Delicately balanced between
Scandinavia proper and mainland
Europe,
Denmark is a
difficult country to pin down. In
many ways it shares the
characteristics of both regions:
it's an EU member, and has prices
and drinking laws that are broadly
in line with those in the rest of
Europe. But Denmark's social
policies and its style of government
are distinctly Scandinavian: social
benefits and the standard of living
are high, and its politics are very
much that of consensus.
Denmark is the easiest
Scandinavian country in which to
travel, both in terms of cost and
distance, but its landscape is the
region's least dramatic: very green
and flat, largely farmland
interrupted by innumerable pretty
villages. Apart from a scattering of
small islands, three main landmasses
make up the country - the islands of
Zealand and Funen and the peninsula
of Jutland, which extends northwards
from Germany.
The vast majority of visitors
make for Zealand (Sjælland),
and, more specifically, Copenhagen
, the country's one large city and
an exciting focal point, with a
beautiful old centre, a good array
of museums and a boisterous
nightlife. Zealand's smaller
neighbour, Funen (Fyn), has
only one positive urban draw in Odense
, and otherwise is a sedate place,
renowned for its cute villages and
the sandy beaches of its fragmented
southern coast. Only Jutland
(Jylland) is far enough away from
Copenhagen to enjoy a truly
individual flavour, as well as
Denmark's most varied scenery,
ranging from soft green hills to
desolate heathlands. Århus
and Aalborg are two of the
liveliest cities outside the
capital.
