Aros to Aarhus

Aarhus, the city with everything you could dream of. There's an energetic beat of the pulse in the vibrant city of Aarhus, Denmark. It's Denmark's youngest city, but the old past is kept very much alive. I STILL haven't gotten over to see the oldest quarter, De Gamle By or the genius of Aros (the modern art museum), but I do plan on it in the next few port days. There's just so much to see and do here and the vibe is so fantastic. You walk right into town from the ship and right away you get a mixture of old and new with all the Danish architecture. You can stroll down Aboulevarden right alongside a waterway where there all kinds of hip restaurants. The shopping is a little pricey, but very trendy. You can find an H&M store here just the same as you can find a Starbucks in New York City. There's a huge student population here so there are plenty of sidewalk cafes and pubs as well. You can take in a good lunch in the outdoor seating and have an eyeful of people watching. As with all of Scandinavia, Aarhus is bike friendly with special pathways and rules just for bikers. It's so easy to get a bike as well. You just take a 20 kroner coin, pop it into the slot on a city bike rack, unlock the lock, and you're good to go for the day. When you return the bike you pop the lock back in and your 20 kroner piece falls right out of the lock on your handlebars. The people are so trustworthy here it seems I saw several city bikes just parked with the others and not locked up. Anyone could take advantage of the situation and take the bike, return it to the lock stations, and get your 20 kroner piece, but no one does. Isn't it amazing? In America that would be unheard of. You can't even leave your wallet in the front seat of a beat up car that's locked WITH a steering lock on it. It's just an open invitation for someone to break in let alone leave a bike out. Anyway that was a tangent. Back to lovely Aarhus. I ventured off with my city bike and drove by the old town (Gamle By) to take a few snapshots. I knew I'd be visiting there next time, so I didn't want to go in this time especially with 2 ships in port. Then my curiosity struck. I have a vehicle that moves faster than my legs. I could go ANYWHERE. So I did. I rode down out of the main city and into the countryside. It was so peaceful and serene. Riding through the entire city and traveling along the beach was so fulfilling AND I was getting exercise, which meant I didn't have to work so hard in the gym today. YAY! My curiosity took me to Tivoli Gardens, which is the Scandinavian equivalent to Six Flags in the US. I didn't go in because here in Aarhus it was just meant for kiddies. There were maybe 2 roller coasters and the rest was just a regular little theme park. I drove past and went over to Frederiksbjerg. It was a quaint little town that just seemed peaceful enough to ride through. The houses were all gorgeous. It must be amazing to live here. I rode back towards the water and found a bike trail by a hotel. Lo and behold another city bike rack. These things are everywhere in the city. You just have to find them. I drove on the bike trail and had an immediate sense of home. The tree lined trail and park I was riding through was strangely similar to the Metropark system in the Cleveland suburbs. Well except for the Danish signs that would pop up now and then and the Danish ramblings among the locals. It was so relieving to be riding through the park over hills, wooden bridges, and through tunnels. I even rode past an old Viking home with the thatched roof and all. My curiosity kept taking me further and further as I reminisced in my head about my younger days when the family would take the bikes out and spend the day on the trails sometimes biking for 20 miles. It was great!! I ended up back in the city refreshed and experiencing something new in Denmark. The atmosphere just seems so positive up here. I can't explain. Whoever thought I'd be riding a bike along the countryside of Denmark?

A little bit about Aarhus I found was that it was that the Vikings landed here with a vision for anticipating the future and truly knowing how to live life. It seems no one ever works here whenever I visit and it always seems like a weekend. It's probably due to the large student population, but the city and shopping areas are always bustling with people. Danish people. Back to the Vikings. They founded the town of Aros (an old Danish word for "river mouth"), which formed into Aarhus. The Vikings traveled by water and berthed their ships by the Valdestedt, which is where you'll find the cafes and department stores today. It's a vibrant area that continues to be a place to make bargains, meet, and have a good time.

There's so much culture here right down to the churches and cobblestone streets. You have your huge shops like the Salling department store (the Danish Target), Bik Bok, H&M, and Mango. There are also little bakeries, old general stores, bookstores, and so many other little shops with character in them. On one visit I even had the delight of visiting the Aarhus Art Building. It was a small display of 6 pieces. Each piece had a theme and was several works of art to make one collective piece. Some pieces had one artist and others were a collaborative effort of many. It was an eye opening experience and I was told that Aros Art Museum is even better. We don't get to experience the nightlife, but there are several theatres and opera houses strewn throughout the city. The city is so beautiful I'd definitely recommend it as a summer vacation spot. It's also just a hop, skip, and jump away from Copenhagen as well.