Gudhjem, meaning «God’s home», is a small fishing village on the coast of Bornholm, Denmark’s only rocky island in the Baltic. Find out how to enjoy the Sun over Danish Gudhjem.
Gudhjem has long been famous for its lovely small smokehouses and its amazing smoked herrings. You buy them directly from the huge, sooty chimneys, where the golden fish hang side by side in their thousands. They are a real delicacy, and well worth a detour if you are in Scandinavia.
Related: Smoked Fish from Scandinavia
Assemble a sandwich on rye bread, with a whole peeled smoked herring (or a large piece of smoked mackerel), a few red onion rings, a couple of sliced radishes, lots of finely cut chives, and on top, as a rising sun, a raw egg yolk. And there you have it – the “Sun Over Gudhjem”.
Add coarse sea salt, black pepper, a cold beer and a sea view to the Baltic, and you will not find anything more authentically Nordic than this.
Related: The Eleven Prettiest Towns in Denmark
Sun Over Danish Gudhjem
Gudhjem is Denmark’s only town upon a hill – built from the cliffs at sea level and up alongside the 48 m high hill Bokul. Try to climb on top of the Bokul – you’ll be rewarded with a breathtaking view from above: A view over the town, the red roofs, the harbor and the sea. Continue by crossing the road and walk into the exciting forest to the “secret” lake Gråmyr – with its red-white waterlilies. Here you have an almost healing silence and during late summer you can pick blueberries.
Holkadalen and the coffee castle in Gudhjem
From up above the town you can almost dive into the beautiful Holkadal (Holka valley) with its high trees, where the locals met and celebrated in the old days. Follow the gravel road to the large building called Kaffeslottet (Coffee castle), which overlooks the city. Or you could follow the valley down to Gudhjem and discover the town, its small and crocked roads with the cliffs, beautiful nature and well-kept houses.
Related: Food and Drink in Denmark
Salenebugten, Helligdomsklipperne, Art Museum
There is a very unique nature along the coast, on both sides of Gudhjem. If you follow the coastal path along the Salenebugten (Salene bay) you have a beautiful view into Northern Bornholm – and even over to Sweden when the air is clear and the visibility high. Continue to the Helligdomsklipperne (Sanctuary cliffs) and Bornholms Kunstmuseum (Bornholms Art Museum). On the way back, you could take the boat M/S Thor, that sails back and forth between the Sanctuary Cliffs and Gudhjem.
Sun Over Danish Gudhjem, compiled by Tor Kjolberg