Odense, on the island of Fyn

This morning we headed out to the island of Fyn. We had to scoot out of the city before the roads became closed for the running of the Copenhagen Marathon. We saw lots of runners on bikes riding to the start line but luckily did not run into any traffic issues. We approached the bridge that connects Sjaelland (the island that Copenhagen is on) and Fyn and paid the pricey toll, then headed across one of the world's longest bridges.
We made a quick stop at a scenic overlook with fjords on both sides, then it was off to the restaurant Sortebro Kro in Odense for lunch. The chef there explained to us that on Fyn they are very proud to know the providence of each item on the plate and the fact that everything comes from someone on the island. Since it is only about 100 kilometers across, that is quite impressive! They've got a big farming community, and we passed many signs on our way into town for "nye kartoffler" which means new potatoes. We've been served new potatoes several times on this trip and they are extremely delicious. You might not think that there is a difference in types of potatoes, but the Danes will prove you wrong. It will be hard to go back to plain "old" potatoes after this trip!

Aeggekage, aka a whole lotta pork

For lunch I had a tasty vegetarian dish that included white asparagus, slightly charred, green beans, poached tomatoes, a parsley puree, and a sauce that might not have been much more than melted butter. My mom had the Fynsk Salat, or salad from the Fyn island. It was made with the type of cheese that they're known for here, rygeost, which is a smoked spreadable cheese.

After lunch we split up and I attempted to burn off some calories by running along the canal in Odense. They have a lot of green space and when running along the canal you can watch families paddle boat to the zoo! Odense is the birthplace of HC Andersen, so there are many things to see here having to do with his life and stories. 

For dinner we went to Restaurant Carlslund which is known for it's aeggekage, which means egg cake. While this might sound like a quiche or frittata, it is in actuality a baked egg base piled high with fried pork slabs and fried pork rind. Obviously it was delicious and Henning Engstrøm, the chef, like all chefs we have met with thus far, was extremely friendly.

The Danes love their ice cream!

After dinner we decided that we really needed to have some "is" (ice cream) featured in the book so we bought some with all of the trimmings (what they call "guf" which is in essence "fluff", sprinkles, a chocolate marshmallow cookie, wafer cookies, and jam on top). So yes, we ate bacon and ice cream for dinner. As Henning said, people who go there to eat the aeggekage will eat healthy the next day. As long as they don't eat it every day they'll be fine... and I might add they're better off if they don't take up the all-you-can-eat aspect on offer as well!