Another (long) walk around town…

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Day three started with a little scare, since this was the view from our balcony. I thought I might have broken Copenhagen! Luckily it seemed to have been more of a smoke-show than anything else, because we didn’t find any mention on the fire on the internet, and everything was under control when we walked downtown.

But let’s begin at the start.

After a good night of sleep, we were surprised to find the sky absolutely cloudless again. It was still pretty (understatement) windy, and the temperature was still a little frisky, but it was very promising.

So after two cups of tea for me (coffee for David), we packed up what we needed for the day, and left the apartment, decided to go check for ourselves where that thick smoke was coming from.

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On our way, we walked in front of the Glyptotek. We didn’t have time to visit it (again), but if you ever come to Copenhagen, and love visual arts, I really recommend making a stop there. For one thing, the Carlsberg family has provided the museum with an impressive collection of Rodin scuptures. The place is huge, and filled with masterpieces of all kinds. Just a friendly advice, though… If you buy yourself a ticket to the Glyptotek, make sure you have time on your hands, because you won’t want to leave for hours!!

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Many canals run through the Danish capital, and above are just a couple of the numerous bridges that pedestrians and cyclists use to move around the city.

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… And as you can see here, people are quite happy with the easy access to the different neighbourhoods!

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Our walk along the water took us back to Nyhavn, and I thought I’d take David to the hostel when I had stayed during my last trip in 2019. The Bedwood Hostel is a little gem, hidden along the famous canal, and probably the only way I ever could ever afford to sleep at Nyhavn. The advertising isn’t very flamboyant, when you walk in front of the adress, but a few steps away, in the inner-yard, you discover all the charm of the place. The staff is super welcoming (even if you’re not a twenty-something kid discovering the world). And if you are comfortable with sharing a dortoir with a couple of fellow travelers, it is quite cozy, and affordable!

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Next stop was at Kultorvet, to pick up some yummy cheese at Osten Ved Kultorvet.

Unfortunately, when I entered the small shop, the man behind the counter wasn’t the owner. I had doubts at first – it had been four yours since my last visit, after all – but Mikael couldn’t have changed that much.

It so happened that it was his only day off, and when I explained that I was from Montreal, and had made it a tradition to come by everytime I traveled to Denmark, the man at the counter started chatting, suggesting places to go, and asking about my previous trips, while preparing my Viking Blue and Fyrmester (both a-ma-zing Danish cheeses) packages.

He even tried to call Mikael, to let him know I was at the store. I meant to tell him that the owner might not even remember me after all this time, but he dialed before I could do so.

I promised to try to come again when we’d be back in Copenhagen at the end of our little tour, and we left the store.

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There was one last spot where I wanted to take David, before our feet gave up on us. But we still hadn’t been able to change our phones’ SIM cards, and I knew we’d need them working as we would start moving around the country.

So we stopped in a Telia store. We very much doubted that they would help us, not seeking business with the company, and not even having purchased the SIM cards from them.

But surprisingly, when I explained our situation, the young man that welcomed us in the store picked our cell phones, and our cards, and took care of everything in no time. No questions asked. He then offered us coffee, and started chatting about our trip, and how his brother had a stand in Torvehallerne, a fantastic food court just a couple of minutes walking away from the store.

So we walked in doubting we’d get any help, and came out with our phones working in Denmark, and a great new place to pick up stuff for dinner!

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Unfortunately, we didn’t find the guy’s brother… But we did get a ”pain batard” (bastard bread). And call me childish, I thought that was funny.

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Because Danish days never seem to come to an end starting in May, we still had time to go to a park I wanted to show David.

We cheated a little… We took the metro to Nørrebro Station. When we got there, I was confused. I clearly remembered Superkillen, and it looked nothing like the above. I did remember the swings, and the murals, but where was the rest of it?

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We walked a little, and I realized that we had just entered the park from the opposite side, compared to my first visit.

So here it is, Superkilen with all the cherry blossoms making it even prettier.

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And everything to keep the young active in the heart of the city!

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It was getting late, and we needed to get back ”home”. On our way, we caught this mini-mini-mini escalator. And to save you a couple of minutes, we did the research, and the smallest escalator in the world is in Japan, and has 5 steps! Oh, Denmark, you were so close to a World record!!

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And, finally… We got back to the apartment, to feast on our ”pain batard” and our cheese and other little things.

It was time to charge the batteries for the next day to come!

Day 9 – Esbjerg day 1

Esbjerg

Leaving Aarhus was a somewhat stressful experience, since the train indications were not the clearest for once. I even asked employees of the train station, just to be sure I was taking the right ride to Esbjerg, you know? But torn between what I was told and what the Internets were saying, I decided to trust my lady’s sixth sense, and chose not to listen the the Danish Railroad’s workers!!

How lucky for me, one more time! I have to say, if I might make a little “aparté”, that I learned two things during my three weeks journey…

  1. To trust myself. I found out I made better choices when not offered a second opinion, than I would have believed!
  2. To always think positive. Countless times during my trip, I faced situations that didn’t look too good at first… Bad weather, doubts about my upcoming whereabouts, Aarhus in general (LOL) and things like that. But being in Denmark, I always had the reflex to tell myself that everything would turn to the best eventually… How could things go wrong? I was in Vikingland after all! And by some Danish kind of magic, everything in and around Denmark did end up on the good side. (I confess to have more difficulty using all-time positive thinking since I came back to Montréal, but every now and then, I force my self to do so, and I am always pleasantly surprised by life!)

 

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Here is what my standard set up was when I took a train for more than a 45 minutes ride… My loyal tablet, my now-lost-somewhere-in-Skagen water bottle, my now-retired Lumia phone, and not-in-pijamas bananas 🙂

Once on the train, and not worrying anymore about where I would end up, the train controller showed up to check my ticket. I found out, as I was handing the freshly printed pieces of paper to the lady, that I had two receipts, and no ticket per say. In Denmark, boarding a train without a valid ticket leads to a fine (not so fine fine, if you ask me) of a little over 700 kr. (just a little less than 150$) It wouldn’t have been the end of the world, but that was starting to look like a bitter goodbye from Aarhus!

The lady and I discussed a little, and I don’t know if it is the Canadian flags on my packsack, my hush puppy eyes pleading I really had bought my ticket, or the sight of the numerous bus and train tickets I looked through in my bag, hoping to find the ONE to Esbjerg… But she finally told me it was ok for this time, but that I had to be extra careful next time. Heldig mig igen!! (Lucky me, again)

Esbjerg is the largest city on the West coast of Denmark, and has the most important seaport on the North Sea. All I really knew about Esbjerg before getting there, was that it had a very impressive set of 4 statues called “Mennesket ved havet” (Man meets the sea) which was actually the only reason I chose to visit Esbjerg (no offense to the citie’s inhabitants, I am sure there are tons of great things to do around, but I was just foolish like that, wanting to see Esbjerg just because it was on the West Coast and had four really tall men looking at the sea!)

When I got there, the weather wasn’t actually great. It was pretty chilly, compared to what I had accustomed to during my first days of vacation, and the wind was pretty strong. I walked a bit downtown, had a McDonald’s cheeseburger, just to get WI-FI (and because I was hungry too). After visiting the Tourists’ Bureau, I decided that I’d better head to my hostel right away and decide what to do from there…

 My home in Esbjerg, the Danhostel! No, I was not the only guest, but I must admit that we were just a few… Which is great, since I got the 4 bunk beds room all to myself! 

It was about supper time, and I decided to go to the grocery store and get myself something yummy yummy for my tummy, since I had access to a fully equiped kitchen. I finally toned down my cooking frenzy, bought rye bread, sausage, two pots of bread spread, and some remoulade (all of my goodies costing me under 10$ total) and walked back “home”…

My loot… It might look basic, but I am just not a fancy eater!

I made myself comfortable in my new home, ate my meal at the round table by the open window, and enjoyed a good hot shower before preparing to hit the sack. I puffed my white duvet while thinking about visiting the four tall men the next morning, and fell fast asleep, once again, still happy in Denmark…


Previously…

Copenhagen, day 1  / Copenhagen, day 2  / Møn’s Island / Aalborg / Viborg, day 1 /

Viborg, day 2 / Aarhus, day 1  / Aarhus, day 2

Day 8 – Aarhus day 2

 

My second day in Aarhus started at sunrise, which means a little before 5 O’clock. Actually the only time I really saw the sun rising, since in Denmark, come mid-May, even my excitement wasn’t enough to get me up that early…

I headed downtown, to my “secret” Wi-Fi spot to send a few early bird messages, hoping to find a nice place for my second night in town, and to make sure my next future stops wouldn’t be a worry once again!

While browsing around, concentrated on my tablet’s screen, I noticed a few people sitting at the other end of the large roundish bench. Two drunk men… Not an unusual sight at all, as alcohol drinking is largely enjoyed everywhere.

Danes are not all party-all-nighters like the Internets depict them, but it wasn’t uncommon to see men getting on the train with a six pack of beers, and leaving, after a short ride, without much to take home with them… People drink everywhere, and anytime, and those who party, party hard! In the early morning, the empty bottles were always there to testify that Mr. Fun was there the night before!

But surprisingly, drunk Danes, at least the ones I’ve seen, don’t go angry-drunk. They are loud (OMG can those otherwise discreet people scream loudly when under the influence of alcohol!!!), but other people just scream back at them, and that always seemed to settle the spontaneous need to express themselves in public (as loudly as possible, obviously).

So after a while, I left my drunk bench-fellows, and went to the bakery to get myself my very first Danish pastries. I am not into sweets, but pastries are a MAJOR thing in Denmark, and I felt like it would almost be a crime not to try them at least once.

So one frøsnapper and a chokolade bolle later (well, after buying them, I mean… I could never eat 2 pastries that fast), I was back on the road to get to Den Gamle By… The Old Town!

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Example of a frøsnapper…  Chokolade boller being chocolate croissant, I don’t think a picture would bring anything more to this post 😉

I had to see the open-air museum, and after my afternoon at Copenhagen’s Glyptotek, I thought it was better for me to show up early in case it would take me a little more time to see everything, than expected.

On my way to Den Gamle By, I received a text message from Ditte, my Aalborg host, who had noticed I was looking for a place to stay in Aarhus…

“My sister has a room to lend, near Den Gamle By, if you are still looking, that is?”

When I say that Danes are nice people, Ditte is one perfect example of the experience I had with them… Unfortunately, Ditte’s sister’s room wasn’t available that night after all, but who cares? Just the thought of having caring people following my whereabouts was enough to make my day.

That, and Den Gamle By.

It is basically a reconstitution of Danish life, in the 1800s, 1920s and 1970s… Genuine houses from all around Denmark have been moved to Den Gamle By, and you can enter some of them to discover the different merchants that provided their services back then. Every here and there, you can also find live characters glad to tell their story to the visitors…

This post is already getting very long, especially for Aarhus, and I wouldn’t want the city to get a wrong impression, thinking I liked it better than Aalborg or Viborg… So I’ll just put a selection of pictures and the official link to the museum’s website (https://www.dengamleby.dk/the-old-town/)

I’ll just add that the open-air museum is REALLY worth stopping by. Especially if you are off season, like me, and don’t have to bump into tourists every step you take in town. The characters are just incredibly interesting to talk to. (I fell in love with the general store’s owner who spent a long while telling me about his business as if we were still in the good old days… Not stepping out of his charming character one single time. I have a picture of him, but I promised I wouldn’t put it online, so you’ll just have to imagine him. Special mention to the baker too, who gave me extra sweets when I told her I was Canadian, hehehe) But plan at least a whole afternoon… Because it is HUGE! And you don’t want to rush in.

In the late afternoon, it was time to rest my Ow feet and check in at the City Sleep-In hostel (http://www.citysleep-in.dk/en/), since I hadn’t found any couch to surf for the night. I stopped on my way to buy a Frikadelle burger, a must in Aarhus, according to Lucas! And I wouldn’t want to miss one of Lucas’ musts!! I might write a post about the hostel later, since it was an adventure of its own… But here are a few pictures in the meanwhile!

 

P.S. The frikadelle burger is worth the detour… I thought it’d be heavy and a little dry, but it is a fast food delight! Med remoulade, of course 🙂

 


 

Previously…

Copenhagen, day 1  / Copenhagen, day 2  / Møn’s Island / Aalborg / Viborg, day 1 /

Viborg, day 2 / Aarhus, day 1 

Day 7 – Aarhus, day 1

Aarhus

 

At last…. Well, not really, but blog wise, it was about time, I will give you that!

I was now in Aarhus, probably the city I would miss the less. Not that it was ugly, or dirty, or uninteresting… But Aarhus was harsh with me from the start. I wasn’t even in town, and people already kind of rejected me!

I had couchsurfing plans that didn’t work out, and as the day went by, I switched to researches on Airbnb for a room or an apartment to rent.

There again, no luck, but I was kind of fearing that I was a little short in time to find anybody ready to host me… So I went for my last resort (not that it was really bad, but it was the most expensive way I could afford to get a roof over my head); the hostel!

First day in Aarhus was spent mostly walking around, looking for good free Wi-Fi spots and hoping to find a place to stay. (by the way… If you are in Aarhus and looking for a hot Hot Spot, try the bench in front of “Magasin” in Lille Torv Square)

Oh, and since I don’t have much to say about this first day in Aarhus, here is a map with three important places… The little red heart is for my favorite Wi-Fi spot, the yellow star for my hostel, and the green spot (hi there, Green Spot!) a place we’ll be discussing in my next post… Den Gamle By, literally “The old town”…

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Oh, and I feel generous… a view of “Magasin”, with my favorite bench – in Aarhus! (spent a loooot of time there, hoping for good news LOL)

Magasin-Aarhus

Thanks Google!

 

And, as usual, a few pictures taken along my stroll…

 

 


 

Previously…

 

Copenhagen, day 1  / Copenhagen, day 2  / Møn’s Island / Aalborg / Viborg, day 1 /

Viborg, day 2