exploring & escapades

Grenen is white, blue, green, light, empty space, spotless sky. Cold sand, violent, clashing sea. A baby seal. A blanket in the sun. End of Denmark, end of the world. 

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Day 2, Skagen, Denmark (Saturday)

Grenen, the northernmost tip of Denmark, was a quick, paved ride from Skagen center past heather fields and sand dunes and the old grey lighthouse, where we stopped to walk along the beach and see the ocean. We locked our bikes in the parking lot. It was full of activity. 

We walked the beach, past WWII bunkers and the poet’s tomb, along the water, to the tip where the sand narrows to a point and the Skagerrak and Kattegat sea meet. The end of Denmark. The sand was soft and cold. 

There were so many people, even runners completing the last portion of a 30 and 60 km trail run. It was bright, the well-known Skagen light. At the point, a crowd gathered, wading into the rough water where the seas collide. 

Wasing in was oddly peaceful, even with all of the people. Out of the water, we saw a baby seal, sunning himself on the beach (probably while his mother was off hunting for food). We spread out of blanket, far enough away to be safe but close to watch, and sat there in the sun for a very long time. I watched the Sandormen “sand worm” tractor-train-car come and go, come and go, delivering and removing more masses with each trip. It moved across the open sand, disappeared in the dunes between us and the parking lot, another world.

When we walked back, we followed the tractor trail. Soft sand turned hard. Back in the parking lot, we had ice cream cones and sat outside in the sun. 

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Skagen, Denmark

When: August and September 2019

How long: 3 nights

Via: Flew from London Stansted to Aarhus and rented a car to drive 2.5 hours to Skagen.

Stayed: Skagen Lux Apartments (amazing!)

Ate – Day 1: Skagen Fiskerestaurant (dinner); Day 2: Jakob’s Cafe and Bar (brunch) Pakhuset (dinner); Day 3:Brøndums Hotel Restaurant (lunch)

Did – Day 1: Skagen Harbor; Day 2: the candy factory, bike rental, Skagen Graa Fyr (lighthouse), Grenen, Gammel Skagen, Skagen Bryghus (brewery with live music); Day 3: Brøndums Hotel, Skagen Museum, Dino Golf, Sand Church

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You can read more about our full Skagen trip, here.