Denmark is often cited as having the happiest people on earth, being consistently top of the UN, UK and EU happiness charts. Everybody seems to know something about Denmark from books, TV and films but, with the exception of weekend visits to Copenhagen, nobody I knew had actually been there. Could the oldgreytravel family benefit from a visit to the happiest place in the world?
Denmark may not seem the most obvious choice for a family summer holiday, but a number of factors suggested this could be a good family trip. For a start, it is not as far away as you may think. Calais to Copenhagen is about 750 miles on the motorway, roughly the same as to the South of France. An easy enough journey, with an overnight stop. Secondly, the Danish school holidays finish in mid-August (as do many of the Scandinavian countries) so our late August holiday was less busy and less expensive than it would otherwise be. Our spacious 3 bedroom holiday cottage was approximately half the price it would have been the previous week and considerably less than you would pay for similar accommodation in the UK. The DanCenter website has thousands of holiday cottages to let so the choice is truly astonishing. Thirdly, the cost of a Danish holiday is less than you may expect. While petrol, restaurant meals and drinks in bars are expensive, grocery shopping including alcohol is at UK prices as are museums, public transport and other attractions.
The hope was that Denmark would have something for everybody, beaches, sights, amusements and a fascinating country easy to explore with its English-speaking natives and small distances. Our chosen destination was the chic resort of Hornbaek about one hour north of Copenhagen, allowing for relaxing beach time and the cultural highlights of Copenhagen and surrounding area. An overnight stop on the way allowed for the all-important visit to Legoland, one of the highlights of the trip for some in the family and an early object lesson in how well planned and put together Denmark really is.
Our cottage in Hornbaek was the epitome of Scandi cool, nestled in thick woodland and a short 15 minute walk to the beach. The beach was beautiful, white sand with views across to Sweden, but the weather was changeable. There is a statistic that it rains somewhere in Denmark every day of the year, sitting as it does right on the confluence of the Atlantic and Siberian weather systems. While not cold, the weather veered wildly between cool and surprisingly hot when the sun was out, but always likely to be interrupted by a sharp shower.
Such is the excellence of Danish public transport that a small railway halt serving a single track line was just a 10 minute woodland walk away from our cottage. From there we could get to Helsingor and then seamlessly transfer onto the main railway line into the centre of Copenhagen. Copenhagen has to be one of the most livable cities in Europe, if not the world. While not spectacular, the sights are well worth seeing, but the overall atmosphere of calm contentment and organization is striking – this is a relaxed place to live and visit – and it all works beautifully.
Outside Copenhagen, there were royal palaces, Hamlet’s castle at Helsingor and the incredible and world-renowned Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. However, bear in mind that this area is by far the most culturally rich and diverse part of the country with around 50% of its population. Staying elsewhere in Denmark will have its own rewards, but I suspect of the more rustic and wholesome variety.
Booking a self-catering holiday in Denmark could not be easier. I used the excellent DanCenter website which is all in English. You can view all their thousands of homes, look at the exact location and check out what to do in the area. The service is incredible, within a minute of placing my deposit I received an e mail with 13 attachments covering everything from additional services, directions, key pickup arrangements, links to nearby supermarkets to arrange grocery delivery and even a discounted offer for Legoland tickets. All queries were quickly and efficiently dealt with and it was an example to all UK holiday websites.
So did the miasma of Danish happiness wash over the oldgreytravel family? Perhaps not, but Denmark nevertheless remains a fascinating country to visit, an easy one to travel around and, at the right time of year, not as expensive as you may think for the self-catering family which is prepared to forego restaurant meals and bars.
