Envy.
Every cloud, no matter how broad, has a silver lining and this Covid-19 cloud’s can be witnessed in Klitmøller, Denmark, a town of 1000 hearty souls in the far northern tip of the country.
Klitmøller, long called “Cold Hawaii” because of its reputation as a windsurfing destination, has seen a boom in real surfing participation these past six months as Danes, unable to travel to California or Australia, content themselves with its slop.
Vahine Itchner, who started the Cold Hawaii Surf Camp with her husband and moved to Denmark from Tahiti, tells The Local DK that business is through the roof and also, “You can’t really know what kind of waves you’re going to get. It’s always different waves. If you go to a perfect surf place like Bali or Tahiti, you know exactly how the wave is going to break. Here, it changes all the time.”
Changing windy cold waves sounds awful and not inviting and not like a silver lining but Itchner knows that Klitmøller will become more famous than Cardiff Reef or Bells Beach because Denmark is the only country on earth that is hygge.
What is hygge?
There’s no direct translation in English but, roughly, it means “cosy” and those who have traveled to Denmark will know, first hand, that nothing beats it. You can be hygge in the summer, spring, autumn but the best hygge is winter, all curled up post-surf in front of a flickering fire, hot toddy or chocolate in hand, Billie Holiday playing softly on the turntable, slippers on feet, watching Saoirse Ronan in On Chesil Beach while rain pitter-patters on the cottage roof.
Absolutely fabulous and far better than stripping a urine-soaked wetsuit off in a dull parking lot, or car park, deflecting glares from Joel Tudor or Maurice Cole.
I would be a Danish surfer if I could be.
Would you?
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
I want to marry a rich one
Denmark – home of the original hipster, mecca of social democracy. Not technical enough to be german, not nice enough to be swedish. Has nothing to do with Hawaii.
Walking through Copenhagen in late 80’s turned a corner “REM” Tonight! Written up on the marque.
I was there September last year and it felt like a mini Amsterdam meets micro Sydney ?
I was probably too young to appreciate my experience. Was making my way back from living in Haifa for a year. Hopped a ferry across the med with a deck ticket to Cypress/Greece/Santorini and then Denmark before hopping over the Atlantic with blinders off.
I saw waves in Tel Aviv during a two day stay there in 92 …. Assume there must be waves in Haifa ? How was it … ?
Yikes! Covid killas.
Has D Graves done Weird Waves in Denmark? I take all my core waving destinational guidance from him.
Yeah, nah. While I’m grateful to my Scando ancestors for the tall genes, I’m most grateful for them upping stakes and moving tangentally to my current warm abode. Surfed for 2 and 1/2 hours today in boardies.
Not sure if I am more jealous that you ;
@ surfed
b) for 2 and 1/2 hours
c) in boardies
Or
d) all of the above ✅
Got home, ate, went back to the beach with the fam and surfed with my eldest son for another hour. Nailing this nihilism thing.
Are german surfers also unable to travel? Thank god!
do not mention the war!
The germans can and do as they like
They can travel to Denmark ….. I went from Kiel to Klitmoller a few weeks ago and we were not stopped at the border on the way in or out …. but may have to self quarantine ( at home ) when they return from overseas travel depending on the situation .
You would definitely find a pet orca there and could take with you everywhere!! Sounds perfect
I AM a (half) Danish surfer. It ain’t all that.
FROZEN ! Klitmøller …. surfed there 2 weeks ago wearing a 543 and booties 3 months before Xmas ..now imagine November till May .. It is always cold and definitely not Hawaii, unless of course Hawaii moves right next to the Aleutians …. .Besides that absolutely charming , free parking and even free warm showers at one spot that is spelt a little like Von Zipper
And the surf? Enough oomph to turn a shortish board, or north sea novelty slop?
I rode a 6’0” x19 x 2 1/2 ..(. I am 55 and 78 kg ) but it was definitely on the softer side ….. would probably better on a JS Monsta or a CI Rocket with 30-35L …..the waves are definitely better than what is on offer in the Baltic …. the period slightly longer and the waves actually held their form for way longer ….. Not a surf destination but a place to go , take your board and you might just luck out .
Lived with a girl from Esbjerg for awhile.
Quite the place for us pluviophiles.
Worse than Oregon? Trying to find a new place to move but not psyched on months and months of grey.
a buddy moved there and found a series of lefts that is very interesting and completely empty. far away from seaside. fuck the cold is all my bones tell me, but the photos don’t lie. he surfs by himself every day.
surfed your beach this week and had fun, got our car broken into and had everything stolen. dealing with that nightmare now waiting on replacement cards/phones. won’t get the weed back or the down jacket. I looked at the street sign and it read Noriega and suddenly theft felt natural. fun waves though, missed you…. but there were plenty of guys to say hello too… heeheeheeee.
Damn sorry to hear that. Noriega and Quintara are the go to spots. VFW when its really big, It’s no secret anymore. The city has become a cesspool of crime and break-ins.
Next visit I will figure out how to park for the zoo…. gets more empty down that way and a bit bigger it seemed.
Yeah, the neighbors on the street at Noriega were of no help with the crime. Half think they might have been involved.
I caught three really good rights as most of the hoodies were looking at lefts. Was happy and watched a dude with two styro airplanes, one fighter that he took through the paces. Met a very pleasant woman as well…. kind of a wild look about her, but I like wild. Warmer than I expected, went 3/2 and no boots easy. I like the wave when it doubles up on the bank during low tide, nice running wedges.
Not joking about the lefts up in Chas country. Near a harbor town of tourists, prox 6 miles south of town. Likes south swell running across the reefs. Have a look…. well south of Cannon/Seaside. Cheap condos in town too… like 150K.
Just can’t handle 49 degree water. We had super fun waves today and I trunked it alone, not a surfer in sight. Fuck northern euro. Oh wait, it’s soooooo good, every one move to Bicko’s town and he’ll hook you all up with the goods or his naked in laws. Maybe both.
I know the place, I’m a goofy too so might work out for me.
Time to invade Biko’s Huntington Beach of the Baltic Sea, haha
Wilkommen C4 …. At this joint , the more the merrier
I assume you have the latest wetsuit with integrated hood , gloves and booties ? The most important thing I learnt after 20 winters surfing in France is that your wetsuit should cost as much or more than your board …. Have seen people obliged to leave the water after 20 minutes , with their brand new boards , perfect for the waves at hand , because they were totally under gunned in the wetsuit ( + hood , glove , bootie ) department .
Depends on if / how many sharks they have?
Wow,,,, finally a surf destination that sounds worse than New Jersey…..
Ben gravy takes offense to that.
Haha… he’s soo excited all the time. Bless his heart… he baptized me a couple of times flying down the line. He’s gnar gnar when not on that Odyssey
He can actually surf when he’s not riding one of those sponge shit boards
Maybe, but I ain’t watching through 15 minutes of anyone telling me how cool it is going to be.
I’ll believe it when i see it.
It’d be great if someone took a fence post and whacked Gravy around the chops with it…
With a name like Klitmøller finding the place could be the hardest part
As an Australian , I managed somehow to find the Pub .
Imagining a future watching Hawaiians, Australians, Nigerians, surfers everywhere having to pay Danegeld to prevent the tall, brusque, snaggle toothed northerners from invading their lineups, while also making sure to secure their supply chain for insulin, Lego, and photos of the Denmark’s hideous version of Baroque architecture… Wow™ (Pottz)…
I don’t know about Danish Baroque, but Heinrich Wenck’s Copenhagen Central Station is an absolute masterpiece.
Copenhagen is definitely Cold Sydney … and much more !
You’re thinking of Haagen-Daaz.
Was in both of these cities in the last year and Copenhagen has a plethora of Modern Architectural Monuments , like the Opera but not in that form , lapping its vast shoreline ..
Ps The little mermaid is very little …. and they have an ambulance permanently parked at the site to rescue selfie victims who tumble into the drink .
Self-nihilists?
Was there with the whole family , toddler and six year old wife and and ex colleague working as a specialist In Denmark , living in Copenhagen, who showed us around .
The Swiss Army Knife of nihilists. Or self-annihilation?
Hang on a fucken second; “six year old wife”?
No wonder you ended up in liberal Europe.
I forgot the comma , Ooops !
Never underestimate the importance of correct grammar !
The WSL needs to begin constructing a moat with high walls and trebuchets to fling all the disease riddled bodies of interns who have received pink slips at the invading hordes.
A month ago while I was there , came across one sailboard comp and another kiteboarding comp and absolutely no social distancing going on whatsoever !
Any Oktoberfest this year? Dosn’t seem like the virus has a chance against laderhhosen, knockwurst and gallons of German beer.
The food isn’t nearly as good as in Hawaii.
Agreed. I’ll take a teriyaki chicken plate lunch over a smoked eel any day.
*every day…
I believe , after a lifetime of travel , that I have eclectic taste in food , but when I was served eel by a chef in a restaurant where I was working , in South West France and found it not to my liking / borderline disgusting .
What surfer doesn’t want to travel the highway to the DaneGer zone, no matter the risk of catching the Kronervirus.
Will that make you rich?
It’s nothing to sneeze at.
Happy Hunting 02 . Enjoy .