<p>Jelling is Denmark's Independence Hall, its Magna Carta&#151;though substantially older than both. A small, 900-year-old church, stunningly beautiful in all its whitewashed plainness, it sits between two enormous Viking burial mounds and could as easily be a minimalist modern structure. Inside, a model of the square-rigger <i>Minerva</i> floats ethereally ten feet above the aisle. Ships aren't supposed to fly, but this one does, and I believe it. Outside the church, amid a minihedged graveyard as elaborately landscaped as a botanical garden, is the rune stone on which King Harald Bluetooth announced that he had accepted Christianity, leading for the first time to a unified Denmark (and Norway, for that matter).</p>

<p>But the story behind the story is even better. Harald's father-to-be, King Gorm, despised Christianity but fell hard for Thyra, daughter of the English king Ethelred (yes, the Unready). Thyra "declined the caresses of the nuptial couch," as is delicately recounted in the nearby Jelling Exhibition Center, "so that by her abstinence she could win over her bridegroom to Christianity." Tough cookie, Harald's mom.</p>

<p>Thyra later had the stretch between Schleswig and the North Sea, not far south of Denmark's present-day border, cut off by a solid wall and a deep ditch backed by a tall rampart of piled earth perfect for archers. The present queen of Denmark, Marguerite II, is a direct descendant.</p>

<p>Northbound toward Aalborg on two-lane Highway 13, taking a temporary break from the meanderings of the daisy route, we cruise at an easy 95, nowhere near the Cayenne's potential. The S version will top out at 150 miles per hour, and the far more expensive 450-horsepower Cayenne Turbo is rated at 165. We're up to 110 with ease when I recall Mikkel's warning that it was the automatic lose-your-license speed.</p>

<p>Porsche has, not surprisingly, engineered out of the Cayenne any trace of truckiness, of the compromises inherent in every other sport-utility vehicle, even the superb Range Rover. After I get used to sitting about as high as the roofline of my own Porsche 911, the Cayenne begins to feel like a tall GT car&#151;easily the best SUV I've ever driven. Passing trucks on these straight, fast two-lanes is easy, even two and three at a time, with a 340-horsepower, four-cam V8.</p>

<p>Back on the daisy road, navigating with one of those euromaps that show every cow path, I recall a brief stint of flying bush planes over the endless sameness of lake-dotted tundra in Canada's Northwest Territories. With one hand you held the yoke, with the other you slowly scanned a chart with your thumb, moving from lake to lake. If you inadvertently dropped the map, you were suddenly lost. The daisy route is not quite as demanding, but miss one of the little guide signs and you're equally lost.</p>

<p>After a brief rain, the sun comes back out and the tarry black lane steams in the heat; the fields are luminous and velvety in the low afternoon light. Danish weather is constantly and quickly changing, frequently rainy but just as frequently sunny.</p>