The Danes are the happiest individuals on Earth. That’s what the most recent World Happiness Report is telling us. And who’re we to argue?
In spite of everything, Danish vogue is all the trend; the world’s most-loved firm, Lego, is Danish; the Danes made Carlsberg; and so many people are nonetheless watching these Danish crime reveals on telly. Denmark’s inventory has by no means been increased.
My spouse Taffeta and I will be fairly depressing, so we expect a visit to Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest metropolis and 2017’s joint European Capital of Tradition, will cheer us.
Time capsule: Aarhus’s open-air museum, Den Gamle By, preserves buildings from Denmark’s previous
Clip clop: Guests can take a horse-drawn carriage trip by Den Gamle By’s cobbled streets
Aarhus doesn’t have the grandeur of Copenhagen. However, like a number of quantity two cities in Europe, it may be extra enjoyable than the capital and has a thriving foods and drinks scene.
After a fast Ryanair flight from Luton and a brief bus trip from the airport, we quickly discover our lodge, the Oasia, a neat little place which has all of the clear traces and minimalist decor you affiliate with Scandinavian peace of thoughts. We really feel higher immediately.
The receptionist tells us every thing in Aarhus is walkable, so we head for the pedestrianised canal zone. That is extra gratifying than it sounds.
The waterfront reminds us of Bristol, an outdated industrial port revamped into one thing hip. The Danes are nice architects. They’ve cleverly reinvented what should have been a colorless space into one thing fairly attention-grabbing.
There are touches of brutalist structure alongside outdated manufacturing facility red-bricks, and plenty of authentic constructions jutting out.
Aarhus (pop. 330,000) is a giant scholar city. I discover loads of tall, younger blondes marauding round like randy vikings within the chilly solar .
Pause: The pedestrianised canal zone is extra gratifying than it sounds; the setting is paying homage to Bristol
Taffeta observes that the majority the boys, younger and outdated, have good beards. We surprise: are the Danes chargeable for the worldwide fad for facial hair? In all probability.
Alongside the canal, we discover the bustling Cross Cafe and sit exterior, surrounded by blondes and beards, and order beer and chips.
The Danish local weather isn’t at all times conducive to outside eating, however the Danes are sensible folks. Cross Cafe gives fuel heaters, and on our chairs we discover massive black Carlsberg-sponsored blankets to maintain our legs heat. Our moods additional enhance.
The subsequent day, we go to Den Gamle By, an outdated a part of the city that has been preserved as a museum, exhibiting how Aarhusians lived within the 1800s, Twenties and Seventies.
We benefit from the Nineteenth-century part, which has Hansel and Gretel-style cottages and scenes of Danish life. There’s even an outdated privy which, simply in case you don’t get the purpose, makes the sound results of an aged man defecating. Danish humour. Ho ho!
Fairly: Aarhus doesn’t have the grandeur of Copenhagen, nevertheless it has botanical gardens and a cool meals scene
The most effective bit, nonetheless, is the Seventies space, which reveals simply how caught up the Danes have been within the counter-cultural revolution.
Exterior a faux electronics store is a coin-operated merchandising machine promoting retro porn magazines. The Danes seem to have been intercourse mad. As a part of a reconstruction of a hippy commune, we see a saucy video set up of a pair having a bathe.
We’ve got to calm ourselves by wandering across the close by botanical gardens. Then a scrumptious lunch on the Michelin-inspired Nordisk restaurant.
I eat fried herring, a traditional Danish dish, accompanied by loads of beer and a robust aniseed schnapps known as Schumacher’s. Then I really feel dizzy. Taffeta has hen terrine and appears at me disapprovingly.
We transfer on to ARoS, Aarhus’s enormous fashionable artwork gallery, which is as Danish as bacon.
Within the basement, we get caught in Hell, a multi-room conceptual art work reimagining Lucifer’s inferno as a seedy nightclub, in addition to a bizarre gentle show and an incomprehensible video about youngsters in a forest.
Halo: The ARoS Artwork Museum is topped by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson’s Your Rainbow Panorama
On the roof, we discover solace in Your Rainbow Panorama. That is a rare interactive work by the Danish-Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliasson.
It consists of a round, 150m lengthy and 3m broad walkway fabricated from multicoloured glass.
The customer walks by the circle and sees Aarhus beneath by varied shades.
Taffeta and I lose our cynicism someplace within the orange part, and begin taking selfies. We abruptly really feel like easy-going moderns, which is probably what Denmark is all about.
The Danes simply appear higher adjusted to fashionable life. They’re extra relaxed with the welfare state, know-how, liberal values and life after faith.
They is probably not as passionate because the Italians, or as attention-grabbing. However ardour is overrated.
We eat one other improbable dinner, drink extra, and go to mattress comfortable. Nothing rotten within the state of Denmark, we expect, as we fly dwelling.
