An Invigorating Day on the Danish Riviera

The Postcard #12

Dear friend,

I always find that a train journey to the coast refreshes me and blows the cobwebs out of my head and body. Since I was a child, I have always loved the feeling of my bare feet in the sand, finding lovely shells and stones, and breathing in the salty air.

So in the midst of a period of tiredness and confusion in my life, and a world that seems to make increasingly less sense, I booked a single night in one of Denmark’s famous old beach hotels: the Hotel Bretagne in Hornbæk on the north coast, often referred to as the Danish Riviera.

I took the train from Copenhagen on a sunny Friday morning, and after an hour and a half along the coast (first to Elsinore, and then changing to the small local train) I got off at the tiny old station in Hornbæk.

“Watch out for trains,” a sign says, because you have to cross the tracks to leave the station.

It has been a few years since I was here last, but everything seems very familiar.

Even though spring is just finally beginning to gain a firm foothold, the sun is out, and there is a sense of childhood summers in the main street of lovely little shops selling quilted blankets, beautiful candles, and other coastal things for the home.

And the remarkable difference from Copenhagen: people here look at you and say hello as you pass them when strolling along the lovely little harbour and through the streets in the old fisherman’s village.

Friday afternoon and slightly out of season means that the weekenders have not arrived yet, and there is a sense of peace in everything.

On Friday evening, I visited friends who have recently moved here, and spent a few hours in their beautifully decorated home, sharing dinner and conversation as the light softened outside.

On Saturday morning I had breakfast in the hotel’s lovely and bright beach inspired dining room, and afterwards I walked down to the sea again. Things had changed in an exhilaratingly dramatic way: the day was now blustery, the wind strong and insistent, and the sea was alive with movement. As far as the eye could reach over the ocean, the horizon was filled with windsurfers, their sails soaring high above them like bright wings.

The spectacle was really uplifting and inspiring, so I stood there for a long time, watching them move with such apparent ease across the water, carried by the strong force of the wind, trying to imagine the strength it must take to hold on to the huge sails, to balance and move within something so powerful.

There was something so wild and joyful in it, and I was filled with admiration.

After standing there for quite a while watching the spectacle, I quietly walked back to the hotel, collected my things, and made my way back to the tiny railway halt, feeling energized and uplifted. I cannot wait to go back soon.

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

With love,
Annette
🕯️🍂 ☕️🖊️ 📜 🤎🏛️

The Postcard 💌

The Postcard is a cozy, personal note from my favourite corners of the world: cafés, parks, bookshops or benches in London, Copenhagen, Paris, Nice, Dublin or Edinburgh.

It will arrive in your inbox every month, even if you are on the free plan.

Over a cup of tea or coffee, I will share with you my adventures in the places I travel to, or things that matter to me at the moment: books I am reading, restaurants I love, thoughts I am having, or the simple joys of life.

I hope The Postcard will give you an insight into my life and work and a moment of inspiration and reflection.