Denmark Part 2 – from Rubjerg Knude to Thy National Park

Versunkene Bunkeranlage am Strand

Since we were used to forests and huge mountain landscapes from Scandinavia, it was a change for us to see flat land in Denmark. Here and there small hills or dunes, but in general you could see far over the country. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful country with lots of sandy beaches and sea. That's something we really enjoy, the sound of the sea and the walk on the beach. We hope to see gray seals and maybe dolphins as well as there are said to be some spots here. We are excited about this country.

Rubjerg Knude - shifting dune and silted up lighthouse

After shopping in Hjorring we are heading Rubjerg Knude drove and took a lunch break in a parking lot a little behind the lighthouse. The consideration of where we should spend the night led us a little further to a very small parking lot far behind a shifting dune. Between the dune and the parking lot are meadows and a historic cemetery and church ruins. Everything is fenced in and there are goats and cows running around.

Verfallener Friedhof mitten in den Dünen
Derelict cemetery in the middle of the dunes

It was still windy and a few drops of rain fell every now and then. But then we walked to the dunes. The path goes through the old cemetery, where there were also isolated crosses. The goats and cows were far enough away and Finja could walk. Not much was left of the church ruins, only a few stones.

This was still in operation until 1904, but due to the massive deforestation, the storms brought the sand and the land became unusable for farm operations. The church and most of the cemetery and courtyards were then moved to another site as there was no longer any protection, and the stones from the church were also used in the rebuilding.

We really didn't get very far. We had managed half the meadow to the dune and then had to turn around. The wind was sometimes so strong that Finja just rubbed her eyes and we had our mouths full of sand. On the bus back we washed our hair. A few cars stopped as people looked at the historical site and walked to the dune. We worked a bit the rest of the afternoon, Basti edited pictures and I almost finished writing the next report.

Es windet arg an unserem Standplatz
It's windy at our stand

The wind rocked our polar bear a bit because we couldn't really stand in the wind. But we still slept well, it's no comparison to what we experienced in Norway. The next morning was really busy, it was also the weekend. The day before, a farmer drove his tractor across the meadow and now cars with huge trailers came onto the meadow. First we wanted to try again to walk to the dune, since it was relatively warm that day and not quite as windy.

But while we drank our coffee, we saw why such large trailers drove onto the meadow. Gliders were pulled into the air by the tractor on the meadow and they made their rounds over the dunes. So we didn't run to the dune again, so as not to be in the way. So we drove back to the lighthouse parking lot and to the sanded lighthouse,Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse, ran. It is so called because it is quite close to the coast in the dune and it had to be moved years ago, otherwise it would have slid into the sea.

Rudbjerge
Rubjerge Knude

The way to the shifting dunes was nice to walk. Finja had fun and always wanted to romp. But being on a leash prevented her from doing so. At the beginning of the dunes we noticed that there was a decent wind and we got a lot of sand again. We felt sorry for Finja, who was constantly rubbing her eyes with her sandy paws. At some point we picked her up and walked backwards up the dune to the lighthouse. This was accessible and Basti ran upstairs to take pictures. After that he still dared to go towards the sea. But it was probably too windy, he came back quickly.

Wanderdüne am Leuchtturm Rudbjerge
Shifting dune at Rubjerge lighthouse

Back at the bus we drove to the parking lot from the day before and had lunch there again. Since there was no more wind here, we sat outside and enjoyed the sun. We need fresh water and so we drove towards Lokken.

https://www.visitnordvestkysten.de/nordvestkysten/inspiration/der-leuchtturm-rubjerg-knude

Thy National Park - Overnight in Vorupor and nice hike

After refueling we are heading Thy National Park hazards. In search of a place to stay, we looked for a parking lot in Vorupor placed. There was a sign saying no one was allowed to stand there from midnight to 6am, but after a few chats with campers we risked staying there. Besides us, there were many other motorhomes there. First we walked through the dunes towards the beach and it was just wonderful. The sea roared and the waves weren't very small either. Some surfers were also on the water. That's why many mobile homes come here.

Versunkene Bunkeranlage am Strand

Vorupor is a small fishing village. We walked to the town on the beach and there were restaurants and an ice cream shop. On the beach in front of it were some fishing boats. After a few photos and an ice cream for Basti, we walked back down the street to the parking lot. For the night we just hope that nobody comes to check the parking lot and we can sleep peacefully. Even in the parking lot we heard the sea.

Fischerboot auf dem Strand
Fishing boats on the beach

The next day greeted us with bright blue skies and sunshine. The temperature went up to 20 degrees during the day and we really enjoyed having warm weather. After coffee we drove back a little bit Bogsted Rende. This is a place where only sea dunes separate forest vegetation from the beach. The name Bogsted Rende means construction site by the gully and is said to have been inhabited in the past and operated a water mill.

Dünenwege

Attempts had been made to resettle trees here after massive deforestation on the coasts. It didn't quite work out, but the oldest tree was planted at the end of the 19th century. The sea bark can be seen from afar, standing high above everything on a small hill. There are several along the coast, each with a different structure. For the navigators they were like a map. We walked between the dunes to the sea and then along the stream to the barge. Many photos were taken. The way back led us through the small forest back to our car. The hike was great and was good for us with the nice weather.

Barke in den Dünen
Bark in the dunes

Agger – seal sighting and campsite

After that we are after agger driven and the headland to the ferry dock. Basti found out that there is a good chance of seeing gray seals there. Along the headland there is always the opportunity to stop to watch birds on both sides. But we drove to the end of the parking lot and were lucky that the ferry left shortly before. We ran ahead with the camera under our arms and Basti was then able to see seals through the lens on the sandbanks further out. He tried to take pictures of them and also stood quite close to the water.

Robben auf den Sandbänken in Anger
Seals on the sandbanks in Anger

When I turned around to him, I just called out: "Basti, in front of you!" A single gray seal looked out of the water and at Basti. With a look at him, what he is doing there, she swam on to the side. But Basti reacted immediately and pointed the camera at it. Hopefully the pictures turned out to be something. But it was a unique experience and now we can check off seals in the wild.

Robbenalarm am Anger
Seal alert on Anger

After that we drove to the beach in Agger and walked a bit there. Finja could let off steam here and had a lot of fun doing it. Since we had to take a shower again, we had to go to a campsite. This had already closed to the general public and was only open to mobile homes on the street.

There were also more WoMo's. Since the weather is supposed to get worse the next day, we stay there for 2 nights. Despite the direct road in front of us we slept quite well. Freshly showered, we only ran small laps the next day because it had rained repeatedly. So it went to the homepage.

When considering where we want to go next, Basti had read a lot about the small island of Fur on the Internet and so our goal for the next few days was clear.

You can find more pictures in the Denmark photo gallery.