In the end of March 2021 Jens and I embarked on a 3-week vacation, flying only in Denmark. None of the destinations was new to us, but we managed to find new attractions and places, and of course also enjoyed revisiting the ones we’ve seen before. The weather was a big challenge, especially the strong winds in Jutland, so we had to adjust our flying plans accordingly. We always had some food & hot beverages with us, along with the great spirit:
The whole trip looked approximately like on the map below, and although we didn’t fly as much as we hoped for, we did had some local flights around the places where we stayed:
We began our tour from Holbæk to Nordborg on the island of Als in southern Jutland. Jens and I stayed in a small hut in a camping site near the aerodrome. It was so damn cold, with air temperature of +5C both outside AND inside! Taking a shower was close to be a torture: the tile floor was simply ice cold, and the water either too warm or too cold. But nevertheless, we enjoyed our stay there. I even went for a swim a couple of times – the sea was just a hundred metres away:
Ole, a pilot from the flying club, drove us around the island, showed Sønderborg and many other attractions, and even arranged a visit to the art gallery owned by Katherine Schivers & Thomas Eje. Because of Ole, we had such a good time staying in Nordborg.
Mors island was our next destination. And there the wind began blowing. David and Fred helped us to tie down the aeroplane with extra strong ropes, and it was necessary to place a heavy road roller in front – it helped!
Whilst staying on Mors, we drove around and visited many nice places – Hanstholm WWII museum, Vorupør and Cold Hawaii, Thy national park, small towns and big lighthouses, and my favourite Vigsø battery. Many new places, like Stenbjerg Landingsplads (former fishing village) with its small whitewashed fishing huts, Lodbjerg church – the second smallest in Denmark – with its frescos, were very interesting. Jens and I were invited to my friend Lene’ family for Easter dinner where we had a great evening. It has become a tradition: every time I’m in North Jutland – we meet, at least for dinner.
When a suitable weather window came, we flew further north, to Sindal, where we again had to tie-down the aircraft with an extra set of strong ropes, and hide it from the winds beside the tower. The gusts there were up to 53 knots – I didn’t know it could blow that much in Jutland. And I’ve never had so much rime ice on my Aeroprakt before this tour – we were tired of carefully scratching it off for hours in order to get airborne!
I finally managed to visit the Rubjerg Lighthouse on foot and on a stormy day – had otherwise only experienced it from air after it was moved 70 m inland for a couple of years ago:
The Rubjerg 800 years old graveyard was worth visiting and learning about the history of that place:
During our days around Sindal, we stayed in a very nice B&B, called Lille Degnbøl. An old cow stable in a farm was renovated into some functional and stylish apartments. There were lots of farm animals around, and we quickly befriended a cat who visited us several times daily, but never stayed long.
Jens and I were a kind of stuck there because of the weather, and even prolonged our stay, but that gave us a chance to see more. Skagen and Grenen, the Sanded Church, beaches and historical sites. We loved the small town of Sæby, with its huge marina, and The Lady of the Sea – a beautiful sculpture that has become the trademark of Sæby:
Old streets, charming houses – we had a long walk in Sæby, and had the time to pay attention to details:
Then we could fly to Læsø – an island in Kattegat – whilst it still was too windy in the rest of the country. On Læsø, we got such a fantastic weather, with sunshine all days, no wind, clear night sky with myriads of stars – it was the payback we deserved!
In the dunes of Læsø, we discovered a tiny house with red chimney; it was so incredibly cute:
We bought salt at Læsø Saltworks (probably the best salt in the world!), drove the island around, and remembered to have a sunset dinner on the beach:
Our hotel reservation was cancelled in the very last moment, and we were so lucky that Inge-Merete, my dear friend from the Roskilde flying club, offered us to stay in her cottage.
Jens would happily split the firewood, and we were sitting in front of the fire place every evening for hours. I would sort out my pictures from the day and write blogposts, Jens would read articles and news. It was very peaceful and cosy. Jens told me, he would be missing this fire place a lot, he loved it. We both live in apartments in the old part of Copenhagen, where having a fire place is not an option. But then we don’t have to chop the firewood! 🙂
Initially we thought we’d fly home after Læsø, but the weather so greatly improved in the rest of Denmark that we decided to have a stop in Randers, Denmark’s sixth largest city:
It was a good choice. Randers’ downtown is such a nice place, with lots of history behind its charming old houses and cobblestone streets:
The best thing was the blooming cherry trees, because they reminded us of spring being on its way:
It was a bit strange to return home; none of us really looked forward to get back to work (though we like and appreciate our jobs). Jens didn’t miss the chance to make fun of me, whilst I was flying drone after we landed in Holbæk:
I will probably remember this vacation as the one where I was freezing most – every single day! I even asked myself whether I wanted to go on a flying vacation in April again in the future.
Lessons learned? I need stronger tie-down sets for my Aeroprakt, if I’m going to fly in Jutland again (and I definitely am), to withstand the North Sea winds. The canopy cover I sewn was excellent – it stayed in place no matter what, and protected the aircraft from rain and ice.
It was a good vacation; it was so nice to get out and just relax, take the days slowly – thanks to all those strong winds! And we’ve seen so much of Jutland! Jens has always been an excellent co-pilot and companion. It is not first time we are on a tour together, and not the last one.
