Settling into rural Denmark

We flew from Tokyo straight to Copenhagen, where we got a rental car and drove about an hour to Køge. We knew we’d be too tired to drive 4 hours straight to Ebeltoft, and Køge sounded like an adorable little village. It is. We absolutely love the old (Koge has officially been a town since 1288 😮 ) half-timbered and brick buildings painted in warm colors and cobblestone streets. 

Possibly the oldest residence in Denmark (according to the guide book) built in the 1500’s. On our drive to Ebeltoft we visited a castle and its gardens. I can’t get over how almost all Denmark castles (and grounds) are owned and maintained by the same families since they were built centuries ago. That’s a lot of work. The place we’re staying is actually outside of Ebeltoft, in a small rural community. We wanted a chance to slow down, enjoy the Hygge (means cozy) fire and do some planning. All the street signs in the area are made of wood like this. We’re finding that in Denmark, there seems to a priority in keeping with the character of a place. Denmark has had unseasonably warm weather, which is lucky for us. We’re enjoying hikes in the nearby national park, Mols Bjerge, and the height of Autumn colors.
And are taking advantage of having a kitchen again = making bread. Snow in October! It was gone in an hour or two, but made our day as we cozily sat by the fire. Denmark’s 5 national parks are largely private land, but give the ability for us peasants to walk around as long as we stay on the trails. This one led to an old viking fort on the coast. Ebeltoft was established in the 1200s, soon after the end of the Viking Age, as a port city. Like many towns/cities in Denmark, it’s adorable and we love it. Cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses galore.

We’ve gotten back to cooking at home to take advantage of a full functioning kitchen. Priscilla, especially, had missed cooking.

Highlights of Køge and Ebeltoft:

• Staying in an adorable little 3 bedroom house. AirBnbs in Denmark are surprisingly low cost for awesome places.
• Cooking and baking at the house
• Fall hiking! While we aren’t going on long hikes, we’re doing a bunch of smaller walks every day

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