Despite being away for 2 years, not much has changed. The main changes are in the people I knew, most of the expats had moved home or to other parts of Denmark. But the Danish friends had remained and especially the Mikkeller Running Club. Making Danish friends whilst living in Denmark is difficult and really only possible through sports clubs. That is why the Mikkeller Running Club was a bit of a lifeline whilst I lived in Århus.
The club really helped when transitioning to a new country. But first I headed over to my friend’s apartment in Ø, great name for tourists to learn. I first met Rob watching rugby in Tir na Nog and we became friends immediately. I guess there is something about the wit between Brits and New Zealanders which makes it easy to get along.
The next few days are spent catching up with friends, blogging, life admin and maintenance. The oil needed changing within the Rohloff. After I had cleaned the unit and emptied it I suddenly realised there was no oil in it! I remember putting some in; I do hope it was a temporary leak. Fingers crossed; next oil change in 5,000km. Another issue I had were the brakes. A full dismantle, service and new brake pads were needed to fix the issues.
One of the other reasons for attending Århus was the music festival NorthSide. This is a festival I attended every year I lived in Århus and this year was a special occasion, first I bought the ticket three years ago and it is the first time the festival has ran for three years due to the pandemic.
So, we were all expecting the organisers to pull out all the stops and get a large range of bands from round the World. This was not the case; they created the most Danish line up they could find! Now after living in Denmark I wish could say I understand Danish well, but no. I’m practically useless! My saving grace is I generally don’t go to NorthSide for the music but more to spend a lot of time with friends, this is still the case! The one UK act was Pete Tong doing a set on the electric stage.
Alas, it was time to leave and the last night of the festival I had to say goodbye to my Mikkeller friends at NorthSide and there were tears. I still well up now when I think back to that night.
Leaving a place of Happiness
Two days later (needed a day to recover) I find myself on Monday heading down from Rob’s apartment and heading to Vejle, to stay at Filip’s new apartment. Once again I realise I don’t want to leave and my emotions come to the front as my eyes well up again. I really do I hope my emotions calm down, this is starting to become difficult and thoughts of quitting keep coming up. Rob tells me not to entertain them and just keep going.
The journey to Vejle was a wet one! The first hour was torrential rain and then on/off all day. Result was a sweaty person (waterproofs on for most of the day) arriving at Filip’s. Vejle is a quiet harbour town but a main road junction between Northern Denmark and København.
Filip has cooked a lasagne, perfect cycling food and for the weather which had turned bad again, we then take a quick look around before heading to a bar for a couple of drinks and a chat. I can’t remember the topics, but the conversation was easy and was just like I had never left.
The next day I set off again, cycling along the fjord until Fredericia where I caught a train to København, unfortunately I am still under the pressure of time and will be for another month at least. I’ve always fancied a visit to Odense but it will have to wait. I need to move back to Denmark!
I spent a couple of nights with my Russian friend Natalie in København. Since the Russian invasion life had changed a bit for Natalie who opposes the war and found all savings in Russia now useless. Plus to add to it Natalie had to hide the Russian component after finding that people ignored her in conversation. People can’t always separate individuals from their Governments.
Next stage was getting to Sweden, story for another day.