Ålborg Walking Tour (and Carnival!)

This morning, we docked in Ålborg, a city with the best-preserved Renaissance architecture in all of Denmark. It was a fun and festive day, but not the day we were expecting when we originally booked our excursion.

Tim and I had selected the West Coast and Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse tour when we were booking excursions in March. I had been looking forward to viewing “a sweeping landscape of dramatic scenery and charming villages.” Early this month before we began our cruise, I discovered that we would be in Ålborg on the day of the Ålborg Carnival. From what I read, I learned that the parade attracts 80,000 participants and 100,000 spectators and is the largest carnival in Scandinavia. At least one of the parade routes appeared to pass very near where our ship would be berthed. I wondered if Viking was aware of this.

Trying to imagine how we would get out of town on a bus through such a crowd made me decide to cancel our tour. I was even hesitant to book the included walking tour, not knowing how the guide would deal with the crowds. The more I thought about it, I realized the best excursion might actually be watching the parade from the comfort of our ship. It certainly could be a once-in-a-lifetime event!

In the end, Tim and I did decide to take the walking tour, and it was fun to pass parade goers dressed in costume. I guess Viking also concluded that bus tours might not be the best idea, since most were cancelled.

Our guide had a bit of a challenge, as the original tour route had to be modified due to the Carnival activities. Several of the sites that we were scheduled to visit were also closed. Still, he did a great job.

Ålborg's Main Square

We started our tour in Ålborg’s main square, which features Denmark’s first musical fountain. We admired the half-timbered Jørgen Olufsen House, said to be Denmark’s best preserved merchant's mansion in Renaissance style, as we walked through the streets of Old Town. We then arrived at the Monastery of the Holy Ghost, the oldest social institution in Denmark. During World War II, with Denmark occupied by Nazi Germany, the monastery served as the base for the famous resistance group, the Churchill Club.

Jørgen Olufsen House

Commercial Streets of Old Town Ålborg 

Monastery of the Holy Ghost

We were able to visit the interior of the Church of Our Lady, and our guide explained the history of many of the other significant landmarks in Ålborg. I especially enjoyed strolling the tiny cobblestone alleyways in the Hjelmerstald neighborhood.

Church of Our Lady

Landmarks in Ålborg 

Charming Neighborhood Streets

Our guide saved Ålborg’s real treasure, Jens Bang’s stone house, until the end of our tour. Bang was famously snubbed by the town’s government, and his statuesque home, built in 1624, was never approved by the local gentry. He, in turn, made a statement of his own – one of the many sculpted faces located above the windows is Bang's face, with his tongue sticking out! True or not, the house is said to be the finest privately owned Renaissance building in the country.

Jens Bang House

Faces on the Jens Bang House

From here, Tim and I started to make our way back to the ship, passing throngs of parade goers along the way. We never saw the parade itself, but we certainly enjoyed watching many of the participants. Our most memorable moment came when we began talking with two young women. They were so earnest and wanted us to know how proud they were to be Danish. It really made an impression on me.

Carnival Goers

Our New Friends

Tim and I reboarded our ship and continued to watch the festivities from our balcony. We set sail for Oslo at 2:00 pm and passed by two of Ålborg’s incredible modern landmarks located along the waterfront. The Utzon Center is an experimental culture and knowledge center and was designed by Jørn Utzon, the same Danish architect who designed the Sydney Opera House. Just down the way is the House of Music, a combined school and concert hall. I’m so glad that we were able to see both buildings.

Utzon Center

House of Music