Grass
Summer is upon us and then some. Yesterday was fantastic and at the moment nothing says that this day won’t follow in its footstep:) Here’s a picture of what a moor near Skagerrak looked like a few weeks ago. If not already, I strongly doubt it won’t look anything but green in just a few days.
The bucket
A new week starts and why not start it in the company of this new picture from the shores of Vendsyssel. I don’t think I will ever stop being impressed by these massive walls of sand and clay. At this particular place I would estimate them to be 30-40 meters high.
Please press to view the original size:)
Through the window
Today we take another look at the church of Mårup. In these photos I was standing inside the roof less building looking out through a window. The view is exactly the same, only the focus changes.
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Mårup Church
Those of you familiar to this blog have visited the sand dunes of the northwestern part of Jutland many times by now. I don’t think it is possible to ever get tired of that particular area of Denmark, whether it’s looking at pictures or actually being there in person. It is just lovely. Period.
Anyway. Today we take a look at a church which is about to disappear into the ocean. It was built back in 1250 and was then situated about a kilometer inland from the sea. Much has happened since then. A few years ago it looked like this but since then even more of the cliffs have been tore down by rain, wind and the ever pounding sea. Now it stands but a few meters from the edge and because of this most of the church was dismantled in 2008. The walls of the building and some graves still stand which I’ll show you in the days to come.
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Fate
The German bunkers have been sitting safely and comfortably on the higher shelf at the northwestern shores of Jutland, looking out at the Skagerrak sea for many years by now. I strongly suspect though that the bunkers in the background must really sense that their time is about to run out and that they too will end up on the beach and finally in the water.
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In the night
One night, while staying at my girlfriend’s parent’s summer-house, I woke up at 2 o’clock and noticed that the room was lit up by the full moon. In a city you don’t notice the moon that much but in the country side without lights in the streets and so on it really shines. I stood there looking at the beautiful sight and, of course, I set up the camera in order to try to catch some of it “on film”. The exposure time was set to 13 seconds but even so I find it amazing that the color of the grass is clearly visible.
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A bunker
There are many old German bunkers on the Jutlandish coastline. I’m not entirely certain why there are so many just outside the town of Løkken but I assume that the Germans thought that place to be especially vulnerable? Anyway, Most of them have been closed up and some of them look like the one below. There are however a few ones that you can enter and actually walk around in. They are, of course, very dark but I plan to bring the tripod on my next visit to get some photos of what they look on the inside in the tunnels. I’m really looking forward to that:)
Original photo is roughly twice the size so please press it to see more details.
Cliffs
Those familiar to this blog have probably seen pictures similar to this one before and I’m truly sorry about it. It’s just that I simply can’t get enough of the dramatic landscape at the Jutlandish northwestern coastline. The photo below is one that I’m particularly pleased with and if you look closely you can see the famous lighthouse called Rubjerg Knude Fyr seen, for example, in this previous post.
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Sand dune
Here’s a dune worthy of its name. It towers roughly a 90 meters above the surface of Skagerrak and is actually not that easy to climb. Please notice the moving sand in the shrubberies closest to the camera.
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Lønstrup
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the northern west coast of Jutland for a few years since 2009. In July of that year I was there for the first time and it just so happened to be storming pretty well those first days. Coming from the not so mighty swells of Öresund it sure made an impression to see the big waves from the open sea hit the beaches. In the photo below you see the raging sea and the foam covered beaches of the small village Lønstrup.
Flying
Here’s a picture from a few months back and a really nice sunset from the region Vendsyssel in Jutland.
The bleaters
I’m not entirely sure whether it’s cheep sheep or goats in the field but they did bleat a lot so I’m fairly certain it’s one or the other;) This lovely view can be found in the northwestern corner of Jutland. This region is also know as Vendsyssel in Danish.
Please press for a nice close-up:)
Zimmer frei
This is probably the last picture of an old German bunker here on this blog. Speaking of Germany’s dark past, Danish director Lars Von Trier has been controversial before but, to my knowledge, that has been for his motion pictures. His interview in Cannes this year gave the result of him being declared a persona non grata and ejected from the festival area. Since then he has said he is sorry and has hinted on this being a particular sort of Danish humour… Personally I think the words “zimmer frei” written on the bunker below is more true to Von Trier’s statement about Danish humour but let’s just hope his earlier foolish statement doesn’t affect his future as a director.
A glum future
Contrast is a plane taking off versus a house that is about to come down from its nice spot on a cliff with a view to a unique and exciting lot just by the water. It remains to be seen if it gets there in one piece and whether the owner is brave enough to actually live there;)
Grassy
Grassy and sandy hills in Vendsyssel, Denmark.
This one needs to be seen in its full size so please press:)
At your own risk
As I’ve mentioned plenty of times before here on this blog, parts of the coastline in Jutland are of the more dramatic variety. On these places I would say that it’s a drop of about 20-50 meters down to the beach which makes it more or less impossible to get down (alive;).
On some places though, brave men have defied the laws of nature and set up a combination of ladders and rope ladders. These constructions, for want of a better word, is not for the weak of heart and I can only assume that, at the time when they are put there, they have full contact with the cliff behind them. The heavy erosion continues due to wind and rain and over time this results in the ladder hanging free in the air for heart wrenchingly long distances. Combine that with a somewhat ridiculous angle of the ladder, the length of it and the huge cracks in the cliff that is natures very own way of warning us that another big chunk of the cliff is about to come tumbling down, and you’ve got something that makes every fiber in my body cry out in agony whenever I’m climbing it.
please press for a bigger version.
Evening sun
Here’s another picture of a sunset but somewhat different from others with focus on pretty much everything but the sun itself. I really like the almost dreamlike qualities of the setting sun as it paints the sky and the sea in bright yellow and orange colors.
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Formations
This is a pretty unique cliff made out of clay standing close to Rubjerg Knude Fyr on the northwestern coast of Jutland. I have actually seen this cliff ever since my first trip here back in August of 2009 (look on the left side, just as the cliffs fade away). Even back then it seemed to me that it would be only a matter of minutes before it would come crashing down on the beach below but it still eludes the hungry waves beneath it. I wonder, will it ever fall?
Edit: Thanks R for helping me with all the tough words:)
Tornby Klitplantage
Somehow this picture really makes me think of Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Gazing through the broken and dead trees over the drop down to the moor below and beyond that the ocean shrouded in a thick layer of mist is enough for me to visualize hordes of orcs roaming the land or perhaps Sam and Frodo on their journey towards Mount Doom.
Please press for a bigger version which is the way it’s meant to be seen;)
Summer
I went to the store last night in nothing more than shorts, flip-flops and a t-shirt. How nice isn’t it to be able to do that in April?:) I sincerely hope that this summer is going to be a wonderful one and to bring you all even more into the spirit of summer I give you another shot from last weekend. Have a nice day:)
Starfish
I like to talk about the impressive sand dunes or the vast spaces around the northwestern coast of Jutland but it’s not all about that. Just going for a walk on the beach is great as well. Last weekend we walked some six kilometers to the small village of Lønstrup and on our way there we found both a few pieces of amber and even some starfishes. The amber ended up in a small box at home and the starfishes went back into the sea:)
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