In Denmark, fairy tales live and breathe. The forests, the lakesides, and the seashores intrigue minds with imaginings of talking animals, royal palaces housing princes and princesses, dragons dueling against knights, and witches’ cauldrons brewing. Denmark is an inspiring landscape for storytellers and creators.
One such artist has made his own imaginative mark in and around Denmark. Thomas Dambo’s Forgotten Giants – huge, wooden creatures hiding in the woods and fields outside of Copenhagen, provoke tales of trolls, giants, and magical worlds – these are sculptures that come alive when human eyes aren’t watching.
The idea behind the Forgotten Giants is an “open air treasure hunt”. Art outside, in unexpected places, and an opportunity to visit spaces you may never otherwise go.
We made it a goal to see all six sleeping giants around Copenhagen. This actually is not as easy it sounds- each giant is relatively close to a train station, but can be hard to get to in the winter months due to cold, wet, and windy weather. With smaller kids, the 1-3 km walk from the S station to each sculpture can take quite a while. All in all, it took us some months to see them all. Three giants was most we visited in one day. The other giants we split into separate visits. All our excursions were thrilling for my girls; visiting a giant has now become something they want to do whenever we have visitors.
Teddy Friendly
Autumn. Our first found giant, and one of my favorites. Getting to him meant a trek through a muddy field, where you could just glimpse him looming out from his boggy home.
Oscar Under the Bridge
Spring. Hidden beneath a bridge that overlooking the Arken Museum of Modern Art across the water, his large hand gripping the railing is a dead giveaway. Getting to Oscar required two short playground stops and a lot of butterfly hunting. What better way to spend a day?
Sleeping Louis
Summer. Our entourage visited Sleeping Louis and discovered, to our delight, that you can crawl all the way inside his gaping mouth straight to his large, hollow belly (as long as you aren’t spider-shy).
Little Tilde
Autumn. Little Tilde, my all-time favorite giant. Youthful and sweet-faced, hidden amongst the trees in a delightful park and beside a lake swimming with friendly swans. My eldest spent more than a few moments speaking quietly to this gentle troll.
Thomas on the Mountain
Autumn. Oh, Thomas. When we visited him, his face had been painted some lovely colors; he looked like a warrior. He was our third giant on this day, and we were tired from walking, but his long legs and friendly gaze kept up our spirits.
Hilltop Trine
Spring. Trine, apparently the only giantess of the group, was well-loved by my daughters. They adored her stick hair and pleasant expression. Climbing onto her open palm to peer out at the fields, forests, and nearby town was freeing and exciting, and playing afterwards at the farm where she lives, visiting with goats and chickens? So fun.
thecloudsarelowerhere 