Jax Stumpes: Viking Homelands: Ålborg (8/29/2018)

Wednesday, August 29, 2018
After five days in Norway, we had arrived in Denmark, and now have to deal with a new language (well, not really) and a new currency!

View from our stateroom

After lunch we had our included shore excursion, the Ålborg Walking Tour. Surely, on an ocean cruise, we will not always be able to step off the boat in the center of town!

The Viking Star...

...and next to it is the Utzon Center (2008, the last building designed by
Jørn Utzon with final drawings by his son, Kim); it was meant to be a
sort of student union for the School of Architecture,
but has also become a museum to Jørn Utzon

Jørn Utzon is the architect of the iconic Sydney Opera House in Australia.

A poster on the Utzon Center with
Crown Prince Frederik, when he celebrated his
50th birthday by running across five Danish cities,
with a stop at the Center in Ålborg (KSS)

Student housing designed by Jørn Utzon,
with the sculpture Favntag/Embrace by Tove Anderberg

We were warned about the bicycle lanes
that are for speeding bicycles

A Keystone Heights (FL) fire truck cum beer party vehicle (KSS)

City Blomster/Flowers on Bredegade

Georg Severin Springvand/Fountain (replica of 1861 fountain)
in memory of a pharmacist and owner of Løveapoteket/Lion Pharmacy,
with the Stadsarkiv/City Archives to look up emigration records

Peder Barkes Gade with 17C houses

Vor Frue Kirke/Church of Our Lady
(1868, in Romanesque Revival style)

The west portal of the Church of Our Lady
dates to 1100, considered the oldest
work of art on Ålborg

Medieval warning to young children:
misbehave and Herod will twist off your head

Interior of the Church of Our Lady

A model ship is seen in many Scandinavian and Baltic
Christian churches, a symbol from the early days when
the church was seen as the Barque of St Peter; and
in calling the body of the church a nave (Latin for boat)

A family patron painting, but this one is unique
in that the dates for Dorothea were not filled in;
because Dorothea was accused of being a witch,
according to the story we were told...

All the ladies in the patron painting look exactly alike and similar to the ladies in all the other patron paintings! So how are we to know what a witch looks like?

Interesting rock sculpture (KSS)

Algade decorative feature (KSS)

See the pregnant house? Actually the former
stables that have been renovated into
chic apartments on Hjelmerstald

House on Hjelmerstald that lists its former owners

Hjelmerstald

Salling rooftop bar with glass-floored "balcony"

Elevator to an underground museum of
Gråbrødrekloster Museet/Franciscan or
Grey Friars Monastery Museum

We were told the elevator cost was by weight! To clarify, it cost 40 DKK/$6 for up to 250 kg/551 pounds!

Tintin (Belgian) is alive and well in Denmark (KSS)

Former Postkontor/Post Office

Apparently the small holes in the post office tower
were for the carrier pigeons

Budolfi Domkirke/Cathedral (c 1400,
in Gothic style with a Baroque cupola);
St Budophus is the patron saint of sailors

Former Helligåndsklostret/Holy Ghost Monastery
and Hospital (est 1431), which later was the
Ålborg Cathedral School, and now senior housing

During World War II, eight of the Cathedral School students organized the Churchill Club, and performed acts of sabotage on the occupying German forces.

It is said the boys practiced shooting guns in the
upper gallery of this building, but my understanding is that
they only stole the guns of German soldiers

The boys frustrated the Germans from 1941-1942, but were caught and sentenced to prison. Imagine the Germans' consternation when the acts of sabotage continued! Legend is that Danish guards allowed the boys to leave at night, but it is also said that their activities inspired many others to act.

Obelisk marking kilometer zero in Ålborg

Ålborg Rådhus/Town Hall (1762) with the motto
over the door of "Wisdom & Determination"

The top of the left door still show hundreds of
nail holes from posted notices over the years;
our guide said it was an early version of Facebook...

Skulptur/Sculpture (1970, by Sonja Ferlov Mancoba);
certainly one of the more creative titles! (KSS)

Jens Bangs Stenhus/Stone House (1624,
in Dutch Renaissance style), has quality stonework
done by the same craftsmen used by the king

Bicycles, bicycles, bicycles
are everywhere in Denmark

Look closely at this mural titled
Exhausting Machine No 2 (2016, by
NeverCrew/Christian Rebecchi & Pablo Togni)

A "Viking" encampment at Ålborghus Slot/Castle

Behind Ålborghus Castle peeks the funnel of the Viking Star

We toasted "Skål!" with honey mead (Fernando and Josefina
on the left and our guide, Anna, on the right)

Tamiko sampling lard on millet crackers with a "Viking couple"
(thanks to Fernando for the photo!)

A Viking music interlude was being recorded
by one woman, and as the musicians ended
their tune, they rushed at the woman with
loud snarls, for a memorable video!

Toldbod/Customs House (1902) and the Musikalske Fontæne/
Singing Fountain (2007), the latter spouts water in time
with Georg Händels Water Music during the summer;
apparently summer is already over in Denmark

Kent and Fernando try beers from a microbrewery, Søgaards Bryghus

Silver Skies (2013, by Australian James Reka)

Pigen med gåsen/Girl with Goose
(1937, by Gerhard Henning)

Cimbrertyren/Cimbrian Bull (1937,
by Anders J Bundgaard), is based on a book
by Danish writer Johannes V Jensen
who is also a Nobel Laureate for Literature