Chicago Nature Blog: Tak, Danmark

We had spent ten days in beautiful Portugal but now it was time to make our way toward the next destination - Denmark. A three and a half hour flight to Hamburg, Germany, and a five hour drive (including ferry across the Fehmarn Belt) later, and we were in beautiful Stege, on the island of Møn, in Denmark. Our stay on Møn was intended to act as a “cool down” after a very active and busy time in Portugal. And, it fit the bill perfectly.

The primary purpose of staying on Møn was to see Møns Klint, the white chalk cliffs located at the extreme easternmost portion of the island. The cliffs soar nearly four hundred feet above the coast and are constantly eroding, exposing a plethora of fossils dating back seventy million years. To get to the beach from the top of the cliffs, one has to descend a grueling 498 steps. Guess how many steps one needs to ascend to return to the top? You guessed it. 498. Okay, so maybe this wasn't very relaxing after all.

The chalk residue leaves the shallow water looking blue/green.

Top photo: mine. Bottom: Same perspective in an 1850 painting by Peter Christian Skovgaard. Much can change in 174 years.

The woodlands surrounding the cliffs were stunning. Beeches are the predominant trees, with some over 400 years old. On the day we visited, the forest floor was teeming with black slugs (Arion ater) and to a lesser degree, leopard slugs (Limax maximus). In addition, a variety of terrestrial snails were seen, including some impressive Roman snails (Helix pomatia). Lumen couldn't be bothered to continue forward without helping just about every slug off of the dirt path so that they wouldn't be stepped on.

Black slugs are not always black.

Three flavors of black slug

Lumen with a friendly Roman snail

Opposite the cliffs are these picturesque meadows. I could almost smell adders but an electric fence proved its effectiveness when I tried to get to the other side. The view would have to do!

Møns Klint also features a really fun interpretive center that appeals to all ages. There is information on the flora and fauna of Møn, complete with preserved specimens.

Foreshadowing...

We then left Møns Klint to do some hiking and herping near a primeval forest near Ulvshale. On the way we stopped to see this grassy hill which is actually an intact Bronze Age (1800-500 BC) burial mound. In fact, there are ancient sites all over the island, including more mounds, stone burial chambers, and boulder walls. Simply incredible. I was falling in love with Møn.

A short drive later, we arrived at the site I had researched prior to the trip. It was a grassy area containing what appeared on Google maps to be refuse strewn about. As we walked through the site, my suspicion was confirmed. After flipping a few "meh" cover items, I spotted a staggered stack of flat concrete blocks in the dappled sunlight. They looked SO juicy. I turned the first block and bam, two adult slow worms (Anguis fragilis)! One of the most iconic of Europe's herp species in my hands. Turning the remaining blocks yielded even more slow worms but I could only grab a couple at a time. These legless lizards are steeped in folklore, which figured in to the excitement, even though I know well enough that these are simply shy, gentle creatures that like to eat among other things, garden pests such as slugs and snails. As we continued throughout the area, we found more slow worms - including a very young animal and another writhing tangle underneath an old discarded tire.

Acidic pond with what appeared to be edible frogs (Pelophylax kl. esculentus). They were too quick for photos.

On the way back to the quaint hotel, Aimee wanted to get a better look at something she saw on the way in. A "creepy teepee" is how she described it. I had no clue what she was talking about. But, soon enough we arrived at an unusual scene - a "creepy teepee" indeed, with a makeshift witch and broom, on the beach. Also in attendance were a few dozen spectators. What was going on? A man began reading to the crowd in Danish before selecting a young boy to set the "teepee" ablaze. Then, the crowd began to sing.

We were witness to Sank Hans Aften, a yearly ritual held on the summer solstice throughout parts of Denmark. This has been a tradition since the 19th century and originally took place to deter "evil forces". Allegedly, there is little to no connection to the execution of suspected witches that occurred during 16th and 17th century Denmark and Sweden. In those years, about 1000 people, mostly women, were burned alive after being convicted of witchcraft. Still, Sank Hans Aften is controversial.

While watching the bonfire burn to the sounds of the Baltic Sea waves and the singing of "Midsommervisen", I felt this incredible sense of peace and a connection to this place. I was still high on slow worms, watching the sun SLOWLY make its way to the western horizon. And with my wife and daughter at my side, I wasn't sure life got any better than that. We stayed until the final log collapsed into the red hot embers and the last of the witch was burned beyond recognition. An experience I will never forget.

As we arrived in Stege, we noticed yet another fire, this one much larger and with a bigger crowd. We watched this one too, and it was fun, although it didn't produce quite the effect that the smaller rural one did. It was nearing eleven o'clock PM, but there was plenty of sunlight left, casting an eerie orange glow upon thousands of moon jellies (Aurelia aurelia) pulsing in the shallow bay.

View from the hotel

We had to leave for Copenhagen the following morning, but not before one last stop in Møn. Located on the tiny island of Nyord is the smallest museum in Denmark and certainly one of the smallest museums in the world, Lodsmuseum. This museum focuses on the history of the island's ship pilots. It was interesting learning about the area, but the building itself seems to have been neglected long ago as indicated by the bird droppings and spider webs littering the interior.