Skansen or Den Gamle By?

[jstducky]

From the descriptions I've read of each, they are both similar. An open air museum featuring arts & crafts, food, shopping, etc. from the region: Sweden for Skansen and Denmark for Den Gamle By.

 

For anyone who has been to either or both. What did you think of the experience? How long would you recommend visiting for? Or did you think that the time you spent was even worth it?

 

Thanks in advance!

[dbh62ark]

Oh, I LOVE Skansen! I've been there twice, but I have not been to the similar site in Denmark, so I can't compare the two. Skansen is so very scenic and is easy to combine with a visit to the Vasa, which is the most visited site in Sweden. By the way, I like Skansen better than the Vasa, but that is of course a matter of personal preference. Skansen is just delightful. The web site is http://www.skansen.se/ if you haven't already found that. Two hours in Skansen will give you a good overview, but more time is better, and YES I think my time there was well spent. :) You’ve probably read that it’s composed of buildings from various centuries that have been used to form small villages inside a park. There is also a zoo, so it’s very popular with children. If the weather is good, you can’t beat a day at Skansen while in Stockholm in my opinion. If you have a long port stop, I suggest you get out early to do the Frommers walking tour of the Gamla Stan (old town) before the stores open and it’s flooded with tourists and then take a taxi or ferry—the ferries leave from the edge of Gamla Stan--to Djurgarden (sp?) to Skansen and the Vasa.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[jstducky]

thanks Donna. I definitely wanted to check out the Vasa and walk through Gamla Stan. You're suggested itinerary sounds great. I appreciate the response.

[luvnorway]

Assume the Den Gamle By you're referring to is in Arhus - if not, please excuse the ASSumption. If so, FWIW, we really enjoyed it when we visited Arhus (but, so you're not mislead, that was about 10yrs ago).

 

We walked to Den Gamle By from the pier where our HAL ship docked, stopping at a very interesting Resistance (or Occupation - can't remember which) Museum on the way. The guide at the Museum had been a child living in Arhus at the time of the Occupation and his first hand experiences were really something to hear about. Hope this makes sense - I posted about this awhile ago and discovered that, for some reason I can't figure out, it is considered "politically incorrect" in this forum to mention who the occupiers were so the name of the specific group was deleted from the post).

 

I found Den Gamle By more interesting than a lot of the folk museums in Scandinavia because it is set up as a town with historic shops, tavern etc., not just a collection of houses and farm buildings, and especially because, when we visited, there were a lot of demos showing how traditional crafts were done eg. ropemaking, candlemaking, basketweaving etc.

 

BTW - I would also strongly recommend that you visit the Vasa and that you do it on your own, not on a tour - they don't give you enough time there. It's also easy to walk to, or take the same ferry that stops at Skansen. We've been twice and found that it's not just the ship that's incredible, but the artifacts found with it.

[jstducky]

great. thanks so much for the info.

 

yes, I am talking about Den Gamle By in Arhus. My HAL cruise stops there next year, and I have no interest in LegoLand or many of their other excursions. But Den Gamle By seemed like an interesting place to visit to learn more about Danish culture.

 

Question, the arts and crafts they were demonstrating.. do they also have these items for sale there?

 

Thanks so much for your response. I appreciate it.

[dbh62ark]

when we visited, there were a lot of demos showing how traditional crafts were done eg. ropemaking, candlemaking, basketweaving etc.

Just FYI, both times that I visited Skansen, Skansen had the same types of demonstrations.

 

Donna

[Danish viking]

There are things for sale at den Gamle By.

 

http://www.dengamleby.dk/english.htm

 

 

Copenhagen also houses that kind of museum, it is the national museum that own the open air museum.

 

http://www.nationalmuseet.dk/sw20374.asp

[jstducky]

danish viking: but isn't the national museum in copenhagen just a museum where you walk around and look at exhibits, whereas den gamle by is a living museum with people dressed up in period costumes and doing demonstrations?

[Danish viking]

Yes and no.

 

The National museum is in a mansion in central copenhagen but the open air museum is in Lyngby-Taarbæk out in the forrest north west of copenhagen.

[dileep]

thanks Donna. I definitely wanted to check out the Vasa and walk through Gamla Stan. You're suggested itinerary sounds great. I appreciate the response.

 

We went to Vasa first and then saw the changing of the guard just after noon at the Royal Palace and then walked around Gamla Stan. Did not go to Skansen.

[dbh62ark]

We went to Vasa first and then saw the changing of the guard just after noon at the Royal Palace and then walked around Gamla Stan. Did not go to Skansen.

I think the changing of the guard is a lot of fun in Stockholm and wish that some of the ships would overnight there because there is so much to see in Stockholm, and it's a great place to visit. But if you have to choose, I enjoyed Skansen more than the changing of the guard.

 

Donna

[jstducky]

We went to Vasa first and then saw the changing of the guard just after noon at the Royal Palace and then walked around Gamla Stan. Did not go to Skansen.

 

i read in a travel book that the changing of the guard in Stockholm is not that fun during the summer when the royal family is not in residence and that the changing of the guards in copenhagen is more enjoyable.

 

is this true?

[dbh62ark]

That's interesting. We saw the changing of the guard in Stockholm while on a late August/early September cruise last year. It lasted at least 45 minutes, and the band played fun tunes the whole time. The band marched in many different formations, and the band wore colorful costumes. I don't remember seeing any of the carriages, etc. in Stockholm that you sometimes see with the changing of the guard in London. Also, in Stockholm please note that it can get crowded, so you'll want to get in the front because it really isn't worth your time if you can't see. I don't remember seeing the changing of the guard in Copenhagen.

 

Donna

[dileep]

take a look at what we saw. There is more to see than you can pack into the time you have for sure!

 

[jstducky]

thanks so much for the video. that was really neat! i think i'm going to have to put the changing of the guards on my list now!

[dileep]

thanks so much for the video. that was really neat! i think i'm going to have to put the changing of the guards on my list now!

We actually got to the changing of the guard a bit late but had no problem finding a good viewing spot! It lasted about half hour if I recall right.

 

If you want to see the entire cruise try

http://www.archive.org/details/BalticsCruise2005

but you will have to download the entire hour long video and see it at your leisure.

 

Or you can search this forum to find pointers to individual port YouTube videos in threads that have fallen off the main page.

[wandb]

JSTDUCKY: You are asking some of the same questions I have. So I'll benefit from all the good responses! Which cruise are you going on? By chance, is it the Best of the Baltics??

[jstducky]

There's just so much to see and do and such limited time, I just want to make sure that I spend my time on the things that are most important. I know though with the limited time, that there will be so much that I will miss.

 

Anyhow, I am going on HAL's Veendam's Gems of the Baltics on July 3rd.

 

What cruise line is Best of the Baltics? What are the ports?

[wandb]

jstducky:

 

The Best of the Baltics cruise is a HAL cruise on the Rotterdam, leaving from London on May 30,2007. It is a 12 day cruise with 3 sea days. Ports are:

 

Oslo, Norway; Arhus, Denmark; Warnemunde, Germany (Berlin or Hamburg); Talinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Copenhagen, Denmark.

[dileep]

Anyhow, I am going on HAL's Veendam's Gems of the Baltics on July 3rd.

 

What cruise line is Best of the Baltics? What are the ports?

 

Enjoyed your detailed review of the Med Cruise.

 

We did the Baltics on The Celebrity Constellation in May 2005 (Round trip from Dover) and had a great time. The ports vary slightly with each sailing. We picked the itinerary that we liked best.

 

Our ports were: Copenhagen, Warnemunde (Berlin), Stockholm, Riga, Tallinn, St Peterburg, Helsinki, Klaipeda.

 

I have posted pointers to short individual port videos on this board. Entire cruise video is also available for download at the site listed in my signature.

[jstducky]

jstducky:

 

The Best of the Baltics cruise is a HAL cruise on the Rotterdam, leaving from London on May 30,2007. It is a 12 day cruise with 3 sea days. Ports are:

 

Oslo, Norway; Arhus, Denmark; Warnemunde, Germany (Berlin or Hamburg); Talinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

That sounds good. It's almos the same exact itinerary as my 10 day cruise except that we leave from Copenhagen, and we get Visby, Sweden as a port stop rather than Oslo, Norway. I'm sorry that I'm missing Norway, but I wanted to leave from Copenhagen since I've never been there before and I've been to London before.

 

Dileep: Thanks so much for the compliment.

 

I've enjoyed reading all of your Baltics posts and have learned a lot from reading them. Thanks for all of your help in answering questions!

[dileep]

I'm sorry that I'm missing Norway, but I wanted to leave from Copenhagen since I've never been there before and I've been to London before.

 

Dileep: Thanks so much for the compliment.

 

I've enjoyed reading all of your Baltics posts and have learned a lot from reading them. Thanks for all of your help in answering questions!

 

Getting to and from Dover was a pain! We did it because we like the Celebrity M-Class experience in Alaska. Copenhagen is a beautiful city and having a few days pre or post cruise would be good. It took us a whole day at sea and 2 nights to get from Dover to Copenhagen.

 

I will probably have questions for you as I digest the Med cruise info. Hope you monitor the Europe boards.

[jstducky]

i took tons of detailed notes on the Med and I am on the Europe board all the time. I am more than happy to try and help!

 

as for the dover/southampton to Baltics... that is why I chose to go with HAL's Veendam rather than RCI's Jewel. I love Jewel, but for 2 less days, I can have the same trip and use those 2 extra days to explore Copenhagen!

[JodiBB]

We did Skansen too....I love it, DH didn't care one way or the other. We only got to take the "tourist route" and get through it quickly as we still had so much to see, but I could easily see making a day of it.

[jstducky]

hey Jodi!

 

how long did you spend in Skansen?