Viborg - Billund, Denmark

Saturday 18th September 1999

We continued our journey south. Mum and Dad had booked a ferry crossing from Esbjerg to England for Monday evening so we were working our way towards there. We headed into the Danish lakes district, home to the largest lake, longest river, and highest mountain in Denmark. None very large, long or high. Yding Skovhøj, the highest peak rises a mere 173 metres.

We passed a few pleasant villages and were reminded of the English Cotswold region. Much of this part of Denmark is reminiscent of England.

Continuing south we next came to the small town of Jelling, one of Denmark's most important historical sites. the centrepiece of the town is the 12th century whitewashed church, positioned between two huge burial mounds. They are believed to be the resting places of King Gorm the Old and his Queen Thyra. Adjacent to the church are two large rune stones, one raised by King Gorm in the 900's in honour of his wife, the other raised by Harald Bluetooth and reading:

Harald king bade this be ordained for Gorm his father and Thyra his mother, the Harald who won for himself all Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christians.

Harald's rune stone also features the oldest representation of Christ in Scandinavia alongside an excellent depiction of a dragon. Keeping a foot in both camps it seems.

We picked up some pastries and, heading out of town, found a nice spot beside a lake for a cup of tea. From there is was a short drive to the town of Billund, notable only as the home of Lego. We were greeted by the huge factory on the way in to town but we had our sights on Legoland. At 125kr not really worth the entrance price but the Lonely Planet had tipped us off that free entry was available two hours before closing. A bargain at twice the price.

We strolled through the open gates and, after the obligatory en-masse charge to the toilets, found ourselves in the heart of mini-world, an extensive recreation of various European cities, each consisting of a million or more Lego bricks. It was fascinating to see so many of the cities that we'd visiting in the last few months, Copenhagen, Bergen, Savonlinna in Finland, and even Skagen, just to name a few.

Landmarks from around the world were also recreated along with pirate and jungle scenes, but it was the European cities that really caught our imagination. The detail of the recreations was astonishing and the moving vehicles: cars, trains, boats, and even canal locks, were very impressive. As the light faded I tried photographing a couple of cities from the same angle I'd photographed the real thing, and then, as usual, we found ourselves being gently ejected at closing time.

We headed back to the van then a short way back down the road to a spot we'd spied earlier. A large rest-place set well back from the road and looking pretty quiet.