Jutland trip

Skagen, once a remote fishing village and sparsely populated, became considerably easier to travel after it became connected to the rest of the country via a railroad line in 1890. It is extremely picturesque, and distinguished by its low, yellow houses with red tile roofs nestled into the beach areas.

The headland at Grenen, the northernmost point of Denmark, is a spectacular setting where two parts of the North Sea, the Kattegat and the Skagerrak, meet. This makes for turbulent seas and strandings — beachings and shipwrecks are common. The frequent shipping losses and the strategic location as the gateway to the Baltic led to Skagen being the site of one of Denmark's earliest lighthouses, the Vippefyr, constructed in the 15th century. A reconstruction of the lighthouse is located to the north of the town of Skagen.

The desertification that hit the area in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the abandonment of the old parish church to the migrating sands — the famous Buried Church, Den tilsandende Kirke. The tower of the church remains protruding from the dunes, as it was left as a sea marker when the church was abandoned at the close of the 18th century.

In central Skagen there is a teddy bear museum called Skagen Bamsemuseum.

We also went and saw Råbjerg Mile, where the only two significant migratory dunes exist today. An amazing sight to see.

Thanks Anne for showing me Skagen and Grenen. We survived Ålbæk with their biting flies.