Aarhus, Denmark

April 20, 2012
Our Short Walking-tour of Aarhus, Denmark

Aarhus (the bottom arrow) is on Denmark's eastern coast (courtesy of Google Maps)

Aarhus (arr-hoose), Denmark was our second port-of-call. The ship didn’t arrive there until 10 am, so we all took the opportunity to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast. Of course, I couldn’t resist going around singing “Aar hus, is a very, very, very, fine hus” until my wife and kids begged me to stop.

The morning view of Aarhus from our ship (the huge Aarhus Cathedral tower was quite impressive)

Nancy ventured out onto the pier before the rest of us. That’s when she took this shot of these colourful Danish folk dancers entertaining and greeting the passengers as they disembarked. It’s nice when local activities like this await us as we get off the ship. It puts everyone in a cheerful mood and leaves a lasting good impression.

These Danish folk dancers were greeting and entertaining passengers as they disembarked

Nancy then re-boarded the ship because she and Jeffrey had an on-board activity planned for after breakfast. That was just as well because I was feeling a little under the weather.

Jeffrey and Nancy had an early morning activity, so we delayed our tour of town until afterwards

After breakfast we disembarked and walked around town. Aarhus is Denmark’s second largest port. But other than a couple of Baltic Ferry ships that arrived later in the day, we were the only ship in port. The historic part of the city we toured was close to Aarhus University, so there were lots of local businesses, bars, and restaurants that cater to students. As well they should, because  20 percent of the city’s population are students.

Nancy and I enjoyed the local attractions while Robert enjoyed his own local attractions

We headed straight for the Aarhus Cathedral tower to see if it looked just as big up close (it did)

I am obviously impressed with city canals, and find it hard not to take dozens of photos of them

I've just discovered that my camera's memory card is full and I don't have another card with me

Works of art were being set up in the public areas, which added lots of fun colour and life

I like the small touches that people add to their residences to provide a delightful touch of whimsy

The area of Aarhus we were walking through was particularly colourful. Maybe it was the red tile roofs, or the painted stucco and wood walls. Or maybe all the flowers. It just seemed to make the old buildings look quaint and welcoming, instead of… well, old.

As you can see, there was very little car or truck traffic in this part of Aarhus

Seeing places like this makes me think how cool it would be to live in those lofts as a university student

This is the closest thing to a traffic jam we saw (I think I would prefer to ride a bike here)

European cities seem to exude a healthy village lifestyle that should serve as an example for North America

After wandering through the town awhile, we came across Old Town, an historic park founded by a local benefactor who wanted to see the city’s older buildings and medieval architecture preserved. What we would call a pioneer village. So we stopped in to take a look.

Once again Nancy had to deal with walking on stone-paved roads with a downward grade

Doesn't this look like something from a fairy tale or medieval legend?

Discussing directions... even in a small town, it's easy to get lost

We eventually found our way back, and the return trip to the ship was just as colourful and festive

Our walking visit to old Aarhus was only a few hours long, but it was fun and somewhat exhausting because many of the streets either slanted up or down and were paved with stones. Back onboard the ship, Nancy and I took a reading break to enjoy the view of the town in the late afternoon. Sunsets take their time that far north, so we were able to enjoy the evening view for several hours.

Nancy catching up on her reading after our leisurely walking tour of the historic section of Aarhus

Later, we found ourselves a nice secluded table for dinner where we had a lovely departure view of the city

Other than our own ship, these two Baltic Ferry ships were the only other ones in port

The nice thing about a cruise is that, after your day’s activities on shore, there are still plenty of shipboard activities to keep you busy and entertained. Traveling as a family, Nancy and I avoid the casino and bars. So after dinner we checked out a movie from the ship’s well-stocked video library – Quantum of Solace, I believe it was – and we watched it together on the TV in our cabin.

Robert checks over the ship's extensive video library while Jeffrey looks on

That concludes our leisurely day in lovely Aarhus, Denmark. Our next day’s port was Warnemunde, Germany, a seaside resort town on the Baltic coast. Surprisingly, it turned out to be one of my all time favourite cruise destinations.

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