Reflections From a Warm Summer Day in Skagen, Denmark

I'm standing at the top of the world.

Well, maybe "world" is not quite the right word.

Not even technically the top of Europe, but you'd be forgiven if you made that honest mistake.

No, I'm not at the top of anything, except the country of Denmark, and even that is somewhat of a technicality, if you count places like the Faroe Islands and Greenland as Denmark. For the point I'm making in this post, we're all just going to agree that we're not including them.

Here I am, feet planted firmly in the sand spit that marks the boundary of Denmark's mainland end, as well as the meeting place of the North and Baltic Seas. All around me are sand dunes, massive tankers harboring in the lee of Skagen, this little town at the tippy top of the world, er, I mean Denmark, a horde of tourists (to whom I belong), and a giant tractor trailer pulling a strange looking vehicle that could be confused for a train caboose if one were obliging.

There are also birds, many of whom are being spied upon by the groups of birders on lookouts in the dunes far behind us.

But it is here that the end of the continent marks the beginning of something new - a new journey, one where my mother and I are embarking on our Baltic Sea cruise together, as well as new territory. I've never traveled through the Baltic before, and this new unchartered territory is splayed out before me.

It's a beautiful spit of land, constantly changing with the tides, being washed away, moved, replanted in a new location, elongated, and shrunk as the days, months and years pass. The strip of land I stood on won't be the same one you'll plant your feet in, and the evidence of this is clear - from the maps that show this change, to the strange inland light houses that lost their shores long ago due to the shifting sands.

Skagen (pronounced "Skane" by our tour guide) shows evidence of this shift all throughout town, most notably in the church half buried below sand.

As the most unknown destination on my Baltic Cruise, I didn't have a lot of expectations and planned on taking a guided tour offered by the cruise ship. I'm generally one who prefers to wing it when I travel, but in this instance, the guided tour seemed like a good idea. And it was. Getting transportation around this small area was helpful to see the highlights, and still left us with plenty of time to walk through the cute city on our own.

Growing up in a a similarly small summer holiday destination, Skagen felt both foreign and familiar, the neat yellow buildings with white lattice painted roof tops offered a pleasing architectural unity. It was easy to see why artists and writers would have been drawn to the top of Denmark, finding inspiration in Skagen's beautiful scenery.

My thoughts drifted throughout my day towards whether or not I'd ever return. Sure, Skagen isn't exactly a hotbed of urban delights, but its lack of these traits makes the town appealing in its tranquility. There's enough to do without feeling the pressure to do everything, making a return appealing for a world weary traveler.

But even if I did return, the reality is that the Skagen I visited on this sunny day in June 2018 won't be the same as it would be on my return. The tides will rise and fall, the winds will blow sands from along the coastline to add more real estate over time. And this picturesque little town will continue to count the years, mark the changes, and go with the flow.

And I'll count myself among the lucky few who got to see it as it was on this glorious summer day.

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#skagen #denmark #cruise #baltic