july 16-25  2019

Day One We fly to one of the smaller, but historically gigantic, countries of Europe-- Denmark. This trip is way, way more than you might think. With Denmark, we include the Faroe Islands and a foray into one of the more isolated, but wonderful, cities of Sweden. 

Day Two  We start off fast-- with a city tour of one of the great capitals of Europe--Copenhagen. This is a colorful, historic, architecturally significant metropolis, complete with the once disreputable, now fashionable, Nyhave ( new harbor district); Christiansburg Palace-- still used by the Royals;  Amalienburg Palace (the winter residence) and of course, The Little Mermaid statue. 

Day Three We concentrate on the big institutions today starting with the National Museum housing artifacts from the Stone Age to Viking era to the Renaissance. Here is the Huldverise Woman, perfectly preserved in peat since the first century.  Next, we wonder at the architecture and then at the exhibits in the new Blue Planet Aquarium , literally surrounded by water. This afternoon we enter Shakespeare's world as we tour the UNESCO World Heritage Castle Kronborg—Hamlet’s home. Costumed characters from the bard’s play will entertain you with their stories as you immerse yourself in history and literature at the same time .

Day Four You will have a free morning to visit other museums, shop or wander the beautiful avenues of this Scandinavian icon. Maybe you will choose to visit Royal Copenhagen's outlet store to add a piece to your collection or buy a gift. This afternoon and early evening we will visit Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest and certainly most beautiful amusement parks in the world. This is something for everyone including musical performances, lush gardens, historic buildings and exotic architecture, not to mention rides and shows.  At dusk, the park glows with thousands of lights making it a fairy tale Wonderland. It is no surprise that both Hans Christian Andersen and Walt Disney visited several times for inspiration. 

Day Five  It's off to Sweden today, and to do so we will cross one of the most beautiful and architecturally important bridges in the world-- Oresund Bridge.  This bridge is the only link between mainland Western Europe and Scandinavia. We exit the bridge in the historic town of Malmo Sweden. Here we will see the 16th century Burghers House that shows the wealth of this merchant class; the Castle, now home to four museums;  the People's Park  (oldest park in the world); Saint Peter's cathedral; and best of all, the Turning Torso Building.  The TT building is a Marvel of modern architecture and is worth the price of the whole trip, amazing.

Day Six We fly to the Faroe Islands-- both independent and part of Denmark at the same time-- one of the most isolated pair of places in Europe. We tour their capital including the oldest parliament building in the world, the outstanding cathedral and the exotic glass and turf Nordic house.  This is an unusual land that few ever get access to, which makes it a great adventure for us. 

Day Seven We tour the main island today starting with a puffin cruise. This island chain has more puffins then virtually anywhere else. Not only are puffins found here but also hundreds of thousands of other seabirds like gannets, kittiwakes and auks.  Our tour continues on land with panoramic views along cliffsides, lighthouses, loads and loads of sheep and small colorful villages. One of those is KirkJabour Village that boasts the oldest wooden house still intact in the world. 17 generations of the same family have lived in it.

Day Eight You have free time in the morning to explore the capital city on your own, shop or just marvel at the multi colored homes. We fly back to Copenhagen today and check back into our hotel. 

Day Nine We go a little further afield today in Denmark and drive to the other side of the country to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Jelliing Viking site. Nowhere else is the connection with the Viking era so clear. Viking runes and burials are here as in the 1100’s church of Harold Bluetooth (how’d he get that nickname?). In the afternoon, we will visit the childhood home and museum of Denmark’s favorite son , Hans Christian Andersen.  The museum contains his actual drawings and artwork.  He is the original author of some of our favorite Disney movies.

Day Ten We begin our journey home full of amazing vistas, strange islands where sheep out number people, weird little birds that walk like people, giant castles with Shakespearean tales, and Viking origin sites.  
 

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