Aarhus, Denmark

Aarhus, Denmark is the type of place I probably wouldn’t have really known about or thought to visit if I hadn’t made a friend from Denmark during my travels. One of the best things about traveling is meeting people from all over the place and realizing just how similar and connected we all are.

During a rather stressful yoga class in Colombia, I met Kirsten and she and I became friends. She mentioned she was from Aarhus, Denmark and how quaint and fun it is and an amazing alternative to the busier city of Copenhagen. I hadn’t visited Denmark previously and so I decided once my travels through South America were through, I would make it a point to go visit her. 

Getting There

I was able to fly straight into the small Aarhus airport about 45 minutes outside of the city. The bus into the city was conveniently sitting right outside the exit and the ride through the countryside was so beautiful and relaxing, it didn’t even feel like it was that long of a drive. It dropped me off right in the center of town about a 10-15 walk from my friend’s apartment. Just about everything was walkable in Aarhus and nothing seemed to be too far away.

Take Your Time to Explore

My travel adventures in Denmark, this time around, were confined to Aarhus and I am so glad it was. I was only there for about five days and I took it easy but there is plenty to see and do to keep anyone busy but I am glad I took the time to really explore this little gem of a city.  I didn’t even see everything or eat at all the delicious restaurants I wanted to, so a visit back will certainly be in my future. Even just walking around Aarhus is so calming and relaxing and it really brings a whole new understanding of the word Hygge.

Safety & Security

One of the greatest things about Aarhus was how absolutely safe I felt wandering around by myself even late into the night. One evening I went out by myself to have a nice dinner and the night got carried around with me, talking to a lovely couple from New York and the Assistant Head Chef for one of the best restaurants in Aarhus and before we knew it we were leaving the place around 3 am and I didn’t even blink at the thought of having to walk back to the apartment by myself. There are a few places I have ever felt that truly safe at that time of night walking around a city especially after a couple of drinks. This gave me an even deeper appreciation for Denmark and the people there. 

Best Places to Eat

Aarhus has an unusually high amount of high quality and high ranking restaurants for being so small and so my main goal, as is with most places was to eat allllllll the things! I came to try all the different food Denmark had to offer and there were a number of restaurants on my list. I tried a few of them but there are still plenty to sample at some point!

Hærværk, Nordisk Spisehus, Raadhuus Kafeen, Aarhus Street Food, Hantwerk, and Møf were the few that I tried just during my few days there and I don’t remember the last time I ate so much good food in such a short period of time. I was floating away on cloud nine and I will be sure to create an entirely separate post just for my food daze in Aarhus!

Den Gamle By

Another really cool thing that we spent the day doing was visiting Den Gamle By (Pronounced Den Gamley Bu). It’s an Old town recreation in the city of Aarhus with old Danish buildings that were brought in from around the country, bakeries, role actors walking around and bars with live entertainment. It was like stepping through a portal back in time walking among buildings from the last 500 years in Denmark.

ARoS Art Museum

ARoS the Art Museum has a really unique rainbow walking ring above it making it really easy to spot from pretty far away. It’s super cool to spot throughout the city and walk through when visiting the museum. While walking around town I also recommend you make sure to walk past and in, if you get the chance the Arhus Teater and Cathedral. I am not much for going into churches these days but the Cathedral, while extremely large and dramatic from the outside is a bit more simple inside, at least compared to the many many golden cathedrals I have seen in my life. It’s a very understated and peaceful church and worth a peek.

Godsbanen

The outside of Godsbanen is painted with all sorts of fantastic street art. It is like a community center and they normally have activities or events going on like small concerts or shows and the real beauty is the extremely steep roof design that you can walk up and get a pretty good view of the surrounding areas. 

Dokk1

Apart from Den Gamle By, the Library, Dokk1 was my favorite thing to visit in Aarhus. I LOVE libraries and I have visited many all over in many different countries but I have never in my life experienced such a place as this. Firstly, this place has a super cool underground automated parking system (Don’t judge me! I get excited about efficiency), then when you walk into the library itself you can immediately feel how welcoming this place is.

There are cozy comfortable seats EVERYWHERE. There is artwork all around and play areas for kids and moms to meet up. The outside area around the library is a whole place area for kids as well as the inside ones. There are tons of tables in a quieter area for people to get their studies and work done and at what feels to be the center of this library is a long cylindrical bell.

The Bell of Birth!

This Bell was by far the coolest thing I have seen in a very long time and let me tell you why. Whenever someone has a baby at the Aarhus hospital the parents can, from the hospital, choose to ring this giant bell in the library announcing the birth of a new child! LIKE HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT?!?

What a way to enter the world and announce to the city that you have arrived! I don’t know about you but that whole concept just filled me with some much-needed hope. What a beautiful way to show it. 

I could go on and on about how much I love this city. Aarhus, Denmark is definitely a hidden gem well worth exploring and spending time in. If you are looking for a bit of a calm and a quieter place that can really renew your hope in humanity AND still has delicious cuisine, fun activities during the day and plenty of adventures to be had in the evening, then this city should be next on your list of places to visit.