Aarhus
Denmark's second largest city is Aarhus. Located on the Jutland peninsula, it can be reached by train or boat. The Cathedral is part Romanesque, part Gothic. The University is beautifully situated in an extensive park. The open-air museum, "The Old Town" (Den Gamle By), is very interesting located in the south of the Botanic Garden . On the same lines as the one in Lyngby, here you will find a collection of around 75 houses from all over Denmark, dating from 16th century to early 20th century. The collection is fascinating but special attractions are the wonderfully reconstructed and furnished burgomaster's house from the end of 16th century, the beautiful merchant's house, a house on stilts and many more houses, shops, workshops and mills. Housed in some of the buildings you can find collections of toys, textiles, musical artifacts and old bicycles. Close to Aarhus are the deer parks and woods of Riiskov.
Thirty one miles from Aarhus, in the heart of the lake district, is Silkeborg the resort centre of the Jutland region. Silkeborg is a charming little town with its own lake that is a wonderful spectacle of fountains. The sailing is great, the beaches are lovely and fishing is also very popular. If you want to relax for the day but at the same time have a great time, take a boat trip here to the base of the highest point in Denmark (Himmelbjerget). Cruising along the river you enter into a series of lakes, disembarking at the base of the Himmelbjerget and taking the short climb to the top to enjoy the view. Visit, too, the wonderful ‘ inside out aquarium’ which is built actually inside the lakes making a sort of reversed aquarium. Whilst in Silkeborg you must visit the Silkeborg Museum and see the amazing exhibit of Tollund man and Elling Woman that were found preserved in a peat bog and died around 350 BC. There is a complete exhibition in the museum of early Iron Age life which centres around these peat bog bodies.
