Summer in Denmark? Never. Does it even exist up there? Well, that was my thought back then. What a fool I was to think for such a long time, this country doesn’t even know what a true summer is. During our first trip to Denmark two years ago my prejudices were partly confirmed. It wasn’t warm and it was rainy. At least sometimes.
This time I was taught otherwise and had to concede a point to Jan. When he was a child he spent a few holidays in Denmark with his parents and remembers having a good time there. He put a lot of effort in convincing me, that the northern Europe isn’t just a dark place and that even swimming is possible there.
This time again swimming in the sea wasn’t really possible, but the sun was actually shining and it was warm. Seriously, I was really surprised. Another good thing was, days are long in Scandinavia in the beginning of July so we had a lot of time for activities during the day.
Nordjütland is a dream come true
Nordjylland is the name of the region in northern Denmark that smashed my prejudices with a Viking axe. It is so beautiful here and there’s so much to see. You really have to spend more time here.
On the one hand Nordjylland is a very popular holiday destination especially among families. On the other hand I think it doesn’t get enough media attention. The fresh air, the huge variety of landscape and beaches should be more than enough.
Maybe it’s due to the prices. For most people in Europe and other parts in the world Denmark is a very expensive country.
The good thing is: Denmark is small and the region Nordjyltland even smaller. This means, it doesn’t take long to get from one to another place.
Aalborg
Aalborg with its 112,000 residents is Denmark’s fourth largest city and administration center of the Nordjütland region. The small, idyllic city lies at the Limfjord and has some interesting museums, which we will definitely see the next time. As mentioned before, when the weather is good we’re not keen on museums.
Instead we explored the harbour area and the Old Town. If you like Scandinavian architecture, you will love Aalborg and especially the harbour promenade. Furthermore there are a few restaurants – fancy or not – it’s at least expensive for Germans. But we don’t want to scare you: It’s always possible to find something affordable. We just love to exaggerate.
We really loved the fountains at the harbour. We are sure, it was designed for beautiful pictures. If we lived in Aalborg, this would be the place to hang out during summer time.
Some weeks ago, it was European Championship time and we were haunted by the thought of the Germany-Italy match. Luckily there was the beautiful Jomfru Ane Gade. On the one hand it’s a beautiful Old Town alley. On the other hand it is one of Denmark’s most famous streets. It’s full of pubs and restaurants and we loved the great atmosphere here. There couldn’t have been a better place to watch the match. Unfortunately, we were a minority being Germany fans.
It was a beautiful evening in a beautiful city with beautiful people.
Lindholm Høje
The next morning we continued our trip towards the north but before, we visited Denmark’s largest Viking graveyard called Lindholm Høje. It’s near Aalborg and is really good preserved. There are 682 graves and a museum where you can get all the information.
Unfortunately we were too early and couldn’t see it. They make ancient beer there – so it’s also worth the visit for those who don’t like museums.
We really loved the fact, that the Danish are using natural lawn mowers.
Skagen
Skagen is Denmark’s most northern city and has the biggest fish harbour of the country. It’s a really pretty town. We’re lucky fellows and could enjoy the city with sunshine and during a harbour festivity. According to this there was a lot going on and the variety of fish dish offers was huge.
Skagen became popular during the 19th century as many Scandinavian painters came and fell in love with the place.
Grenen
This is Denmark’s northernmost point. It’s the place where North Sea and the Baltic Sea meet. The headland’s located in the northeast of Skagen and you can observe the waves of both seas clashing.
It’s a dream landscape with beautiful colours and amazing light. Not only painters love what they see here. We and our camera were attracted as well. Unfortunately it started to rain heavily; otherwise we would have loved to stay for a while.
Such famous and popular places attract many people and therefore it was a busy place.
You can reach the headland by walking or pay for the tractor. Return tickets are 6€ pp. Furthermore there is a nice café with a great sea view and lighthouse.
You can also visit the air-raid shelters left from WWII.
The Sand-Covered Church St. Lawrence
You will find this church in the southwest of Skagen. Due to sand drift in the 18th century, it was covered over and over by sand. They took off the nave and painted the tower white, as they couldn’t use it as a church anymore.
Nowadays you can visit the tower. Since 1903 the tower is under monument conservation. It’s a well visited place and it’s totally worth the short visit.
Råbjerg Mile
This was by far the most impressive landscape as it was unexpected: The Råbjerg Mile is Denmark’s largest wandering dune and one of the largest in Europe. The fool (me) heard for the first time ever that Denmark has its own desert.
The whole area is protected. Every year it moves 15m towards northeast. The sand mountain is 40m high and it’s really fun to walk around here. Next time we take different clothes with us and roll down the sand mountain.
Rubjerg Knude
We’re so enthusiastic about Denmark that we had to make a few stops more. After Råbjerg Mile, we really wanted to see another sand dune which is called Rubjerg Knude. There’s a lighthouse here which gets slowly covered by the wandering dunes.
Unfortunately we were forced to become witness of Mother Nature’s strength. The sand storm was too strong so we had to break up the mission half way down. Sand between your teeth is not as awesome as it sounds. Rubjerg Knude is so on the list for the next time.
Løkken
Løkken is said to be one of Denmark’s most beautiful beaches. We had the same problem here as at Rubjerg Knude and all my prejudices for Denmark came up again.
Denmark and I – we come closer to each other although really slowly. But they say love grows with time and I’m really looking forward to holiday at Denmark’s beaches together with Jan.