arhus, denmark

Our final stop of the cruise was the Viking town of Arhus. We boarded the bus for the last time and first headed through the countryside to Silkeborg where we stopped at the Silkeborg Museum. Here we got to see how the Vikings lived, the clothes they wore and even how the ladies styled their hair. However, the highlight of the museum was the famous Tollund Man.

The Tollund Man is the naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC. He was found in 1950 buried in a peat bog on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark, which preserved his body. Such a find is known as a bog body. Tollund Man, and in particular the head and face, was so well-preserved that at the time of discovery he was mistaken for a recently deceased murder victim. However, in 1950 they were only advanced enough to preserve the head so in the museum they have made a replica of the body that was found with the actual head. I know it sounds kind of creepy but it was amazing to be staring at a body that was over 2,000 years old. From the remains that were found in his stomach, archaeologists believe that the man was killed as a sacrifice to the gods.

After seeing a second female bog body, we left the museum and headed for our second stop, Himmelbjerget. Himmelbjerget, also known as Sky Mountain, is set 455 feet above see level and is known for its dynamic scenery and chain of beautiful blue lakes surrounded by lush forests. On our way to and from Sky Mountain we saw several Christmas tree farms and I felt like I was in the North Pole (with out snow, of course) and I also saw my first thatched roof.

It was a beautiful countryside and although our tour was short that day, it was nice to have one last glance at Denmark's beauty. That night we had our last dinner with our friends who were assigned to our table and saw the final performance by the wonderful singers and dancers of the Eurodam.

The next morning we were up early so that we could listen for them to call our number. We said our last goodbyes to our stateroom and headed to the airport. It was a zoo when we arrived at the airport. Just imagine 300 country bumpkins trying to find their way around a Danish airport.

We finally found the check-in line and after about 40 minutes of standing in line we made it to the front. I checked my bags and was ready for home but the lady said that my mom was not ticketed for the flight, therefore she could not assign her a seat. Apparently, the ticket my mom gave her (the one the travel agency gave my mom) was only an itinerary and she couldn't find her in the system without a ticket number. Immediately I started freaking out and frantically ran around the entire airport looking for one of the three travel agents to come and help my mom. They were no where to be found and I was so upset that I started crying because I'll I could think about was my poor mother being stranded in Copenhagen while the rest of us boarded the plane. Meanwhile, my mother waited patiently by the ticket office hoping that I would come to her rescue. When I couldn't find any one to help I asked the women in the ticket office if there was anything she could do. She said that my mother could buy another ticket to get her home and then get reimbursed for her other ticket later, or I could go stand in another line and try talking to someone else. I was not going to have my mom buying another ticket when I knew she already had one and I was determined to get her on the plane with me, so I went and stood in the other line. After a few minutes I finally got a helpful women that figured out the problem and located my mom's ticket number in less then 5 minutes. She was confused as to why the other women wasn't able to find it but at this point I didn't care. My mom got her ticket and she wasn't seated next to me but that was the least of our worries. We boarded the plane and the nice man sitting next to my mom graciously gave up his seat and TOGETHER we flew to Newark.

We landed and went back through customs and sadly parted ways. I caught a cab, and was never happier to see my tiny apartment. About 3 hours later I received a phone call from my mom who was still in New York. Had we known her flight would be leaving 5 hours late, I would have invited her to come to my place so that she could rest. She finally made it home at 2 in the morning and this time her luggage made it too.

It was so nice for it to be just me and my mom. I learned things about my mom that I never knew before and it was so nice for us to just chat face to face for awhile instead of over the phone. This trip was a once in a life time opportunity. I saw things I know I never would have if it weren't for this cruise. And while it was really busy and I sometimes felt like they were trying to cram way to much in, I am glad that they did. I loved traveling abroad and hope that this trip was the first of many trips out of the country. Sadly, Jason was not home when I got home and I had to wait 3 more days to see him, making it a total of 17 days apart. This was not easy for us and hopefully we won't ever have to be apart for that long again.

The Tullund Man


Sky Mountain



Thatched Roof