Toddler Travels: Toddler’s Guide to the Danish Riviera

August 19, 2015

One our favorite things about living Copenhagen is how easy it is to actually get out of it for day trips. When you have little ones, getting out to travel can be a handful, but the Northern coast of Zealand offers a handful of towns that offer something for both parents and children and everyone in between, all just about an hour outside of the capital. Perfect for long summer days on the beach, or brisk fall walks on the shore, we’ve put together a quick little guide on making the most of the Danish Riviera with toddlers!

Candidly, I think I went my entire adult life without hearing the term “Danish Riviera” but lately, I feel like I’ve seen it in countless magazines. Usually it involves pictures of the sweeping ocean line and people looking at each other romantically while pedaling on bicycles. You’ll definitely get ocean, and most probably bicycles, and possibly even the romance if you play your cards right… but the guides sometimes leave out to do with your littlest ones even though there are tons of options. So make the like the Danes and head to the beach (ahem, to the Riviera!).

As a family, we do a lot in the city, but given the lovely spring and summer days we’ve been having, my guess is that we head out north to the beach more than we head south to the city on any given weekend day, and I don’t think that will change much in the fall either. Here are some of our toddler’s favorites – and some from us as parents too:

KLAMPENBORG

Time from central Copenhagen: 25 minutes on public transportation

Why you’ll love it: It’s a beach…by public transportation. And it’s gorgeous – it’s easy to get to, pretty to look at, and while it can get crowded, it’s not overbearing. Festive is more like it. And as a bonus, Arne Jacobsen designed the life guard towers so you can also double count this as Danish design sightseeing.

Why your toddler will love it: It’s a beach…by public transportation. Honestly, a beach this nice and this close by to a city is a win-win all around. Lots of sand and fellow compatriots for a day in the sun, so it’s easy to meet up with other families here. And for children that really are up for an entire day of adventure, just across the Strandvej road is the Dyrehaven, the deer park, which is not only home to countless deer, but also the Bakken amusement park.

HUMLEBAEK

Time from central Copenhagen: 35 minutes on public transportation; 40 minutes driving

Why you’ll love it: When you visit Denmark, the chances of rain are always high. If you came to the Riviera for the beach, you’ll always need a back up plan and Humlebaek is it. Home to arguably one of the best museums in the country, the Louisiana Museum comes to the rescue when rain strikes, or when you just need a change of pace. But you won’t have to give up the sea views – it’s gorgeously located on a sweeping stretch of coast which you can enjoy from both the museum and the cafe.

Why your toddler will love it: This place practically invented children’s wings for art museums. There are art projects…there are crafts…there is a park amongst the Giacommetti’s…there’s a sculpture garden…and once that has all been exhausted and you’ve refueled with a yummy treat from the cafe or your own picnic, then there is of green space galore and access to the sea to burn off every single last ounce of energy, ensuring a quiet ride home.

HELSINGOR

Time from central Copenhagen: 55 minutes on public transportation; 45 minutes driving

Why you’ll love it: A charming town that’s home to Hamlet’s Castle, the history of maritime everything, and a walkable town center – this place could merit day trips upon day trips.

Why your toddler will love it: Our toddler actually loves this one so much that there is whole separate post on things to cool catch with your toddler in Helsingor.

HORNBAEK

Time from central Copenhagen: 1 hr 15 minutes on public transportation; 50 minutes driving

Why you’ll love it: It’s the St. Tropez of Denmark! If you’re an adult who likes St. Tropez, you’ll probably take issue with the accuracy of that statement, and then resign yourself eventually to knowing that’s as close as you’re going to get in Denmark. This town is straight up charming. Our favorite agenda is to catch early lunch in town (usually Strand Pavillionen on Friisvej), followed by beach time and ice cream. We’ve never left this place without a smile and sense of relaxation.

Why your toddler will love it: The beach is the main draw here, but it’s all the more a hit because there is one of the coolest playgrounds right on it. Lots of wooden structures for climbing and swinging, as well as wooden animals like seals and turtles to climb on and fuel the imagination with. You can’t help but take cues from the laid back Danish parents and let the kids be kids, hitting the snooze button on the helicoptering for a while. The close proximity of ice cream to the actual beach doesn’t hurt either, and when you need a break, mini golf and little electric cards are right next to the Strand Cafe. Some of the nicest, cleanest sand on the coast is on this beach as well, and the cove on the right-hand side offers calmer waters than the more open left side of the beach – perfect for your youngest aquanauts.

GILLELEJE

Time from central Copenhagen: 1 hr 30 minutes on public transportation; 55 minutes driving

Why you’ll love it: Much like Hornbaek, Gilleleje is just as charming and just as manicured, but the focus here is the harbor and not the beach (although there is one on the west side of town). It’s role in WWII is a nice opportunity to work in a history lesson. The harbor gives you the real seaside feel, and if you’re an early riser, you can catch the fishermen coming in and bidding out their catch. The fishing industry used to be bigger than it is now, but it’s still very much the feel of this town. Fish’n’chips on the harbor is a lunch or dinner worth making time for.

Why your toddler will love it: Because fishing is the name of the game here, there are all sorts of opportunities for your little one to try it out. Buy a 20 DKK fishing net at the shop on the harbor and watch them entertain themselves for hours, fishing for nothing in particular in the shallower water. Crab rods and other doodads also available and often, they have a catch of crabs that children are encouraged to explore and play with (watch those fingers!) right on the dock.

TISVILDELEJE

Time from central Copenhagen: 1 hr 20 minutes on public transportation; 45 minutes driving

Why you’ll love it: A long stretch of beach as far as the eye can see, rated as a “Blue Flag Beach” meaning the water quality and local environment are a fiercely guarded priority. When beach weather isn’t on the menu for the day, the “plantage” right behind the beach of wind whipped pines growing up until the sands are a beautiful place for a walk or horseback ride.

Why your toddler will love it: While the sand isn’t as soft as in Hornbaek, it is still quite clean and here the water stays shallow for longer, giving little ones a little extra room to play before hitting the deep. And there’s an ice cream shack right on the water – need I say more? Beyond the town, there is a great nature playground (for a forest school like experience) over on the family holiday grounds at Sankt Helene, and the town is full of little restaurants for an easy dinner that flows right into the sunset.

If the Danish Riviera is starting to sound appealing (and it should), there is a little bit more about some our trips here:

Lazy Summer Days on Hornbaek

Gone Fishin’ on Gilleleje

Toddler Travels: 5 Great Toddler Entertainers on Helsingor

(and also, don’t forget the Denmark Derby series over on the other blog!)

But don’t just take my word for it – in fact, these are far from comprehensive. We still have tons to check out (up next on our trip list is Hundesved Harbor for example). So if the Danish Riviera is on your trip list, here are a few more guides that might help out:

CN Traveller’s Guide to the Danish Riviera

Visit Denmark’s Guide to North Sealand

Visit North Sealand’s Guide: Along the Danish Riviera

Marie Claire’s Easy Escapes Guide to Northern Sealand

Out + About: Gone Fishin’ in Gilleleje…

August 18, 2015

Because we live nearly right on the sea, forest school here for my daughter takes place on the beach or on the ocean just about as often as it does in the woods (lucky girl, right?). We’ve always loved a little waterside time as a family, so Denmark’s plentiful seaside towns, many of them close to Copenhagen, have really given us lots to do on weekends. Gilleleje is a favorite of ours for days when we need something other than just the beach.

Our daughter’s perspectives after forest school really made us approach these towns in a new way – all of the sudden, beach days aren’t just about swimming and sunshine (though we like that too – ahem, Hornbaek, ahem). These days we’re more apt to learn from her rather than she from us – telling us what lives in this type of water, what might be under the rock, how you can take out fish eyeballs and other handy lessons for life…

In fact, as a reward for earlier good behavior we told her she could pick out a souvenir from the shop on the water that we like to visit. It’s the kind of place that makes me want to buy yards of different cables and ropes meant for sailors, even though we don’t sail… After passing by a few toys, she settled on a crab fishing rod that made her beam with delight (so much so that she even insisted on sleeping with it – i removed it though after her eyes quickly shut on the ride back, afraid as any parent of anything resembling a rod close to an eye – I’m not quite that Danish yet…). As we didn’t exactly know how to use it, we didn’t catch anything though she had a blast trying. Since that day, she brought it to school for show and tell and the whole class subsequently went out to use it, they even had a crab themed week, and now she can catch them like any pro on the circuit.

Also at the top of list to things to get in Gilleleje are the children’s nets. Fishing, butterfly catching – these things are all purpose and no respectable Denmark-raised child is without at least three of these (!). To make summer sweeter, there was also a great strawberry stand set up which ended up being the perfect dessert to eat right then and there on the harbor.

Gilleleje is a laid back town, known for it’s earlier fishing industry, but also for its significant history during WWII as an escape point for rowing out to Sweden. A small marker commemorates that, though most people pass it by, in favor of the lovingly kept traditional homes and fresh fish and chips on the water.

Further down the dock, there’s a place where children can race crabs, getting into the mucky water to fish them out and send them down the race chute. I’m not sure how the crabs – or PETA – would feel about that, but it was great to see kids just being kids. Getting dirty, getting excited, getting fresh air…The sun didn’t go down until about 10 o’clock. Summers in Denmark are such that you might have to throw a vest on against the chill, but all of these other things still make it feel like summer just the same.

If you’re heading to Gilleleje, best sure to also check out the Denmark Derby post on Gilleleje as well for more tips!

Home…sick…

August 12, 2015

Somehow two weeks came and went – first we were off enjoying some summertime in North Dakota, and then coming back took a little more energy than expected. So much so that it culminated in catching up with toddler in the form of a fever. So yesterday we declared a “r’n’r” day – our tot stayed home to recuperate and catch up on sleep to beat the jet lag. We also did a few feel good things that you do on sick days, like play cards and make pudding. And watch movies…

Someone had recommended “Home” to us, and I have to say it was rather cute. Unfortunately, it’s totally predictable (though not to a four-year old), but Jim Parsons does a sweet job voicing the main character. It’s not necessarily the best animated option out there in terms of plot, but maybe we also liked it since it captures the feeling of being different and not always fitting in. When you live abroad in many places, that’s something you can identify with and now that my daughter is getting older, she’s starting to catch on. Ironically, this feeling will probably hit her most when we actually go home, since what feels like home for her and what is actually home for us are two different things.

But plot notes aside, on this particular day, Home was just what the doctored ordered, in more ways than one…

Out + About: Lazy Summer Beach Day in Hornbaek

July 24, 2015

Although they have school year-round here in forest school, which is a great help when trying to plan a summer for toddlers, it doesn’t mean we don’t get in those lazy summer days. You know, the kind where everyone sleeps in just a little…when you can buy yourself an extra snooze as a parent with a few cartoons…when the heat sets in and and you make a batch of smoothies in the blender and ultimately you decide to go spend the rest of the day at the beach?

We recently had a few of those days a couple of weeks ago. The summer weather here in Denmark is…shall we say, variable…so when the sun comes out and the temperature rises, people really do drop everything to take advantage of it. We’re lucky because there are a few great beach towns in the area and one of our favorites, hot weather or not, is Hornbaek.

Quaint, flat, and on the seaside, the picturesque cottages house little restaurants as well as a few cute shops (Danish designer Ilse Jacobsen practically owns this town). We always grab some lunch first, and have the inevitable stop by the mini-golf course for a few rides on the electric cars.

The water is chilly, not that matters much to the kids, but the sand and beach are very clean. When you have forest schoolers in tow, they naturally want to collect just about everything on the beach: shells…sand…crabs, dead or alive. Lucky for us, it buys us a bit of time to enjoy the beach while our toddler stays busy. Hornbaek beach also has one of the coolest playgrounds as well, right on the beach with natural wood structures. I didn’t get pictures of it this time around, but check out this post on Hornbaek for more.

Ice cream is also de rigueur and a stop at the Hansen’s if you want to go Danish, or at Ben & Jerry’s if you’re feeling homesick, does the trick – we always enjoy ours while watching the boats on the little harbor. The best is around the five o’clock hour when most Danes head in early to get ready for dinner – we can enjoy the beach nearly entirely to ourselves for just a little while longer…

Headed to Hornbaek? Be sure to check out:

Denmark Derby: Hornbaek

Ilse Jacobsen’s Flowers on Hornbaek

and if you’re headed to Hornbaek without the little ones, Pool Day on Hornbaek