June 8/18 Ålborg, Denmark

Today Michael and I did separate tours - he did the Viking tour, and I did two home visits.

The first Danish home I saw was in the wealthiest neighbourhood in Alborg. It was designed by an architect from the City Hall in Copenhagen. It’s about 100 years old and small by our standards, but beautifully decorated. To the side of the entrance are two doors that swing open at the top. One had been used for horses and the next for servants. Each room except the bathroom was blue and white, with fancy furnishings from our grandparents’ era. The home was worth about one million American dollars, but had a cottage feel to it. The garden was lovely, with lots of greenery and ornate white iron chairs forming little sitting areas.

The other home was a much plainer summer home owned by a dear elderly woman named Helen. She doesn’t speak English, but her radiant smile and big hug that she greeted us with said it all. She too had a garden area, as well as a small greenhouse. Her home was very small and also felt like a cottage, but unlike the other home, it was very simply furnished. Helen’s husband passed away last year, but when he was alive he used to sit in a separate shed-like area (his man cave) is and not come out to greet the visitors. When we left, Helen came on the bus to blow us kisses!

We had a small glass of Aquavit at each home - a traditional toasting drink. You are supposed to raise your glass and say ‘skål’ and then drink it all at once.

This city only has about 120,000 people, and over a quarter of them are students. They have a university medical centre, so many students come to study medicine. There is almost no crime here. It used to be easy to immigrate here, but not any more. They like to drink and celebrate, and are seemingly very happy people.

(Michael here) My tour this morning visited some Viking sites: a replica Viking farm community, a ring fort, and a Viking burial ground. It was interesting to see both similarities and differences with the L’Anse aux Meadows site in Newfoundland. Our guide was dressed as a Viking housewife might have been, and she was extremely knowledgeable about the Ålborg area and its Viking history. We had a small taste of mead and said ‘skål’ at the ring fort.