minutes from here.
Egeskov Castle on Funen Island
We arrived at Egeskov Castle, which was absolutely stunning. A big plus of this time of year is that there are not many tourists around Fyn, same here. We could not visit the inside because of Nala, but the castle grounds were stunning with so many beautiful flowers and plants. We really had a great time walking around there and enjoying the view. Only downside, the entry fee was very expensive (40€ per person). That’s Denmark in a nutshell.
Before we left, we even bought us living souvenirs. At the entrance, there was quite a big plant shop with inside and outside plants. The people that worked there were super friendly and helpful with tips on the plants we chose. They had a lot of gorgeous plants we had never seen before. Our choice fell on two inside plants (a pink and purple one).
With our floral souvenirs, we drove back to Bogense to do a little shopping before going home. We needed to buy licorice sprinkles for making desserts at home. We found them! And this time, Dennis also found my favorite Danish jam, boysenberry flavor. Yay! We also got fresh pizza down the street for dinner to take home. Not special, but absolutely fine. Great, sunny day with many special souvenirs!
Back to Odense, Denmark
The day started relaxed as always (especially a certain fur baby wanted to stay in bed longer). And, we had stunning weather with clear blue skies (a bit windy though). So, we had a stunning view at the beach for our daily morning walk with Nala.
We then got in the car to Odense again for some additional shopping (Dennis had a feeling that we haven’t seen and bought everything yet, whatever that meant).
We found quite some nice stuff here and there, saw a sculpture that looked like genitals (officially they were “needles”, sure), Dennis finally had a Danish hotdog, and we ate smørrebrød at our second choice restaurant (Nala was an issue again at the first one, bummer). But that one was also really great and Dennis had way too much meat, even for his taste.
We then went to an open air museum just, the Funen Village, outside Odense that showed a typical Danish village in the 1700s and 1800s. It was really nice to look around and walk into these small, old and crooked houses while the sun was out. We had a really nice time and the entry fee of 20€ was okay, especially compared to the castle yesterday. Late afternoon, we were tired and had enough for the day, so we drove back home to enjoy our cozy vacation home that we have really enjoyed in the last couple of days.
Let’s relax a bit more
Today was a very quiet and relaxed last day in the house. There was nothing else we wanted to discover and the weather was also not really great. Dennis went to Bogense for some extra shopping (mainly stuff to take home, mostly licorice related). We had some walks at the beach with Nala (super windy) and binged a new series on Netflix. Tomorrow, time to drive back home!
Home Sweet Home
We ended this trip as we started it. We woke up around 6 am, packed everything, walked with Nala at the beach for last time and were driving before 8 am. In the beginning, it looked like we would take less time to get home than coming here. But of course not. There was a complete closing of the autobahn around Hamburg exactly that weekend. So, we drove through the city, which took us 45 minutes extra.
Also, because of the traffic, we again drove like 1,5 hours through rural areas between Bremen and the Dutch border.
Ultimately, we made it after approximately 8 hours on the road back to our village.
Watch our Denmark Travel Vlog to see all these adventures in a video:
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