On October 22, I took a day trip to northern Denmark, via round-trip car ferry between Kristiansand, Norway and Hirtshals, Denmark.
On Friday morning my friend Christer and I packed our bikes into his van and made the 45-minute drive to Kristiansand to board the ferry. The car ferry takes about 2.5 hours each way (there is a faster, passenger-only option as well).
The ferry itself was an experience, with a mini-mall, restaurant and buffet on board. There are a number of lounges with comfy seating, and you can step outside on the balcony to catch the Skagerrak sea breeze. I learned that a popular activity is to buy alcohol and merchandise on the ferry, as the goods are tax-free on the water.
As we approached the seaport of Hirtshals, the captain announced that we would be arriving soon, so we returned to our vehicle, parked with the others on the lowest levels of the ship. Once the ferry was docked, the cars were waved off the boat row by row. We disembarked and drove east toward Skagen, the northernmost town in Denmark.
When we arrived in Skagen, we parked and walked around the town center. When I was researching the village ahead of our trip, I read about the special light here and the painters who made the pilgrimage because of it (see ‘Skagen Painters’). As we explored the charming, artsy town center, passed by the pale yellow houses, and visited the Skagen Church, it was as if we had entered a completely different color palette. We began to understand why the northern Jutland peninsula has been referred to as the ‘Land of Light’.
After exploring the city center, we retrieved our bikes and hopped on the path out to Grenen, the northernmost point in all of Denmark. On the way, we stopped at the Skagen Gray Lighthouse “Skagen Grå Fyr” and Skagen Bird Observatory, which includes a visitor center and exhibition where we learned about migratory paths and how the birds cross from Africa to Denmark.
We arrived at Grenen and secured our bikes to the racks (Denmark is incredibly bike-friendly, and cycling is one of their primary forms of transportation). As we walked out onto the beach toward the northernmost point, there were seals out sunning themselves along the way, and a tractor was crawling along the beach, pulling visitors to Grenen in the ‘Sandorman’ (‘Sandworm’). We passed by the gravesite of Holger Drachmann (a Danish poet, dramatist and painter) and the remnants of a German bunker from WWII. These had already become a familiar sight as I’ve been exploring the southern coast of Norway (‘Operation Weserübung’ was Germany’s assault on Denmark and Norway).
When we arrived at the point, we saw a phenomenon that occurs in a few places in the world – the meeting of two seas. Here, it’s the meeting of the Skagerrak and the Kattegat. The Skagerrak flows into the North Sea, and the Kattegat flows into the Baltic Sea. At this unique point, they meet but they do not mix. It is truly a sight to behold.
Next we biked to Den Tilsandede Kirke (‘The Sand-Covered Church’). One of the oldest buildings in Skagen, it was built of brick in the Gothic style between 1355 and 1387 (the date of its first mention). During the last half of the 18th century the church was partially buried by sand from nearby dunes, and the congregation had to dig out the entrance each time a service was to be held. The struggle to keep the church free of sand lasted until 1795, when it was abandoned. All that remains is the tower.
The day was starting to come to a close, and we had to make our way back to the port. On our way to the van, we made our final stop in Skagen, at a local bakery to sample ‘Vienna bread’, an umbrella term for a range of flaky, sweet pastries that are popular in Denmark.
We sat outside the bakery and enjoyed our treats while watching pedestrians stroll by. Then we arrived at the van, loaded up our bikes and drove toward Hirtshals, arriving with plenty of time to catch the ferry back to Kristiansand.
And now for the ever-present element of the day, deserving of its own section...THE WIND.
The wind in Denmark is no joke, and it gusted all around us during the entirety of our day trip. Denmark is very flat, with nary a mountain in sight, so the wind has free reign. Just before boarding the ferry back to Kristiansand, we had a little time to explore Hirtshals. There we saw piles of sand in the streets, similar to how snow might drift back in Wisconsin. We saw a woman on the sidewalk, her hair whipping around in every direction, and she made no attempt to tame it. It was a humorous illustration that wind is just an accepted part of life here. Just like weather anywhere, you learn how to live with it.
Not only have the Danes learned how to live with it, but they are leaders in harnessing it. Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind energy in the 70’s and now has the highest proportion of wind energy in the world (in 2015, they produced 42% of electricity from wind). They’re even planning to build an artificial island to use as a clean energy hub that will produce and store wind energy.
A statement from Denmark’s Climate Minister Dan Joergensen: “Only by inspiring others and developing new green solutions they also want to use, can we really do something to combat climate change.”
Now there’s some real leadership, eh?
Tak skal du have, Danmark.
Comments