Henrik and I decided to spend our second day of the Pentecost holidays on the island of Læsø. The weather was very favourable, and it was close to Fur island where we stayed. We were going to lodge on Fur for three more days anyway. The whole flight wouldn’t take longer than 45 minutes:
We got up early, and had a good breakfast. The evening before we went for a walk to the sea, and collected some wild flowers on our way – they were pleasing the eye in our dining room:
We took off, and flew to our destination over some scattered clouds:
Soon we could see Læsø on the horizon. There was a huge cloud over the island:
Small islands on the southwest coast of Læsø… They are formed by a combination of sand migration from the north coast and uplift. One can wade over to the islands and experience magnificent beaches and white sand dunes, though not in the period of April – July when these areas are protected for breeding birds:
Southern part of the island:
We parked the aircraft, and got into an electric car we had rented. Læsø is a relatively big island, not really suitable for biking in one day. First stop was at a seaweed farm Læsø Tang. Note the big tree on the left – it is 150 years old!
It was planted around 1870 by Harald Plesner, the only teacher on the island during 1865 – 1885. Harald Plesner was very active in the local community of Læsø. He was a self-taught veterinarian, set up a fund for drowned seafarers, and worked to build a harbour in Vesterø. He also worked on the re-planting of trees on the island (that were gone due to extensive salt production). Planting of trees was not popular among all. The islanders would rather to be able to see from coast to coast and have free views of the beaches. They didn’t want to miss a ship drifted ashore…
The Læsø Tang farm had a shop where one could buy different products with seaweed (tang is the Danish word for seaweed). Rie, the owner of the place, was very welcoming:
Rie showed us around, and answered lots of questions about seaweed. I bought some freshly baked bread with seaweed – it was really good – and honey from the famous brown bees of Læsø that I like so much.
In the shop, there was also a small exhibition of the different kinds of seaweed from the island:
A typical house of Læsø where – in the old days – seaweed was used to make roofs:
We continued to the Læsø Saltsyderi which is a historical workshop. One can not only watch how the salt is produced by seething – a method known from the middle ages, but also try making salt in a small workshop. Unfortunately, in these COVID-19 times, many attractions were closed, including production of salt, but it was otherwise possible to walk around, read about and see almost all the buildings:
For lunch, we drove to the Vesterø Harbour. It has a very nice atmosphere, and last time I was on Læsø, I had a delicious lobster there. This time, there were not that many visitors, hence no lobsters on the menus. But we had some good local fish, and enjoyed the views:
Horneks Odde is one of the best places on Læsø to see seals. Though we didn’t meet any, we appreciated the stunning landscapes of this place:
In the past, Horneks Odde was a very important place for local lobster fishing and there are still traces of this exciting profession. Two lobster huts are still there. They are open, and we went inside to the the sparse interior.
Then back on the road, and we drove to Østerby Havn which is a small town with a well developed port. Around 20 fishing boats catch fish for approx. 25 million DKK annually!
We spent some time there, walking around, and watching the harbour life:
Local artist Ingegerd Bilving Jørgensen contributed to the artistic touch of the harbour with the large beautiful bronze lobster:
Our last sightseeing stop was Læsø Tower. It is 17 meter high viewing tower, located in the town of Byrum. The tower was built in 1927 by Thorvald Hansen who was known for making wooden shoes. He built the tower of homemade brick. It is possible to go right to the top. Inside, there is info about how he built the tower and about his family life:
On the western side of the tower, there are some big rocks. One of them is the “Nazi Stone”:
A swastika and year 1940 was carved into the stone by one of the Nazi soldiers stationed on Læsø. The carvings are still visible on the stone, but for obvious reasons not maintained.
Before going to the airport, we had a drive to Vesterø Havn once again – to have an ice cream. They have a very good ice-cream shop there. Henrik tried to convince me to buy one in a supermarket, but I refused. It was my requirement to have a decent chocolate ice-cream!
In the airport, Henrik re-fuelled our aircraft:
It was hard work, but he did it very nicely. We were ready for departure. That day, we drove and walked around 80 km. It was good we took off early!
Flying back to the island of Fur in the evening was even more beautiful than our morning flight. Hornfiskrøn on the photo below, an island with meadows and rich bird life:
And our home for 5 days, island of Fur with its long Færker Odde, was welcoming us back:
It was a great day on Læsø; we were a bit tired of all those experiences. Though many of the museums and attractions were closed due to COVID-19, we could still see a lot.
