Quick trip to Aarhus

(from February)

We recently took a quick trip to Aarhus (or Arhus or Århus). It's a large metropolis of about 300,000 people and has some great museums and sights. It was a little chilly and big heavy wet flakes of snow pummled us...so heavy and wet that my hair was drench and no amount of straightening my hair would get rid of the ringlet curls!

We visited with some friends in Aarhus and had a great time. We'll definitely have to schedule another visit when the weather is a bit warmer (and I'm not sick). I didn't take a lot of photos, so when we return, I'll incorporate the pictures into a slideshow. Below is a picture of the river that runs through the downtown area (it seems like all European cities have a river running through it) and Nils found a bike in said river. I wonder if the bike owner knows his/her bike is in the river. Hopefully it wasn't after a night of drinking...that would be funny....students walks home soaking wet....uh, I missed the bridge and landed in the river...I'll get my bike tomorrow

Some thoughts from our trip.

• The Aros Art Museum is very nice. It is one of the largest art museum in northern Europe. The Action exhibit on the lower level is fantastic! Actually, the whole museum was wonderful.


• We went to a great Italian restaurant, but I can't recall the name. Hmmm, I'll have to research that and update the blog.


• We went to several pubs. I'm always a fan of non-smoking pubs! Waxies was nice; however their foosball table wasn't very good. Sherlock Holmes pub was a nice stop for drinks and a place for my hair to dry a bit!


• We tried to take a break from the elements a few times; however of the 4 bars / cafes we entered they ALL said they had no room for us. One had a whole upstairs area that they didn't want to open. Hmmm, paying customers are better than no customers. Another cafe had three young women (mid twenties) sitting at a table with one, yes ONE, soda with a slice of lemon and THREE straws. I'm sure they made a boatload of money on that table. In the end, we found Sherlock Holmes pub and I'm sure they enjoyed the business. Ahhh, deep breath.

I'm looking forward to my next visit to Aarhus...hopefully when the weather is a bit nicer!

Update: Here's a link to our driving tour of Denmark, which included a return trip to Aarhus.

Driving tour of Denmark

A few weeks ago, we took advantage of a long weekend and saw some of the local Danish sites.

The highlights:

• Watching kite surfers and sailboarders on the Ringkobing fjord


• Walking the wide sandy beach on the western coast, climbing the sand dunes, and checking out the German bunkers from WWII


• Mmmm, softice in Sondervig


• Checking out the Ringkobing Kirke (church) in Ringkobing


• Walking the largest wooden sailboat in Ebeltoft


• Strolling around the grounds of the Gammel Estrup Manor in Auning


• Spending time with our friends Ina and Nils in Arhus

I'm still working on the slideshow. In the meantime, some pictures from our travels.

A few slots (castles) in Denmark

My parents made the big trip across the pond to visit for a week. The first thing out of their mouths when they landed was something to the effect of, "long plane ride, we're not going to be making that trip again, the flight to Cancun is going to be a breeze, etc, etc." Hopefully the flight was worth it.


They visited during Paske (Easter) so many places were closed or had reduced hours; however we were sure to 'make tracks' and kept them very busy...and my dad thought he came over here to train for the Olympics, given the amount of walking and climbing we did!



Frederiksborg Slot is located just north of Copenhagen. The Castle is amazing and each room is better than the previous room. The artwork, furnishings, and decor are impressive. Along the way we met a gentleman who had many stories to share with us. Apparently, there is a lift/elevator of sorts. It is really a chair on a platform that is lowered and raised between two floors with the use of a pulley system and some strong armed men!

Kronborg Slot is located in Helsingor, Denmark just across the water from Helsingborg, Sweden. The castle was a bit of a disappointment, given that we were just at the Frederiksborg slot, which was fabulous. However, Kronborg Slot was still interesting, especially the casemates exhibit, which is walking through a dark tunnel where the soldiers stayed and prisoners were housed. It was an interesting walk filled with 'watch out pot hole on the right' and 'careful loose stones on the left.' Luckily no one twisted an ankle or broke a hip!

The slideshow will be posted soon.

Western Denmark

This past weekend, we decided to spend a few days in western Denmark. We left home early Saturday and drove to Ribe, Denmark. The slideshow is posted.

The highlights:

• Ribe (Ripen in German) is the oldest surviving city in Denmark
• Great cobblestone pedestrian area lined with boutique shops and restaurants
• Viking center is a quaint museum that tells the story of how Ribe was founded in the 700s and then the progress the city has made in the past 1300 years.
• Ribe Kunst Art Museum includes Danish art from 1750-1950.
• Ribe Domkirke (cathedral) is prominently located in the center of town. It dates back to the late 1100/early 1200s and has a turet that you can climb to get an aerial view of the town and the surrounding area
• Walked around the old site of the King's castle; property surrounded by moat, but castle is long gone.
• Stayed at Hotel Dagmar, which is the oldest hotel in the oldest city in Denmark

On Sunday morning we drove to the island of Rømø. Family and friends know that I refer to visits to the in-laws as a visit to the Romo Ranch, so when Chuck and I were on the island of Rømø and we happened to see this sign, I almost died of laughter.

I'm sure Rømø is fabulous in the summer time when it is packed with tourists. We were lucky enough to have almost the whole beach area to ourselves. We drove on the packed sand beach, dodging the standing water, then parked and walked along the beach.

The Queen's Summer Home

We recently visited the Queen's summer home in Grasten, Denmark. Her main residence is in Copenhagen and she doesn't use this home as often as her mother did. The Queen wasn't in residence, so the grounds are open for visitors (and free of charge); however the actual residence is not open to the public.

The grounds are beautifully manicured and there is a pristine hedge toward the entrance to the residence. Chuck took a pretty cool picture from inside one hedge and a picture of the other hedge. The slideshow is to the right.

Legos everywhere

Did you know that Legos were invented in Denmark? And, there is a huge amusement park dedicated to the Lego? It just happens to be called LEGOLAND and is located in Billund, Denmark.

We spent a few hours there yesterday with several of Chuck's coworkers that are also non-Danes. The slideshow is under photoalbums to the right.

It's a great place for children ages 4-10. There's lots of rides geared toward little kids and a nice interactive water area, complete with high powered walk in dryers (I wish I would have snapped a pix). There are a few things for adults to do, but definitely not worth the $50 per person entrance fee...unless you're bringing kids along ($44 per kid) and even then you may have to take out a second mortgage to go!

We spent most of the day touring the miniature area. They've recreated miniature world monuments like the Statue of Liberty, Acropolis, White House, Taj Mahal, and pyramid facade in Egypt. There's also a cute section where they created miniature cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and many of the Queen's residences...all with legos.