Today was a bit of a worldwind as we said goodbye (for now) to Copenhagen and made our way to Odense. But of course we needed to try (another!) pastry before we left. This time I chose!

One of my first searches after booking our trip to Copenhagen was “best pastries”. Copenhagen is known for a particular bakery that serves it’s signature “cardamom buns”. As soon as I told John about this place it became a must do. That bakery is called Juno the Bakery and just happens to be closed for the summer holiday 🙁 The bakery’s chef came from none other than Noma, which is a Copenhagen restaurant that has been voted Best Restaurant in the World 4(!) times. Well, that was a no-go but we were still in search of some sort of pastry with cardamom.

I found Hart Bageri after additional research which has a cardamom croissant pastry. Yes! This is where we’d try! So far we really hadn’t found a pastry that blew us away. But here’s to trying! Below is the description from Hart Bageri’s Instagram page:

“Our sinfully delicious cardamom bun is made from left-over scraps of the croissant dough and wonderfully aromatic cardamom: After it’s baked, we dip it in browned organic Danish butter and cardamom sugar. We love to break it apart and eat it piece by piece – crispy and flaky outside with a buttery and soft inside.”

Oh. My. God! This was the best thing I’ve eaten so far in Copenhagen! You could taste the cardamom and butter as the croissant melted in your mouth. Wow – it was delicious! If anyone is reading this and wondering where to get a pastry – go to Hart Bageri! It was literally mouthwatering.

We said goodbye to Gaby, for a few days, and headed to back to the airport to pick up a rental – we were on our way to Odense, Denmark. John and I wanted to visit this small, romantic town as it is the home of fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen. On the way, however, we made a pit stop in Roskilde.

Roskilde was once the capital of Denmark and is a hotbed for Viking history. Only 30 minutes from Copenhagen, we made it there quickly in the steady cold rain. We headed directly to the Viking Ship Museum – Vikingeskibsmuseet – which has a permanent exhibition of 5 original(!) Viking ships excavated from the Roskilde Fjord in 1962.

This was one of the best museums I’ve ever been to! And that’s saying a lot! I really loved it and the history and ships were so interesting. Also it’s location on the fjord allowed you to really picture the battles that took place there.

There are two sections to the museum – the Viking Ship Hall – where the ships are kept – and the Boatyard – where archeological work still takes place. There are also areas where you can “fight” with swords and shields as the Vikings did, hear and touch their ancient weapons, and see a traditional boatbuilder carving the wood for a vessel with an axe. You can also see a fully reconstructed Viking ship docked outside.

Not only were the vessels super cool, but the history documented on the walls and in a diorama was fascinating. And the fact that they still – and will continue to – do archeological work at the museum.

Important thing to know before you go. P.S. I did NOT know this. The term scuttling. A ship is scuttled when it’s crew deliberately sinks it. In this case with large rocks. The five Viking ships excavated at Roskilde were sunk to prevent future attacks on the city – to prevent other ships from getting close to the harbor. Seriously fascinating.

We spent quite a bit of time at this museum and I highly recommend it! Finally, we headed on to Odense, our destination for the night.

Odense is a close city to Copenhagen but probably further than a day trip warrants. Again, it is home to H.C. Andersen and is the largest city on the island of Funen. It is also known for it’s summer events and festivals.

We checked into our “luxury” hotel – Hotel Odeon – and cleaned up. We were pretty tired and also pretty dirty and damp. We both needed a drink, something warm to fill our bellies and a cozy restaurant to retreat to. Based on the recommendation from the sweet concierge we quickly headed to Restaurant Gronttorvet, just a 5-minute walk in the rain.

What a pleasant surprise! Traditional and warm, with a long oak bar and Tiffany lamps above all of the tables. And friendly service! We decided we’d stay a while. In (almost) desperate need of a drink we ordered wine but I also wanted to try a traditional Scandinavian spirit. Called Aquavit or Akvavit, it is distilled from potatoes or grain and is described as being similar in taste to vodka. I’m in!

There were many “flavors” to try so upon recommendation from the waiter, I ordered one of the easier ones to drink. I believe he said something like, “I won’t bring you one that will knock your teeth to the back of your mouth”. Ok! The name is Brondums Snaps and it was spicy and did contain notes of cherry. The waiter poured the shot in a specific shot glass and – per tradition – filled it over the brim. Apparently it’s tradition that the liquor spills out of the glass.

The food was delicious, the wine was yummy, the Aquavit was biting, the conversation was wonderful and our bellies were warm and full. It was just what we needed for our night in Odense.