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

Video: A Toddler in…Fuglebjerggaard Farm!

July 20, 2015

Just a little something to change things up! I’ll have photos from our farm outing soon but in the meantime, a little video of some summer strawberry picking over at Camilla Plum’s Fuglebjerggaard Farm!

Video and music via Replay.

Toddler Travels: 5 cool toddler things in Helsingor!

July 10, 2015

We’ve just come up on 11 consecutive weeks of house guests, and Helsingor is probably our top requested day trip from all of our guests. But we don’t mind, in fact, we often head there ourselves even with no guests. Having been multiple times, we’ve come up with a small list of favorites that are always a hit with our toddler, even when the umpteenth iteration of “To be, or not to be?” jokes are not.

1. The LEGO Room at Kronborg Castle: At this point, our daughter could probably give the highlights tour of the Castle itself, which is the top attraction at Helsingor. But the reward for making it through yet another round, is then heading up to the second floor hallway while our guests explore the nooks and crannies to play in the Lego room. Large tables of the blocks encourage children to build their own castles and often, paper and crayons are out as well. It’s not very well sign-posted so make a mental note to stop by here with your littles in tow. I’ve been known to build a castle or two myself here as well so this isn’t just for toddlers (like most things on this list actually).

2. Hansen’s Ice Cream: On the way in and out from Kronborg is the sole cafe. It has a lovely but limited menu but always on tap is a freezer full of Hansen’s – easily one of the best ice creams in Denmark. Our daughter likes it rain or shine, but the best days are the sunny days where you can grab an ice cream bar and sit alongside the moat to people watch (or duck-watch in her case).

3. The Casemates Tour: This isn’t a guided tour but something you can explore on your own. At the castle, the casemates – the underground tunnel and room system that soldiers would often have to camp out in – are open to explore. And they are dark – very dark. Bring a flashlight, fire up the flashlight on your phone, or purchase a flashlight from the vending machine at the entrance, and explore away. Our daughter was a bit frightened the first time; there might have been a tear or two. But now, she looks forward to this part perhaps even more than the Lego’s and ice cream. If you visit yourself, and end up being scared witless by a four-year old that has leapt out of nowhere, that was probably her.

4. The INKED exhibit at the Maritime Museum: Hands down the best part of this museum, which is right next door to the castle. The museum is absolutely worth a visit but if combined with the castle, it does make for a long day in the eyes of little ones. Delight them by taking them to the “tattoo parlor” where the museum has set up ballpoint pens attached to tattoo arms, and a system of projecting designs on to your arms so that you can tattoo away. Our daughter loves that this is the one time we basically let her draw all over herself at will. This is another one that’s just as popular with adults too. And I have to say that the gift shop at the Maritime Museum is one of the best – it’s a great place to pre-arrange with your littles that they could pick something out are a reward, as you’ll likely want to pick something out for yourself too. Some of the best Danish and Scandinavian brands are under one roof here, all with a maritime or scandi-chic theme.

5. Helsingor Public Library: Even though this is right next to the other two attractions of the castle and the Maritime Museum, most people have no idea it’s there. Helsingor’s Public Library is awesome and free, and has one of the best indoor playrooms full of multiple sections and toys and wooden boats to pirate. This is perfect for when the kids get tired and need something of their own to do, or if the weather isn’t too agreeable. Some days we have come in just to take advantage of the library itself. On the lower level is a culture center and cafe where you can grab a coffee or eat a light lunch as well.

If you’ll be visiting Helsingor, check out the following posts on the other blog for ideas and more information:

Denmark Derby: Helsingor

Denmark Derby: Maritime Museum

Denmark Derby: Kronborg Castle

Out + About: Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde

May 27, 2015

You can’t think of Denmark and not think of Vikings. Forests and the sea have always factored heavily into providing for needs here, and when there wasn’t enough, well, they just popped on a ship and sailed away to get some more. And there’s still a fair amount of viking culture here – hearty, pull yourself up by your bootstraps but mind the collective type stuff…. Maybe that’s part of the reason why forest schools are so popular here.

It’s been on our list get a little more into this Viking business while we’re here in Denmark and a couple of weeks ago, we finally made it out to Roskilde for the Viking Ship Museum. The full write-up is on the other blog, but in summary, the museum is dedicated to the reconstitution of 5 Viking vessels scuttled in the Roskilde fjord. But from a children’s adventure perspective? This is pretty much your chance to imagine yourself a Viking.

At the end of the Viking Ship hall are two viking ship replicas, for kids to jump on and jump off, and commandeer, and pretend. Best part of all? There is a full closet of Viking costumery that you can don (and your parents can too), to include faux fur-lined pelts, shields that only the heartiest forest school soul could actually lift, and linen under-layers which made this particular mother think that Vikings probably weren’t the cleanest seamen across the ages. In the background are Viking re-enactments projected onto the wall with ocean waves crashing for that full adventure feeling.

The result though was one very happy, imaginative toddler. Whatever energy we didn’t use up in the costume room, she killed off with a long walk on the Roskilde harbor. A boardwalk lines the water with lovely views over the boats (and not just viking ones), and a nature float lets kids examine all sorts of sea critters in the little watering holes if they flow in. And yes, ice cream is definitely the perfect end to the day.

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