Scenic Kolding, Denmark

Within the last year, I have spent four weeks in Kolding, Denmark. Kolding is quite a beautiful place despite the relatively small size. The people are extremely friendly, and fluent in English for the most part. There are many fine restaurants to choose from, serving a wide variety of foods. Kolding even has fun nightlife!

Quick Tips:

* Stores close at 5:30 (sometimes earlier) so plan to shop early!
* Tipping is not required but is acceptable (10% or so) if service warrants.
* Smoking is permitted in all hotels (some have non smoking rooms), restaurants, and bars.
* Most parking is not free in the parking lots - after you park, you must find the parking meter - insert coins for the amount of time you plan to be there and it will print a receipt. Place the receipt on your dashboard. The ones that are free say "2-timers" which means it's free for two hours. After that you must pay.
* Parking tickets in Denmark are expensive!! (I know firsthand - I didn't realize I had to pay and got a ticket).
* If you get a parking ticket, pay at the local post office.

Best Way To Get Around:

The closest airport to Kolding is Billund. Several airlines service Billund Airport. I flew Maersk Air from Amsterdam, and the flight was approximately 50 minutes. Major rental car companies are located in the terminal. The drive from Billund to Kolding Center is approximately 45 minutes. Once in Kolding, taxis are readily available and many shops and restaurants within the downtown area are within walking distance. Many locals get around on bicycles so be careful when taking a right hand turn as a biker might be along your right hand side!

The Saxildhus (Pronounced Saxil-house) is located right in Downtown Kolding, and directly across the street from the train station. The walking streets are one block away.

The hotel features a bar that serves food called Bertrams Pub, and two full service restaurants (Saxen Pianobar and Latin).

The staff is very friendly here, and willing to help you with directions, dinner reservations, etc. In typical European fashion, the room keys are huge and very heavy. When you leave the property, the front desk holds on to your key for you. In the lobby, they have an internet terminal, and a nice sitting area.

The rooms can definitely vary. I checked in and out of this hotel five times in the past year and have received wildly different rooms. Some of the rooms are extremely small. I did complain about the size of the room and they gave me a bigger room (the one with the balcony in the photo, which apparently is a suite). The "normal" rooms are quite nice, with either a single or double bed. The furnishings are fairly "old" looking, but to me, it added to the charm. The building does appear to be quite old, but it is charming, and comfortable.

Room rates are approximately DKK 695 per night. At the currency conversion rates in May 2003 that was about US 110/night. Last year the exchange rate was much better, making the room about $85/night. A wonderful breakfast at the Saxen is included with items such as meats, hard and soft cheeses, fruit, yogurt, cereal, boiled eggs, and fresh crusty breads and jam.

All things considered, I whole-heartedly recommend the Saxidlhus Hotel -- it has three things going for it -- location, price, and charm.

I have dined at many restaurants in Kolding, and have to say that Saxen is, by far the very best. Owner run and operated, they serve wonderful food made from the finest ingredients, presented beautifully on the plate. Live piano music softly eminates throughout the restaurant.

The restuarant is in the Saxildhus Hotel. At dinner, reservations are not required, but if you need a table at a specific time, I'd recommend them.

They serve a three-course menu every night, as well as a full menu. Their wine list is quite impressive -- even the house wine is great. Before dinner, homemade bread, whipped honey sweetened butter, and fresh black olive spread are served.

The menu is quite extensive, but here's a brief description of some of the dishes I have tried:

Appetizers/Soups
Lobster Bisque -- thick and creamy, flavored with wonderful lobstermeat. A definite recommendation.
Beef Tenderloin Salad -- thinly sliced chilled, rare beef tenderloin over greens. The beef was tender, flavorful, not fatty. Very good, and healthy too!
Fish Platter -- this was a plate of salmon and swordfish over greens. The salmon was smoked, and extremely good (this was part of a three-course meal, not available on the menu).

Main Dishes:
Duck -- grilled boneless duck breast in an plum sauce. Served with potatoes, seasonal vegetables, jumbo grapes, and oranges. I was skeptical about fruit and duck together, but one bite and I was convinced. Grapes, oranges, and duck do go together!
Veal They have several veal options on the menu, one served with shrimp, one without. Both are excellent -- tender and tasty -- served with a large dollup of a garlic type butter. Very tasty!

Desserts:
Strawberries Romanoff was fabulous, but the best was the Hot Banana -- a whole banana, cooked in the skin until it turns black, split open, and served with vanilla ice cream. The natural sugar in the banana makes this one of the sweetest and most flavorful desserts I've ever had. They also have a fine selection of after dinner cordials and coffees.

The atmosphere is quaint, resembling a forest -- the lamps are artsy "pine cones" and the forest green napkins and wood tables add to the effect. As in most places in Europe, smoking is permitted everywhere in the restaurant. Dinner menus are available in English for those who don't speak Danish.

A Hereford Beefstouw is a steakhouse in Downtown Kolding with quite a location! The building, which dates back to the 17th century, is the second oldest in town. Sitting right next to the oldest, the two buildings do make for a unique historical sight.

A Hereford Beefstouw has 10 restaurants and three microbreweries in Denmark alone, as well as a few other locations in other European countries.

Prime beef is what A Hereford Beefstouw is all about. They import the beef from Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay. However, no matter which country of origin, the beef always carries the distinguished Hilton-Classification thus guaranteeing the highest possible quality.

OK OK, so how's the food?

We started with the salad bar. I have honestly never seen so many different vegetables and types of preparations of vegetables on a salad bar in my life! And the salad dressings - too many different types of oils and dressings to count (see picture).

Dinner was, of course, steak. I chose a small sirloin served on a hot cast iron plate - initially my steak was WAY overcooked (well done), but they apoligized profusely and brought me a new one within five minutes (rare). The steak was quite good, as was the potato, bread, and wine.

It might seem touristy, dining at a chain restaurant in a forein country, but the A Hereford Beefstouw is quite good and worth the trip!

Kolding is a thriving commercial town, and this is reflected in its remarkably wide range of shops. The pedestrian-only town centre contains a charming network of streets, where more than 250 different specialty shops create a truly special atmosphere. There are clothes shops featuring a wide range of Danish and international brand names, domestic furnishing shops, supermarkets, galleries and floral art.

In Kolding, Tuesday and Friday mornings are market days in the Town Square and the marketplace at Akseltorv, where you can buy fresh fish, cheese, fruit, vegetables and flowers. Soak up the colours, sounds and scents that are a delight for the senses.

The hours are limited - During the week the latest the stores stay open is 5:30pm, and everything, and I do mean everything, is closed on Sundays (with the exception of the pubs and restaurants).

Crazy Daisy is a fun and exciting nightclub in Kolding. They feature hot DJ's and dancing in a cool environment. Posters outside the Crazy Daisy advertise for certain "promotional" nights - i.e. Bacardi Rum night.

Admission was around $10 and drink prices are around $6 for a mixed drink. They offer the option of purchasing a bottle of liquor and mixers for about $80. (Significantly more expensive than the liquor store, but much cheaper than buying by the drink). Drinks in Denmark are all measured -- two centi-liters -- which, by most standards is not that much! Buying a bottle allows you to put as much liquor as you want. We purchased a bottle of vodka, for four people, each drank five or six drinks, and had some remaining. It was a cheaper option than buying all our drinks separately. Everyone has to agree on the type of liquor though!

They have booths and tables to sit at, no reservations required. There's also a coat room to check your coat.

Hours of operation: Thursday, Friday, Saturday : 11pm - ??
Don't worry about being kicked out early - the club was still going strong at 5:30am!!

Kolding’s three major attractions are of international standard and provide interesting days out that cater to all tastes and interests

Koldinghus The last royal castle in Jutland (mainland of Denmark), built in 1268, destroyed by fire in 1808, rebuilt and reopened in 1989 – with attractions including the fantastic South Wing. Features permanent and special exhibitions.

Trapholtmuseet Built in 1989 and extended in 1996. Permanent and special exhibitions of modern art and furniture design.

Den Botaniske Park/Geografisk Have
A delightful attraction with more than 2,000 species of plants from all over the world, laid out according to their continent of origin.

Culture Card:
With the Culture Card you receive a discount on entry to the four main attrations in town. The card costs DKK 70 (around US $11)for adults (age 16 or over) and is on sale at Kolding Tourist Information Office or at any of the three attractions above.

Ice Rink:
Free admission to ice rink in historic surroundings, and skates are avaiable for rental. The ice rink is open Monday-Friday from 2pm - 8 pm and Saturday from 10am - 8pm.

The Municipal Park Playground
Situated only a stone’s throw from the castle, the playground in the municipal park, known as Legeparken, is virtually in the heart of town. It is a recreation area for children and adults, and is open all year round.

The big attraction is a 5000 square meter artificial lake, moon buggies, go-carts, small boats, and barbeque sites. There is also assorted playground equipment, as well as activity buildings, a kiosk, grill sites, bathrooms, etc. Admission is free. Playground staff are on duty year-round during daytime hours. When you have had your fill of the wonderful museums, there are plenty of opportunities to continue your active vacation in Kolding, as the town provides a wealth of activities and challenges for everyone – indoors and out.