Aarhus and Den Gamble By

Today we took a 3.5 hour train to northern Denmark to a city called Aarhus. There we discovered the wonderful village of Den Gamble By, or 'The Old Town'.

This village has been a work in progress for decades. Teams of people have worked to bring 1600-1700s buildings to Den Gamble By from all over Denmark. They then reconstruct anything that is in ruins and the end product is a huge recreation town!

It was legitimately like stepping back in time. From the second you walk in, you feel like you are walking through history. The first building we went in was a house from the 1700s, complete with an actress dressed in costume, working in the kitchen over a wood burning stove. Out back were live chickens, and in the living room, a bird cage with 2 finches. It was picturesque to say the least.

Moving on we went from building to building discovering what shops would have existed back then. There was everything from a tailor, shoe maker, gold smith, gardener, hat maker, merchant, baker and so much more!!

We had lunch at the cafe. Heather had a traditional Danish lunch of meatballs, red cabbage and pickles. I had a polish sausage. We shared a piece of cake for dessert that had an amazing carmelized coconut icing. Yumm! Not to mention, we finally found Mountian Dew!! So we were very happy with lunch.

From there we continued our tour through time. It was great to be there in the low season. We could wander in and out of buildings and rarely ran into other visitors. Although, in the high season the entire town is bustling with actors/actresses in costumes.

We found the stables with 3 of the largest horses I have ever seen! We named one of them Brutus. He was at least 5'5 at the shoulder. With his head raised he towered over me. He was friendly though. Heather got a great size-comparison pic of him.

My favorite two buildings were the Mintmaker Manor and the Mayor's Manor. Both were extensive in decoration and detail. To imagine houses that big in the late 1600s is crazy!! They were bigger than some mansions I have seen! And of course, very elegant.

Near the back of the town they have a 1920s section of buildings and a 1970s section. Both are minimal and were sort of boring comparitively. They are also working on rebuilding an entire street corner from 1909, set to open next year.

Heather and I mainly enjoyed the old part of 'old town'. There is something surreal about sitting in a house that is over 300 years old and wondering what the original owners were like.

We spent almost 5 hours at Den Gamble By! Afterwards we took the train back (totally worth the 7 hours roundtrip).

Now we're going to bed early so we're well rested for Sweden tomorrow! Denmark is lovely, and I can't wait to come back later this week!

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather