Day 7 - Arriving in Aarhus
Our unplanned stop was great – but would have liked longer there!. As we arrived yesterday evening the gang plank opened at 8:0, and some people went ashore then. The drawback with that was that nothing opened until 10! Not being an early morning person, I left in a more leisurely fashion! At the dock gate we were greeted by sculptures of dockers at work – definitely a thing of the past with today’s mechanisation. Our dock was right by the city centre as you can see from the photo of the cathedral. In the limited time available I set my priorities.
First the cathedral. Originally a catholic church it was considered too elaborate at the time of the reformation around 1535, and the city elders directed that the frescos should be whitewashed out. These are now being revealed and restored and are absolutely amazing. Not only were the frescos amazing but we were being serenaded by a young woman rehearsing for a wedding later that morning. Her song “Tale as old as time” from Beauty and the Beast received rapturous applause from us tourists.
My second priority was to find the nearby Viking museum. Sadly (or happily as it turned out) I took a wrong turning. Without realising it I drifted into the Latin Quarter, an area of small boutiques and what should I find but a wool shop! Those who know me, know that this is one shop I cannot pass. After considerable thought and scrutiny of stock I managed to buy 150grams of local yarn. Talking to the cashier I mentioned that we had not seen many craft shops on our travels, her response was that Aarhus has several, including another just around the corner. Of course, I also had to visit that but all its yarns were Japanese or Irish (phew!)
Still searching for the Viking museum, I found myself outside the coffee shop of a department store where I realised that I had not yet had a proper Danish pastry so that was another diversion! I did finally make it to the Viking museum, not very large but fascinating because it had been built exactly where some remains had been unearthed.
My third priority was souvenir hunting. The exchange rate has not been great and Scandinavia is expensive so I became dispirited very quickly. Of course, by then we rapidly approaching our departure time so we had to say good bye to Aarhus, but it is definitely a city to return to.
This evenings entertainment was a crew show. What a talented lot they are showing off dancing and singing from across the globe. But the sea is getting rougher and we are being buffeted by force 8 winds, so until tomorrow…
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