Have you ever visited Copenhagen's backyard? This is how the East Danish islands of South Sjælland, Lolland-Falster and Møn are also called! I recently wrote about our travel plans to Southern Denmark during the May holiday. Because southern Denmark is surprisingly close, we go here for a short break. Here we stay with our family for four nights in a beautiful accommodation on the coast of Bogense.
But do you know that? That you still come back to choices made. Not because it wasn't a good choice, but because it could be even better! We had this with our Danish adventure. Cause:my dear son and your enthusiastic reactions to my previous blog. Hence an expansion to the East Danish islands. I'll tell you how this went.
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We are going on holiday by boat!! Our son told Grandma that very proudly. We are going to Denmark and you only get there by boat. My son beamed from ear to ear. Because he loves big vehicles like airplanes and boats. uh! Darling. We don't go by boat at all. Southern Denmark is easily accessible by car. It is less than 800 kilometers from our house. Much closer than, for example, Spain or Italy.
To show him what the route would be like, we turned to the internet. Now my kids are more web-savvy than I am. For example, after a few mouse clicks, my son conjured up a route to Denmark on the screen. Straight through Germany and via Puttgarden with ferry to Lolland-Falster, the eastern Danish islands. So mom. Why not by boat!
But hey, we're not going to Lolland-Falster at all, where the ferry sails to. Slightly disappointed he wanted to close, but I was able to stop him. My eye fell on a beautiful photo of a ferry. Such an imposing boat against a blue sky… If you see it that way, I can understand his love for boats.
Ferry or not, we had a wonderful holiday ahead of us. That we had made the right choice was also apparent from the enthusiastic reactions
(via Facebook) on my blog about our planned vacation. With the four of us already looking forward to going to Southern Denmark during the May holidays. And all your positive stories only strengthened this feeling.
Still, doubts set in. Because the Lolland-Falster archipelago, South Zealand must also be wonderful, beautiful and relaxed parts of Denmark. And from there you can easily go to the island Møn , where the famous chalk cliffs are located. We really MUST see this one, according to you, dear readers. I even got links to YouTube videos and Instagram accounts with the most beautiful videos and photos of these rocks and the Eastern Danish islands. You haven't said too much. The chalk cliffs seem great to me in themselves, the route to it is also beautiful. I think we'll be sorry if we don't come here.
So it was time to get in touch with Dansk.nl, the holiday specialist in Denmark. With all their experience they can probably give some tips to adjust our route. And Dansk.nl was immediately very honest with us. They indicated that a day trip to Møns Klint from Danland Bogense, which we had already recorded, is not very realistic. Nothing is impossible, but it is more than 200 kilometers away. It will take you almost three hours. One way.
The May holiday lasts two weeks, so why not celebrate a little longer? This way we can not only go to Møns Klint, but also see my son fulfill his wish to take the ferry.
The travel distance to the Lolland-Falster region, South Zealand and Møn is perfect for a short (or longer) holiday, from Utrecht to the ferry it is only 575km. The ferry then offers a wonderfully relaxed start to the holiday. It is a short crossing, but just enough to relax and get ready for the last (short) part of the journey.
That all sounds very nice, of course. “Just” book a few more days. The East Danish Islands may be in Copenhagen's Backyard, but our own backyard doesn't have a money tree or coin bush. But luckily it is still low season in Denmark during the May holidays. This makes the prices of holiday accommodations very attractive. You can already book a holiday accommodation during the May holiday from € 199.00
So we will make a combination trip. First to the Eastern Danish Islands and then on to Southern Denmark. We certainly don't want to regret it. Our daughter has her final cito just before the May holiday. If we stay at home, we go to work and the relaxation is not optimal for her. Then we stay in our regular pattern and we want to break that for a while. We give her that relaxation. And we grant our son his boat trip. Because we leave on Saturday, we can now go on holiday for 9 days. That only costs us four vacation days because of Easter Monday! Ideal.
Dansk.nl advises us to start in Rødby. Here we can relax for a while. Away from work, the cito keys, drum lessons and sports training. We stay four nights at the holiday park Lalandia Rødby. This is a very nice holiday park for children. It is located near the harbor of Rødby, on a beautiful sandy beach. You can see the ferries day and night. You arrive at this harbor by ferry, from Puttgarden in Germany.
After our stay in Rødby we drive on to Bogense, on the island of Funen. But first things first! First we're going to have lots of fun on the East Danish islands.
Lalandia is truly a children's paradise on Earth. Especially for children in the age of our kids, 10 and 12 years. They sometimes fall between two stools at this age, but we don't have to worry about this at this park. Because there is a very cool swimming pool here for our own water rats. Such a large indoor swimming paradise with the largest slide in all of Scandinavia. The Tornado! Well, it's not just our kids that like it. This vertebral find enjoys this too! Then relax in a warm whirlpool or sauna and then I can take it again.
Because the pool has a constant water temperature of 28 degrees, this swimming paradise gives you a summery feeling all year round. So also in the spring. If you prefer the winter atmosphere, which we also love, there is an indoor ice skating rink.
There are also playgrounds, mini golf, beach and various restaurants. So we don't have to get bored. You don't even have to leave the park for entertainment, there is so much to do. But that would be a real shame. We will come to relax. Clearing heads and charging for the last months of primary school. Of course we also want to see something of the area. From Lalandia Rødby there are several nice sights to visit. I already mentioned the chalk cliffs of the island of Møn. We just have to see this. But there is more.
For example, there are the “Dodekalits”. This sounds a bit strange, but this seems impressive to me. These are very large statues standing in a circle and they seem to sing. The view must also be beautiful. I would like to see that with my own eyes.
Safaripark Knuthenborg is located in Maribo, close to the holiday home and is therefore a very nice outing. Our children really think a safari tour through such a park is fantastic. And I admit, Mom and Dad too. The park, located on a real estate, is huge. Also impressive is the Dino forest, with life-sized dinosaurs. Everything is big here. Hopefully also the ice creams, because Denmark is known for that.
There is even more to do in the town of Maribo. Maribo is located on a beautiful lake called Søndersø. And there is an open-air museum, “Het Frilandsmuseet”. Here are a number of original half-timbered houses, each with its own story. But this is not all. My son's love for large vehicles is also answered here. There is also a steam train here that sometimes runs between Maribo and Bandholm.
A unique nature experience where nature and architecture go hand in hand. Camp Adventure is the largest climbing park in Denmark. In addition to the 10 varied obstacle courses, a huge observation tower has recently been added, a real eye-catcher, don't you think? In our opinion, definitely worth a visit!
You can search for fossils in this beautiful Limestone Quarry. Good to know:wear sturdy walking shoes if you want to enjoy this area. You can rent a hammer and chisel in Geomuseum Faxe. And looking at the next beautiful image you will understand the tips to bring a good sunscreen!
So this year we are celebrating Easter on the East Danish Islands. There is no Easter egg hunt for the children at the holiday park. They don't have an Easter bunny in Denmark.
In Denmark they have their own Easter tradition. They write a “Gækkebrev”. These send them to their loved ones. “Gækkebrev” is a crazy letter, a letter with a funny rhyme. The sender does not put his name under this letter, but only the number of dots that are equal to the number of letters in his name. If the recipient guesses who sent the “Gækkebrev”, the sender has to buy a chocolate Easter egg for the recipient. If it is not guessed, the recipient must provide a tasty Easter egg.
Easter is an important holiday for the Danes. They often celebrate this with friends and family and this is accompanied by a lot of food and beer. A traditional dish that often appears on the Danish table at Easter is pickled herring. And what do they drink with this? Right. snaps! Cheers! In other words, Skål!
Besides celebrating Easter, there is more than enough to do on Lolland-Falster. Even a visit to Copenhagen is possible from Lalandia Rødby. It is a bit of a drive, but not impossible. Still, I think I'll "save" this city for later. There is already so much to do in the vicinity, and of course we also just want to chill out on Lolland. We have to make choices.
If I'm smart, I'll postpone a visit to Copenhagen for a while. Then I immediately have a very good excuse to go back to Denmark. When our son is in group 8 we can go again with our family. Or as a city trip with my love. Whatever it will be. Dansk.nl will certainly be able to advise me again.
This blog post has been prepared in collaboration with Dansk.nl
