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Vejle and surroundings - by bike around Danish history

Cycling holidays around Vejle are not only good for fitness, but also good for the head and stomach. Here is what you need to see and experience along the way.
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Vejle and surroundings - by bike around Danish history is written by Jens Skovgaard Andersen.

Denmark - Vejle, Ravning, station building - travel

Throughout the story from Egtvedpigen to Olafur Eliasson

Vejleegnen is Denmark cycling area number one. They think so themselves, and we can only agree with them. The beautiful natural areas with lots of bicycle routes, which are easy to follow, the hilly landscape that makes you stand on the pedals and not least the historic surroundings, which provide plenty of opportunities for exciting and educational stops along the way - it's all part of the package in beautiful Vejle and surroundings.

Wavy fields with grain and cows, dense coniferous forests, cozy lakes and winding streams accompany you on the bike ride, and the hilly landscape offers many impressive views of the area.

That Vejleegnen can be something special for both cyclists and cyclists is emphasized by the fact that Tour de France will come through the area in 2022, when the whole cycling world comes to Vejle. Also in 2021, there are good visits when the Danish championships are run based on Give.

Across the region you will find companies that can help with patching, bike passes, water and toilets - they are gathered under the umbrella Bike Friends Vejle.

On the way around the routes, you can not avoid meeting Danish history all the way from Egtvedpigen from the Bronze Age to modern architecture in the harbor in Vejle, which world-renowned architects such as Henning Larsen and Olafur Eliasson are behind. In between, you can meet both Harald Blåtand and Madam Blå and treat yourself to both world-class whiskey and homemade organic ice cream.

All this is even just a taste of what awaits you on the trip around Denmark's number one cycling area. Tighten the bike helmet and take the family under your arm - now the bike ride starts.

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Denmark - Vejle, Ravning meadows, bridge - travel

Stroll past Egtvedpigen's burial mound and climb Harald Blåtand's bridge

If you start the trip in Vejle - where you can also rent bikes - then follow the bike route out of town to the west along the river. It is an incredibly beautiful walk when you roll along the gurgling water of the river, and the asphalt is perfect for getting your legs moving quietly without the great hardships.

20 kilometers west of Vejle is the small town of Egtved, which really came on the map of Denmark 100 years ago, when a farmer in the town made the discovery that we know as the Egtved girl.

The 3500-year-old girl, who was buried in a burial mound outside Egtved, can be seen at the National Museum in København, but her burial mound has been restored and you can learn more about her in a small museum. An obvious stop on the way when you pass by anyway.

Not far from there is an unfinished wooden bridge next to the old station building in Ravning. The bridge is a reconstruction of the bridge that Harald Blåtand had his Vikings build over Ravning Enge around the year 980. The bridge was a huge construction at that time, and it is worth stopping and thinking about what an impressive structure it has been.

The remains of the original bridge - some of the large thick pillars that held the bridge up - you can see in Jelling, which was Harald Blåtand's town. Here you also have to hop off the bike and look around a bit - you will be happy about that.

Denmark - Jelling, monument, stone - travel

Jelling - The Kingdom's manger

You have definitely already become acquainted with The Jelling stones And if not, look at the first page of your passport where one of them is pictured. Both the large and the small Jelling stone stand right outside the door of Jelling Church in the middle of the city, which is northwest of Vejle.

The church stands in the middle of a large and beautifully framed burial area from the Viking Age, and Gorm the Old is said to be under the church. It is still not all that has been excavated, and the earth certainly still holds intriguing secrets about our early history as a country.

Exactly this place is a very important part of our common history and you should clearly lay both the stones and the beautiful museum right next to a visit. Here you get Danish history directly into the soul.

When you are in Jelling anyway, you can just as well fill up the depots with food and drink from the cozy Café SEJD, the inn or the Pancake House, all of which are located next door to the monuments.

See much more about Jelling's sights here in our guide to experiences in the historic city

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A paradise for collectors of anything - and idyllic views

Northwest of Egtved is a small piece of the story our grandparents remember from when they were children. In the old grocery store in Bindeballe, you travel with one back in time to the time when a penny was a lot of money.

Bindeballe Købmandsgaard is both a grocery store, as they have always looked in the small station towns, and at the same time an absolutely fantastic museum of all sorts of different things. On the hundred-year-old shelves you will find everything from tobacco cans to matchboxes, from Madam Blå to Rød Tuborg and from enamel signs to replacement coffee.

It is impossible to get an overview of it all, so just go hunting and see if the nostalgia does not tickle your shoulder. The collection fills it all both outside and inside, so if you want to buy something in the grocery store, just ask first if it is for sale.

Before you cycle further, do not cheat yourself for once coffee and cake in the coffee room in the yard - we can highly recommend the rye bread cake, for which they are world famous in the local area.

If you drive north from Bindeballe, you hit the beautiful Engelsholm Lake. On one side of the lake is the Renaissance castle Engelsholm Castle, which was built by the astronomer Tycho Brahe's brother Knud in the 1500th century, and which is today a folk high school.

A good place to enjoy the view of the lake, the castle and the landscape is from Nørup Church, which sits high up in the village of the same name. Knud Brahe is buried in the crypt under the church, which dates from the 1200th century. Whether you want to see the church from the inside or settle for the view of lake and land, it is a nice stop on the way - especially after you have reached the top of the hill.

Local delicacies for young and old on the trip

Vejle and the surrounding area is not only a perfect place for the eyes and the soul. The stomach must also be pampered on the way around the bike route.

Set course for the small town Farre between Givskud and Billund. Here you will find a small local whiskey distillery, Farry Lochan, which has received much attention both at home and abroad and with good reason.

Both the picky whiskey connoisseurs i Scotland and the world-famous restaurant Noma in København, which is one of the world's best restaurants, has had the order book promoted to grab Fary Lochan's very special products. A whiskey smoked on stinging nettles from the garden is one of the specialties and there are many other delicious items on the shelf.

The distillery is a real family business, and it is all handmade and with love for whiskey as the absolute main ingredient. They do not make many bottles a year - and it can be both felt and tasted that every single brew is pampered.

You can get a tour of the distillery by the family, and it's a really good place to take a short - or a little longer - break before the tour continues on paths and roads.

A few kilometers from there you come to Engmarksgården, where the enthusiasm will probably increase among the younger members of the family. In addition to some really playful dogs and curious cows, the big attraction on the farm is Engmark Is.

The ice cream parlor with its own ice cream shop offers delicious organic ice cream, which is as local as it can get. The milk comes from the farm's own cows, and the ingredients come from right outside the door. Then there is something about cycling - even when it is hot.

Denmark - Vejle, Bølgen - travel

Vejle - nature, cycling and world-class architecture

The focal point for the cycle routes is Vejle. Several routes start in the city, and this is where you have both good train connections to the whole country and a large selection of cultural offerings. You can rent regular bikes here and if you are into electric bikes you can get Vagabond Tours to help you.

The bike ride in and out of Vejle is really nice, regardless of whether you climb the long hill and take towards Jelling, follow the fjord on the north or south side, drive north through Grejsdalen or roll along Vejle Å towards Egtved. The scenery around the city is very special and you can really enjoy it all from the bike.

In Vejle itself, there is plenty to do for family members of all ages. Go shopping in the cozy pedestrian streets, pamper yourself and your family on one of the many atmospheric cafes, experience modern art at Vejle Art Museum or look at world-class architecture at the harbor.

An iconic building that has become a symbol of Vejle is Bølgen, which was designed by the world-renowned architect Henning Larsen. It is not to be overlooked with its location at the bottom of Vejle Fjord. Right next door, the equally world-famous Olafur Eliasson has built the equally iconic Fjordenhus, which takes up the fight to be Vejle's architectural mascot.

If you are going to stay in Vejle overnight, check out the Music Theatre's program, and otherwise you can enjoy a little old at the casino on the south side of the fjord. That's not the worst way to round off a beautiful historic bike ride, is it?

Find many more guides and tips for holidays in Denmark here

Really good bike ride and really good holiday!

RejsRejsRejs was invited by VisitVejle. All attitudes are, as always, our own.

About the author

Jens Skovgaard Andersen, editor

Jens is a happy travel nerd who has traveled in over 60 countries from Kyrgyzstan and China to Australia and Albania. Jens is educated in China Studies, has lived in China for 1½ years and is a member of the Travel Club. He has extensive experience with the travel world as a tour guide, lecturer, advisor, author and photographer. And of course most important of all: As a traveler. Jens often goes to places where it is also possible to watch a good football match in the company of other incarnated fans and has a special fondness for Boldklubben FREM, where he sits on the board. For most people it is obvious to look up to Jens (he is barely two meters tall), and then he is a 14-time champion in the TV quiz Jeopardy and still single, so if you can not find him out in the world or on a football stadium, you can probably find him out touring in the Copenhagen quiz environment.

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