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Just off the southeast coast of Sjælland lies the geologically dramatic island of Møn. I was inspired to visit the area by an 1850 painting by P.C. Skovgaard, which hangs in the Skovgaard Museum in Viborg not far from where I work. I saw the painting in the Easter holiday and was surprised and delighted that Denmark has the kind of landscape portrayed in the painting. From that moment I was determined to see the island in real life.
About 70 million years ago global warming had Denmark covered in water. Calciferous algae and animals lived in the sea. When they died, they didn’t go to heaven, but sank to the bottom of the sea, creating a thick layer of chalk on the seabed. Later, the earth cooled and glaciers formed. More than 12,000 years ago the glaciers pushed and grunted and shoved so much that parts of the chalk layer collided head on with each other and were pushed upwards, forming what can now be seen as beautiful white cliffs.
The cliffs rise straight up from the water and are now covered with gentle beech forests. The calcium-rich soil also nourishes 18 different kinds of orchids. I walk along the edge of the cliff with dramatic seaside views on one side and verdant woods on the other side. A long stairway leads down to the beach and the promise of fossil-hunting. When I get down to sea level I discover that the tide is up, so it is not possible to walk without getting wet or, even worse, caught in the waves.
The cliffs erode about 2-4 cm per year, sometimes dropping huge chunks that tumble down to the beach. That makes for rather precarious beachcombing, so I walk back up the 497 steps, puffing and panting until I finally reach the top. I can see how the water is coloured milky white from the chalk that erodes from the cliffs and is washed into the sea, from where it dissolves and disperses.
