European Adventures - Aalborg, Denmark

21. Aalborg, Denmark

Last night was terrible. Carol had to sleep with earplugs, she told me. Then she worried that she would not wake up to the alarm so removed them at 2 AM and then could not sleep because of the noise outside the hotel room. We had to open the window it was so stuffy in this small room, so hot. The street noise even woke me up a few times and I don’t hear too well.

We got up at 6 AM and were glad to leave. 

Getting Ready to Board the Ferry

The drive to the ferry was short, we got there at 7.10 but I had to make a U-turn because we passed the entrance, the signage was not ideal. Ah, Sweden, there is room for improvement. How about a sign with an arrow, showing the drivers where the ferry is? There was nothing, just an entrance, like everybody knows that this is the spot, right?

We caught the 8 AM ferry, we had made reservations and after showing our passports we just drove in, parked the car, found a nice seat upstairs in the lounge and read. This was a nice, modern ferry ship, very efficient in loading, taking off on time, docking on the other end. We landed in Denmark at about 11.15 AM and drove to Aalborg, not that far from the ferry terminal. 

View From Our Window

I did not want to take a hotel in the port area but found the Milling Hotel Gestus in Aalborg on line. It turned out to be a wonderful hotel. While the parking was a bit odd, it was included in the room price and worked out great for us.

 

This was such a nice change from Sweden I cannot even tell you. Free snacks in the afternoon, coffee at any time, close to shopping and downtown, for us it was ideal.

Painting in the Lobby

After we checked in, we walked a moderate distance to a park where famous performers, who performed in the nearby Concert Hall, could plant a tree. The city, after the performance, would then install a pedestal in front of that tree and visitors could come, press a button on that low pedestal and listen to the 3 songs the artist picked for this display. It was an odd exhibition, yet fun to press all those buttons, listening to Prince, or Bob Dylan or Willi Nelson, or even Opera stars like Domingo or Pavarotti, all who had ever played here, had a tree. It was not a huge area, but not a small area, either. 

Restaurant Was Cave-Like and Cosy

After we finished running about pushing buttons like little kids, we went for dinner and explored the town proper… we picked the Duus Vinkjalder for dinner and had real Danish food.

Danish Stew - So Much Flavour

Excellent!  We were served in this stone wine cellar from the early 1600s, with curved ceilings and old ambiance. I had a wonderful fish meal; Carol preferred a Danish stew, which she said, was a bit salty but very rich and full of flavor. 

Fresh Caught Fish Dish With Beer (Of Course)

The downtown of Aalborg is historic, quaint yet full of small boutique businesses.

We just did a walk about, but we could see that this was a nice town, a nice area.

Pedestrian Only Street in Aalborg

Aalborg Fountain

It was getting late after our walk around; we went back to the Hotel room because we have a busy day tomorrow.

Fun to See the Graffiti Advertising Different Kinds of Beer