Denmark

Denmark is a small country in Northern Europe, just between mainland Europe and The Scandinavian peninsula. Best known for its large dogs and Viking warriors, Denmark is prosperous and highly functional kingdom in northern Europe that is often overlooked by travelers on their “grand tour”, although it has one of the highest standards of living in the world and plenty of charming experiences to offer visitors. Denmark is almost totally surrounded by water, consisting of the Jutland Peninsula and 482 islands. Its only land border is with Germany to the south. With all this water it is not surprising that Denmark is very reliant on shipping and fishing. The country also has an important agricultural sector, and is famed in particular for its dairy products. Denmark is full of small green farms, blue lakes and white coastal beaches, the rural areas sprinkled with thatched cottages, castles and windmills across a gentle landscape which lends itself well to cycle touring. The government encourages living off the shores of Denmark and this with the years created a unique emptiness of the most of the beaches of the country. Denmark is a compact country with an excellent road and rail transport system and numerous ferry connections to a handful of beautiful offshore islands. All this adds up to a very civilized destination, as sweet and tempting as the rich, flaky pastry treats that the world has come to know as ‘Danish delight’. The cities of Denmark are modern and bustling, but there is always an breath of medieval air and charm that has been preserved in old sections of colorful buildings and cobblestone streets. The country’s capital city, lovely and lively Copenhagen, occupies Zealand - the biggest of the offshore islands. Other major cities are arty Arhus on the Jylland peninsula, calm Odense on the island of Funen and the towns of Svendborg and Hillerod. Denmark boasts around 280 museums, most of the important ones in Copenhagen, including the Viking Ship Museum that is devoted to honoring Denmark’s bold ancient mariners. Other special attractions include the annual summer music festival in Roskilde, which is one of the largest in Europe; the Tivoli Gardens amusement park which has entertained crowds in Copenhagen since 1843; and one of the world’s longest bridges, which spans 10 miles (16km), joining Denmark to Sweden. Worth visiting is also the picturesque theme park Legoland in central Jylland. Legoland is located in Billund, and can make quite a facinating day trip. The park is filled with scale models of many familiar landmarks such as Mount Rushmore, the Eifel Tour, and even an airport, all built entirely out of Legos. Either if it is for work or for pleasure, for family fun or for nice taste of nightlife, Denmark is a country that is certainly worth visiting as it offers all the conveniences of modern developed country, but also has some unique spirit of the times of the vikings, the medieval knights and castles and the romantic atmosphere of Andersen's fairytale.