The Bog Man in the City of Århus, Denmark in Jutland

The Bog Man at the Moesgard Museum in Arhus, Denmark. He doesn't photograph all that well...

I stood staring with my mouth agape: within arms length was a man who lived during the Iron Age in Europe. He was preserved in a bog until being found in 1952 in Central Jutland. A skeleton he is not, rather, an almost flesh and blood human body, apparently, the best preserved “bog person” in the world.

The Bog Man at the Moesgård Museum
Heading into the Moesgård Museum in Århus, Denmark, all looks normal. The Stone Age is covered, there are items of war sacrifice from Illerup Ådal and many temporary archaeologically-based exhibits.

But head deeper in, then step down into a separate room, and you’ll come across a 2,000 year old man.

He’s creepy (which isn’t his fault) and steeped in sadness. I believe the museum positioned the bog man in this secluded room for just that reason, to give him a bit of dignity in such an exposed state. Honestly, I feel deeply moved to have had the chance to spend some time with him. Now that is creepy!

The Boy Scupture at the ARos Museum in Arhus, Denmark.

Århus Hotel
In other parts of the delightful city of Århus, I checked into the overly ornamental and in-your-face Hotel Royal, which totally won me over. The elevator is an actual lift – where you close the gate and there’s a chair for the lift person (is there a job title for that?) – and the rooms are large, not by European standards, just plain large. The washrooms have gold-plated everything, from the shower faucet to the bidet and sink handles.

Jacob Holdt at the ARos Museum
I stumble upon an extraordinary exhibition running at the ARos Museum. Dane Jacob Holdt gets a glimpse inside the unsettling parts of the United States. The disturbing images of Klu Klux Klan rallies, children learning how to use guns, and graphic murder have made permanent imprints on my memory. The show is called Faith, Hope and Love – Jacob Holdt’s America and it was only supposed to run until May, but it’s still up.

On a lighter note, there is a giant boy statue by Ron Mueck that sort of just makes you gawk. He’s a four metre tall sculpture and the closer you get to him, the more life-like he appears. Oh, and outside of the museum is where I saw the Prince of Denmark! He didn’t resemble Hamlet at all…

Arhus Restaurants: The Outdoor Terrace at Cafe Mefisto in Arhus, Denmark.

Århus Restaurant
The first restaurant I noticed the red blankets at was the Café Mefisto (website in Danish only), a gorgeously tiny restaurant in the centre of the city. The group of us ended up having a seven-course fish dinner there, which went well into the night

As I’m sure you can imagine, Scandinavia can get pretty cold, so restaurants drape blankets over the outdoor seats (I only saw red ones) so that if diners get cold once the sun gets dimmer (it doesn’t ever get dark in the summer like it does farther south), they can simply pull a blanket over their shoulders or lap and continue on with their meal. Brilliant.

The Old Town of Århus
Another worthy stop in Århus is The Old Town. 75 historical buildings make up a village spanning several decades. Next year, they’ll have a new series of 19th century buildings to add to the village.

Read more articles on Denmark here.

(I travelled as a guest of Eurail Group, Visit Denmark and VisitÅrhus.)

Tags: Arhus Hotel, Arhus Restaurant, ARos Museum, Bog Man, Cafe Mefisto, Denmark, Iron Age, Jacob Holdt, Jutland, Moesgård Museum, Scandinavia, The Stone Age, Århus