Denmark is Home to Unlikely Popular Surf Spot 'Cold Hawaii'

Denmark has emerged as the home to a new surfing hot spot, referred to as 'Cold Hawaii'.

Houses on the shore of Klitmøller, Denmark / Mandatory Credit - Marc Najera

The town of Klitmøller in north-west Denmark is known as a fishing town. Several fish shops are available on the main street, as is the case at many Danish towns. But, there is something that sets Klitmøller apart from other areas of Denmark; ‘Cold Hawaii’.

Good waves are present there in what is a growing, bustling community. Klitmøller offers a chance of pace for anyone who is looking to slow life down.

One person who was looking for that Mai Knudsen. At 33 years old, she was at the top of her field as a civil engineer but was still feeling unfulfilled. Weekends weren’t a time of relaxation and enjoyment, instead filled with stress and anxiety about the work week.

“Work was so stressful. I was spending my weekends doing nothing just to cope before going back on Monday. I felt my life should be different,” Knudsen said in a piece featured on the BBC.

She is one of many people who discovered Klitmøller and decided it was time to make a change. Knudsen moved from Cogenhagen to Cold Hawaii, drastically changing her lifestyle.

She now lives near the water, running a pancake shop, Kesses Hus, for half of the year out of the first level of her house. It was a dream that she had always wanted to realize and was able to in Klitmøller.

In the other half, she is enjoying the water with the other transplants who have found exactly what they are looking for in the former fishing town. The mentality of making a living of your own that has been passed down from the fishermen is now being used by the new community members.

"You're forced to slow down. There isn't a lot here, so if you want art, you make it yourself. If you want pancakes, you make them yourself," said Knudsen. "That part hasn't changed. It's still the mentality of the fishermen who've lived here the longest."

The once-vibrant fishing town, a major stop between Denmark and Norway, had some tough times when the port was moved to Hanstholm Harbour in 1967. That led to families who had called Klitmøller home for generations leaving the town.

The population waned, along with the hope of Klitmøller ever recovering. But, in the 1980s, Christian Dach, a German windsurfer, unknowingly helped save the community.

The intense waves became a popular spot for Dach, who invited other friends to partake. A documentary described the spot as being "like Hawaii, just colder", hence the nickname that was born.

However it was not all positive at first. "The surfers were younger, looked different and behaved very differently. They crowded the place and contributed very little," said Rasmus Johnsen, a surfer who also has a philosophy degree and moved to Cold Hawaii in 2005 after living in Odense, Denmark. 

With tourism up but nothing being contributed economically to the town, a committee was born in 1997, led by Toft Holler. Johnson took up the lead when he arrived, figuring out a way for people from vastly different walks of life to co-exist harmoniously.

"One of the big things that changed the attitude towards surfers was when our grandchildren started to surf and a union was established for the surfers so we all could meet and have a dialogue and [it turned out] a party," recalled Holler.

While both have a love for what the water has to offer, it took some time for fishermen and surfers to find common ground. Now that they have, Klitmøller is booming and some of the families who left originally have been coming back.