I imagine nearly every child dreams of visiting LEGOLAND. Well, I sure did. Aged 14, I eventually enjoyed a trip to LEGOLAND Windsor, accompanied by parents, siblings and my visiting French exchange student. He was clearly unimpressed.
Fast forward too many years and Oneanddad’s ‘little’ brother has probably one of the coolest jobs in the world, as a model designer for LEGO, based in Billund. He’s been there a few years and I now feel bad it took so long to get over there. But T was able to spend some quality time with his uncle and immerse himself – literally, as it turned out – in all things LEGO.
Part of me thought that T might be indifferent to the brick-based entertainment on offer over the half term break. Until then, he had occasionally played his DUPLO alphabet train, but never seemed too attached to them.
Oh how I was wrong!
Day 1. For a start, heading over to Billund involved multiple forms of transport – car, bus, plane – all of which are very exciting to him. T has always shown an interest in how things work and anything with wheels. He enjoyed car, van and taxi-spotting on the M4, was delighted with the bus ride from the car park to Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3, and lapped up the attentive service from British Airways cabin crew on the short hop over the North Sea – thank you Jonny!
It turns out the leading manufacturers of white noise machines are in fact probably Airbus and Boeing. Ok flying may be a ludicrously expensive alternative (although not on this occasion, as I’d amassed enough BA Executive Club Avios points to to get flights and seat bookings for £1pp) to whatever cuddly sheep you’ve got in your little one’s cot, but give him five minutes on a plane and T will be snoozing before the seatbelt sign’s been turned off. To those parents who endure endless screaming at 37,000ft, I extend my deepest sympathies. Anyway, nice to be reacquainted with Brewdog’s Speedbird OG IPA, which I enjoyed even more peacefully en route to Japan in January.
Unsurprisingly, incoming passengers are soon reminded of the reason Billund even has an airport. The writing’s quite literally on the wall and, if you’ve checked in an empty suitcase to fill up at the shops, there’s a selection of large-scale models to enjoy at baggage reclaim. After a short wait for our (sadly quite full) bags, the next stop was Uncle Freddy’s house, where T launched into a level of excitement that was as impressive as it was relentless! So what better to do than freshen up and head out to his local – think less small town boozer, more trendy city brewhouse – for what turned out to be a stonkingly good steak!
Strangely it was here that we noticed Denmark’s welcoming attitude towards parents with young children. I’m told Danish society really values time spent with family. You can tell. In Britain, I worry – albeit often unnecessarily – if we’re disturbing people. I apologise for squeezing a pram through a gap and hope pub staff won’t mind a nappy bag full of wet wipes and half-chewed snacks that I’ve picked up off the floor. Any such anxiety quickly faded when the bar staff asked if T would like some pens… for drawing on the windows. So T got stuck into some graffiti, while his mum (a teacher) was naturally more concerned about the welfare of such a high quality set of board markers!
Day 2. Influenced by the weather and not wishing to peak too soon, we had a wet walk around Billund the next morning and sampled the local bakery. There’s a teddy bear museum, but it was closed, so I’ve got no idea whether you should visit it or not. Eventually the rain stopped and, having at least tried to visit most of Billund’s non-LEGO attractions, we borrowed Fred’s car to visit Vejle. Now this is a smart little place that oozes Scandi-chic vibes. Oneanddad recommends this upmarket cakery for seriously delicious (and vegan, if that’s your thing) chocolate brownie. Mrs C went for something far more colourful. As for toddlers? Complementary nappies!
Day 3. LEGOLAND. T was a little overwhelmed when we first entered, spending the first ten minutes clinging to his uncle like a koala to a tree. But we found a ride up the LEGOTOP tower gave him some time to take in his surroundings and spot some exciting things to do. From that point on, it was hours of non-stop fun! Boat trips through pirate caves and a safari ride past wild animals. Fascinating miniature recreations of famous places, filled with moving cars, boats and even space ships. Everything was brought to life brilliantly in LEGO brick form.
It was the Atlantis by Sea Life experience that really filled T’s curious mind with absolute joy. Seeing his face light up as sharks and colourful fish swam around underwater LEGO explorers was probably my highlight of the year so far, not just that week. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. As we started our quest to become firefighters, it was clear the only fireman’s lift taking place would be me carrying an exhausted toddler towards the exit. A truly magical day with our little human.
And yet again, fully stocked, exceptional facilities for nappy changing and feeding so you’re not caught short.
It’s not all about him though. When your brother has access to an exclusive employee store with accompanied guests welcome, it’s hard not to ask him to ‘invest’. Although we decided to leave the grand piano until next time. Reluctantly.
Day 4. Ascension Day’s a mid-week public holiday in Denmark, as it is in some other parts of Europe. Uncle Freddy’s judgement was that the LEGO House would be easiest to enjoy despite the crowds, so that’s what we’d booked. Perhaps unsurprisingly, you can spend just as much time here as you would at LEGOLAND.
Downstairs, an insight into the history of LEGO, right up to the present day. It even features one of Fred’s models, much to his delight. Upstairs, huge models with incredible attention to minute details. T wallowed in vast pools of DUPLO bricks and enjoyed building, breaking and rebuilding all sorts of trains and monsters, before collecting his very own freshly made bricks.
We also tried Mini Chef. This is where need to temper your expectations. It’s a great concept that nails the physical experience and is totally on brand. Every item on the menu can be represented by a single brick. Put your desired combination of bricks together and the LEGO elves get to work on your lunch, before a robot gives you your meal in a giant LEGO meal box. Unfortunately these don’t seem to keep your food warm and the quality of some items could be better. I wouldn’t do this again, but I am glad we did it once.
Day 5. After a chilled morning involving a return visit to the bakery (of course!), it was time to go. Bags packed, loot and all! All three of us were exhausted from having so much fun, but relieved and grateful to have had it after the previous holiday (February, Fuerteventura) had quickly descended into Chicken Pox chaos on arrival. No such misfortune this time around. An absolute gem of a week.
Oh, and one more recommendation. Sunset Boulevard at Billund Airport. Inexpensive, reasonably fast, and utterly delicious burgers. Which means I’m not just looking forward to going back. I can’t wait to come back home again either!
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