The Danish island of Rømø in winter. Storm tourists are ripe for the island in the Wadden Sea right now.
Traveling to a North Sea island in stormy February – you might ask yourself what got into your head. But especially now in winter, the North Sea has its special charm when storms drive the raging sea, water and waves right up to the dunes. The final part of the journey is via the 9.2-kilometre-long Rømø Dam, which connects the island to the mainland at Skærbæk in southern Jutland. Salt and spray are in the air. Anyone who thinks they have the island to themselves after the twelve-hour drive will be amazed at the countless pre-prepared holiday home keys waiting at the reception for like-minded people.
Despite the holidaymakers, the Commander’s Courtyard at the National Museum, an offshoot of the National Museum in Copenhagen, is closed during the winter months. However, curator Aviaaja takes the time to show the museum in an old ancestral home. She grew up in Greenland, lived in Vienna for five years and speaks fluent Austrian German. Aviaaja is waiting for us on this winter morning in a thick jacket and hat. The museum is not heated in winter.
The first thing that strikes you inside are the rich colours: after days of rain and gray skies, the sun has come out, illuminating the richly painted walls and wooden furniture and Dutch kitchen tiles. “Seafaring has played a major role on Rømø, and building materials come from many different parts of Europe,” explains Aviaaja. “For the construction of the Kommandørgård alone, 15,000 bricks were shipped from Holland to Rømø.”
Storm surge, rain and that wonderful gray are enough on Denmark’s southernmost Wadden Sea island in the winter months. All shades of gray: gray sky, gray sand, gray waves. And the sea. sea, beach, dunes. As far as the eye can see. Then, when, in a magical moment, sunlight breaks through a hole in the clouds and transforms the beach and dunes in Lakolk into golden fields of dune grass, the gray is mixed with gold, pink and violet, as well as blue.
The meter high dunes of Lakolk are washed by water this afternoon after a hurricane. Tourists climb the dunes to feel the force of the storm and witness the unusual sight of the flooded beach. A feeling that globetrotters only know from the Sahara, grains of sand hit your face relentlessly and sharply.
The hurricane brings new sand to Rømø, sand that is washed away from Sylt at the edge of the cliff. However, the beach of Lakolk on the exposed western shore can be driven on again by car a few days later. And the high waves of the storm-tossed seas lure enthusiastic surfers, their neon-colored sails flashing out of the gray like beacons.
Heathland and pine forests invite you to go hiking and horseback riding in the interior of the island. Snowdrops bloom along the way, the buds of the daffodils burst open. The wide heath enchants with a variety of moss species: white, delicate mosses grow over soft, lush green moss carpets. And again: Island lovers will notice the wonderful moss gray.
Shetland ponies brave the storm on the horizon. You’ve seen worse weather. Even in the rain and wind, many holiday guests ride out their foster horses every morning. Now and then a flock of silver-grey seagulls suddenly flies up from a paddock. The hiker hears the wind howling through the pines, raindrops fall on the lined hood of the warm parka. Out of the corner of his eye he sees something scurrying past to the left, turns his head and sees a deer leaping across the heath. After the rain-soaked return home to the brick-red thatched house, you can warm up in the evening by the flickering fire in the wood-burning stove. It’s really “hyggelig”, cozy and comfortable.
The white island church defies the wind like a castle. It is dedicated to St. Clemens, one of the patron saints of seafarers. A broad beam of light falls through a church window and illuminates the blue anchor. The weathervane on the church tower shows a sailing ship with the Denmark flag. In the quiet interior, ship models evoke the days of Rømø’s great captains, and in the island cemetery, gravestones of long-dead sea dogs tell of the days of the whalers.
The ferry departs from the port of Havneby towards List on the North Frisian island of Sylt in Germany. Near the ferry terminal, the Frankel 5 restaurant serves delicacies from the sea: cold-smoked salmon, finely sliced; Especially plaice as a tender fillet and North Sea shrimp taste particularly delicious fresh from the sea. The view falls on the slate-grey sea on the horizon and the silk-grey sky. Nearby is Sønderstrand, which connects to Lakolk Beach to the south. The wide strip of sand has a compact surface, ideal for long walks right by the water, but also for outdoor sports that take up a lot of space such as kite blokarts, sand yachting, horseback riding.
Whoever longs for this wonderful gray after returning home will be happy about the shells collected there and the fine grains of sand that are still trickling out of their shoes.