Aalborg, Denmark

On Wednesday, we arrived in Aalborg and enjoyed a walking tour of the town. Aalborg is the 4th largest city in Denmark, with a population of 210,000. It was founded by the Vikings as a trading post in the 900s.

Our tour guide's name was Signe (pronounced see-nee). We first went to Aalborg Castle which, when no longer needed as a castle, was used as a "taxation building". Back then, people paid taxes in hay, sheep, corn, etc. The Castle was the only building in town big enough to store the "tax payments". Today there is still a tax collection office in the building, but presumably no more sheep and hay. The other rooms of the castle are used as offices for local businesses.

We were next treated to a live Viking display, where people dressed up as Vikings wielding swords surrounded our group. They gave us a small taste of some sort of authentic Viking drink, and invited us to view tables that were set up with various Viking items such as furs, helmets, knives, jewelry, etc. (Note to Kerry: the Viking helmets made me think of you.)

Next we visited the Monastery of the Holy Ghost. This building previously housed monks (on the left) and nuns (on the right). After the reformation, the monks and nuns were kicked out, and the building was turned into a hospital. That lasted about 40 years, and today the building is a retirement residence.

We walked past a post office with a tall tower next to it. Near the top of the tower were tiny windows that have since been bricked up. In former times, the windows served as entrances to homes for the post office's tiniest employees: carrier pigeons.

We then visited St. Budolf Cathedral. This was a small white brick building, and is, we were told, the only white brick Lutheran Cathedral in the country, and is also the smallest Lutheran Cathedral in Denmark.

Along our walk, we passed a pre-construction archaeological dig. As mentioned earlier, no new construction can take place without first having archaeologists determine if there is a bit of important Danish history on the site. And just as our tour guide pointed out yesterday, the archaeologists on this particular dig seemed to be using a teaspoon, or at least a teaspoon-sized instrument. Our tour guide, Signe told us that at this particular dig, they had indeed found something of interest. They found a piece of jewelry and thought that perhaps it had belonged to a Viking. Or perhaps it belonged to a Viking cruise passenger who lost an earring. Okay I made that last part up.

We walked down the most picturesque street in Denmark - a narrow lane with very colorful houses on each side. Signe told us that there was an agreement between the residents of this street and the city that the residents would leave their curtains open in the evenings, as that presented a more appealing picture. The pedestrians were simply asked not to look into the homes. Signe confessed that she had indeed looked; apparently the temptation was too great! On the door of one of the homes was posted a list of everyone who had lived in that home, which went back to the 1700s. Also, one of the homes is for sale. It is 1200 square feet, and is listed for the equivalent of half a million U.S. dollars.

Our next stop on our walking tour was at the Church of Our Lady (Lutheran). In this church was a small ship hanging from the ceiling above the aisle in the middle of the nave. The word nave comes from the Latin word navis, which means ship. We learned that it is not uncommon in Scandinavian and Baltic country churches to have a ship hanging in the nave. And in some languages, the same word means both nave and ship. Before we left the Church of Our Lady, we were treated by the locals to some coffee, water, and a treat. The treat consisted of what we might call a sandwich cookie, but what they called a creamy biscuit.

As we continued our walk, we passed by the library. In Denmark, every municipality is required by law to have a library.

Our last stop was at a building that housed a Lego display. Legos were invented in Denmark.