This storybook castle is complemented by a chain of toy like villages. Some might prefer Kerteminde or Nyborg, north of Egeskov, but I always return to neighboring Faaborg, where the inevitable cobbled streets seem swept clean by the brisk sea air. In September, the light stipples the cottages, painted pistachio and cornflower blue, and bathes the surrounding countryside, so ripe it earned Funen its nickname: the Garden of Denmark. Driving outside Faaborg you sometimes pass sheep grazing by the lap of the sea, seemingly gazing out toward the silvery flash of fish. It’s turf contemplating surf, and the way both are cooked in the island’s restaurants have given Funen another, more recent claim to fame.