We’re back from Denmark. What a trip. I normally only see the place at Christmas, when the gray daylight fades around 3.30 pm. So it was quite a surprise to discover the small harbor town, Bønnerup Strand, where we usually stay, bathed in sunshine until after 9 pm and full of life.

The reason for the crowds was Bønnerup Havnefest, two days of fried fish eating and Tuborg swilling.

When I saw the local fire fighters start to pump foam into a bouncy castle, I commented to my mother-in-law that you wouldn’t be able to do that in the US or UK because of health and safety. I even rued the day that the UK became so overprotective. A few days later, there was a news report that a little girl was discovered unconscious in the foam and almost drowned.

Other highlights of our trip, apart from cycling along the coastline on almost desolate bike paths and walking by the sea, was a trip to Skagen, in the far north of Jutland.

Skagen is a small, yet very busy, fishing port. It’s also a favorite summer hangout for wealthy people from Copenhagen. I’ve seen it compared to the Hamptons. Though Sofie thinks a more apt comparison is Martha’s Vineyard. And I agree.

The place is gorgeous. Pristine yellow houses line the tidy streets and the light over the entire area is spectacular–when the sun gets the chance to poke through.

It was because of the light that Skagen attracted some of Denmark’s greatest artists of the late 19th and early 20th century, including Peder Krøyer (who died 100 years ago this November) and Michael and Anna Ancher. Skagen has a spectacular main art gallery and many other private galleries dotted around town. The food’s pretty good too, though I was a bit peeved to be charged $2 for a glass of tap water at the Brøndums Hotel. The service mentality is yet to arrive in Denmark.

Just north of Skagen is Grenen, the most northerly tip of mainland Europe, where the North Sea and the Kattegat meet.

And just south of Skagen are the migrating sand dunes at RÃ¥bjerg Mile. Not what one normally pictures when they think of Denmark.

Overall, I would have to say that the most pleasurable aspect of the trip, apart from the chance to spend time with family, was the fact that the entire country seemed so peaceful. Even though it was peak holiday season, roads were largely half empty, beaches almost deserted, and along coastal paths there was just the odd family cycling by. It was the perfect escape.

Just remember to bring your kagool.