Denmark part I - Northern Jutland: Skagen and Råbjerg Mile
We’ve just spent 6 days in Denmark. Alex begins Copenhagen University in September and we went to set up her apartment. But first a more thorough exploration of Denmark. Long overdue, considering it’s in our neighbourhood. Also, I wanted to see Denmark’s three UNESCO’s World Heritage listed properties. (As you can see, there are actually four, but the remaining one is in Greenland. That’s for another trip.)
Starting with a short ferry ride from Larvik to Hirtshals in Northern Jutland, we first visited Skagen and the amazing sand dune Råbjerg Mile, then Aalborg, Århus, Vejle, the Lion Park in Givskud, the Jelling Runic Stones. We then crossed Lillebælt (Little Belt) to the island of Funen and Hans Christian’s Andersen’s hometown Odense. Crossing Storebælt (Big Belt) to Zealand we stopped in the rock festival city of Roskilde before finally reaching Copenhagen. Going back home, in Northern Zealand, we stopped at Elsinore to poke around Kronborg Castle for a bit.
I’ll split the trip up to leave room for photos and keep the posts relatively short. Today:
Northern Jutland and Skagen
At the northernmost tip of Jutland, where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea meet, is the absurdly pretty fishing village Skagen, a favourite among painters for centuries, much because of the special light in the area. The Skagen Painters used to hang out here in the late 1800s, among them P. S. Krøyer, Fritz Thaulow, Christian Krogh and Anna Ancher.
Present-day Skagen hasn’t changed much: low stone houses in warm shades of yellow, quaint little shops and restaurants, nice little parks.
The area is very child-friendly, like most of Denmark, indeed most of Scandinavia. Long white sand beaches, everyone getting around by bicycle. Plenty of activities are geared towards children, especially during school holidays. Skagen Museum organizes art classes, the local history museum arrange treasure hunts and local farms have acitivities with animals. There’s a teddy bear museum for the very young (at heart) and an eagle reserve.
Nearby is Gamle Skagen, or Old Skagen, where people have lived since 1100. Today, only 26 people live permanently in Gamle Skagen. We noticed a few hotels and restaurants; otherwise it was a very quiet area. A great place to look out to sea in silence. Sunsets must be fabulous out here.
Idyllic towns aside, northern Jutland can be rough; pounding surf from the North Sea, winds sweeping in. The landscape around Skagen is remarkable, almost primeval: the heath, old mounds, interesting vegetation and Råbjerg Mile, an enormous migrating sand dune; somehow unexpected in mild and mellow Denmark. Moving 10 – 20 metres eastwards every year, it mercilessly kills everything in its wake: flowers, shrubs, worms, any attempt at life.
The sand feels cool to the touch, different somehow from beach sand. Kids run barefoot through the sands, playing and laughing. Cat does cartwheels and splits. Pure joy.
Tomorrow: Aalborg and Århus
Tags: Blogsherpa, Denmark, Europe, Jutland, Råbjerg Mile, Skagen, Travel with children, UNESCO World Heritage Sites
