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Category: Denmark

Denmark

Denmark

Apologies for the long silence on this blog! A lot has happened in the mean time: I have left Norway after nearly 10 years, and moved back to the Netherlands after more than 13 years abroad! I’ve moved in with Michiel, in Rotterdam – exciting times!

I’ve taken my car with me, so last week we drove from Oslo to Rotterdam. We didn’t have a lot of time, but we managed to spend 3 wonderful days driving along the west coast of Denmark, which was so much fun! Here are some photos…

We took the ferry from Langesund to Hirtshals, arriving in the evening. We spent that night in Lønstrup, a small village about half an hour south of Hirtshals. It was REALLY windy, impressive to watch the sunset and crashing waves from the beach and dunes at the coast.

The beach at Lønstrup

We climbed to the top of the dunes, but it was SO windy that I didn’t want to stay there – I thought we might actually be blown off by the wind…

Windy view from the top of the dune, we didn't stay here long as I was afraid we'd be blown off - the wind was that strong!

Lucky panorama of the sunset, with a bird silhouetted in front of the sun…

Sunset panorama - I love the silhouetted bird, lucky shot!

Michiel on the narrow path that followed the dunes. There wasn’t much beach left at the bottom of the dunes, coastal erosion is a big problem here.

Michiel on the path following the dunes

The light was so beautiful that evening, I took a lot of photos!

The light was so beautiful that evening!

Flowers at sunset

Michiel enjoying the fantastic views

A very happy Hanneke in her element: beach, dunes & wind!

I was really enjoying being at the beach in the wind :)

We followed a path to another stretch of the coast…

The beach at Lønstrup - or what is left of it, erosion is a big problem here

And watched a beautiful sunset, and big crashing waves!

Sunset and crashing waves

The next morning we drove a short distance south of Lønstrøp, to a big parking lot from where you can walk to Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse – a really impressive place. This is from the start of the walk…

The sandy path leading to Rubjerg Knude Fyr (Lighthouse)

And here we had reached the 60 m high sand dune – and felt like we were in the Sahara!

Climbing the sand dune - you'd think we were in the Sahara!

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse was built in 1900, but in more recent times it was threatened by continually shifting sands as well as coastal erosion. There used to be a couple of buildings next to it, which used to serve as a cafe and museum. In 2002, everything had to be abandoned due to the sand swallowing the buildings. The two smaller buildings were eventually removed, and only the lighthouse is still standing. It is expected to fall off the cliff in the next 15 years, but until then, it is a really impressive place to visit and experience the power of nature!

Approaching Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse at the edge of the cliff...

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse threatened by continuously moving sand

The views in the other direction are really impressive – it feels almost surreal to be on top of this huge sand dune and look out towards Lønstrup and the surrounding countryside!

Surreal landscape and views from the top of the sand dune

Couldn’t help myself, I had to take this really cheesy photo…

Michiel and lighthouse ;)

Later that day, the weather turned cloudy and even rainy, so I didn’t take a lot more photos. We spent the night at Nymindegab, these two photos were taken the next morning right next to our hotel…

Near our hotel in Nymindegab

Jetty in Nymindegab

Our last stop on the coast was Rømø, a Danish Wadden island that can be reached by a bridge (or a causeway rather). We had some amazing cakes in a coffeeshop / antique shop, and drove around the island. At some point we wanted to go to the beach and looked for a parking place – we didn’t see any though and suddenly we were driving ON the beach! The beach is huge here, and they let cars drive on some parts of it. A bit strange, but quite fun!

I know neither my dear Subaru or me are ‘sexy-model-on-fast-car’ material, but I still like this photo!

On the island Rømø you can drive your car on the beach - quite fun! Neither me or my dear Subaru are 'model-on-fast-car' material but I still like the photo :D

After our visit to Rømø we continued into Germany and home to the Netherlands the next day. It was a really busy week, but I was glad we were able to spend some time exploring Denmark’s west coast – we both want to come back at some point!