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Skagen, Denmark
Sea: Calm (flat as a pancake)
Weather: Cloudy
We made it to breakfast in the Oriental Dining Room with 5 minutes to spare before they shut the doors. Full English for us all as we needed our walking legs today for when we got off in Skagen. A new port for us and it looked as though it was a pretty small port. A quick glance at the MDR menu for that evening told us it was not to Jon’s taste (pork belly and lamb) so we would make alternate plans for this evening.
We opted to walk up to Grenen – the most northerly point of Denmark where the Baltic Sea meets the North Sea. We caught the shuttle bus into town and then headed North along the main road. There was a fish factory on one side of the road, and a very distinctive smell hung in the air (no way I could have lived in this area!) and came across the Bascule Light.
As there were a lot of shallow reefs off the coast here, they needed a way to warn the ships and this was a temporary light. They could lower the basket and fill with combustible material and weigh the other end down to hoist it into the air. The current version was a replica, not the original, but still pretty impressive.
Rather than pick up the main road, we followed the locals who walked the path through the grass and dunes along the edge of a campsite to a coastal view point. From here, we dropped onto the beach. The beach front was littered with concrete bunkers that formed part of the German defenses in World War 2. With some of the land reclaimed by the sea, some bunkers had fallen into the sea but others still stood. Some leaning at an angle and it wouldn’t be long before these fell into the sea as well. Graffiti artists had used these bunkers to create their own artwork.
Along the sea edge, there were loads of jelly fish that had been washed ashore – and we even spotted a baby starfish.
The coastal walk took us to the Grey Lighthouse and from here, we picked up the road to Grenen. All that was here was a small souvenir shop, toilets plus an ice cream and hot dog stall. A restaurant was a little further up over the sand dunes.
From here there was a choice of paths to reach to the tip of Denmark. We opted for the Yellow path – the shortest, 3km walk to reach the point. You could opt to take the tractor ride instead if you wanted to. Lots of people had decided to walk. The beaches here are all Blue Flag beach and the sands were pristine – not a single bit of litter to be seen.
We did see signs warning us of seals in the area – alas the only one we saw had been washed ashore (dead). There were too many people for them to be on the beach anyway. When we reached the point, the crowds had thinned out a little. Callum even took his shoes off to have a paddle. Now for the walk back!
It seemed to take forever for the walk back into town – we went the direct route via the road. They’ve certainly got this sorted. Two lanes running parallel to the road for cyclists and pedestrians and you stick to your side of the road. This worked pretty well, apart from the one British Chap with the pushchair walking on the wrong side, ignoring the flailing arms of the pedestrians and bell-dinging cyclists doing their best to avoid them. Had it not been for the pushchair, I think there may have been a couple of very near misses!! It must be said that this is a pretty straight and boring road – so glad we found the scenic route to get to Grenen.
We made it back into town and some really lovely arts & crafts and pottery shops. We were nearly back at the shuttlebus stop before we came across a pub for a well-earned beer – and it wasn’t just one place, it was a streetful! Some were really busy and others quite empty.
We grabbed a table at a busy pizza restaurant, La Familia. We had built up a bit of an appetite so decided to go for a Quattro Fromaggi Pizza to share between us. Jon and I both chose local beers to sample and Callum a Diet Pepsi. The pizza was really good and the beer not bad either!
After completing 20,000 steps (9 miles or so) we called our visit to Skagen a day and headed back to the shuttle bus stop and went back to the ship. That meant we missed out on the Sand Church, but that was another 3 mile walk in the opposite direction.
We were back on board in time for todays Syndicate Quiz – not as many teams as the previous day as lots will be ashore. We didn’t do too badly for the three of us – a little way off the pace today as we got 9/16.
After the Quiz, we headed back to the cabin to chill for a bit and watched the sail out of Skagen. We would be rounding Grenen on our way to Kiel and it was a little quieter than earlier in the day.
We had reserved seats for the 6.45 performance of Gravity – not really Jon’s cup of tea but he took the hit. Some of the songs were good but it was all a little strange.
Now the decision of the day – where to go for tea. Callum decided the Beach House. A little worried as the earliest you could book a table for was 8pm – we popped up on the off-chance they had a table available right away, and they did. It was pretty quiet.
Starters chosen: Loaded Potato Skins for Jon (massive portion!!), I had the Panko-crumb and Filo Straw Tiger prawns (really good) and Callum the Piri-Piri Chicken Thighs and Dough Balls.
For mains, Callum had the Lobster, King Prawn, Squid and Monkfish Hanging Kebab whilst Jon and I both went for the 6oz fillet steak you cook on lava stone.
Puddings, Callum fancied the chocolate fondue as he saw the table next to us have this – and twisted Jon’s arm to share it with him. I went for the carrot cake – two massive pieces so Callum helped finish this off.
Afterwards it was back to Brodies for the Logo Quiz – 15/20 with the winners getting 19/20. However I did win the argument of whether the logo was Adidas or Castore. Jon was undecided but is was the very distinctive old adidas logo.
