Day 4 – Aarhus, Denmark – September
1, 2012
September already? Where does the
summer go every year? Why can't we slow down time for three months;
Oh, well, what does time matter to me anyway? I'm just adrift in the
Baltic Sea where time has no meaning. And we've had (for
Scandinavia) excellent weather. The sun has shown for at least part
of the day each day we've been here and the temperature has peaked at
20 or 21 degrees every day. (That's 68 or 70 degrees F for those of
you still stuck in the English system of measurement.) Our guide in
Oslo told us they had five sunny days all summer and that day was one
of them! We got a glimpse of what is to come today in Aarhus, as it
was in the low 60's to start the day, but the sun came out at noon
and it warmed up to 70. (Yes, it's much easier for me to think in
Fahrenheit, too, but I have come up with a simple approximation
formula: 20 C = 68 F, add 18 to get: 30 C =86 F, and again 40 C =
104. In between those benchmarks, add or subtract 2 degrees F for
each degree C. Close enough! Example, someone says 23 degrees C,
add 6 to 68, giving 74 F, close enough to the precise 73.4. Close
enough for government work, anyway.)
So what did we do in Aarhus, Denmark's
second largest city, which you've never heard of? It is in the
Jutland part of Denmark, so named, I presume, because it's a part of
Denmark that juts out north into the Baltic Sea. It is less of a
tourist destination than Copenhagen,, so we experienced a little more
authentic Danish life. We did not do a tour, figuring we could make
our way around on our own. We did fine, but I have to admit I worry
a little about Karen these days, as she does not have the stamina she
did even a few years ago, so for the rest of the trip we will stick
to the excursions, even though I hate tourist busses!
We began with the Aarhus Domkirke or
Cathedral, 800 years old and the largest church in Denmark, 330 feet
long and 330 feet high! It was originally a Catholic cathedral with
exquisite frescos on the walls. But 16 years after it was completed,
Lutheranism became the state religion, and everything including the
frescoes were whitewashed over. In the 20th century the
whitewash was peeled off, revealing perfectly preserved frescoes
underneath! The pulpit is in the middle of the church, common in
Lutheran churches, so the front pews face the middle, creating an
interesting problem for weddings.
Example of fresco |
Leaving the beautiful church, we found
ourselves in the square where a music festival was going on. It
being Saturday, the square was packed with people, most of them
locals. We found what we thought was a nice Danish sandwich shop,
only to discover it is probably a California chain, since the name
turned out to be Sunset Boulevard. Duh! Nevertheless, good food at
reasonable price (my definition of reasonable expands daily)
The most beautiful woman on the most beautiful street! |
We then walked up the “most beautiful
street in Aarhus” with tiny pastel cottages and hollyhocks or
climbing roses on every house. That took us to ARoS, the art museum
which was a memorable experience. The most famous work there is a
squatting sculpture of a boy (titled... Boy,
of course) by Australian artist Ron Mueck, 15 feet high, yet
amazingly realistic, with eyes that seem alive and skin accurate down
the the wrinkles on his elbows!
Oh! Boy! |
We also saw an interesting exhibit
of light and video art, pretty avant garde, but fascinating.
Virtually all the art is modern. We then went up to the 10th
floor which is a rainbow ring walkway. As you walk around the ring
you go from red tint to orange to yellow, etc. Viewed from the
outside, the people in the ring are silhouettes walking around the
ring.
Violet-Red (not shown: orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo) |
We then walked up to Den Gamli By, an
open air museum so popular in Scandinavia. However, it was getting
late and Karen was getting very tired so we called a taxi and went
back to the ship to rest.
Tomorrow – Berlin, Germany
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