SVENDBORG AND TASINGE
On Funen’s southern coast, an hour from Odense by train, Svendborg (pop.43,000) is a harbor town and a departure point for ferries to the south Funen islands. On the adjacent island of Tasinge (pop. 6,000), the regal 17th-century Val-demars Slot, built by Christian IV for his son, boasts a yachting museum, Scandinavia’s largest hunting museum, a toy museum, and a beach. (62 22 61 06. Open May-Aug. daily 10am-5pm; Sept. Su and Tu-Sa 10am-5pm; Apr. and Oct. Sa-Su 10am-5pm. Castle 60kr, combination ticket llOkr.)
Several trains from Odense to Svendborg are timed to meet the ferry (62 52 40 00) to y£r0sk0bing; ferries depart behind the train station. The tourist office, on Centrum PL, books ferries and rooms. From the train station, go left on Jern-baneg. then right on Brog. which becomes Gerritsg. and right on Kyseborgstr.; it’s in the plaza on the right. (62 21 09 80. Open late June-Aug. M-F 9:30am-6pm, Sa 9:30am-3pm; Sept.-late June M-F 9:30am-5pm, Sa 9:30am-12:30pm.) To get from the station to the Youth Hostel (HI) , Vesterg. 45, a five-star on the Danhostel scale, turn left on Jembaneg. and walk with the coast to your left, then go right onto Valdemarsg. which becomes Vesterg. (62 21 66 99; dk@danhostel-svend-borg.dk. Bikes 50kr per day. Kitchen available. Breakfast 45kr. Sheets 50kr. Laundry 30kr. Reception M-F 8am-8pm, Su 8am-noon and 4-8pm. Dorms 115kr; singles and doubles 375kr. Nonmembers add 30kr.) To get to Carlsberg Camping , Sund-brovej 19, take bus #800, 801, or 910 from the ferry terminal to Bregninge Tasinge. ( 62 22 53 84; www.carlsbergcamping.dk. Reception daily 7:30am-10pm. Open Apr.-Sept. 59kr per person.) Pick up groceries at Kvickly, Gerritsg. 33. (Open M-F 9am-8pm, Sa 8am-5pm.) Postal Code: 5700.
The wheat fields, harbors, and hamlets of JEro (EH-ruh), a small island off the southern coast of Funen, quietly preserve an earlier era of Danish history. Cows, rather than real estate developers, lay claim to the beautiful land, and bikes are the ideal way to explore the Island’s three towns, Eroskobing, Marstal, and Soby.
TRANSPORTATION. Ferries (62 52 40 00) run between yEroskobing and Svendborg (H4hr.; 6 per day; one-way 79kr, round-trip 132kr; buy tickets on board). From Mommark, on Jutland, you can sail to S0by (lhr.; 2-5 per day, Oct.-Mar. W-Su only; 85kr; call ahead), on Ero’s northwestern shore. Bus #990 travels between Eraskobing, Marstal, and S0by (20kr, day pass 60kr).
ER0SK0BING. Due to economic stagnation followed by conservation efforts, the town of &0sk0bing appears today almost as it did 200 years ago. Rosebushes, half-timbered houses, and a quaint town center attract German boaters and vacationing Danes. The tourist office, Vesterg. 1, opposite the ferry landing, books rooms for a 25kr fee. (62 52 13 00; www.arre.dk. Open mid-June to Aug. M-F 9am-5pm, Sa 9am-2pm, Su 9:30am-12:30pm; Sept. to mid-June M-F 9am-4pm, Sa 9:30am-12:30pm.) Rent bikes from the hostel or Pilebaekken Cykel & Servicestation, Pilebaeken 11. (62 52 11 10. 45kr per day.) To get to the Youth Hostel (HI) , Smedevejen 15, turn left on Smedeg. which becomes Norreg. 0sterg. and finally Smedevejen. (62 52 10 44. Kitchen available. Breakfast 40kr. Sheets 40kr. Bikes 45kr per day. Reception daily 8am-noon and 4-8pm. Check-in 6pm. Open Apr.-Sept. Dorms lOOkr; singles and doubles 260kr. Nonmembers add 30kr. No credit cards.) Ereskebing Camping , Sygehusvejen 40b, is lOmin. to the right along Sygehusve-jen, off Vestre Alle as you leave the ferry, (a 62 52 18 54. Reception daily 8am-noon and 3-10pm. Open May-Sept. 54kr per person.) Stock up at Netto, across from the ferry landing. (Open M-F 9am-7pm, Sa 8am-5pm.) Postal Code: 5970.
