To the North

Travel Date: July 24, 2008
Destination: Skagen

The day after our trip to Spøttrup we went to Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark. Really, it is. If you went any further you would literally fall into the North Sea, as you can see from the Google Map image:







And I can't resist. Here's the map of our drive through Denmark:







Would you be able to find your way there?







Skagen is one of those places that are hard to describe, you just have to be there to experience it all. It's a beautiful beach and extremely interesting because when you reach the tip, you see the waves from both sides of the North Sea (the Kattegat from the right and the Skagerrak from the left) bumping into each other. In the late 1800's it was home to some of the most famous Danish artists of that time, but today it's a very popular tourist attraction (I think more Swedes, Germans and Norwegians visit Skagen than Danes).

To reach the beach area you have to climb over some rather large sand dunes. Once you reach the top, this is what you see:







And why yes, that is a German WWII bunker you see. In fact, you will see momentarily that there are three here.

Zooming in a little more towards the end of the beach (Grenan):







And looking towards the lighthouse, which is covered for renovations:






So we made our way down the beach....







....and found a nice spot to set up camp. Here are two pictures of all three bunkers:











And a warning sign:







While we were eating lunch I just sat and watched everyone around us. And I came to the conclusion that Danes (all Europeans actually) just let it all hang out at the beach. Literally. Clothing of any kind is optional. Most small children (infants and toddlers) were naked. Not many women actually wore a swimsuit or bikini, they just stripped down to their bras and panties. The old women took off their shirts and sunbathed in their white granny bras.

Me? Well, I didn't have a cute bra on, so I kept my shirt on. But next time? I'll be prepared.

After eating lunch we took our first step into the North Sea. That is as far as Emma and I got, because I am not one to swim in anything cold. And that water was cold.







Danes, however, are used to it. So Emilie had no problem just diving in.







Then it was Peter's turn to take Emma into the water.







So while they splashed in the water and hunted for rocks and seashells, I looked around to see what interesting things I could find.

Wanna see?















Why did I get their backs? For one, I like looking at a nicely-toned back. Second, Peter left me with the camera that had the huge telephoto lens on it, so aiming the camera at them would have been a little too obvious. But I must say, I now understand why we need two cameras in this family.







After playing for a while we decided to take a walk up the beach.







There were a group of girls ahead of us, and Emma decided to join them.















And here we are, walking off of Denmark and into the North Sea. You can sort of see how the waves are starting to bump into each other.












Then it was time to leave. We were tired and hungry.







So at the Visitors Center we grabbed some pølser. Peter loves his topped with everything...three kinds of onions and pickles and sauces:







On the way home we had to fill up the gas tank. For those curious, 408 DKK == $80 and 36 liters == 10 gallons. So, yes, we paid approximately $80 for 10 gallons of gas. As Peter's mom told us, they don't look at the price anymore, they just fill up and go.







Then we drove off into the sunset.