After leaving Billund, we drove down to the southeast corner of Denmark and took a ferry from Svenborg to Ærøskøbing, on the island of Ærø (pronounded “aero”) in the Baltic Sea. The Wilsons were headed there next for several days on their way to Copenhagen and although we had never heard of the island prior to planning this trip, we decided to tag along.
Ærø is known for its colorful, 17th century-restored houses on charming cobblestone lanes, maritime-centered culture and food, and laidback yet plentiful tourism offerings – but you’ll probably find that once you arrive, you just want to relax and take it slow. Renting bikes to explore the island, enjoying lazy beach days, and meandering around the coasts and hamlets were our main activities over 4 days there, and we also happened to catch the Ærø Jazz Festival’s community parade (New Orleans-style) in the town of Marstal.
There weren’t a lot of lodging options to choose from visiting in late July/early August, but our Airbnb host welcomed us warmly, making pancakes for Jacob on several mornings. When we asked for a key, she looked at us strangely; she never locks her doors and there was no key anyway. What a place to live…
The timing of visiting Ærø ended up working out well in our itinerary, giving us a much-needed pause from city touring, recuperation from Legoland, and quality time and more home cooking al fresco with good friends; this is our 3rd trip meeting up with them in Europe in recent years and it’s really special to be together with the kids.
A highlight for the parents was a delicious, summery, kid-free dinner at Restaurant Mumm @restaurant_mumm in Ærøskøbing. “Tak” (thanks) to Grandma Deb for the babysitting breaks!
