Benelux & Baltic Adventure: Part XII - Aarhus, Denmark

Friday, October 7th:

When I booked the "Silkeborg and The Highland Lakes of Denmark" tour I figured that it would be nice to see some lakes and I had no idea what Silkeborg was. But we are always up for an adventure, right?!

After the ship docked in Aarhus we boarded our coach and waited for the rest of the passengers to join us. It's easier for Theo if we sit in the very front, so Josh can get him on and off the bus easily. There were not a lot of people on our tour so we grabbed the first seats on both sides of the bus. Even though I don't need to sit in the front I usually like to sit close to Theo and Josh so I can prepare his food and meds and get those to Josh. 

As we were about to leave two ladies boarded the coach. They looked at me once and then turned to the guide and said loudly, "Um, we need to sit in the front." The tour guide looked uncomfortable and they just stood there in silence. I was waiting for them to ask me to move, but they didn't. They just stood there staring at each other. Finally, I said that I would move. I moved back one seat and sat next to my mom. The ladies then sat down and started to get settled in. I was annoyed so I loudly said, "You're welcome!" They both looked shocked and one said, "Oh yeah, thanks."

Passive aggressive? I was more than willing to move. Especially for people with mobility issues. But you can ask and ask nicely. They never asked.  

As we were heading to Silkeborg I noticed that they were both struggling to buckle their seatbelts. I took mine off and reached over the seat to help them. They both looked shocked. Sure I was annoyed with their behavior, but I wasn't going to let them be unsafe. They both said thank you this time and I appreciated that.

During the drive to Silkeborg our tour guide told us about the city and where we would be going. She said we were first going to be doing a scenic drive around the town and then we'll stop by the museum.  

The city was very pretty. It surrounds a long lake and is heavily forested. During our scenic drive our tour guide said that we will be heading to the museum to see the Tollund Man. My mind immediately recognized the name and I started racking through my college archaeology classes trying to figure out why I knew that name. She then said he was found in a bog and a light bulb went off. I think my European Archaeology professor would have been proud of me for remembering "Bog Man!" I had no idea he was here!

[Museum]

The Tollund Man (aka Bog Man) was not the first, nor the last mummified body to be found in this bog, but he is the most famous. Over 500 Iron Age bog burials have been discovered in this area. Tollund Man's remains were found in 1950 and due to the lack of preservation knowledge, scientist removed his head from his body and focused on preserving his head. They examined the body and found that he had very little clothing on and still had a rope around his neck. Due to this and the position of his body (fetal) they have guessed that he was likely a sacrificial hanging. They dated his body and concluded that he died around 400 BC.

[The head is original, but the body is a replica]

After learning about the life of Tollund Man we walked around the museum and saw a lot of artifacts from the Iron Age.

[What Tollund Man could have looked like]

Before we arrived at the museum our tour guide told us what time we needed to be back at the bus. Of course, our friends at the front of the bus that were late to arrive at the start of the tour were also late when we were trying to leave the museum. They were so late that the tour guide had to go back to the museum to look for them while the rest of us sat on the bus waiting. 

Once we were done at the museum we drove along Paradise road to the Himmelbjerget. During the drive our tour guide told us how excited she was that we could see this area during autumn. She then asked us if we thought it was a pretty forest and the ladies in front of us loudly said, "No!" One of them then proclaimed that it was prettier by her cabin in Wisconsin. It can be pretty here AND at your cabin in Wisconsin. Goodness 🤦‍♀️

After a nice drive through the beautiful forest, we arrived at the Hotel Himmelbjerget. Unfortunately it was closed for the season and we couldn't get hot chocolates or other snacks that our tour guide told us about. It started to rain so we decided that Josh and I would head up the trail first and Theo would stay on the bus with my parents and then we would switch.

Josh and I walked through the forest and reached the tower at the top of the hill. 

The Himmelbjerget outlook was on top of one of the highest points in Denmark (147 m). It overlooked the Julsø lake and forest below.

It was super windy on top of the hill, but we managed to get a few pictures!

In 1875 this tower was erected to honor the great king Frederik VII. The Danish people LOVE this king. He abolished the absolute monarchy in 1849 and gave the country their first constitution. He is seen as the hero of Denmark.

We then hurried down the trail and switched places with my parents. They were able to catch up to the tour group because they were moving slowly up the trail.

On their way back down the trail they came across our front seat friends who were heading up the trail. The tour guide told them that we were leaving soon and asked them where they were going. They said, "To the top!" Once my parents and the rest of the group got back to the bus we had to wait, again, for these ladies.

[Such a trooper!]

Once the ladies got back to the bus we headed back to Aarhus. The coach dropped us off at the ship and Josh took Theo back to our cabin for a nap. My parents and I decided to take the shuttle bus into Aarhus to take a look around. We got a map from a local guide and asked her what we should see. She said the most popular thing to do in Aarhus was visit Den Gamle By. This is an outdoor museum which consists of 75 historic buildings and people walking around in character. It sounds a lot like Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. We didn't have time to visit the Den Gamle By, so we just walked around town.

[Our Lady Church - built 1877]

[Stroget Shopping Street]

There wasn't too much to see of do in town, so we headed back to the MS Rotterdam. After Theo woke up from his nap we went and played music movie trivia (which we won!) and Disney trivia which was insanely hard.