My goal with this column was to uncover Denmark’s overlooked gems: small towns, tucked-away treasures, and destinations that feel off-the-beaten-track. But some detours are too good to ignore, and so, this month, I find myself highlighting Denmark’s third-largest city, Odense—not because it’s hidden, but because within it, there’s a gem that deserves the spotlight. This journalistic divergence itself feels appropriate in context, since the origin of the column is based on travelling with my wife and young son, discovering Denmark through detours. We might intend to take the train to Copenhagen, and decide to get off at Fredericia instead.
Our son turns six next week, and this detour column is a tribute to him, and his love for trains, which has inspired so many wonderful discoveries in our family.
Maybe you have been to Odense to see the Hans Christian Andersen House, or the Odense Zoo. You might already be aware of one of the hippest street food halls in the country, Storms Pakhus. Perhaps you’ve attended the massive Tinderbox Festival, which brings international headliners to a scenic woodland known as the Thousand Year Forest. If you are a diehard Seven Eleven enthusiast, then you would have come to Odense Train Station because it has not one but TWO Seven Elevens (for aficionados, this rare feature is referred to as a Fourteen Twenty-Two). This mid-month bonus column is therefore not going to be a summary of what you already know about Odense. I’m going to focus on one attraction: the train museum.
If I hadn’t become the parent of a Train Kid, I would probably have no idea that there are thousands of train museums, all over the world. Every time we travel, we now search Google Maps for nearby train museums, and there is always at least one train museum nearby. We have been to dozens of train museums throughout Europe and the United States. It has become a requirement when planning family holidays. Before we book the flight and hotel, we have to make sure there is an accessible train museum. And believe it or not, there always is. Our favorite train museum in the whole world is still Danmarks Jernbanemuseum in Odense.
First of all, this museum is special because it is housed inside an actual historic roundhouse, with a working turntable. The collection is impressive, with more than 50 different locomotives and carriages on display, giving an in-depth history of train evolution. Nearly every carriage is open for either sitting in or viewing. It is fascinating to observe the vast difference in decor and comfort between first, second, and third class carriages in different eras of time. As you might expect, Hans Christian Andersen shows up in one of the train cars. If you look closely, you can find a bit of cheeky graffiti left by Queen Margrethe II when she rode in 1937. Our son is an expert tour guide; he can tell you which trains are steam, diesel, or electric.
On warmish days, the museum runs a mini train ride around the exterior of the building, and in the off-season you can sometimes catch a smaller one inside. They also have a wonderful and very big outdoor playground, and a second floor with an interactive playspace overlooking the train displays. We have never eaten at the café, because we are such street food fanatics, and Storms Pakhus is a whistle-stop away from the museum.
It’s no secret that Odense is a magical place. This is, after all, where the Farfar of Fairy Tales – Hans Christian Andersen – was born and raised. The town itself feels like a fairy tale setting – filled with hidden alleyways, secret gardens, and discoveries waiting around every corner. Odense is big enough to be exciting, yet small enough to feel welcoming and personal. We live an hour and a half from Odense, and we have been to the train museum at least a dozen times. We have introduced it to visitors from other countries, and locals who have lived in Denmark their whole life without embarking on this uniquely delightful journey through railway history. Children under the age of eighteen are always free, and with an adult annual membership, you get to bring a plus one every time you go. If you haven’t been, then climb aboard: a trip to Odense’s train museum is a storybook adventure you’ll want to relive again and again.
