After our second encounter with the coastguard we decided to change our plan and head back over to Denmark. Originally we had planned to continue north to the Stockholm/Aland/Turku archipelago but the weather was still very cold and we had heard about a little island just outside of Copenhagen we wanted to check out. The sail from Blekinge to Copenhagen was quite uneventful, we kept the cockpit tent up and sailed on the genoa with the diesel heater on max!

Ungdomsøen island is located between Copenhagen and Malmo, it was originally a military sea fort (Middelgrundfortet) but has since been developed into a place for young people share ideas, innovate and organize festivals and workshops. The original idea to create a youth island came from the Danish Scout group. The whole island is run by young people (under 30 years old). You can read more about the island here. Best of all it’s free for anyone under 30! Lucky for Uyen but not so lucky for me.

The main building/fortress was really interesting and full of history. Lots of work had been done to renovate/repair the rooms and corridors. It felt a little bit like an underground maze and it would definitely be a good place to film a horror movie. Unfortunately, we didn’t take many photos. After getting lost in the maze of corridors we eventually found our way out. On the southwest side of the island there is a wood-fired sauna with views of Copenhagen. Needless to say we headed for the sauna. I can’t remember the exact charge for using the sauna but it was worth it! The sun was setting and the sauna was a comfy 80c. Ungdomsøen AKA Youth Island is for sure worth visiting, the island oozes history and the volunteers are full of innovation and creative thinking! We can’t wait to go back!