Thursday, October 5, 2023
This morning was almost identical to yesterday. After coffee and breakfast, we left the ship at 10:00 with plans to just wander into downtown. Originally, we had planned to take another HAL walking tour but after our “Hike from Hell” in Sweden, we just couldn’t muster up enough enthusiasm, so we cancelled that tour.
I had hoped that Aarhus had a Hop-on-Hop-off bus like some of the Baltic cities did, but they did not (despite the information you can find about it on the web). The woman in the tourist information booth gave us a map and we followed it to the downtown shopping area. They should invest in painting a blue line like Kiel.
It was a very pleasant day. We passed the very modern library and the very old (12th century) Cathedral and the Theater.
We visited the small Viking Museum. We tried to find another one of their churches, but Google Maps and I just couldn’t seem to communicate.
We passed some interesting statues and some pretty wildlife.
Eventually we made our way back to the ship and I bought an ornament from a vendor near the ship.
We spent the rest of the day reading until it was time for the sail-away.
We chose the main dining room for dinner tonight. We had a table for 2 but it was so close to the next table, it might as well have been a table for 4. Chuck had the halibut, and I had the turkey and dressing. He said his meal was excellent. Mine was only okay. The turkey was dry. We both had the carrot cake. HAL makes very good carrot cake but they don’t serve it very often so I am always happy to see it on the menu.
We had heard good things about the first Harry the Piano show so we decided to see his second show. He was an excellent pianist, but he talked so much between songs that we got bored and left early.
Aarhus was our last Baltic city, and we now make our way west toward our final destination of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Travel Trivia
Denmark
First acknowledged in 1219, the Danish flag “Dannebrog” remains the oldest state flag in the world still in use by an independent nation.
In the 1840s, some Austrian bakers settled themselves in Denmark and introduced the beloved pastry. For this reason, what most people call “Danish pastry” is actually called “wienerbrød” or “Viennese bread” in Denmark.
The world-famous LEGO® brick was invented by Danish Ole Kirk Christiansen in the town of Billund in 1949.
In Denmark, a person is never farther than 32 miles from the ocean.
Dane Nikolaj Coster-Waldau played Jamie Lannister in HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Denmark’s size, in US terms, is somewhere between Maryland and West Virginia in size. However, the Kingdom of Denmark has islands, and lots of them. In total, Denmark has 443 islands, 70 of which are inhabited. One of those islands is Greenland, the largest non-continental island on the planet. Adding all the territory together brings them up to 12th biggest territory in the world, between DR Congo and Saudi Arabia.
Denmark’s sales tax of 25% is one of the highest in the world. Denmark also has one of the highest rates of income tax in the world with Danes paying as much as 45% of their income to the government. The bulk of the income tax covers the education system and the healthcare system of Denmark.
Aarhus, Denmark
Pronounced: Or – hoos
The settlement of Aarhus was started in around the year 770 as a trading place of the Vikings, but the oldest recorded history of Aarhus is from 951. The city grew in the 16th century and again during the Industrial Revolution.
A shipbuilding yard from the Viking Age was uncovered upriver in 2002 by archaeologists.
The center of Aarhus was originally a pagan burial site until Arhus’s first Christian church, Holy Trinity Church, a timber structure, was built upon it during the reign of Frode, King of Jutland, around 900.
Aarhus Cathedral in the center of Aarhus is the longest and tallest church in Denmark 305 ft and 315 ft in length and height respectively.
Since 1938, Aarhus has marketed itself as City of Smiles which has become both an informal moniker and official slogan.