Aalborg, Denmark

This morning, I went off on my own to explore the older parts of Aalborg. Our radar died of old age a couple days ago, Peter having determined after some tests of voltage and current and that sort of thing that it was irreparable.. He stayed on the boat to work on getting a new unit. Luckily, Skudehavnen is surrounded by businesses serving boats large and small, and he found a dealer nearby who had replacement options as well as a man who was willing to come on short notice to install in the new Garmin radar on the mast this afternoon.

My first stop was Sct. Mariæ Kirk (St. Mary's Catholic Church) on the west side of downtown. The parish was established in 1898 and the octagonal red-brick building, based on Charlemagne's Chapel in Aachen, was built in 1925 in the Renaissance Revival style. The interior is spacious and welcoming with modest decorative aspects.

Interior, Sct. Mariæ Kirk (St. Mary's Catholic Church)

I roamed around rather aimlessly and came upon the Aalborg Monastery, founded by Denmark's oldest social order, the Order of the Holy Ghost. Built from 1431 to 1500, the complex was the hospital of Aalborg until 1953. The Hospital of the Holy Ghost was dissolved in the Reformation of 1636, but it continued to function as a secular hospital. The buildings have been converted into 26 private apartments for the elderly, but some of the courtyards are open to the public. 

Aalborg Monastery

Fountain Courtyard, Aalborg Monastery

Strolling along pedestrian shopping streets, I found the Gothic style, red-brick Budolfi Church, the cathedral of the Lutheran Diocese of Aalborg. The original church on this site, a smaller parish church, was constructed in the early 12th century, and some of the large stones used for this can be seen in the crypt. The existing Budolfi Church was built at the end of the 14th century. The church is entered through the vestibule and tower room, renowned for the intricately painted Gothic vault ceilings depicting biblical motifs and historical coats of arms. In the sanctuary is more richly decorated than other churches we have visited in Denmark. The main altar piece and the elaborately carved and painted pulpit were gifts of parishioners in the 17th century. 

Pedestrian street in Aalborg

Budolfi Church vestibule ceiling

Decorative ends of pews, Renaissance artwork and pulpit, Budolfi Church

I had read about a couple places to get birds-eye views of the city and chose to ascend to the top level of Salling Department Store. From there, I could see red roofs all around as well as rooftop gardens. It is easy to observe that the streets do not follow a grid pattern. 

View of the rooftops of Aalborg

Continuing my exploration, I wandered along cobbled streets past brightly colored and bare brick homes.  They are enchanting and the lanes are peaceful. I walked past the Church of Our Lady, another red brick edifice which, unfortunately for me, is closed for renovations.

Half-timbered bowing building

Hjelmerstald

Hjelmerstald

Entrance to Church of Our Lady

Church of Our Lady

Back near the water, I admired the bright yellow Old Town Hall. Across the street is the five-story Jens Bang's House, built in 1624 in the Dutch Renaissance style. Noted for its gables and its sculpted auricular window decor, it is considered the finest privately owned Renaissance building in Denmark. There are gargoyles above the windows and a sculpture of Bang's face, with his tongue sticking out. (Pugnacious and opinionated, the burgher was disliked by most of his contemporaries.) Jens Bang was one of Denmark's richest citizens at the time, a leading trader and merchant.

Old Town Hall, Aalborg

Jens Bang's House

Svane Apoteket (the Swan Pharmacy) operated on the ground floor from 1666 to 2014. It is now a shop and museum. The original wooden ceiling, painted with plants and animals used for curing illness and disease, is intact as are some of the cabinets, counters and furniture from its early days. 

Entrance to the Swan Pharmacy

Cabinets, Swan Pharmacy

Ceiling decorations in Swan Pharmacy

Next to Jens Bang's house is an older, three story residence, built in 1616 by Bang's older half-brother and mayor at the time, Jørgen Olufsen. Constructed mainly of sandstone, it also has a striking half-timbered section. 

Jørgen Olufsen's House

Although it was nippy and the sky was totally gray when I left Mantra at 9:30, by early afternoon, the sun had appeared, and I returned to the boat to do laundry. By the time the first load was hung on the life lines, the clouds had clumped up and obscured the golden, warm orb once again. Within ten minutes of hanging out the second load, it started to rain! How did people here dry clothes before the advent of dryers? Did they just put on damp clothes and hope their body heat would dry them? Quickly before the downpour, I gathered all the clothing, which held about the same amount of moisture as the when they came out of the washing machine, even the ones that had been blowing in the wind for over an hour.

The cities operate the harbors where we have stayed. There is an easy and efficient payment system accessed with a smart phone. There are very clean restroom and showers (free at this place) and laundry facilities. We looked around yesterday evening and could not find the laundry. Peter has now found out it is in the adjacent marina a short walk away. As soon as the load of sheets finishes washing, we will haul all the wet things over there. I walked through that marina on my way back from the city and discovered there are many restaurants by it, so we may have dinner out again while we wait for dry clothes. 

Meanwhile, Peter had tested the new Garmin radar before installation and it is working properly. A young technician with a cherry picker arrived a couple of hours ago, after we had moved Mantra to a better spot for his access, and easily took down the dead radar and put up the new one--before the rain. This problem actually was solved with much more ease than anticipated. 

Removal of the old Garmin radar

Although I have been mildly complaining about the lack of sunshine and the cold, we are not having to endure the condensation, dampness and frigidity inside the boat that we did last year during what is called summer in Maritime Canada, Greenland, Iceland and Scotland. For that I am truly grateful--although I would still prefer a warmer, sunnier climate for sailing. Some days we don't use any heating at all, and on the days we do, it is only for brief periods of time. We only have the two small, portable heaters now as the heating and A/C unit died earlier this year. Fortunately, they are sufficient.