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My good friend, and former colleague, Dagfinn invited me to stay at his place for the weekend and catch up, talk nerdy-tech-talk ;) and drink heaps of cheap and excellent beer in Aalborg, Denmark. Us Norwegians just loooove to travel to our neighboring countries. Our tax system is such that tobacco, alcohol and meat are very expensive, and some of these goods are wayyyyy cheaper in Sweden and Denmark, so a lot of people are willing to travel abroad and bring these goods home. And others, like me, prefer to indulge in over-eating and sometimes over-drinking in excellent – but cheap! restaurants in Denmark. Writing this paragraph makes me realize that those of you who are not Norwegian must think that we are crazy for doing these things but I guess we just like a bargain just like everyone else :)

To get to Denmark from my home town, Kristiansand in Norway, your best alternative is to take a ferry to Hirtshals in Northern Denmark. Currently there are 2 ferry companies sailing these waters, Fjord Line and Color Line. Fjord Line’s ferry does the trip in 2hrs 15min and Color Line’s ferry takes 3hrs 15min. Fjord Line is usually cheaper and much faster, but smaller than Color Line’s ferry. Departing times are very different though, so that’ll usually be a big weigh-in on which ferry you’ll choose. At this particular trip, I had to travel with Color Line as the other ferry was chock-a-block with passengers and there were no tickets left.

The road to Aalborg from Hirtshals is, for us bikers, boring, VERY boring. It’s a wide and straight, flat road. I was in a hurry so I took this road both ways. next time I’ll definitely be planning my trip a little better so that I can take the scenic route, which I’ve heard is actually quite nice. But whatever route you take be prepared for a massive amount of bugs flying towards you – let’s just say it’s a good idea to wear a full-helmet! Denmark is flat, incredibly flat; actually it is said that the name Denmark once meant “flat land”. A long time ago the entire country rose up from the ocean, and since the ocean bed was flat, Denmark is flat as well. Denmark’s highest point (you can’t call it a mountain because it’s probably just dirt) is 170m above sea level.

Aalborg is a fantastic city, full of life and happenings all the time. Many big artists come here to perform. AC/DC had just been in town and next up was Kiss. Restaurant prices are fair and the quality of the food is usually very good. A highly recommended stop-over if you’re travelling around Europe!

Old houses in the city centre (left), BikerThomas, on the left, with friends drinking Guinness! (right)

Harley Davidson V-Rod inside a glass cage in the pub! (left), “Beer is healthy, a lot of beer is very healthy” (right)

Tourist information: www.visitaalborg.com
Fjord Line: www.fjordline.com
Color Line: www.colorline.com

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