July 2022

Skagen: Land of Blondes and Bikes

At the northernmost tip of Denmark you can walk to the tip of a sandbar and see exactly where the Baltic Sea meets the North Sea. This sandbar is just outside the town of Skagen, which is also the main fishing port for the country.

In summer months, Danes and foreigners flock to this tidy little seaside town, which is flat, walkable, and full of bikes and blondes.

Nearly every building in the city center is painted a distinctive shade of yellow, with white trim. (This homogeneity adds to the charm, but if you don’t have a good sense of direction, the winding lanes could get you turned around.)

The yellow hue is known as “Skagen yellow,” and for good reason. Influenced by painters such as Monet, a group of Danish artists created a haven here in the 1800s.

The Skagen School as they were known, would meet up in summer, setup easels in public parks, the beach, and cafes, then paint whatever they saw, thereby creating lasting images of daily life from days gone by. (If you enjoy impressionist paintings, look them up. I especially enjoy the beach scenes with dappled light playing up women strolling along the sand in long dresses.)

Skagen is also a popular birdwatching spot with 367 of Denmark’s 600 bird species coming through here. I saw (and heard) several birds while exploring the local cemetery, but I didn’t take time to ID them.

Back on the ship, however, Larry and I learned of an avian stowaway. A pretty little pigeon hopped aboard in Southampton and found all the windows and doors rather baffling. Today, a deckhand managed to lure him outside with a trail of bread crumbs.

Wonder how he will fare in Skagen?Read more