Aarhus

My alarm clock rang at 7.30 today, like every other day. However, since today is saturday, I chose to ignore it and slept on til 8.30. Then woke up, made myself a cup of coffe and sat down with my bass..

I finally left my room again at 10.10 to go get some shopping done before the stores close - in here, people actually respect the weekend and stores are open only from 10 to 14 on Saturday and are always closed on Sunday (with very few exeptions such as large food stores or cafes in the center). I first went through the general store to get an extension cord and some batteries (as my amplifier had ran out of juice). I then went to see the guitar shop I had passed on my way back home on thursday. They only had a few bass amps but they gave me directions to another store which I had not visited before and which was also a nice walking distance away. That other store had a very nice sounding and small amp, but it cost a lot, even after the discount they promised to make me. I said I would go and think about it, then went back home to read reviews.

I spent the next hour reading reviews on portable bass amps and came to the conclusion that I should go and look over one of the amps they showed me on thursday (as this seemed to be the second smallest amp that was considered to be any good other than the very expensive one I was shown) - and go explore the city center again while I am there. So I did.

Central Aarhus is very beautiful by the way. Narrow streets and old houses mixed tastefully with modern ones. Not many sights though - just the cathedral, which is quite similar to the Jaani church in Tartu, just a bit bigger. Also - the central square is quite nice - having the central library on one side and some financial institutions on the other, all built from red bricks. Kind of reminds me of the new Viru square in Tallinn, only being a bit smaller and having grass patches instead of being just pavement.

In general, the feeling I have gotten thus far from Aarhus is that it is a nice blend of features from Tallinn (size, sea, layout) and Tartu (students, general ambience). I could easily imagine living here for a longer period so Im considering trying to apply for a postdoc here at some poing. I would not have considered Denmark as an option before because of the presumed language barrier, but since EVERYONE (all the clerks in guitar stores, grocery stores and kiosks that I have visited) speaks fluent english, this is definately not a problem in reality.

After getting back from my tour of the city, I made lunch and then went to my room to read, practice bass and watch yet another episode of "The Outer Limits". Weekends are for resting, after all.

Two things that are somewhat worrying me are the amounts of food and coffe I consume - both have gone up considerably since coming here. However, I have been walking 8+ km each day so that might excuse the food part. The coffe bit is just my lazyness though and I should try to get it somewhat under control.

I would also like to say a few things about yesterday.

I visited the faculty library, which was quite interesting. It was open 24 hours and fully self-service, for instance. Also, it had couches and beanbags alongside the more common table-and-chair arrangements. Needless to say, I liked it.

Also, it turns out that each friday, they set up a bar at the lounge of the faculty and many people use that opportunity to sit down with their collegues in an informal setting. I had an interesting chat with three of my co-PhD-students, two natives and one originally from ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Otherwise - still no luck with the bike and I also havent gotten to the bank to get myself a local account (on which they could pay me my daily allowance). Other than these things, however, I am quite settled in.