Today was Jo’s “getting to know the university ” day – viewing a flat first thing:
and then a fun games and drinking day with some of her soon-to-be colleagues.
So we went on a little scout around the region.
To the beach
The famous Moesgård museum (look it up!)
Saw some of the fun and games but didn’t see Jo
A trip around the old town
And an attempted picnic but rather too many flies and I bought non-alcoholic beer by mistake …
And Jo had a very successful day.
And getting to know a bit about Denmark.
Aarhus isn’t really on the tourist trail, but does seem to be a lovely city. Admittedly it is August, so quiet and sunny and warm, but there is lots to like about it.
For example the infinite bridge which circumstances led me to being there 4 times.
Early morning – didn’t even know of its existence.
5k run with Jo
Walk with Eileen
Evening to see the non-sunset
Note me being faded out in the photo – nice one Jo!
Some things are quite (very) expensive
Went out to eat in the evening at the world-famous Aarhus Street Food
Really good – two Thai’s and one sushi. But the lollipop (admittedly superb) was £4!
Main part of today was for Jo to see her tutor who sounded really nice. Jo’s office will be in here
And we sat on a bench for a while and looked over the campus
There are loads and loads of cyclists, so we look forward to Jo buying a bike when she moves here. And they are a definite well-defined category of road user. Back home we have cars and pedestrians and bikes sort of fit in where they can whereas here they are definitely a category of their own with their own lanes and rules. And we nearly got run over twice.
And everyone seems to obey road rules. Pedestrians and cyclists wait for green signals, even when there’s no traffic.
That’s the reflections for today. Plus lots of photos from Jo’s flashy phone camera.
Exciting. In preparation for Jo’s impending move to start her PhD we thought we would come to Aarhus and find some bearings.
Of course there are always downsides, especially if Stansted and Ryanair are involved. Only an hour delay and not (yet) caught up in the strike.
And, importantly, for the first time in almost 5 years, Jo makes a guest reappearance on the blog – for 4 days only!
Best way to check a place is to find the old town and find a coffee shop. We thought it might be a bit expensive, but didn’t quite expect £5 for a (admittedly extremely good) cappuccino. Subsequently worked out we had probably chosen the most artisan of all the artisan coffee shops, but still …
Anyway, here’s a few shots of us and Aarhus getting to know each other.
So far, impressions are good. People are very friendly and, of course, speak excellent English. It is a bit expensive and the number of bikes is phenomenal!
I think we’re getting more and more sucked into India. The sights are great, but there is so much more.
Eileen and I were up and out just before 6.00 – it’s much cooler then – having a walk and a coffee on the prom with thousands of others. Interestingly, Anna our driver was complaining about how cold it is in the morning – we thought it was perfect.
And then talking to our Airbnb host – really interesting background with her parents being caught up in the partition, her mother being part of the founders of the Montessori movement and her husband a politician who could pull a few strings if we fancied visiting the Odisha region next year.
Anyway, back to business. A longish 3 hours drive. First stopping temple (I knew I wasn’t going to be able to remember this one’s name):
11th Century to stop you looking it up. But what I found great was that as it is still Pongal it is a huge day out for families who use the Temple as a social venue for games, picnics and so on. And the colours continue. And it was mega busy.
And the next one – both of these are the warm up to the main event ( see tomorrow):
But then there is the weirdest thing continuing which is what it must feel like to be minor royalty ( or a hanger on in my case)! We have our driver so he drops us off right outside wherever we’re going (waved through by the guards on occasions), but then this continuous demand for Eileen to be in photographs (eventually wanting to say s*d off, we’re looking at your b****y temple!!!!
Haven’t fathomed what it’s all about. And now, of course, when we glance around we are noticing many more examples of people looking at us. Fame at last ……
First a bit of geography. Chennai is about 3/4 of the way down the eastern side of India, and at the moment we are trundling south. If we kept going in a straight line we would hit Sri Lanka.
Secondly a bit of education – they say travel broadens the mind. We have hit Pongal – the biggest Hindu festival in southern India which seems to be a very long Harvest Festival. Schools are shut for a week, and this follows on rapidly from them also being shut for Christmas week. I must admit to never having heard of it before, but it is great to be in the middle of it.
After two nights of acclimatising in the safety of a Sheraton we set off this morning to Puducherry. (Also the spellings of towns seems to vary – also known as Pondicherry.)
Room plus view (Bay of Bengal since you ask).
Then a guided tour of the Old Town.
Actually not so old – cathedral only built in 20th Century but we liked the colours…
and the Christmas Tree – not sure what happened to 12th night.
And the fun part was a walk around the shopping streets and markets – crazily busy plus sounds and smells (mostly nice but not entirely):
Evening extremely splendid. Coffee and cake with a view:
Dinner – according to Eileen the tiger prawns were “the best ever”. The Indian wine slightly less so … But a walk along the promenade at 10.00 and luxuriating in the warm breeze was fantastic.
First up an early morning start. There is something mesmerising about the estuary filling up and emptying as regular as clockwork. And it adds an extra dimension to having a swim – you have to be in the mood and the water has to be there.
Headed out to Dinan today. Now that’s what I call coffee and cake!
Then a mooch around Dinan, including the world famous Breton crepes for lunch.
Including a climb up the 180 steps to the top of the clock tower.
No sunset this eve. It has been cloudier than back home but not the promised storms. Maybe St. Malo tomorrow if we can get out of the house.
Started off with a leisurely breakfast and found a friend.
Then more full on sightseeing, starting with Topkapi Palace. Amazing and mostly about 500 years old.
Then stopped for a coffee – that really is the Bosphorus.
Then a half hour walk (and a decent climb) to the Suleymaniye (the Magnificent) Mosque.
And decent views across the Golden Horn.
A rest and some packing before another rooftop dinner. Amazing sights, with ok food that again didn’t match the view but who’s complaining!
Sunset! And that is it for Istanbul. We came with high expectations and they have been exceeded by a long way. What an amazing city.
Early start tomorrow – taxi booked for 6.45 for an early flight and driving down to Kas on the Mediterranean.
