Tag Archives: Fyn

Als Ferry

Ferry Fynshav-Bojden #16/99

A pain of living on an island is the ease with which you can get to other places. Believe me! I know! I lived in a country the size of Als for the first 21 years of my life with no bridges to anywhere! It is true that Als is connected to mainland Jutland by two bridges. However, the traditional way of connecting islands is with the use of ferries, and Als is not lacking here either.

Als Ferry

One of the ferries connects Fynshav on Als to Bojden on Fyn. The trip takes around 50mins. This means that rather than spending around 1.5hrs on a motorway you can get to Fyn within 10mins driving on country roads and 50mins relaxing on a ferry (+ time to drive to you destination on the other side).

You can easily make reservations online or by calling the company. Learning from our mistakes we would strongly suggest you do that! If you don’t have a reservation you will only make it onto the ferry after all the people who have reserved have. We managed to get on the ferry in both directions without a reservation. However, it was tight both times, and a 2hr wait for the next ferry is probably not your idea of a good time.

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This ferry provides a useful connection between the south of Jutland and the south of Fyn, facilitating the ease by which you can go from Als to the two main Danish islands (Fyn, and Zealand further on). It is also a pleasant way of getting to Egeskov Slot from Sonderborg as we did. Way more relaxing than being cooped up in a car for the time required!

Egeskov Slot

Denmark is one of the oldest monarchies in the world. This long legacy of royalty and nobility has resulted in many fine castles and manor houses dotted around the country, often in the most scenic of places.

Amongst the best preserved of the castles is Egeskov Slot. Egeskov slot as we know it today was completed by Frands Brickenhuus in 1554. As a defence system the castle was built on a foundation of oak pilings in the middle of a lake. Today, the castle is owend by the Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille family, who have opened up the park to the public for several generations.

Today, the castle is a family-friendly attraction on the island of Fyn. On the site you can, of course, visit the castle. However, you can also spend time at a number of museums dotted around the lands, gardens showcasing different periods or plants, as well as a lot of space and activity spaces for kids (and the not so young) to use up their energy.

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I would say that visiting the castle is a must if you haven’t been there before. It costs 30-45DKK more to have access to the castle, but it is worth it if you have the time (plan at least 4hrs if you would like to see everything). A special gem there is Titania’s palace, an exquisite doll’s house built for the daughter of Sir Nevile Wilkinson by a team of outstanding craftsmen.

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If you are into cars and motor vehicles most of the museums would probably be of interest. Not being that much into this (a car is a car right?), I was really enjoyed the Grocer’s Museum. This museum showcases a visual representation of grocer’s shops from the 1930s to the 1950s. Even though there were another 40 years or so till I was born, a lot of the items looked very familiar!

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If the day is nice as it was when we visited, it is a shame to waste the good weather by staying indoors. Luckily, the vast park gives you ample space to roam around in. Being big kids ourselves we also enjoyed the playgrounds, particularly the Great-Grandfathers playground (where you can try walking on stilts), the tree-top walk, and the mazes. Unfortunately we were there a bit too early for all the flowers to be in bloom (early May), but from the little we saw the gardens must be magnificent later on in the year.

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The wide variety of activities also ensures that pretyt much everyone would find something they are interested in. We found the park and gardens a really enjoyable way of spending a day. It is an attraction for both young and old that is worth the time and money. No wonder it is ranked #1 of 54 attractions on Fyn on TripAdvisor!