After a very busy previous day, we didn’t manage to get moving until mid-morning. There was a lot of work to dismantle all the things we’d brought to the cottage (towels, sheets, etc.). Plus, my brother and sister-in-law prepped a picnic lunch for later in the day.
Once all the moving parts were sorted, we hopped in the cars and headed to Møns Klint. This stop was the entire impetus for the trip. I’d seen pictures of gorgeous white cliffs and was determined to visit them on this trip to Denmark. We obviously saw a lot more than just the cliffs, but they were a major highlight.
The whole way down to the shoreline I was incredibly aware of the fact that what goes down also has to come back up.
(A note about parking: access to the cliffs is technically free, but you have to pay for parking. Or not. There’s a small free parking area about a 30-second drive past the main lot. We gladly walked for an extra minute or two to save on the parking fee!)
Because the chalk is slowly eroding into the sea, it filters down into the water and creates a beautiful turquoise colour. It reminded me so much of our beloved cliffs at Blomidon back in Nova Scotia. Instead here it’s brilliant white instead of deep red.
It’s hard to offer the proper perspective on just how high these cliffs are, but Belle is happy to give you a bit of an idea. We could all understand why it’s recently been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Being surrounded by rocks and chalk is basically Indy’s dream destination. He would have stayed on this beach the entire day, I’m sure of it.
The cliffs stretch on for 6 km!
Colours can be weird in photos, but this is true to the colour of the water. It was stunning!
My brother and sister-in-law, our de facto tour guides.
If playing with rocks wasn’t enough fun, Indy found a giant wooden post washed up on shore and decided to do some strength training. As one does at the beach…
The plan was to walk along the beach, take an alternate route back to the top of the cliff, and then make our way back to the car via some wooded trails.
When we were most of the way to the next staircase, I happened to look at the map my brother had picked up and noticed a giant red “X” through the staircase we were navigating toward. Argh. When we got to the base of the stairway, we saw the problem: the bottom few steps had been washed away. It seemed like a “proceed at your own risk” sort of situation, and we were all feeling fairly nimble. We managed to wrangle our way up the cliff to where the stairs started. Even then, they were sketchy (some steps were broken/missing), but we made it to the top in one piece.
We were also exhausted and sweaty—it’s a long vertical climb!
We were rewarded with gorgeous views. There was lots of boat traffic down below and apparently kayak tours are common, too.
The day had started hot and sunny but took an unexpectedly stormy turn en route to our picnic lunch.
We spotted some peacocks wandering around Liselund, a palace/landscaped garden space. One of said peacocks spotted our picnicking group taking shelter from the rain and decided to FLY up to where we were eating. My sister-in-law defended our food (and eyes) from the rapidly approaching peacock using an umbrella.
My sister-in-law had wanted to take us on a stroll around Liselund, but the rain was coming down heavy and steady at this point, so we moved on.
Next up: Elmelunde Church. This is the main church people think of when they’re discussing the Elmelunde Master, but I didn’t find it as quite as impressive as Fanefjord. That said, it was very cool to see all three churches (stay tuned for the last one) during a single trip to the island.
Don’t get me wrong, this church was still incredibly impressive and lovely.
Aside from the frescoes, another common theme was beautifully landscaped churchyards and cemeteries.
We made one final stop at Keldby Church. I apparently have zero pictures of the exterior. Unlike the other two, it isn’t whitewashed, so there’s dark brick on the outside. There was no mistaking the telltale signs of Elmelunde frescoes inside, though. And it felt very satisfying to have completed the tour of all three churches.
Our last stop of the day was Vallø Castle. Its purpose, by definition, is to provide a secure residence and income for unmarried, widowed, or divorced women of noble descent.
You can actually go inside the central courtyard of this space and we found a woman (OF NOBLE DESCENT!) vacuuming out her car. Apparently there are a total of nine apartments in the building. Bloodline matters for getting in (I’m still not 100% certain what constitutes noble descent), but it was a lovely place to roam.
I do think having an apartment here would feel a bit like living in a fishbowl since there’s public access to the grounds?
My only quibble about this architecture is the lack of symmetry. Why one round turret and one square? It shouldn’t irk me, but it really does!
We hopped in the car, finished the drive back to Copenhagen, unloaded the cars, and all gratefully collapsed into bed at the earliest possible moment.
Your turn.
- Is anyone else mildly distressed by the architectural quirk of the castle with one round and one square turret? Or is it just me?
- Are you a completist? If there were three churches painted by the same artist/group, would you want to tour them all?
PS: OTHER DENMARK POSTS
- Sweden to Denmark + Copenhagen Days #1 and 2 (Church of Our Saviour, Christiania, Koldskål)
- Day Trip from Copenhagen: Visiting Roskilde Viking Ship Museum + Roskilde Cathedral
- Day Trip from Copenhagen: Lille Tilde, Burial Mounds, Island of Møn
Discover more from The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
