Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Skagen, Denmark
60F and sunny
Today we were in Skagen, the northernmost town in Denmark. It is globally famous as the exact point where two seas—the North Sea and the Baltic Sea—collide. Skagen (pronounced roughly like Skayne) is a resort town, a fishing port, and apparently an oil freighter hub--we saw lots of oil freighters docked outside the port. Its population is about 12,000 but attracts about 2 million visitors annually. TK is theorizing that the North and Baltic Seas are becoming very popular for cruise ships and Europeans because of the cooler weather. The Mediterranean, other areas of Europe, and Great Britain are experiencing very hot weather.
We took a shuttle to town ($8 RT/pp) and found a charming
village with brightly colored homes, walkable streets, and very friendly
people.
Our first stop was a bakery for coffee and a Danish apple twist.
The owner was making cinnamon rolls as we walked in, the dough rising as she
was waiting on us—how I would have loved to sit right there until those rolls
were baked!
We continued our sauntering walk, past a lot of winter clothing sales, shoes, boots, coats, sweaters, jackets—the Danes are preparing for winter. We were told that along the sea the winter is really not too bad, but inland—watch out! I do think Erie’s winters could go head to head with some of these countries, except, as they say, inland and farther north.
I will admit that the languages we have encountered (Danish, Finnish, Swedish, and Norse) are difficult to get a handle on. My Latin, French, and German do help some, but I haven’t even figure out the word for street in any of these languages.
Dear Readers, you can skip the next
few paragraphs—it is astounding to me that the smaller countries we have visited
along the Baltic Sea all have different languages, from Romance language roots
to Nordic/German roots. I have been trying to sort out the languages, and this
is what I have come up with.
Scandinavian languages:
Scandinavian languages, also known as North
Germanic or Nordic languages, belong to the Germanic branch of the
Indo-European language family. They are traditionally divided into East Scandinavian (Danish
and Swedish) and West Scandinavian (Norwegian, Icelandic, and
Faroese) groups based on historical and linguistic features. While Norwegian,
and Swedish are mutually intelligible to a significant degree, Icelandic and
Faroese retain more archaic grammar and vocabulary, making them less accessible
to speakers of the other Scandinavian languages
Vikings
I also did not know there
were many types of Vikings. They were not a single uniform group but
originated from Scandinavia, specifically Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Danish Vikings, or Danes, were the most politically organized and
focused on raiding Western Europe, including France and England, and were the
first to largely convert to Christianity by the end of the 9th century. Norwegian
Vikings were renowned sailors and explorers, venturing to Iceland,
Greenland, and even North America, and were considered the bravest and most
adventurous. Swedish Vikings, often called Varangians or Rus, traveled
eastward along rivers like the Volga and Dnieper, remaining pagan longer than
their western counterparts and engaging in trade and raids in Eastern Europe
and the Middle East.
So, Danish Vikings, Swedish Vikings, Norwegian Vikings—I have
a lot to learn! And I digress.
Back to Skagen.
Before we take a trip, I always research what cities/countries
consider special souvenirs. My research for Skagen indicated a candy store, Bolcheriet. I probably
spent an hour in the shop watching the candy being made. They make candies the
traditional way, by hand, and they use all natural ingredients and flavorings.
All of their candies are boiled over an open fire and the mass of candy is “pulled
on a hook.” The shears the candy maker used were 125 years old, and the
extruding machine is over 80 years old (German made he said). They say they do all of their work in front of
an audience, and I can attest to that. Perhaps we purchased delicious candy
here!
After watching the candy maker, we headed for the ice cream
shop. TK loves salted caramel and I had strawberry—so perfectly delicious!
Earlier in the day we discovered that TK’s “Medallion,” had
fallen off his lanyard. That is the way the ship
identifies its passengers, and every passenger must have his/her medallion to
board the ship and disembark. We thought
of several options. TK would live in Skagen, perhaps find a job in one of the shops,
or he could be a charter fishing captain. I forgot to mention—he also neglected
to bring his wallet to town. He had no ID. He confessed to the shuttle driver,
and I thought he might be taken off in handcuffs. Back at the port, the shuttle
driver dropped him off at Danish security. The policeman took him to the ship,
and TK was back at our stateroom almost as soon as I was! With a new medallion!
And, SURPRISE! We were
greeted with Happy Anniversary decorations!! Forty two years with this sweet
guy!! He gave me a pair of Baltic Amber earrings!
TK’s Takes: People were the nicest yet. Very clean town. Wouldn’t mind living here.
Questions answered!
Donna, I cannot believe I did not say in the blog in Visby the Swedish meatballs were divine! Real mashed potatoes, gravy without fancy spices and herbs, and meatballs that you could write home about!
Ann and Donna--I pack lots of pieces of bubble wrap (Amazon is good for this!) in the suitcase lining. I wrap fragile items in that when we pack to go home--I also bring masking tape. As far as room for the Starbucks cups, I will be offloading most of the books I brought. Plus, we will have room in our carry on bags. We were hoping for one more cup tomorrow in Denmark, but Princess encouraged a tour because immigration is going to be tedious in Copenhagen. That is why they pushed the tours--so many guests leaving and more coming on (this was really two cruises). We have learned on this trip that Princess is leaving scant time for "on your own" and that is what we love. All that said, we always worry about weight and breakage!
Jim--there are lots and lots of really tall people-men and women, well over 6 ft. Not all are blonde!
I’ll bet that candy store smelled good! I laughed at the options for Tim. I had no doubt that you’d be well prepared to get those mugs home safely, but I’m wondering if there’s a room in your house lined with mugs!
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