Viborg Weekends 3-4: Alanna

The weekends here in Viborg have been fairly productive and eventful. On May 31st I attended a monster truck show with some of the people living at the Kollegium. They thought it would be an “American” experience, even though I explained to them that I never attended a monster truck show in the U.S. They were convinced this show would be a great representation of American entertainment. I went along with it. We had a lot of fun that night biking into town and getting to know one another. The next morning Jess and I went into Viborg to do some shopping. While walking around it started to rain so we decided to check out the museum in town, stiftsmuseum. There was a nice exhibit on early Danish childhood that we passed through. The museum featured the many lifestyles of the Danes from the past. The museum included furniture, clothing, military interests, and an odd collection of birds. It seems that the lifestyles of the Danes did not differ greatly from those living in Britain or the U.S. during the same time period. We ended our museum tour with a nice cup of tea offered to all visitors. I like this idea of having tea at a museum. Tea time is one of the things that strikes me most about the Danes. It reflects their hospitality and warmth. After the visit to the museum the weather started to clear up so we decided to go for a walk through the park. There is a beautiful park located next to the north lake, which is home to hundreds of different flowers. Hopefully when the weather gets nicer Jess and I will be able to take a paddleboat out onto the lake, which is one of the many activities to choose from at this park. Sunday was a beautiful day so I decided to go for a bike ride beyond Viborg. The scenery outside Viborg is absolutely amazing. I started biking and didn’t realize how much I actually biked because the ride was so enjoyable. Although I have gotten into a few accidents, I have finally mastered the skills of bike riding. Denmark had a bank holiday on Tuesday so we did not have to go to work. I again took my bike out to the trails and just explored. The weather was awful but there were some positives. I saw a variety of slugs and snails, which I have never seen before in such quantities. The nature out here is breathtaking.

The following weekend (June 8) many people from Foulum went to Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. Recently Foulum and the University of Aarhus merged so that students from Aarhus could learn more and become part of the research being developed in Foulum. Scientists from Foulum are now being asked to travel to Aarhus once or twice a week to teach. In a celebration for this collaboration the University of Aarhus decided to put together an event called “Feel Aarhus” for those working at Foulum. The event started off with coffee, tea, and bread…of course! After this delicious snack the director of the event gave a speech along with fellow scientists from the university. It was kind of disappointing to find out that all the speeches were in Danish. After sitting there for an hour Jens told us to go and tour the campus a bit before lunch. Even thought the campus is not that old (est. 1929) it still had its own beauty. After a great lunch with the scientists from Foulum everyone split up to go on their tour. Jess and I chose to go to Moesgaard. This museum featured the body of a man who had been violently killed and thrown into a bog. This bog was like no other in that it preserved his body for hundreds of years. When farmers looking for peat dug him up they though he had recently died and called the police. It was later discovered that the body had been there for hundreds of years and that the plants in the bog had emitted preserving agents. This museum also featured a variety of weaponry that dated back to the Viking era. Although our tour was suppose to include a trip to the beach we never found it. Apparently the beach was a few miles away from the museum. Since we didn’t know where we were going we decided it would be best to stay at the museum. The night ended with a great dinner and band. The entertainment was good. There were three men from Denmark playing older southern style songs from the U.S. It reminded me of home for a short while. On Saturday we went back into town to mail some things and to look around. We meet up with another student from France and enjoyed a thorough walk through town. The weather was absolutely beautiful Saturday so we sat outside and enjoyed some ice cream. Sunday was an exciting day. Jess, Elke (a student from Germany) and I went out to Dollerup. Dollerup is home to a beautiful lake and hiking trails. We first biked out to the Hald Ruin, a fortress once used for Roman protection. Later that day we biked out to the lake in Dollerup and went for a swim. The water was perfect and the sun was beaming. It was well worth the several mile bike ride. People here are definitely not afraid to bare some skin. Their carefree attitude and relaxed lifestyle seem to influence some individuals at the lakefront.