Helkeft, what a weekend!! I certainly felt another year older as it was clearly evident that I am far less resilient than I used to be. Whilst there is nothing too titillating that will send chills down your spine or strange enough to demand you charge your camera batteries for the next day, (the tourist map has as six H&M stores as one of its highlights) I had a fantastic time in Aarhus, despite the dire tiredness that constantly plagued us. 
There is a fantastic initiative called couchsurfing.com, where you can connect with people in your chosen destination either by occupying a couch, or meeting up for a chat, and alternatively, welcome people to your own country by offering the same back. It is an excellent way to meet local people and forge new friendships across cultures. This cultural exchange is a small way in which we can help make the world a more understanding, tolerant, and knowledgeable place. Having set up 
such an exchange, after a delicious brunch near the canal and a meander through the city, Nadya and I met Anne-Louise armed with flowers wrapped up in floral paper (and I don't mean paper from the florist, it actually had a floral print) and a bottle of rum. Her apartment was gorgeous, about a 10 minute walk from the city, and the couch very comfortable. Her friends Signe and Marlena came round, made us a gorgeous dinner, and we had cocktails whilst listening to Danish reggae. I'd read a bit about 
the Danish term hygge which is roughly translated as cosiness, but is also uncomplicated, unexaggerated, and informal. It is about feeling comfortable in a friendly atmosphere; this was certainly a hyggelig night. We learnt a couple Danish phrases in preparation to head out for the night, and then took a bus and Signe biked, the little elfin, to Arthur (pronounced Ar-tua) where the girls had all worked at one stage or another with random stories as to why they no longer did. We played pool for free 
and had several more bagfuls of laughs. Second stop, Waxies, a meat market with no fine meat. Lastly, Chokoladefabrikken (Translation The Chocolate Factory, as it was originally a chocolate factory) which was an awesome club with an underground feel, 
and laid back unpretentiousness. A good night was had, but due to the lack of taxis in Aarhus, it is impossible to get a one after a night out, so one shawarma later, we walked home with the rest of the town. Needless to say, the next day we were still pretty darn weary, so we headed out sometime in the avo for some brunch at Rar Bar , and said goodbye to Anne-Louise as she strangely managed to sum up the energy to play Danish baseball whilst we trooped off to Den Gamle (the Old Town where they moved all these old houses) Now, of all the languages, Danish seems to be the hardest one to 
pick up, with things on the menu totally unrecognisable, so it is fair to say we definitely didn't have enough basics down to speak transportation. With this in mind, we were trying to find out if the bus went to The Old Town, but the bus driver didn't speak English. He was really nice about it, and to our embarrassment made a call on the loud speaker to see if anyone spoke English!! Luckily, it wasn't the correct bus so we escaped the shame of sitting on a bus with everyone laughing at us, the silly tourists : ) Den Gamle turned out to be a little lame so we didn't end up going in, but we sat in the Botanical garden amongst the love in the air (we had been forewarned that due to everything being closed on Sunday the only people out and about are 
canoodling couples eating ice creams) and enjoyed the sun and the peaceful nature. The nice thing about Aarhus is that while the streets may be really busy, everyone is really laid back and relaxed; cafes and bars lack the pretentious and sniffy air that is often present in London. The rest of the day went by in a bit of a haze, and we made it home a little ahead of schedule at around 0145. With my eyes barely opening, and having lost the capacity to hold a conversation, I went to fling myself onto my bed; to my delight, my gorgeous flatmates had filled my room with balloons and confetti!! I literally woke up with a bang this morning!!
There is a fantastic initiative called couchsurfing.com, where you can connect with people in your chosen destination either by occupying a couch, or meeting up for a chat, and alternatively, welcome people to your own country by offering the same back. It is an excellent way to meet local people and forge new friendships across cultures. This cultural exchange is a small way in which we can help make the world a more understanding, tolerant, and knowledgeable place. Having set up 
such an exchange, after a delicious brunch near the canal and a meander through the city, Nadya and I met Anne-Louise armed with flowers wrapped up in floral paper (and I don't mean paper from the florist, it actually had a floral print) and a bottle of rum. Her apartment was gorgeous, about a 10 minute walk from the city, and the couch very comfortable. Her friends Signe and Marlena came round, made us a gorgeous dinner, and we had cocktails whilst listening to Danish reggae. I'd read a bit about 
the Danish term hygge which is roughly translated as cosiness, but is also uncomplicated, unexaggerated, and informal. It is about feeling comfortable in a friendly atmosphere; this was certainly a hyggelig night. We learnt a couple Danish phrases in preparation to head out for the night, and then took a bus and Signe biked, the little elfin, to Arthur (pronounced Ar-tua) where the girls had all worked at one stage or another with random stories as to why they no longer did. We played pool for free 
and had several more bagfuls of laughs. Second stop, Waxies, a meat market with no fine meat. Lastly, Chokoladefabrikken (Translation The Chocolate Factory, as it was originally a chocolate factory) which was an awesome club with an underground feel, 
and laid back unpretentiousness. A good night was had, but due to the lack of taxis in Aarhus, it is impossible to get a one after a night out, so one shawarma later, we walked home with the rest of the town. Needless to say, the next day we were still pretty darn weary, so we headed out sometime in the avo for some brunch at Rar Bar , and said goodbye to Anne-Louise as she strangely managed to sum up the energy to play Danish baseball whilst we trooped off to Den Gamle (the Old Town where they moved all these old houses) Now, of all the languages, Danish seems to be the hardest one to 
pick up, with things on the menu totally unrecognisable, so it is fair to say we definitely didn't have enough basics down to speak transportation. With this in mind, we were trying to find out if the bus went to The Old Town, but the bus driver didn't speak English. He was really nice about it, and to our embarrassment made a call on the loud speaker to see if anyone spoke English!! Luckily, it wasn't the correct bus so we escaped the shame of sitting on a bus with everyone laughing at us, the silly tourists : ) Den Gamle turned out to be a little lame so we didn't end up going in, but we sat in the Botanical garden amongst the love in the air (we had been forewarned that due to everything being closed on Sunday the only people out and about are 
canoodling couples eating ice creams) and enjoyed the sun and the peaceful nature. The nice thing about Aarhus is that while the streets may be really busy, everyone is really laid back and relaxed; cafes and bars lack the pretentious and sniffy air that is often present in London. The rest of the day went by in a bit of a haze, and we made it home a little ahead of schedule at around 0145. With my eyes barely opening, and having lost the capacity to hold a conversation, I went to fling myself onto my bed; to my delight, my gorgeous flatmates had filled my room with balloons and confetti!! I literally woke up with a bang this morning!! 
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