Study Abroad Blog | Blogging From Abroad

31 Jan

Goddag til Aalborg!

This is a typical Aalborg street. No wonder I’m in love!

Through some unbelievable luck and many unforeseen complications (multiple weather delays, several itinerary changes, etc….) I have arrived at my destination! I got here last night and despite my exhaustion I had to explore the city! I’m staying at an adorable little hotel called the Prinsen Hotel and it has simply been wonderful! It is right in the middle of the city center and has put me only a out a half mile from the Aalborg University Student House where I will be taken to my new apartment in just a couple hours.

For future students considering Aalborg, I must recommend this hotel. Not only is the location perfect for anyone wanting to get a feel for this beautiful city, the owner/manager and his crew have been nothing but wonderful in helping my get around! They have been quite tolerant of my very elementary Danish skills and speak English better than the Queen. The rooms are very affordable (595 DKK or about $102 a night).

Prinsen Hotel Website

This includes a beautiful authentic Danish breakfast that far surpasses any “continental breakfast” I’ve ever seen at any American hotel. It also includes wireless internet which is an essential for any study abroad student. I was somewhat surprised to find that the bulk of the television programming here is American. As I am writing this I am watching Anderson Cooper 360 live on CNN!

This is photo of the authentic Danish breakfast provided. Unfortunately the picture does not do it justice, but I tried.

Also, directly across from my hotel is the train station (which I will certainly need to familiarize myself with because my actual housing is so far away from my classes). The train station also has a convenient mart that is open until midnight which is very helpful (most Danish businesses close around 4:30 or 5:00) The Dankse Bank (one of the largest, if not the largest bank in Scandanavia) is also just steps from this hotel. I opened an account there today, and they like everyone else have been extremely helpful and speak impeccable english.

Thursday night, as I was exploring I also found a fitness center right across the street that has simply blown my mind! I love the WVU rec center, and until yesterday I would have sworn it was the best facility in the world, but “Equinox Fitness” puts it to shame! Yesterday they gave me a free day pass to explore, and although I only had about an hour before my lunch date with my Danish “buddy” (which is a fabulous system I will explain later) I got a better workout in just 45 minutes than I have in my entire life! There are literally thousands of machines and each with its own television (I watched David Letterman live as I ran this morning, haha). I have yet to explore the pool/massage/tanning/hair salon areas, but I’m sure I’ll get around to that very very soon. The best part is the price. Student discounts are very popular here!

This morning, first thing (after my delicious Danish breakfast, of course) I set out to find a hairdryer around the city (not knowing my hotel had them available at the front desk free of charge!). Walking around Aalborg at 8:30 in the morning with wet hair is not recommended, but it was well worth the trip! I was amazed at all the speciality shops. Among all the thousands of shops I found only one is what we might call a “department store”. The rest were quaint little stores, and there was one for everything! The most popular were trendy clothing shops (especially for children), hair salons (at least fifty within two miles of my hotel), sporting goods stores (mostly snow sports and soccer) and cafes. There were also some stores Americans might consider a little strange. For instance, I saw two stores entirely dedicated to cleaning supplies. Upon these discoveries, I also decided that my plane had crashed between Oslo and Aalborg, and I had arrived in heaven. Who knew such a quaint place even existed?

Below are some photos of some of the most adorable shops I found.

“Trend Addict” seems to have my name all over it! That’s very very dangerous! ;)

Anyway, I must go! I have so much more to talk about but it’s already 7:30 am, and my Danish day needs to get started!

Farvel!

P.S. I did make it through the day with only a single clothing purchase from H&M: two pairs of gloves (one for myself and one for my “buddy”) and two scarves. Kudos to me!