The longest day of the trip for Nigel, at 80 miles; the shortest day of the trip for me, as cycling any non-trivial distance on my damaged ankle was out of the question. I was pretty down about it all, though at least sitting on the train from Vinderup to Aalborg, I could stay dry and warm as I watched torrential rain stream down the windows for three hours.
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But I got some sort of bike-related enjoyment in Aalborg, Denmark’s fourth-largest city. It’s known for its architecture, the strikingly-shaped Music Hall being an example. It was still throwing it down, so I enjoyed the interior rather more than the exterior. A little further along the waterfront is the Utzon Centre, celebrating the works of local boy Jørn Utzon: he designed a certain opera house in Sydney, inspired by orange peel.
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A short distance further west on the waterfront was one of Aalborg’s hip and trendy food halls, with trendy and hip cuisine served to communal tables in a repurposed warehouse. There was a nice vibe in there, but like the Utzon Centre, it was a bit beyond my budget.
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What was within my budget, though, was the lovely Vestre Fjordpark a kilometre or so beyond. Because it was free, and offered several seawater lidos for dipping, complete with diving boards and showers. I got there just as the sun was coming back out and had a pool to myself for quarter of an hour; the only others around were the kayakers in the big watersports pool beyond.
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As the sky blued over and it got genuinely hot, more and more people arrived, some of them families on cargo bikes, and the place got lively. I sipped a beer, thinking this might help support the place, and enjoyed the post-swim buzz in the sunshine. So hardly any cycling today, but at least I did get to use my trunks…
Miles today: 81 (me 9)
Miles since Padborg: 359 (me 241)