With Car or Coach

This tour follows the footsteps of Harald Bluetooth and Gorm the Old; the first Danish kings.

The runic stones in Jelling, a UNESCO Heritage Site, is the natural starting point for this tour. From there we drive to the river valley of Vejle River. Here we see the remains of the Ravning bridge; for centuries a mystery for many historians. For what purpose was this unique wooden bridge built?  

After visiting the remarkable Viking historical site we visit another runic stone telling about Queen Thyra, the wife of Gorm the Old and we end our tour at the Klebæk Mounds, where a 45 meter long shipsetting from the Viking period surrounds 2 bronze mounds.

The tour requires that the group has a car or bus available. This is for the group to arrange or can be booked by Guide Service Denmark.

One of the things that people associate the most with Denmark is the ferocious Viking warriors familiar from films and fiction. However truth is often stranger than fiction and this tour will show you who the people known as the Vikings really were and what the truth is that lies behind these stories.

On this tour you will join a guide with huge interest in the Vikings who will take you on a journey through the mythology and lifestyle of these fearsome people.

Start at the National Museum in Copenhagen where some of the most important treasures from the Viking Age are preserved. We then head to the reconstructed Viking village in the west of Copenhagen where you will meet re-enactors and learn how the Vikings lived. From the village we will go to explore the monuments at Lejre, the old royal centre for the Danish Vikings, and the location of the hall of Heorot from the poem Beowulf.

We finish the tour by the shores of Roskilde fjord at the Viking Ship Museum before heading back to Copenhagen.

Visit Odense in a different way. We visit and hear about the ghettos of the city – anything from Vollsmose to the ghetto of the wealthy at Langelinie. About the old working areas in Bolbro and the development in the western part of town. About the small “secret” and incredibly beautiful areas Gerthasminde, Dæhnfeldts Villa town, and the housing of the previous glassworks in the city centre, also ghettos which barely any has ever heard of. If interested, it is possible to heave lunch in a café or restaurant in town.

The region of Southern Jutland has, through the history, been a place of conflicts. From the medieval times the Danish king was the duke of the duchy of Slesvig.

So we are in border-areas where wars have been fought and borders have been moved. And also an area where beautiful buildings and marvelous constructions witness the recognition of the importance of being able to survey and defend the area, if necessary.

The town of Fredericia was built as a fortress back in 1650, and the town also played an important role in the first war between Denmark and Germany in the late 1840s. This was when revolutions spread in Europe and a rebellion broke out in the duchies of Slesvig and Holsten, which culminated in Fredericia. We take a brief look at the ramparts and the national monument of the Soldier defending Denmark.

In Kolding; 20 miles away, we have the fantastic castle of Koldinghus, built as a castle on the southern border of Denmark. The border followed the river through Kolding up to 1848. The castle now stands as a renovated ruin, where the walls tell the history of the building and the architects Johannes and Inger Exner have managed with the help of fantastic architecture to preserve the ruin within the castle.

On a coach tour through the beautiful landscape we reach the highest point of the area, Skamlingsbanken. At the altitude of 113 meter there is a beautiful view over the belt between Jutland and Funen. The place has played an important role as a meeting place focusing on Danish national identity.

OPTIONAL: The tour can be extended with ½ hour which will give the opportunity to have a coffee and Danish pastry at the beautifully situated restaurant by Skamlingsbanken.

Another option for extending the tour will demand app. 1½ hours. This will bring us to the beautiful Moravian town of Christiansfeld, where the ceasefire agreement was signed after the war in 1864, and could include a coffee stop to have a coffee and a honey cake. A short walk in this very special, planned town from the late 1700s willl also be included.

The coach tour starts from Aarhus to Billund, the home town of the Lego company, Legoland and Lego House. Learn the faschinating history of the Lego company's humble beginnings in a carpenters shop in Billund to the world covering company we now know.

Legoland offers lots of entertainment for kids of all ages with the Legoland Museum, the park and when food is a request. If you prefer a visit in the Lego House to Legoland that is no problem.

On the way to Legoland I will tell you the fascinating history of LEGO which is at play with the Danish words "leg godt" meaning have fun playing.

Lego is the fascinating story of producing wooden toys in humble beginnings in a carpenters shop in the 1930's Billund to the worldwide multinational Lego company of today with its Star Wars toys.

On our way we will pass some of Lego's factories in Billund, which has become the Lego-town of Denmark with almost everybody working at the Lego factories.

It is no problem to start this tour from other cities than Aarhus just let us know in advance.

The tour focusing on food and the good stories is a guided bus tour starting in Vejle, from where we drive towards Jelling. We can of course start somewhere else according to your choice.

We visit a traditional old grocery store which is now also a museum. If you are into nostalgia, be sure to make a few purchases at the counter. It's hard not to.

We carry on to the beautiful Nørup Church, an old medieval church restored to its present day's unique look with a Russian style onion dome, which is very unusual for a Danish church.

From Nørup church we go to the UNESCO World Heritage site at Jelling. See the large runic stone where king Harald Bluetooth in the year 965 claimed that he made the Danes Christian. The runic stone is said to hold the birth certificate of Denmark as a nation.

We end our morning with a delicious Viking lunch in one of Jelling's nice cafes, known for its locally produced, high quality food and drink. We might be able to listen a story by the proprietor while having lunch. 

After lunch you will have time to enjoy the historic experience centre Kongernes Jelling, Royal Jelling, before we head back to Vejle.

Aarhus is one of the oldest cities in Denmark, and at the same time a young city in rapid change. This means that Aarhus is packed with good stories, whether you are interested in the vikings, Aarhus in the Middle Ages or the modern city.  

Aarhus is an interesting city also architecturally, and a guided coach tour, is definitely the easiest way to see it in a short time. We will go by the midieval cathedral, the city hall with its unique architecture from the 1930s, the world renowned ARoS Museum of Modern Art, the ever expanding university of Aarhus and her majesty the Queens summer residence, Marselisborg Palace, the famous Old Town open air museum and lots more!

If you have special interests or requests, I'll happy to arrange tours made to your requirements, with stops when you feel like it.

Guide Service Denmark can arrange a coach for you as well if you wish.