The Danish west coast is known for long - long - white beaches, rolling grass plains facing the sea and a very special light.

Surfers from all over the world come to the small town of Klitmøller to experience "Cold Hawaii", as it is called. Here there are good surfing opportunities all year round, and the whole small town has acquired a distinctive character highly influenced by the surfing culture. There are surf shops, art galleries, yoga studios and cafes.

Greener travel

Together with Backpacker/Ekstremsport we filled two minibuses and drove through Sweden to Gothenburg, took the ferry to Fredrikshavn and drove across Jutland to the west coast and Klitmøller. The trip takes a day, but is the greenest option. Rather sluggish and environmentally friendly, than fast and environmentally hostile.

Surfing Cold Hawaii

One of the main goals of the trip was to surf. In October. In the North Sea. It may sound cold, but with wetsuits it works very well. It is cold to walk in, but when the water slowly penetrates into the suit, it is warmed by the body and creates an extra insulating layer.

Most had their first encounter with surfing, and many had a good wash in the waves. But at the same time, we had some really cool experiences when the crashing waves took us towards land. Some fell off. Some stood and everyone had a lot of fun and many boundaries were pushed.

Pizza competition

When the sun was going down, the lines met to plan and shop for pizza night. 28 pizzas came on the table, while teachers Silje and Eivind acted as expert panel and judges.

The result was impressively good, and the winner was a dessert pizza with nutella, children's chocolate and strawberries ❤️

Action and lifestyle

One day of the trip was set aside for shooting surf photos with the Backpacker gang as models. The drone captured the perspectives that are otherwise impossible.

Afterwards, the photo crew set off on a Lifestyle task, which consisted of capturing the surfing culture in Klitmøller on camera.

Beach cleaning and bonfire at Bunker Beach

Just south of Klitmøller is "Bunker Beach", with a number of German bunkers from the Second World War. Over the years, the sand under the bunkers has slipped out, and now they are partially buried in a pile down the beach. Several are tagged with graffiti and are perfect photo subjects!

An important part of surfing culture is to "give back" to the sea. We took our camera and rubbish bags with us and cleaned up the rubbish we found in and around the bunkers. Fortunately, there was not such a large catch, but still enough for several full garbage bags.

No surf trip is complete without a bonfire on the beach at sunset. We brought wood and lit a fire, and sat around the fire while the sun went down into the sea to the west.

Street photo in Aalborg

One and a half hours from Klitmøller is Aalborg, one of Denmark's largest cities. We started by visiting the Aalborg tower, with a 360-degree panoramic view of the city and the Limfjord.

From Aalborg Tower we went down to the Kunsten modern art museum, before walking through Kildeparken with "The Singing trees", a park where Sir Cliff Richard started a trend for visiting artists to plant a tree and donate a song to the park.

Aalborg has an exciting city center with a good mix of modern and old architecture. Here you can round a corner and wander from the modern shopping street to the old stable area to the city's fortress. There are small colored houses and winding streets, and a pier promenade towards the fjord. Well mixed with glass facades, industry and bustling nightlife.

This provides a good starting point for street photography, and the photography students went along the streets looking for good motifs from everyday life in Aalborg. Among other things, there were many who challenged their limits by seeking out strangers on the street whom they would like to photograph - and were allowed! Maybe it's not so dangerous after all? And the pictures definitely make it worth it, just look…