Sightseeing in Thy National Park on a sunny Saturday morning began from driving to my friend Lene’s favourite spot – the Tved Dune Plantation. There were so many wild black berries on the way, we couldn’t resist:
The Tved Dune Plantation is located in the Hanstholm Wildlife Reserve, which is Denmark’s largest dune heath with a mosaic of dune lakes, flat plains and huge dune formations as far as the eye can see. We sat there on a bench, and enjoyed the magnificent views:
Then a drive to Hanstholm, a small town that has a huge harbour – it was Denmark’s largest in the end of the 20th century. There have been ferries between Hanstholm and Iceland, Norway, and Faroe Islands, but today it is only a fishing harbour:
During the WWII, the Nazis built Europe’s biggest fortress in Hanstholm, together with thousands of bunkers in the area, in order to block the entry into the Kattegat. Most of the bunkers are still there, and the remains of the fortress have become a museum.
Our next stop was a village of Klitmøller which is a centre of Cold Hawaii. Cold Hawaii is a term given to the stretch of coast in the North Jylland. It is a well established surfing paradise with 31 surfing sports along the coast. The wind conditions are much like one will find in Hawaii, hence the name, and Cold – well, because it is always cold!
In Klitmøller, there was a skate board competition. We watched for a while, before continuing to the beach:
It is a crowded place, and very popular for water sports, surfing in particular. We heard many foreign languages passing by the crowds.
Lots of merchandise, and of course special beer, called Cold Hawaii. I don’t drink beer, but bought a couple of bottles for my friend Anne, who was supposed to be with me on this weekend flying trip, but fell sick. I’ve never seen Anne drinking beer, but she is a devoted windsurfer (among other sports), and I thought it would be fun for her:
It was time to have lunch, and Lene recommended a pancake place called Hesses Hus. They had buckwheat pancakes that I like so much; we had ones with smokes fish, and they tasted very good:
The village of Klintholm was very cosy, with hotels, shops, restaurants, and young international crowd.
We drove south, along the coast, with the view to myriads of dunes:
The fishing village of Nørre Vorupør was picturesque and tranquil:
Visitors were sitting around on the rocks, having an ice cream or a sandwich, and watching waves and small boats. The waves were not as big as in Klitmøller, and I went for a swim:
It was quickly going deep, and the water was warm:
Nørre Vorupør is one of the last places in Denmark where the boats are still towed ashore and launched with a wire and a winch. Two small lighthouses – front and rear – show the course in over the reefs:
The fish shop in the village had great variety of fish, gigantic lobsters, and sea food. We bought some for dinner, after standing in a long queue outside:
The day wasn’t finished yet – we were going to visit Lene’s mom and sister for a coffee in Thisted, and to see the Hundborgstenen. The landscapes of Thy were so beautiful!
Hundborgstenen (The Hundborg Boulder) is a an ancient rock that was quietly lying in the ground since the Ice Age. It is one of the 6 biggest boulders found in Denmark. The rock was discovered in 1938, when a local farmer was ploughing the soil. There were several attempts to get it up to the surface, but it was first in 2019 that those efforts managed to succeed. The rock immediately became a tourist attraction. The very little time we were at the site, many cars were popping by. People walked around that remarkable boulder, took pictures by its side, and admired its size. The weight of the Hundborgstenen is estimated to be around 170 tons:
After the Rock, we had coffee at Lene’s mom’s home, and it was so nice to see her again. We agreed to go for some sightseeing together the following day.
Lene and I drove around 120 km that day, and visited many nice places in the area:
We headed home, and above the North sea there was a thick layer of clouds:
We had such a wonderful and relaxing day, and also were a bit tired after so many exciting experiences.