Tag Archives: winter

Where to go sledding in Sønderborg

I have been quite disappointed in the winters we have had in Sønderborg the last two years. This year our oldest kid is 3 years old so he does enjoy snow.

Until the end of February all we really had was a few days of melting snow – just enough to make a snowman that quickly buckled under the temperatures a few days later.

But now – finally – as spring is officially starting in Denmark we get a decent dose of winter.

Where to find good hills for sledding

I asked on the excellent Facebook group Aktiviteter i Sønderborg (For børn) for suggestions for where to go sledding and received a lot of suggestions so I have added them to a map of sledding hills in Sønderborg (Kælkebakker i Sønderborg).

Which spot is your favourite? We have only tried one of these spots but will try and make it to some of them close to us.

If your favourite spot is not listed do write a comment or send us an email to let us know and we’ll add it.

If you are not in Sønderborg check out the Kælkebakke Kortet some areas of Denmark are quite well covered.

Winter special at Dybbøl Banke Historiecenter #9/99

My 9 year old nephew had a week off for Winter Holiday and came to visit us for a couple of days in Sønderborg. It was the perfect excuse for me to go and visit the History Centre at Dybbøl Banke and the winter special they were doing during the children’s winter holiday.

1864

My nephew and I made our way up the hill and inside the history center before the doors closed. During winter there is a specific starting time to the tour by when you have to be there. Since this is off season and the centre is really only built for summer openings the building is cold and they have a different programme. As the soldiers experienced 149 years ago when the Danes first abandoned Dannevirke and started to dig in at Dybbøl we got to feel the chills and winds of the Danish winter.

On the day we were 75 visitors and we got divided into three groups that each were led by a story teller/tour guide. Ours was Steen and he was good at grabbing the attention of the kids and getting them involved in explaining the circumstances the soldiers found themselves in, in the trenches.

IMG_9401

We were then shown the equipment the Danes and the Prussians carried with them to war and two of the kids got dressed up as our guide told stories of how the Germans envied the Danish long shafted boots, how the German state-of-the-art rifles were four times faster than the Danish and how the two soldiers would meet in the middle of the battlefield at night, hats in hand to drink and talk only to be back fighting the politicians way when day broke again.

After that we went outside where the kids (big and small) got to make their own bullets and make pancakes over open fire while we could warm ourselves with warm beer, hot cocoa or coffee.

Pancakes in the making

My nephew swore the pancakes were the best he had ever had and for the rest of his visit in Sonderborg he would often take the bullet out of his pocket and admire it.

We were shown the soldier barracks where we got more stories and then our visit to the centre ended with a bang as the guide fired off a smaller replica of a cannon.

School Cannon going off at Dybbøl Historiecenter

For the rest of the winter Dybbøl Historiecenter opens on Saturdays for tours (without the pancakes and bullet making, I think) and the regular season runs from April 1st to October 31st.

First snow this winter

On Friday morning Sønderborg and most of Denmark got the first snow of this winter (2011/2012).

The ringrider in the snow

The temperatures have been hovering at just below zero so some of it disappears while most of it stays around.

A bench covered in snow

So far the amount of snow has been moderate with 2-5 cm of snow so no major disruptions unlike what these levels produced when we lived in London.

Sonderborg Castle in the snow

The pictures above are from our Sunday walk to Alsion.

Most of the local tweeters didn’t seem particular happy about the flaky downpour.

https://twitter.com/#!/Xride/status/162749205239173120

https://twitter.com/#!/staringlouise/status/162798492564205568

https://twitter.com/#!/dsh3/status/162800856960475136

https://twitter.com/#!/frikitiva/status/163531794371723266

While most complain because they are here and in the snow I think GraceAC complains because she is not:

https://twitter.com/#!/graceac/status/163580159071502337

https://twitter.com/#!/kukithestrange/status/163581769659056129