Inside Denmark: Enchanting Ærøskøbing

Location: Ærøskøbing, Ærø, Denmark

Spending a weekend in Ærøskøbing was a vacation from a vacation. It’s a town with a population of 1,000 in the island of Ærø. The island itself is small measuring about 12 miles long and 3 to 4 miles wide.

 
Ærøskøbing was magical. On arriving there, it felt like being transported into the past with its 18th century houses and beautiful landscape.

 
Its slow-paced lifestyle and fairy-tale setting makes it a magnet for couples wanting to get married in a hurry. It doesn’t hurt that Denmark has one of the most liberal marriage policies in the world. Since foreigners comprise the majority of applicants, it’s now called the Las Vegas of Northern Europe.

 
Our tour guide led us to Søbygaard, a manor house build as hunting lodge by Duke Hans The Younger in the 16th century.

 
As a group, we also visited the Bregninge Church. Built as a Romanesque church in the 13th century, it saw major renovations throughout the centuries.

 
Then it was time for me to chill out and relax. I spent most of the time wandering about town and watching small boats coming in and out of the harbor. In addition, I did laundry on the side in the privacy of the bathroom.

 
On our last night in Ærøskøbing, Mats,our driver, and Gunnar, owner of the apartment where we were staying, invited us to an impromptu jam session featuring some of the formers’s original songs. It was a special treat capping our stay in the island.