Unknown Zealand
And although no place is more than 25 kilometers from the sea and on the east coast is the capital Copenhagen. The number of overnight stays of foreign tourists will probably increase soon. For Zealand has not been a real island since the second longest bridge in the world was opened in June across the Great Belt, linking the largest Danish island with Funen and the continent. Travelers need only 15 minutes by car from Korsør to Nyborg instead of 90 minutes by ferry. The proximity to the capital shapes life everywhere on Zealand. The one-and-a-half million metropolitan railway system reaches far into the countryside, with the gardens of the rich Copenhageners extending to Helsingør and the forest areas of Hillerød. Since the 16th century, kings and princes built their mansions here, and later the wealthy bourgeoisie built their summer residences.
Ideal climate for the art
"Culture and sophistication," explains Karl Åge Riget, "are so obvious here that they do not even stand out." The 64-year-old painter and sculptor, a member of the Danish artist group Grønningen, has been living in his self-developed farmhouse on the Isefjord for over twenty years. The native Jutlander can no longer do without the proximity to Copenhagen: "She lets the art thrive on Zealand." Impressive proof of this is "Louisiana". A dream location in a park on the Øresund and world-renowned exhibitions have been attracting crowds of visitors to the museum in Humlebæk for almost four decades. The meeting place for the public and modern art was opened in August 1958 in a hundred-year-old mansion. Since then, everything that has a reputation and reputation in the arts is presented in the small coastal town north of Copenhagen.
Whimsical at the Sherlock Holmes Museum
The fact that even one of the largest libraries of crime fiction was created on Zealand, is not due to the influence of the capital, but to the Danish state lottery and Bjarne Nielsen's collecting passion. At the age of 14, he began to get enthusiastic about the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, over the course of three decades he collected a plethora of memoirs of the mystery tutor. Then Nielsen won four million crowns in the lottery, bought a spacious house in Nykøbing and opened the "Sherlock Holmes Museet" two years ago.
Gently undulating hills and wide beaches
But the special charm of Zealand lies outside of its cities: The glaciers of the Ice Age have pushed clay and gravel together to gently undulating hills, shady forest areas turn into yellow-flowering rape fields, small, painted in bold colors houses alternate with farms that hide behind high poplar walls. Numerous long beaches and the constant proximity to the sea characterize the mood - no place in Zealand is further than 25 kilometers from the coast. And it has it all: often over miles wide beaches stretch, whose sand is bright and sometimes so fine that every step makes a squeak. Probably the most beautiful ones are in the bay of Nyrup and along the north coast from Hornbæk to Hundested. Unlike in western Jutland, neither high waves nor dangerous undercurrents cloud the seaside bathing pleasure.
travel service
info Danish Tourist OfficeGlockengießerwall 2, 20095 Hamburg, Telephone 040/32 02 10, Fax 32 02 11 11. Internet: www.visitdenmark.com. On the spot: Tourist offices are scattered all over the island, recognizable by the small "i".
Getting there: The car and train ferry takes one hour from Puttgarden to Rødby Havn. It takes two hours from Rostock to Gedser and 70 minutes by fast ferry. Information on the Internet at www.scandlines.de. From the border at Flensburg to Ålborg, the E45 northwards to the motorway has been extended. At Kolding the E20 branches off to Funen, which is connected via the Great Belt Bridge to the motorway network on Zealand.
Hotels and guesthouses
Pension Bondehuset (Sørupvej 14, Box 6, Sørup 3480 Fredensborg, Tel. 00 45/48 48 01 12, Fax 48 48 03 01, DZ from 755 DK). Thatched cottage on Esrum Lake. 18-hole golf course, swimming and fishing, bike and rowboat rentals. www.bondehuset.dk/.
Svogerslev Kro (Hovedgade 45, Svogerslev 4000 Roskilde, Tel. 00 45/46 38 30 05, Fax 46 38 30 14, Double from 575 DK). Thatched inn in a park-like garden. www.svogerslevkro.
Søbakkehus (Hornebyvej 8, 3100 Hornbæk, Tel. 00 45/49 70 00 33, double room from 500 DK incl. Breakfast). Quiet hotel, eldorado for sport anglers on Øresund.
Hotel Kirstine (Købmagerade 20, 4700 Næstved, Tel. 00 45/55 77 47 00, Fax 55 72 11 53, DZ from 755 DK). Old half timbered farm in the south of Zealand with good restaurant. www.hotelkirstine.dk.
cottages
On Seekand holiday homes are cheaper than on the Danish west coast and usually have a high standard. All major brokers (DanCenter, Dansommer, sun and beach, Novasol) has the Hamburg holiday home specialist InterIscandia (Tel. 040/600 47 70, Fax 601 90 09) in the program. The cheapest are the Danish tourist offices on site, German-language catalogs to order at Odsherred Turistbureau (Svanestræde 9, 4500 Nykøping / Sjælland, Tel. 00 45/59 91 08 88, Fax 59 93 00 24) and tourist information Helsinge / Tisvilde (Gadekærvej 17, 3200 Helsinge, Tel. 00 45/48 79 51 66, Fax 4879 63 66).
to eat and drink
Gilleleje Havn (Havnevej 14, 3250 Gilleleje, Tel. 48 30 30 39). First-class fish dishes, seating niches overlooking the harbor. Later in the evening live music in the pub next door.
Schweizerhuset (Herthadalen, 4320 Lejre, Tel. 46 48 01 57). Hearty food near Ledreborg Castle. Open from early May to late September 11am to 5pm, in July to 9pm. Slots Kro (Gamle Strandvej 137, 3050 Humlebæk, phone 49 19 13 01). Very good food with a view of the Øresund and the harbor, live music on Thursdays.
The gyldene hane (Vester Havenvej 34, Sjællands Odde, phone 59 32 63 86). Top restaurant, especially the cod. On the first floor several guest rooms.
Kongskilde Friluftsgård (Skælskørvej 34, 4180 Sorø, phone 53 64 92 00). Old mill farm in the middle of the Tystrup Bavelse nature park, good danish cuisine.
Culture
Louisiana (3050 Humlebæk, Gammel Strandvej 13, phone 49 19 07 19, daily 10-17, Wed to 22 clock). Denmark's most beautiful museum of modern art with changing exhibitions. Sculptures of Miró, Moore, Calder in the park at Øresund.
Sherlock Holmes Museet (Algade 3, 4500 Nykøbing, phone 59 93 22 21, Wed to Fri 10-16, Sat 10-13). Library and antiquarian bookshop for crime fans. Countless mementos of Sherlock Holmes inventor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. www.sherlockiana.net/
Karen Blixen Museet (Rungsted Strandvej 111, 2960 Rungsted, phone 45 57 10 57, May to September daily 10-17). The former home of the Danish writer, made world famous by the filming of her novel "Out of Africa" - "Beyond Africa", has been converted into a museum together with the original furniture.
Lejre test center (Slangealleen 2, 4320 Lejre, telephone 46 48 08 78, Tue to Sun 10 am to 5 pm, open until 13 September). Reconstructed village from the Stone and Iron Age: mud houses, decorated with skins, and fields that are still ordered with ox and plow. On weekends demonstrations for visitors: concerts with prehistoric instruments, archery, sheep shearing. www.lejre-center.dk.
Vikingeskibshallen (Strandengen, 4000 Roskilde, Tel. 46 35 65 55, April to October 9-17, November to March 10 am to 4 pm). Six restored Viking boats, nearly a thousand years old, which have been dug up in the fjord of Roskilde. www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk.
