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Having spent the past week traveling through Denmark’s mainland, Jutland, I can tell you Denmark is: sand, sea, sky; brown, green, blue; calm, quiet, and absolutely beautiful. We drove through fields of windmills to get to the little summer house near the tip of Jutland, our home for the week. The entire area is nestled with small cottages in the dune grass hills:
After 10 weeks of classes, it was nice to have a change of pace and relax on the beach (even if I was wearing a parka). I could not believe how expansive the beach was: miles and miles of wide, flat sand lands, so different from the Lake Huron shores I’m used to!
We ventured to the little town of Løkken (which means happiness) to see the German bunkers that dot the Danish coastline from WWII. Though half buried, we had a grand time climbing through and exploring the tunnels and rooms once occupied by German soldiers. Of course, many Danes, especially the older generation, dislike this symbol of war and wish to have them removed. Hostility toward the “tysks” is still evident as Germans must rent if they wish to vacation in the area as they are not allowed to actually own land there.
My favorite visit was to the migrating sand dunes in Lønstrup that are burying this lighthouse. Denmark is relatively flat, so it was a great change to be atop these dunes overlooking the ocean to one side and the windmill clad countryside to the other.
Next we toured the Northern most tip of Denmark: Grenen and Skagen. This is where the oceans converge. It is no wonder why this land has been home to many impressionistic artists including the Ancher family.
Finally, we traveled to Ebeltoft where out ferry awaited to bring us back to Zealand. On the way, we had a little forbidden picnic in a little forbidden castle (or at least there were signs saying “forbudt” everywhere but my Danish is still less than perfect).
Ebeltoft is home to a famous ship used during the war of 1864, Fregatten Jylland. The rest of the town is a sanguine daydream of cobblestone and boutiques.
Throughout the week, we dined with my host mom’s friends and family in traditional Danish fashion: schnapps and herring and rugbrød, salmon and salads, frikadeller and meets, bread and bread and more bread, cakes and cakes and more cakes. Then we’d take a break for a walk and start all over again. Super lækker! 
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