11/01/2022
Thy, Denmark
If Denmark has a final frontier, it’s Thy. Silent dunes, tangled forests and near-mythic gales make this region in northwest Jutland about as far away from Copenhagen as you can get. Thy is an epicenter for wind energy — around 50 percent of Denmark’s electricity in 2020 was powered by wind and solar — and those interested in learning more about wind turbines and renewable initiatives can visit the Østerild test facility’s visitor center. The wind also shaped Thy’s coastline, where the wryly named Cold Hawaii surf community rides the curving shore’s distinctive swells. Not to be missed is the sprawling Thy National Park, rippling with dunes, meadows, marshes and lakes, big and small, and its new visitor center in Nørre Vørupor, uniquely designed to gently fold into the sandy landscape. The Thy wilderness is also folded into food and drink: Enjoy beer spiced with bog myrtle from Thisted Bryghus, fresh catch from the fish auction at Medvind and the “National Park platter” at Stenbjerg Kro.
— AnneLise Sorensen
Andreas Meichsner for The New York Times