Olde School

Yesterday was a bank holiday in Denmark. Before jumping to the conclusion I know you all are (probably not) jumping to, I will clarify: this is not the same sort of bank holiday as those employed in the Depression-stricken 1930s United States. All it means is that businesses, most notably places where you would like to go out to eat for lunch, are closed. It's kind of like a teacher workshop day for grown-ups, too. With that, I had the great fortune of spending the day with Thomas Bager (pronounced BAY-er, which translates to 'Baker'). Bager is a seasoned Tigers veteran offensive lineman and has been instrumental in making me feel welcome since I've been here. Plus, he's a big fan of all things Wrasslin' and is always willing to reminisce about classic matches from the days of old. Oh, and he also looks like Steve the Pirate from "Dodgeball," after Peter La Fleur shunned him and he suffered his identity crisis. Take a look for yourself:


"PAY-DERR??" I really can't believe how eerie the coincidence is in this shot. He hasn't seen the movie yet, but I promised him his likeness was nothing to be ashamed of. Anyways, Bager was very kind to offer his services as host during his day off. He treated me to lunch and then a fun-filled trip to arguably Aarhus's most popular tourist attraction, Den Gamle By (Den Gamlay BOO). This translates to "The Olde City" and I'm pretty sure that 'e' has to be added to the word 'old' in order for the translation to be accurate. Stepping back into my days as a historian, this was indeed a great time.

In brief, Den Gamle By is a historical village created not far from the downtown area. Bager described it as an "open-air museum," and I would agree very much with this analysis. There are reenactors present to help visitors get into the spirit and assist with all manner of interactive recreations and activities. There are shops and even a restaurant for people to enjoy. All in all, it's a place that even locals find themselves coming back to explore because there is so much packed into a relatively small plot of reconstructed land. However, the coolest part of it all is just how the place is "reconstructed."

Unlike most other historical villages, Den Gamle By does not limit itself to one particular time period. The buildings and artifacts here range between the Sixteenth and Twentieth Centuries. They have been reconstructed exactly as they would have been in the past - because they are all actually FROM those times! The buildings present come from all over Denmark and were removed piece-by-piece from their original locations and rebuilt to a T in the Old City. That means when we were walking through and seeing the insides of hotel built in Aalborg in 1585, we were doing just that. Very, very cool. I can speak from personal experience when I say that people have grown a lot over the years. Literally.


Instead of attempting to give longwinded explanations of some of the neat things we saw (and also seeing as how I left the guidebook and map of the place in Bager's car), I thought it might be fun to just give a pictorial rundown of the trip:


Worker's food, circa 1864. Nothing satisfies quite like rugbrød (dark Danish rye) topped with fat (lard), dried onions and salt. If people back then got their calories like this, why were they so damn short?


CLEARLY up to no good.




We didn't even go into this one, but it reminds me of the AB Clydesdale Hamlet back home. This time though, I was the annoying tourist. Is that horse sick?


Casting on a Nineteenth Century stove of a Viking wrestling a bear. Most likely based on a true event, we searched desperately for the reenactment and hoped to try our hand at it.


I was shocked to learn the big glass one was the oldest one there. Actually those are some of the most expense offices in Aarhus, built overlooking the Old City. I'll bet the reenactors had a tough time explaining the role of "wicked iron beasts" nearby during construction, as this "Shimmering Tower to Valhalla" was erected a few years back.


More reminders of the Brewery, except our spent grain doesn't do that to livestock. Very amusing.


Improptu game of "Kick the Sphere whilst Chasing he who Kicks." Early displays of soccer hooliganism, I believe.


Great photography by Bager here, actually managing to capture the split second I appeared to be doing okay up there. The woman next to me kept singing this weird Danish jingle to the tune of "Old Saint Nick."

I could probably go on for many more, but I'm going to cap it there. Many, many thanks to Thomas Bager for being a terrific host and same to his girlfriend for a fantastic dinner. I also must thank Bager for being the first to read me the article I was featured in several weeks ago. Coincidentally, we spent some time at a few local pubs later in the night. At one such place, we actually ran into Lars, the reporter who wrote the piece. Bager and I were able to both compliment him on a fine job. He told me his editor loved the whole premise, particularly the toaster theme. He said he would have gone a different direction with things, but the powers-that-be thought otherwise. He also said he'd checked out NTD and enjoyed my writing. He's also a very good liar. All kidding aside, thanks again Lars and we look forward to seeing you in a few weeks at our home opener.

I'm going to call it a night for now, I look forward to seeing all of you sooner than that.