Skagen, Denmark: A place I didn’t expect to love

When I go on my travels, I tend to enjoy places that are picturesque and tranquil, places that look like they have come straight out of a postcard. I usually enjoy colourful architecture and beautiful scenery. That is why on my last summer holiday, Skagen was an unexpected discovery. We did a 14-day cruise which contained some notable locations such as Copenhagen and Stockholm. Don’t get me wrong, these places were delightful, with their funky coloured buildings, awe-inspiring canals, and river systems. But the place on my cruise which I didn’t expect to love was Skagen.

Before I go on my holidays, I love to research what there is to do in the places I will be visiting on TripAdvisor. An immediate red flag was raised when I saw that there were only 86 things to do there and most of the top 20 were either museums or churches. Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting a good church on holiday, but when those churches are some of the only things that make the top of the list of things to do, it raises a personal red flag. On museums, I am not a big fan of these on holiday, I just feel like they are a waste of limited time. Meanwhile, I love a good church; the Sagrada Família in Barcelona was one of the highlights of my trip there, but the churches in Skagen did not seem anything special, despite being listed in the top things to do there.

But the place on my cruise which I didn’t expect to love was Skagen

My enthusiasm was further dampened by the fact that when we arrived in Skagen it rained for the entire day. This meant most of my family were not up for going out to explore the area, so I had to go by myself. I would later discover that the rain actually damaged my phone, and my clothes and shoes would take days to dry. However, despite both of these issues, I tried to make the most of my day in Skagen and stay optimistic about it.

The first thing that comes to mind when reminiscing about the town was the great food they had. I managed to persuade my father to get off the ship, despite the rain, and come explore the town a bit. We ended up in a lovely little bakery that served what would be the best cinnamon buns we have ever tasted. We must have tried about a dozen different cinnamon buns over the course of our Scandinavian cruise, but the ones in Skagen were our favourite. They were light and fluffy and not overly sweet, and they went perfectly with our hot drinks. It was a truly fantastic way to escape the rainy weather and enjoy a sweet snack.

We must have tried about a dozen different cinnamon buns over the course of our Scandinavian cruise, but the ones in Skagen were our favourite

I also bit the bullet in Skagen and decided to visit the art museums. As I’ve mentioned already, I think art museums are the biggest faux pas you can do on a holiday, especially ones that are not even famous. I understand going to art museums like the Louvre, which is well known and, in my opinion, the most famous art museum in the world, containing famous pieces like the Mona Lisa. However, to go to an art museum like Skagens Museum, which contains artwork from local painters from the late 19^th and early 20^th century, seems like a waste of time for me. I don’t know any of the painters and I felt that if I went, I would just be wondering around the museum aimlessly looking at paintings.

However, I was astonished by how invested I became in the museum. There were classic paintings which depicted how life in Skagen was hundreds of years ago. You could see the town’s old fishing past in the paintings which, combined with fascinating paintings of the seaside life, showed the true nature of Skagen’s past. I became so fascinated by the artwork that I later went to Anchers Hus, the home of famous Skagen painters Anna and Michael Ancher, which has now been turned into a museum.

However, I was astonished by how invested I became in [Skagen’s] museum

On the church side, again I was left in awe of the architecture. Skagen Kirke was uniquely painted yellow with a red roof, a style I had never seen before on my travels, so immediately my interest was piqued. Then, when you walk inside, the church may seem like an ordinary Protestant church, but when I looked closer, I realised it had been personalised for the Skagen community, with boats hanging from the ceiling highlighting Skagen’s fishing past. This church was not like other churches – it was unique, created purposely for the town.

But it was not just the church’s architecture that amazed me; the whole town was beautiful, perfect for a postcard. It had beautiful bright coloured buildings in all sorts of yellows, oranges, and reds. The town was littered with picturesque houses and independent shops, not a McDonald’s in sight! One of the shops that did speak out to me was an independent sweet shop. Nestled in the centre of the town, this shop creates the sweets right in front of you. We purchased a range of hard-boiled sweets and they were all fabulous. We were even allowed to taste-test them before we bought to make sure we were happy with our purchases.

This church was not like other churches – it was unique, created purposely for the town

I left Skagen having visited an art museum, the home of some artists I had never heard of until this adventure, and a church, most of which I would have never visited if I went to any other place. But Skagen helped me open my eyes to the beauty of local art and architecture. I left with fond memories of the town and its wonderful art with a bag of hard-boiled sweets in my hands. I never thought that Skagen would be a place I’d enjoy. When I did my research, so many red flags popped up, but I took the risk and went off to explore the town and I fell in love with it. Perhaps you too will fall in love with a place that, on the surface, you’d think you could never adore.