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.
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.
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.
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.
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)