[Air-L] Accommodations in Copenhagen

[Christian Nelson]

On Aug 20, 2008, at 9:38 AM, Charles Ess wrote:

> Jannie's helpful note reminds me -
> Roskilde is an easy, ca. 20 minute train ride from Copenhagen - and  
> worth the visit for a number of reasons, including the cathedral,  
> and a very nice park that you can walk through on the way to the  
> Viking Ship Museum:
> <http://vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/page.asp?contentsection=3964B7C731974A1DA15F5741EA743FE9&zcs= 
> >

I second that. The walk is gorgeous and the museum is great. Might  
want to check if there are any Viking re-enactment encampments (ya'  
know, like Civil War encampments here in the states) there during or  
adjacent to the conference time period in order to get the most bang  
from your visit.

For those who like to see art in an idyllic setting, I'd highly  
recommend the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, which is right along the  
train line that runs north out of Copenhagen up to Kronborg Castle in  
Helsingor (the site of Shakespeare's Hamlet).

For folks attending the conference with kids, Louisiana also has a  
nice art room, but for a full day of entertainment I cannot recommend  
Copenhagen's Experimentarium enough. Of course, there's always Tivoli,  
too.

If you're in DK before or after the conference, Skagen is certainly  
nice. Old Skagen is very quaint, there are a few special shops amidst  
the more touristy ones, the harbor is beautful and there are a bunch  
of good seafood restaurants. The one I liked the most, located on the  
main harbor wharf was quite logically name Skagen Fiskerestaurant.  
They have at least 8 home-distilled versions of akavit (Denmark's  
national liquor), and I can vouch that at least two of them are quite  
excellent. Just be prepared for lots of tourists, particularly when  
most Danes go on holiday. That also means that staying right in town  
is expensive. If you do go to Skagen, I strongly recommend trekking to  
Skagen Grenen, the spit of sand that forms the absolute tip of  
Jutland. The way the waters of the Kattegat and Skagerrak crash  
against each other there right at the tip is something to behold (and  
a good reason to be careful about wading in very far right at the tip-- 
something that is officially discouraged). A safer and easier place to  
get into the water is the beach that stretches all along the North Sea  
to the southwest of Skagen Grenen. To access that, just drive to the  
end of one of the roads that feeds out onto it. Once there, you park  
out on the beach itself. (If you zoom in on the satellite photos  
available at Wikimapia.org you'll see a car here and there all along  
the coast up toward Skagen Grenen.) Of course, its wise not to park  
too close to the water, particularly if you don't know when its high  
tide. Skiveren is probably the closest town to Skagen with a beach  
access road, and there's also a big campground near the end of that  
road for those who want to see Skagen, etc., more cheaply.

Svendborg, at the southern tip of Fyn, is also a great place to visit.  
Its a beautiful town with great artisans. Take the channel ferry to  
visit the scenic towns like Troense as well as Valdemars Castle. On  
the way there, be sure to stop at Egeskov Castle, outside of  
Kværndrup. Its a beautiful castle and surrounding gardens--said to be  
the best example of a Renaissance castle in Europe. There are also  
some fun attractions for kids on the estate, and they are removed  
enough from the castle and gardens that they don't spoil things.

Geez do I wish I were going to the conference.

Cheers,
Christian Nelson