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Austria Denmark Liechtenstein Monthly recaps

My August 2021: Island hopping, Austria & Liechtenstein

The last summer month has been and gone, and the cold season is slowly approaching. I’m excited for thick sweaters and hot chocolate, but first let’s look back at what August had to offer. It was a month full of travel experiences, from the islands of Læsø, Hirsholm and Strynø in Denmark, to the Austrian Alps and the microstate of Liechtenstein.

Back to Denmark from Germany

After a week-long Stone Age gathering in Albersdorf, North Germany, I returned home on the first day of the month. I got a ride with my friends Solveig and Mikkel, and we crossed the border to Denmark near Vilmkjærgård, a farm belonging to Denmark that can only be accessed via Germany! I’d visited the farm last year as well and since I absolutely love geographical oddities like this, I just had to show it to my friends.

Back home in Denmark, I spent a few days recharging at home in East Jutland with my family.

Summer days on Læsø and Hirsholm

A few days after getting back from Germany, it was time for a summer adventure on two Danish islands, Læsø and Hirsholm.

I caught the train to Frederikshavn in North Jutland where I met up with my friend Mads. The past three summers, we’ve visited an island together, so it has sort of become a tradition. We boarded the ferry and spent the next hour and a half soaking up the sun en route to Læsø, the largest island in the Kattegat Sea.

We rented bikes as soon as we arrived and set off for Badesøen in the middle of the island, where we set up our tent. We spent two nights there and one night at a private campsite near the ferry port. With three days on Læsø, we had plenty of time to explore just about every corner of the island.

We wandered through the three villages on the island and visited their churches, climbed a tower for a view of the island interior, searched for the traditional cottages with seaweed roofs that Læsø is well-known for, visited the working museum of Læsø Saltworks, walked in shallow waters to get to some small islets, met a bunch of curious cows, ate lots of ice cream, spent time at a farm with kittens and baby goats, shopped at a local market, took a few dips in the ocean, walked along a sandy headland at the easternmost point of the island, visited the old lobster huts at Horneks Odde and spent an evening at Vesterø Harbour enjoying a beautiful sunset.

On our last day, we caught the morning ferry back to Frederikshavn and got on the small boat that would take us to Hirsholm, the only inhabited island of the Hirsholmene archipelago (although only one person lives there!). The islands make up the northernmost island group in Denmark, and they are a nature preserve to protect the bird populations.

It was a rough journey of about one hour, with extreme waves that came in over the boat and soaked our shoes. But we made it there just fine, and spent the next few hours exploring the tiny village on the island, which used to be home to a thriving community of around 200 people. We climbed the lighthouse to see the island from above, saw the Catholic altarpiece in the tiny village church, went to the beach for a dip in the ocean, and explored two bunkers from WW2.

Precious time at home

Back in Frederikshavn, Mads and I parted ways and I returned home to my family in East Jutland. I spent the next week or so relaxing, catching up on blog posts, enjoying the cuteness of my niece and nephew, taking my cat and brother’s dog for walks and eating out with my dad, younger brother and aunt.

The coziest evening of the month was spent with my younger brother at a shelter site in Brigsted. We cooked our dinner over the fire, made chocolate banana boats and talked until way past midnight.

At the end of the month, I attended the christening of one of my best friends’ son. It was a beautiful day with so much love and laughter that my cheeks still hurt!

A family visit to the island of Strynø

In mid-August, I joined my parents and grandmother on a two-day trip to the island of Strynø, located south of Funen. We had actually planned to go to the nearby island of Lyø, but the ferry had caught fire a few days prior to our departure so we had to change our plans.

Strynø was a wonderful alternative. We stayed in an airbnb next to the harbour and spent the days exploring every corner of the island. We drove along every road possible, and stopped by the ocean several times to look out at the neighbouring islands. We wandered through the narrow streets of the village, shopped at the local merchant, cuddled a very friendly cat and went for an evening walk along a footpath to the ocean. After nightfall, we played yatzy which I lost all too often.

A week in Austria and Liechtenstein

On August 19th, it was finally time to go overseas again. I joined my parents and grandmother again, this time for a week-long trip to Austria, a country we all love. We had a family holiday in Salzburg back in 2004 and had wanted to return ever since. I did return briefly last year to see Austria’s three pene-exclaves, all separated from the rest of the country by the mighty Alps, but this time, we went to a whole other area of the Austrian Alps.

After a two-day drive via Kassel in Germany where we stayed overnight, we arrived in the small village of Sesselebene, located deep in the Paznaun Valley. A lovely apartment became our base for the week as we explored new parts of Austria, and even spent a day in the tiny principality of Liechtenstein. We hardly felt the pandemic during our holiday, the only difference was that I had to take an antigen self test before going out to eat since I’m not fully vaccinated. But the tests were free and easy to do, so it was no problem.

Two of our six full days were spent in the valley, exploring the towns of See, Kappl and Ischgl, and taking the cable cars into the Alps with our free Silvretta Cards (gifted to us by our lovely host!). And my mum and I went for a few gorgeous hikes on some of the many established hikes above the towns.

The city of Innsbruck, known as ‘the capital of the Alps’ was the first place we visited outside of the valley. I was surprised by the pure beauty of the city with its pastel buildings and mountainous backdrops, and although I’m definitely not a city girl, I could even imagine myself living there. If I ever feel like searching for a job as an archaeologist in Austria, Innsbruck will be the city of my choice.

The next trip went to Kitzbühel, home of my grandmother’s all-time hero, Hansi Hinterseer. It was another place that surprised me with its beauty, in fact I thought it was the prettiest town we visited in Austria. We also stopped by St Johann in Tirol which my dad’s friend had recommended, but we weren’t blown away by the city.

Our longest day out and about was spent in Liechtenstein. After all, we wanted to see the entire country in just one day. Impossible, I know, but we certainly made the most of the day and saw all the highlights. When I return to the principality one day, it will be all about the hikes.

We started our roadtrip down south, working our way north. We visited the only two intact Medieval castles, Gutenberg Castle and the royal castle in Vaduz, explored the picturesque village of Triesenberg, were engulfed in fog at a viewing tower, shopped and did some sightseeing in Vaduz, crossed an old bridge into Switzerland, visited a vintage store in Schaan and explored two castle ruins in Schellenberg.

On our last full day in Austria, my mum and I drove to Nauders and went up the chair lifts to a true hiking paradise. I desperately wanted to hike while we were in Austria, and luckily, my mum wanted to join – and she didn’t regret it, even if it was the toughest hike of her life.

And it was really tough. It took five hours of constant ascending and descending, with many steep parts and hardly any level parts, but the destination and views throughout were all worth it. Our end destination was Dreiländergrenzstein, a must-see for all geography nerds (like yours truly) as this is where the borders of Austria, Switzerland and Italy meet! En route to the border stone, we passed by two gorgeous alpine lakes, lots of isolated huts and pine forests. We started and ended in Austria, hiked one section in Italy, and had a snack in Switzerland!

The following day, it was time to return home to Denmark. We drove the whole day, leaving Sesselebene at 6 AM and arriving shortly before 11 PM. Holly was very happy to see us!

Visiting a friend in Odense

A few days after returning home from Austria, I hopped on a train heading east to Odense, the third-largest city in Denmark. There, I spent the last day of August with Mads.

We went for a long walk around Odense’s many parks, enjoyed some delicious street food and played monopoly (which I lost big time…). I also tried Mads’ homemade vegan ice cream, which was delicious!

Destinations visited in August 2021

  • Albersdorf and Kassel, Germany
  • Vilmkjærgård, Hov, Odder, Frederikshavn, Læsø, Hirsholm, Brigsted, Saksild, Strynø and Odense, Denmark
  • Sesselebene, See, Innsbruck, Kappl, Kitzbühel, St Johann in Tirol, Ischgl, Nauders and Dreiländergrenzstein, Austria
  • Balzers, Triesenberg, Gaflei, Vaduz, Schaan and Schellenberg, Liechtenstein
  • South Tirol, Italy (very briefly)
  • St Gallen and Grisons, Switzerland (both very briefly)

Highlights

  • Hirsholm was a wonderful surprise. I love small Danish islands, and this one is definitely high on the list!
  • Campfire fun with my younger brother. I love summer evenings like this.
  • The tiny village on Strynø. It reminded me a lot of my beloved Tunø.
  • Innsbruck. Such a gorgeous city.
  • Seeing my grandmother’s face light up when we revealed that we were in Hansi Hinterseer’s hometown.
  • Castles and mountains of Liechtenstein. Such a beautiful country.
  • Walking over the bridge from Liechtenstein to Switzerland and back again!
  • Finally getting to hike again in the Alps. There’s just nothing like a scenic hike to me!
  • Standing on the very spot where the borders of Austria, Switzerland and Italy meet!
  • Seeing my friends again at the christening. It has been too long!

Challenges

  • Getting caught in a thunderstorm on a hike from Kappl to Sesselebene. And getting drenched!
  • Losing yatzy AND monopoly. Where did my luck go!?

Most popular post

The other posts

Most popular Instagram picture

My Instagram post no. 1000 was also the most popular in August! The picture is from our first stop in Liechtenstein, and in the caption, I shared 20 random facts about myself!

Coming up in September 2021

I’ve got a very exciting trip planned for September – I’m returning to the Caucasus! This time to explore Georgia, Armenia and (hopefully) Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. I was hoping to make it to Abkhazia too, but my application for a visa got denied as their borders are closed due to Covid. So Abkhazia will have to wait for my North Caucasus visit (which I hope won’t be too far in the future)!

I leave for the trip on September 18th, and before then, I’ll be spending my days in Denmark. As I write this, I’m on Lolland visiting the family I live with when I work here, getting my dose of doggo kisses and cuddles. I’ll also be spending some time at home with my family, attending my nephew’s christening, celebrating my dad’s birthday, and hopefully going to visit my dad’s aunt in Skals in North Jutland to dig up some family history.

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