Danish Lighthouse: Rubjerg Knude Fyr

The cool breeze, the smell of the ocean, the sandy dunes, the silence, and the stunning lighthouse. Rubjerg Knude Fyr!

Ever since I found out about this location, which is several years ago already I've wanted to visit this place so bad.
It really is one of the "Must Photograph" places that keeps popping up on the internet. There's a decent amount of great photographs online. The place just looks so unreal from all the shots I've seen, so I really wanted to see and visit this location myself, so badly. For some reason I never got round to doing so. But then finally, on my trip to Denmark last month I finally was able to spend some time at this super awesome location. Its crazy to imagine that I've been to Denmark for about 10 times in the past few years and never made it there before. Well this time I made it happen!!

My wife and me left early in the afternoon from our accommodation in mid Jutland. We paid the city of Aalborg a little visit before finally making it to the beach in Løkken. From the parking lot to the beach/cliff it was a little bit of a walk, around 20 minutes I would say.

People walking up the dunes towards the lighthouse, seen from the trail leading into the dunes. Used my 18-200mm for this shot to create this interesting composition. 

People walking up the dunes towards the lighthouse, seen from the trail leading into the dunes. Used my 18-200mm for this shot to create this interesting composition. 

After making it up onto the sandy dunes the views keep getting better and better. I took this very minimalistic shot of nothing but the sky, the dunes and the lighthouse.
There's just so much opportunities for awesome compositions.  

The Lighthouse

The lighthouse is on the top of Lønstrup Klint (cliff), 60 metres (200 ft) above sea level. Until 1908 it operated on gas which it produced from gasworks on the site.
Both shifting sands and coastal erosion are a serious problem in the area. The coast is eroded on average 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) a year, which can be seen most clearly at the nearby Mårup Church. Built around 1250, the church was originally 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) from the coast, but was dismantled in 2008 to prevent its falling into the sea.

The lighthouse ceased operating on August 1, 1968. For a number of years, the buildings were used as a museum and coffee shop, but continually shifting sands caused them to be abandoned in 2002. By 2009, the small buildings were severely damaged by the pressure of the sand and were later removed. It is expected that the tower will fall into the sea by 2023.

Minimalism you say? yes... the sky, the dunes, the lighthouse.... nothing more. I loved it.

Minimalism you say? yes... the sky, the dunes, the lighthouse.... nothing more. I loved it.


I really planned out our visit really well, I figured that going around sunset would be nice, for the conditions obviously. But I was also hoping that it would not be super crowded. We really hit the jackpot, we definitely made the right choice. At first there were some people around, as you would expect for such amazing views. But later on we had the whole area for ourselves. Really happy with that. Finally making it to this place, being there alone for quite a while, the conditions and just being in Denmark again was hitting me right in the feels. These days are golden.

Here are some more shots, enjoy the stunning views. Thanks for checking this blog out.
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Thanks again for reading my blog, your visit to my website means a lot to me! My next post will be about a very nice national park in Sweden, so stick around for that!

Hoge Venen & Bieley

Last week we had a public holiday, Kings-day. We celebrated the 50th birthday of our King. I had this day off just like many other Dutch people. I went and celebrated this day, you guessed it... Not in The Netherlands, haha. Instead of staying home I got into my car and drove off southbound. Into the Hoge Venen in Belgium and in Germany. I have always wanted to pay a proper visit to this area. And the weather was pretty good, skies full with nice clouds so off I went.

I first made my way down to this area just down south of Monschau, Germany. I have seen some photos of this rock called the "Bieley" and I was quite curios to how it would look and what kind of photographic perspective it offered over the valley beneath. I have seen a few photographs that looked promising. And boy, was I right. I had to walk for a few kilometers over some well organized paths through the forest to finally come up to a much smaller and "less traveled" path. At first I was skeptical to take this path and see where it would end up. Although I was pretty sure that this was going towards the rock I was looking for. So off I went deeper and deeper into the woods. All of a sudden I saw the rock peep out between the trees and overlooking this little valley beneath. Breathtaking place. With a little stream curving and finding its way through the valley. Surrounded by mighty pine forests. On top of this rock it really felt as if I was in the Alps or something. Really spectacular viewpoint and location. It was so good to be alone for a bit, taking in the environment around me and enjoying it. This place is so good to photograph, everywhere you look there's great shots waiting to be captured.

After making my way back to the car I decided to drive back home through Belgium. And I had a little stop in "Parc naturel Hautes Fagnes - Eifel" close to Ternell.
I got out the car and shot some more photographs in these great forests that are all around you in this area. The road that I drove crosses these massive woods. You really feel like you are alone with nature, something I really love and makes me feel comfortable. With everything. A nice way to spend a day off and an even better way to recharge. 

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

El Peñon de Ifach, Spain

Last year in September we went to Spain with the family (again, haha) just to have a good time together, and enjoying Spain basically. We went to Moraira, a nice and little coastal town that is located on the Costa Blanca strip. Back in 2011 we basically did the same trip, stayed in the same town and accommodation and sort of had a similar holiday. It was that good in 2011 that we decided to do it all over again.

A short drive from Moraira is Calpe, a little bit bigger, more tourism, more high rises and sandy beaches. Just as you would imagine the Spanish coast would be. But also home to a quite known landmark, the El Peñon de Ifach. It basically is a giant rock sitting on the shore next to the town. In the old times the rock was a strategic lookout point for locals providing them with perfect views of the sea and the surrounding towns. 

It is the smallest nature park in Spain, perhaps even in Europe. But when you are standing at its foot it is quite intimidating. It is 332m tall, and it is also home to over 300 species of animals and numerous rare plants. The rock has this awesome hike trail that takes you all the way up to the top. Its quite a heavy and tricky climb to get to the highest point. But the views are amazing. Have a look at these pics below, stunning views right?

 

Out and About 2: Baexem

The second entry for this series is going to be a short one. But a very spontaneous one. Today was a lovely nice sunny and warm day. Perfect ice-cream weather haha. After the sun went down and the temperatures dropped a bit it was my time to shine. At least that how it felt to me haha. I just very randomly left for a little drive just out of town. No big plans, no expectations, nothing. But then I found some pretty decent spots and places that I just had to snap. And so I did. Here's a selection of tonight's shots. The sky was clear, very moody with the sun juuuust in there. It made the forest and the fields look so amazing. Don't you think?

All these pictures were taken between my hometown Grathem, and the one next to us to the north. Baexem. This area is not part of "Het Leudal" that I wrote about in my previous post. But its in the same municipality though. So, lets just call it part of it, shall we? Anyways, little spontaneous trips like these make me appreciate my surroundings. Far away, but also very much so: locally. Good end to a nice weekend! see you around folks!

-Arjan