This years summer vacation brought us to the northmost point of Denmark. Skagens gren.

To the north and west of this sand bank is Skagerrak, where the North Sea fills the gap between Denmark and Norway. To east and south is ‘Kattegat’ which connects to the Danish belts and then the Baltic sea.

The water here is never calm. The waves from the two sides meet and interfere. The day we were there it was relatively quiet, but there are strong currents and bathing is forbidden at all times.

When the small waves meet and interfere they can rise to several times their original heigth. I could not make anyone go into the water to show you the size of the waves

The scenery – and just standing at the tip of Denmark – is a must for tourists. People walk from the parking place (20-30 min.) or they take the ‘Sandworm’,a heavy duty wagon pulled by a tractor. The last 100 m you’ll have to walk.

Part of this years summer vacation took place in Kandestederne – a locality very close to the northernmost point in Denmark.
The landscape consists primarily of sand dunes with a flora dominated by Heather, Leymus and European Beachgrass. There are a couple of hotels and a place for camping in the area –  in addition to the small houses that can be rented for vacation. I don’t know how many there are. 100 – 200 at the most, I think.
There are only a few farmers there, struggling against the sand – it seems as if horses and summer tourists are what  makes their income.

The nature is not suited for agriculture because of the sand. The currents in the water erodes the coast and the strong wind from the North Sea blows the sand into the land. Our forefathers had a very hard job fighting the sand and they planted grasses and Shore Pine to stop the sand drift.
In this harsh area the government decided to protect one of the dunes so that people in the future - (us) could see what their ancestors had to fight. This area is called:Råbjerg Mile.  About 1 square km and 10 million tons of sand moving at a speed of 18 m (59 ft.) pr. year.

This huge mass of sand is full of motives for photographers. I want to show you a few of mine shots from this.
First a view in B&W:

And then some details of the rains and the winds work on the texture:
This topography reminded me of Star Wars:

Endless ripples – changing from one minute to the next…

Layers of dark, heavier particles arranged one day, eroded by slightly different wind direction the next day:

Scott Thomas called us for the last time this year – perhaps.

This time the assignment theme is: “November“. Read his short instructions and participate.

Scott has an extraordinary sunset with magnificent colors. That is not my kind of November. I think of  November as one of – perhaps the darkest months of the year.
Late sunrise, early sunset.
Most days are gray and rainy. At least this year.
The storms effectively rips off the last colored leaves and lets the trees stand naked until spring.
But, even the wind has to rest. Then it’s good to take a walk in the woods and to the lake.
I like when nature is in this mood.
The wind hasn’t needed a rest yet. Until then we’ll have to settle with this image from ’08.