Love at second sight

My second visit to Aalborg was on a sunny, warm summer’s day. A spontaneous shopping trip with four girlfriends. We landed outside a café with a view of half-timbered houses and a lively shopping environment. I took home a lovely pair of marked down shoes, my friend found a lovely dress, and we all enjoyed a nice lunch, glad that we were a long way from the large discount stores. We all wished we could have stayed longer in Aalborg, and it was only by the skin of our teeth that we made the ferry home to Norway!

On the motorway, cruising through the wild North Jutland landscape, I wondered, why coming to Aalborg seemed so different this time. The first time, I was too rushed - an injustice to any interesting city - and the gentleman who was guiding me, hauled me immediately to Jomfru Ane Gade - and there are limits to how much beer, even I can consume during an afternoon of sightseeing.

The sweet life in Aalborg

When I came back a third time, on a February morning, and I saw the morning mist floating over the Limfjord, the rays of sunshine beaming from Nørresundby. I had a hot double latte, and I felt simply delighted to be in Aalborg again.

Aalborg is like a box of chocolates - just one sweet surprise after another. In a small side street, we found glassblower Lene Højlund's boutique with imaginative fashions, and in Penny Lane wine shop, homemade blueberry jam, lemon curd and a well-aged Samsø cheese.

In an old courtyard in the centre of town is Lange Kunsthåndværk (art and crafts). And on one of Aalborg’s high streets, you can disappear underground, if you need to seek refuge. In Algade, outside Salling department store, a glass elevator takes you down to an The Franciscan Friary Museum. Here, you can vividly imagine the friars’ daily life 750 years ago, far removed from the hectic street life bustling above.

There are numerous galleries i byen, in the city. You should also take a stroll in the Hjelmerstald district, where the houses are beautiful and it is hard to avoid a little window-peeping.

A meal like a long kiss...

What do you do when the chef and the food are both irresistible? At the Restaurant Mortens Kro of Denmark’s renowned chef, Morten Nielsen, you will experience a party for all senses. Here you meet the man who compares a good meal to a long kiss: You remember the thrill and forget everything else. And just like a kiss can be a promise of coming pleasure, a scrumptious dish can be a promise of even better things to come. In our case, this became evident, as after the first course, came five more – with a sorbet of grapefruit and honey in between.

“The good things in life are simple,” says Morten. “I want to stimulate all the senses during a meal. It’s important to take time to enjoy all the nuances. I prefer to eat with my eyes closed, because I taste it more. We also close our eyes, when we kiss, don’t we?”. And when we had licked the last drops of our chocolate parfait, we too sat with eyes closed, as we waited for the bill.

What we dreamed about shall remain secret!