Travel review: Denmark's South Jutland, the place where dreams come true

My view on travelling is to never go back to the same place even if I love it. There is so much to see in the world and I want to see it all. But two places hold a special place in my heart – New York and South Jutland in Denmark.

I love both for totally different reasons – but there is a connection between the two.

South Jutland, with its quiet streets where you see no-one for miles and miles is a far cry from the bustling, busy streets of New York, well known for being the city where your dreams come true.

South Jutland holds that same magic and I saw it first hand – from the man who made a business from his hobby of wine making to the gent who bought a castle and transformed it into the biggest organic farm in Denmark.

One of my own dreams also came true during my visit. A giant table laid with 14 types of cakes, all there for me to eat. Magic.

My first trip to Denmark followed hot on the heels of the screening of the TV drama 1864, a programme set in South Jutland.

The area's history is clearly important to its inhabitants. A tour of the battlefields involved my first attempt to travel by Segway. And I loved it (my Audi is now for sale on Autotrader if you're interested).

After a short tutorial – where I only crashed into my companions twice – we were on our way to explore the famous battlefield at Dybbøl, the location of the battle in 1864 when Southern Jutland came under German rule.

Our tour took us along the roads through the battlefields where we saw trenches, reminders of fortifications and memorials to the fallen.

It was without doubt the best way to see the sights of the vast green fields and be able to take in the information from the guide as we zoomed along on two wheels.

Our tour followed a trip to the Dybbøl Historical Centre which tells the fully story of the battle. It was like stepping back in time and you could really imagine what the battle was like with reconstructed fortifications, demonstrations and life-like displays.

While the history of the area is fascinating to inhabitants and visitors alike, another reason why so many people visit South Jutland is the impressive murmurations of starlings. This was at the top of my to-do list on my trip. I couldn't wait to see it.

'The Black Sun' is a mesmerising natural phenomenon created by around half a million starlings as they fly in formation at dusk to find a place to settle for the night and avoid being attacked by birds of prey.

Dubbed 'The Black Sun Experience', visitors join a bus tour, grab a sandwich and a bottle of wine and settle in for the evening in the best spot predicted by the expert guides who spend the day studying the starlings' behaviour to see where they are most likely to be seen at dusk.

The birds took about an hour to all swoop in, arriving in their small groups. A fascinating experience and one I will never forget.

Our evening in the reeds saw us build up quite an appetite and we headed over the restaurant at Schackenborg Slotskro in Tønder which served up a wonderful four course meal.

Ever been oyster picking? Nope, me neither. I am not a lover of seafood but I got stuck in with the rest of my group and pulled on my waders armed with a bucket and a determination to be brave.

Our oyster safari involved a 3km trek out to the oyster bed – not the easiest task when wearing oversized waders but a comical one all the same.

We walked back armed with oysters as fresh as you can get. Then it was time to crack open the Champagne and take it in turns to try our freshly picked oysters.

I'm ashamed to admit that I couldn't complete the challenge and go as far as eating my nemesis. But the experience was a wonderful one all the same.

Now going back to those dreams that came true.

Our oyster picking experience was followed by a visit to Grams Castle, the largest organic farm in Denmark. As well as a tour of the impressive site we were invited to enjoy a traditional South Denmark Coffee Table – consisting of 14 types of cake (seven soft sponge cakes as well as seven biscuit-based cakes). Perhaps because I was hungry as I'd missed out on the oyster course, or maybe because I am just plain greedy, I tucked in and tried every single delicious cake. I was in heaven.

Between mouthfuls and making sure I had my fair share, I listened as the castle's owner shared the history behind the custom.

Dating from the time after the war in 1864, local groups would gather together and the women of the area began baking a variety of cakes.

A competition arose amongst them to see who could bring the most creative, beautiful and tasty cakes for these meetings. The tradition is still maintained to this day.

As well as picking oysters, bird watching and stuffing my face with many, many cakes, I also found time to visit a fascinating museum – all about chairs.

As well as finding out the history of the Wegner exhibition it was nice to sit down after all the eating I had been doing. Denmark's oldest market town, Tønder, was the home of the famous Danish architect and designer Hans J Wegner who designed more than 1,500 chairs.

The exhibition – housed in an old water tower – is the only permanent Wegner exhibition in Denmark, a collection he called 'my 37 best chairs'.

There are some wonderful places to stay in South Jutland. My favourite was the historic and beautiful Aarøsund Badehotel, renowned for its wonderful restaurant.

It is just a stone's throw away from the ferry over to the small and idyllic island of Arø with its picturesque town of narrow streets, stone walls and beautiful family farms.

The island's shop – Brummers Gaard also houses a café and cycle hire facility. A delightful cycle tour – delightful because it was all flat and I'm lazy – was the perfect way to explore the small island.

I was very excited about having a basket at the front of my bike.

But to be fair, that says a lot more about me than it does about the bike.

Our ride took us to the local vineyard. Here, the owner told us of his fascinating rise to success from taking up wine making as a hobby 10 years ago to it now being a successful business selling thousands of bottles of wine each year and welcoming more than 20,000 visitors to the vineyard.

I sampled a few of the wines – well it would have been rude not to – and they were delicious. The only one which left me unsure about wanting more was an experimental seaweed wine. I could taste the sea in every sip.

I'm still not sure and I think it may have been the Marmite effect – love it or hate it.

I was still trying to decide when I realised I'd drunk a whole glass.

A bit wobbly when I got back on my bike with a basket we met the owner of Brummers Gaard who took us to forage for herbs and mushrooms which she then cooked up for us as part of a delicious lunch back at the café.

The second hotel on our tour of the region was the Comwell Sønderborg, offering wonderful sea views.

The hotel is just a five minute walk from Sønderborg Castle. From here we travelled to the Baltic Hotel in Høruphav for an 1864 themed dinner – a modern twist on the food at the time of the famous battle.

The hotel has been refurbished to its original style from the mid 1800s.

Our themed dinner consisted of a tender beef carpaccio, roast pork and a chocolate pie to finish. Delicious.

This fine dining was followed the next day by another delicious meal of Danish tapas at the quirky Kislings Café in Sønderborg, which also does fantastic coffee by the way.

I took a bag of freshly ground Ethiopian coffee beans away to continue to enjoy the fabulous flavours for a little longer at home.

South Jutland has everything I was looking for – wonderful scenery, history, fabulous food, wine and lovely people.

Oh and cake.

South Jutland, you'd better replenish your cake stocks, I will be back.