We will be traveling to Denmark for Christmas to visit our daughter who is studying in Kerteminde. We plan on spending 7 days in the area. Does anyone have any experience on a trip this time of year or any suggestions? I also thought maybe we should meet somewhere more north, like Sweden, Norway or Finland, so we would be guaranteed snow for Christmas. We are open to the idea of touring but don't want too hectic of a schedule. I am a scientist and my husband is a history teacher and love to explore historical sights and geologic formations. Thank you for any help!
Posted by
Copenhagen, Denmark
971 posts
You are right that you would have to go a lot further north to be guaranteed snow, December in Denmark is usually just cold, wet and dark.
If you where to visit your daughter in Denmark, do you plan on staying in Kerteminde?
Posted by
OP
2 posts
We would stay in Kerteminde if there is any place to stay. She will be doing research there but be attending classes at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, which I'm sure is a much larger city. I had thought about Iceland but she said there is too much driving, everything is overpriced and there's not too much to do. Although I think visiting a glacier and a volcano would be great! Of course if we stayed in Denmark we would have to spend some time in Copenhagen. I understand that it is the "off season" and there may not be much to do. I guess my big question is....Is it worth it to spend Christmastime in Denmark or should we all meet somewhere else?
Posted by
Copenhagen, Denmark
971 posts
Well where ever you go in the Nordic countries you will have roughly the same limitations, cold and few daylight hours and the further north, the colder and darker it will be. I won't comment on whether it will be better to spend Christmas in Denmark or elsewhere, but I can suggest somethings you could do in Denmark.
With 7 days you could spend 2-3 days in Copenhagen and check out the sight here. The most popular day trips from Copenhagen are Roskilde and its cathedral and viking ship museum, Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød and the town of Helsingør with Kronborg Castle (the one from Hamlet). all can be done by train from Copenhagen.
If you want to see geological formations the chalk cliffs of Møns Klint are very impressive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B8ns_Klint . There is also a geological museum about the cliffs. The weather in December is not ideal, so dress accordingly. The trip there is only really feasible by car, so you would need to rent one and since there is limited daylight hours you should probably overnight in Stege or Vordingborg. Then you could drive to Kerteminde and check out some of the historical sights on the way. In Vordingborg you have the ruins of the impressive mediaval castle http://www.danmarksborgcenter.dk/en and in Slagelse you could see the Trelleborg Viking Ringfort and museum https://en.natmus.dk/museums-and-palaces/trelleborg/
In Kerteminde you should also have a look at the Ladby Ship, a viking ship burial. http://en.vikingemuseetladby.dk/
Posted by
Western Canada
3482 posts
I was in Copenhagen last year for 8 days in the middle of December, and it was great.
It rained once and snowed a tiny bit on my last day.
I got a Copenhagen Card and went all over the place , including to Roskilde and Helsingor.
Went to tones of museums, did a walking tour, and the Christmas Markets were all set up too, though I wasn't impressed with them so much.
Windproof jacket, hat and gloves; you're good to go to enjoy this lovely country!