Aarhus – July 19, 2013
… is a very, very very fine … city, I’m sure. Wasn’t really feeling it, though. (First, to set the record straight, it’s pronounced Ore-Huss, so CSNY are safe.) Perhaps the problem lies with Princess (our cruise line), since we’re docked at the end of a commercial pier and had to wait an hour for a hot bus to take us to the “passenger terminal,” which was simply a trailer with tourist information. Or perhaps the weather is at fault – sunny and hot, not what I bargained for in coming to Scandinavia to escape the D.C. heat and humidity.
Any way, Aarhus is indeed a fine city, with plenty of museums, old churches, lots and lots of Scandinavianly expensive shopping ($40 t-shirts, for example), and better vistas than Copenhagen. We wandered around for a couple of hours, visiting Den Gamle By, the Old Town, where houses and shops from olden days have been brought together from locations throughout Denmark. It’s basically a Danish Sturbridge Village or Williamsburg, although in addition to the focus on 17th and 18th century dwellings and shops (shoppes?) there’s an electronics store from 1974 selling vintage audio and video equipment. Passing strange, as a professor of mine used to say.
My hot and bothered state was vastly improved upon realizing that the city is teeming with well-behaved dogs of every imaginable breed. One thing that makes Denmark so civilized is the fact that dogs are allowed everywhere. Add to that the ubiquitous, protected bike lanes, and the fact that nobody sees a need to lock their bikes, and you have a country with its head screwed on straight. (In fairness, as to the lack of bike locks, my son pointed out that when everyone has a bike and they’re all largely the same retro one-speed model, locks are pretty much unnecessary.)
PuffinlessTravel 