Here and There Blog

Nothing like a rainy day as a motivator to go inside! I don't remember going inside the Aarhus Cathedral on other visits.  Since I was expecting all Jesus and Mary, it was refreshing to see the frescoes while religious at least had different topics. The frescoes are fading as they date from the 1300-1400's.  I wish they came with context. Serpent head, death? Peg leg? Religious pirate?  Harald Bluetooth and the Priest coming to convert him from the old religion to the new?  And who has to dig their own grave or be trapped inside without a proper inscription?  Just because skulls are fun. You have to look up in this cathedral. Compared to most Cathedrals that are dark inside, this one represents light and air. 

Nothing like a rainy day as a motivator to go inside! I don't remember going inside the Aarhus Cathedral on other visits.  Since I was expecting all Jesus and Mary, it was refreshing to see the frescoes while religious at least had different topics. The frescoes are fading as they date from the 1300-1400's.  I wish they came with context. Serpent head, death? Peg leg? Religious pirate?  Harald Bluetooth and the Priest coming to convert him from the old religion to the new?  And who has to dig their own grave or be trapped inside without a proper inscription?  Just because skulls are fun. You have to look up in this cathedral. Compared to most Cathedrals that are dark inside, this one represents light and air. 

If you are lucky enough to get a sunny day, it's either a pleasant stroll or an intense workout in the botanical gardens. The place is large enough that it can be used as a track or hiking trail but also good to explore small sections. I was there too early for the greenhouse to be open to the public but the outside gardens are free to wander.  It's not fields of flowers but has it's bright spots. The hardest part is having a sunny day to enjoy the park. Two weeks in Aarhus and this was my one and only chance to get good photos (and stay dry).   And for no apparent reason - a cow.

Yesterday was all about the bodies but there's other things to see at Moesgaard. In the Viking room, you'll find war and strife. Seems like when they were on land the Vikings were less peaceful than when waging war. After all, there's always another village to plunder. Benefits of the Iron Age were great weapons.  Least we forget the children, this is a child's rattle. Actually this is sad because it was placed in the child's grave. It's a reminder that even in the first century, children needed to play and parents loved them enough to create them play toys. Also that life could be short. Vikings and weapons. The caption below the swords reads "In the Viking Age, free men have the right and the duty to own weapons." Doesn't seem that far removed from the US today. And the stairs of people throughout early years. A recreation of what they might have looked like, worn, and attitude. At the top of the stairs are looking glasses that put the p...

Moesgaard Museum has a permanent exhibit of  pre-historic exhibits and artifacts from Denmark. There are also rooms on later years in history but the earliest rooms of Bronze and Iron were the most interesting to me. In the lower floor, in the darkest corners are preserved bodies and bronze from way back when. Don't miss the hidden corners as there are no directions to the rooms. This is a wandering museum. Grauballe Man is the star. He was found preserved in a bog and lived in the Iron Age, over 2000 years ago. Poor guy was a sacrifice to the gods for a good harvest and fertility.  The close up of his face show that it the sacrifice was not a pleasant way to end his life. Let's go back even farther into the past. These three are not the stars simply because most of their parts are missing.   They're over 3350 years old and had a peaceful end since they were buried in coffins and no sacrifice is mentioned. Their faces are so much more peaceful looking than ...

It wasn't all rain in Aarhus. The sun came out and it warmed up enough for beach weather even though no one braved the water.

Walking out the back of the hotel by the old train tracks led me to a small park, artist colony, bars and experimental living center. It was a nice surprise in the urban setting and plenty of art for the eyes. Walking along all the walls are covered. Who doesn't love a giant robot with it's own sound system? This is the one that caught my eye as I was heading back to the hotel and indicated that I needed to do a course correction and explore.

Atop the ARoS art museum in Aarhus is "Your Rainbow Panorama".  It's a full circular walkway with views of the city and the bay, in all the colors of the rainbow. At first it's dizzying to look at the different colors all at the same time and my eyes had to adjust to walking down the halls since the light and sun put colors all around you while are inside.  Walking from pink to orange. This side showed off the city and worked with the brick buildings and brown exteriors. Panel transition as you go from pink to orange.     Orange to Yellow to Green, not working so well visually.  Could be different on a cloudy day. Green - well that's a dull city for sure. Blue didn't even photograph well and was as depressing as this green city. Back on the ground, looking up at the Panorama.

Because why not have a helicopter whale? Art in front of the Music Hall.

Found this one by looking up as I walked. Different, strange and captivating. The close up is from a street on the right side and the second picture is from a street on the other side.

The immediate view is the parking lot below but at eye level the city looks nice. I'm here for about 2 weeks. I hope to get out and see more than farm but that all depends on how the work goes.

Early morning turned out not to be the right time to photograph this mural. The light is nice to see the art and not nice in a photo. I'll do this again post fog on my next trip downtown.

Senor Grubby's in Carlsbad has leant it's wall to local artists. Every few months the current one is scrubbed and a new one goes up. This weekend sees a new installation. Should be complete tomorrow. Good morning for painting since the gig decided not to burn off and stayed cool all morning.