Christiansø - 55° 19' 12" N 15° 11' 08" E

The harbour, taken from the island of Fredricksø looking across to Christiansø

Christiansø is the largest island of the Ertholmene Archipelago, a cluster of tiny Danish islands in The Baltic, quite a long way from home! The islands have been used for defence since the mid-1600s, when King Christian V first built fortifications, until the fortress was decommissioned in the 1850s. There are about 100 people who live on the islands today.  Artists and those who support the 40,000, mostly day trippers, they receive each year. 

A tiny dot in a strategic location in The Baltic

When planning our passages, we always look for interesting places to visit.  And, when we have friends aboard, things that will interest them.  Gord and Jenny are birders.  Yes, those folks who wander out and about with binoculars.  And right now, as we discovered in Helgoland, is prime birding with the spring migration and nesting season in full swing.

The Ertholmene Archipelago, and Græsholm in particular, is home to Denmark's largest colony of seabirds. What an awesome stopover for the couple of keen birders we happened to have aboard.  The harbour was deemed to be charming and the island full of interesting history, so off we went!

Ever wondered where eider down comes from? Eider ducks with their distinctive plumage

And the island group proved to be delightfully interesting.  Birds, birds, birds, seals and quaintness.  A passage between the islands forms a perfect harbour ... snug against most winds.  Thanks to its military history, the islands are well developed and have TWO museums, a sizeable restaurant and a hotel ... very impressive for such a tiny community.

Chinook tied to a stone wall.  Hurray for our fabulous fenders once again!

With no cars or bikes on the island, how else would the postal worker deliver your Amazon parcels?

Its military history is still very much on show

Jenny, on a birdwatching mission

Common Gulls were very common!

Large trees and lush gardens were a surprise

The islands are remarkably lush.  Traditionally water was caught in natural and manmade open wells scattered around the island but these days they have a desalination plant.  The wells are now home to frogs and other such critters.  Also scattered around the island are beautifully curated, sunken vegetable gardens.

Putting the spare cannons to good use

The far island, Græsholm, is restricted.  Only for the birds!

Chinook is happy in the harbour

The Store Tårn (big tower) houses an excellent museum

The history of the tower was described in Danish, German and (happily for us) English.

Inside the big tower, they built a lighthouse tower!  Cool architectural feature.

We believe this is a swim platform and a sauna building just on shore.

We had planned to make Christiansø just an incidental stop but enjoyed doing a walk fully around the islands and a visit to the museum.  Discovering these gems is one of the pleasures of slow travel.