Fine sunny day – even if windy – is always good for a trip to Skagen. Jens and I looked forward to spend a day in that northernmost tip of Denmark. After about an hour of driving, we reached Grenen, a long sandbar spit at Skagen Odde, north of the town of Skagen. Beautiful panorama opens from the dunes of Grenen:
You might noticed a big rock on the left side of the photo above. It is a burial chamber of Holger Drachmann, Skagen’s beloved poet of 19th century. He visited Skagen and took genuine interest in local residents’ life. Drachmann was also a good painter, and loved painting the dramatic North Sea when it was stormy. He wrote the Danish Midsummer song which is faithfully sung by bonfires each year. When Drachmann died in Hornbæk in 1908, his urn was transported to Skagen where it was met but one of the largest funeral processions ever seen in Denmark.
The beaches of Grenen are one of Denmark’s best places to spot seals. The seals are used to visitors and often come close. We didn’t meet any, just saw a dead baby:
Grenen looked very different from the last time I visited it with Flemming in February 2021. In February, it was overcrowded, now in April there were few people.
At the tip of Grenen where the two seas of Kattegat and Skagerrak meet – a phenomenon only seen in few places in the world:
Jens and I began thinking of lunch and drove to Skagen, to one of its fish shops. The White Lighthouse (on our way) replaced the bascule light in 1747. It was Denmark’s first lighthouse constructed in brick, and was operational till 1858.
A stroll in the harbour:
And a fish shop where we bought some fish balls. They were not as good as the ones we bought in Vorupør; we wouldn’t buy them again in Skagen.
The town of Skagen is very cosy; beautiful houses, many shops were open:
We spent some time there, walking its charming streets and admiring the architecture:
Afternoon coffee and cakes from a local bakery:
After Skagen, we stopped by the Sanded Church, and saw other places. I wrote about them in my previous posts, will therefore not repeat myself here.
At home, I played with the farm’s cat. He was so cute! He came to the Lille Degnbøl as a stray kitten, and was adopted by Kaj and Bo, the owners of the farm. We called him The Little Prince – nothing to do with the novel of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, but because he was a teenager and loved to be spoiled like a prince.
Jens and I were monitoring the weather during the day in a hope to go flying, but the forecasts promised strong winds. However, whilst having dinner, we noticed that the wind greatly decreased. We hurried up to the Sindal aerodrome, and took off:
The air was smooth, sunset beautiful, and we were very happy:
The town of Hirtshals:
Hirtshals’ port:
Hirtshals’ lighthouse from 1863, standing on Stenbjerg cliff 22 metres above the sea. The lenses of this lighthouse are hand-cut, and it takes around six hours to polish them:
On the ground, the sun was already down. In the air, we could still enjoy the sunset:
We soon turned back to Sindal so that we could land within the civil twilight:
What a wonderful end of the day!