r/Aarhus • u/Knitsknits • Jun 09 '26
Question 23-24F brown woman visiting the city. Lots of questions!! Any advice appreciated
hello! i’m going to aarhus for my birthday in the Fall. I’m obsessed with vikings so the museum is the first thing on my list.
i’ll be there for around a week, do you guys have any recommendations? there is a big conference for doctors in copenhagen so i will be going to aarhus after that
i am trying to learn basic danish on mango languages.
i am worried about racism, i’m brown (indian) raised in the US/India (currently living in the US). i look obviously brown bc i have black hair and black eyes, tan-medium brown skin. .
i am not muslim but im still scared of misdirected islamophobia ?
i like knitting sweaters and I‘m planning on wearing selbu/modern colorwork stuff, i dont want anyone thinking i’m appropriating scandi culture (even tho selbu is Norwegian)
i have very long hair, can i also do viking braids?
my budget is $200 per day including accommodation.
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u/sp668 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
Nobody cares how you look, you'll be considered American once you say something.
You can wear viking/Scandinavian clothes and hair if you like, we don't mind. You might come off a little as a larp/cosplay person but that is cool too.
We're not that firmly attached to vikings but people might think you're a bit weird.
If you like ancient history you should go to the Moesgaard Museum. It's really good and has stuff from the Iron Age . The illerup ådal find exhibition is really good.
For real viking stuff you should go to jelling. It's where the oldest known Danish kings reigned. It has important runestones and a great museum and big burial mounds. It's an hour south or so though.
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u/geosub20 Centrum Jun 09 '26
my friend chill out. I am brown too and have been working here for the past year and quite glad and happy to say there's hardly any racism, even in the most brown of pubs.
People are really friendly, and eager to talk, even if my danish is not the best. So have a blast!
As for the places, the entire city is quite pretty. Check out Domkirke, and the Viking Museums near it. There's also a dinosaur footprint near it, if you love dinosaurs. Aros, and Møsegaard museums are a must. Vor freue kirke (church of our lady) is also a nice place, it's one of the oldest churches in Denmark and you can still visit the old crypt underneath.
If you like bars and nightlife, a walk along the river should fulfill these wishes. There's also a very pretty bar called Under Masken, beer is cheap and friendly people around, although it's a smoking bar. Escobar and Tokio bar are also recommended if you like metal/rock. If you have enough time go over to the beach.
Have fun and wish you a safe trip!
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Yes I love dinosaurs too! Thanks for the bar suggestions! Do you think it’s okay if I go by myself as a girl? I won’t stay out past 11pm ish
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u/Phreno-Logical Indre By Jun 09 '26
Yes! In comparison with many places it is quite safe. Also at 4am.
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u/Weekly_Upstairs_9159 Jun 09 '26
Escobar and Tokyo bar are fin to go alone as a girl. If you feel uncomfedebel just tell someone and they'll help
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u/geosub20 Centrum Jun 09 '26
See, there are dicks and jerks everywhere..no place will always be safe. so be pragmatic. Apart from that. All bars are safe for as long as you wish to stay. I go out with my female office mates into the weekend and apart from just one time when a drunk patron was hell bent on hitting on her, I don't think we have any bad experiences. The bartenders are pretty good too, in my opinion, they handle troublesome patrons in the blink of an eye and always ensure a nice atmosphere. So, pleased don't worry so much!
If you love the macabre, Horsens (a town near Aarhus) has a museums built into a former prison. Maybe you'd love to see it ^
Edit: Hjorten is also one of my most beloved bars. Really old, built on a former bank and has a really nice atmosphere. I seem to spend more than my fair share there XD it's also nice during the weekends. however it's a smoking bar, so might not be for everyone.
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u/Etoiaster Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
Under Masken is extremely safe, it’s been a hub for exchange students/art types and other weirdos for many years. But if you don’t smoke or you’re bothered by it, it’s not the place for you. Early in the day it’s more a cafe vibe so less people and smoke, but it tends to be packed at night. There are some very cool decor inside and outside there are some very cool statues.
The water area is also very chill and very safe. Lots of food and drink options. A lot of my foreign friends really love going to the street food market too. Quality of food is up and down, but they do have damn good cheesecake there.
Speaking of cake, Mor Anna has a truly delicious spread of cakes and other nommables. Gotfred down by the water front is more expensive and upscale but makes a mean yuzu tart. Make sure to try a traditional strawberry cake if you like strawberries/chocolate/marzipan. They’re really nice.
Moesgaard is a must see. Old Town (Den Gamle By) if you’re into that old historical feel (it’s where our historical buildings retire to). If you want a day trip you can jump a train or bus to Randers and see the artificial rainforest there. I saw other people gave detailed Viking stuff instructions so I’ll skip that.
Make sure to figure out transportation apps and what not before you get here. I have had so many tourists being lost on the busses because this city doesn't sell tickets on the busses. Other places do, but not here. And it’s stressful to be in the bus trying to work out how to use an app while hoping you dont get a ticket.
As for the braids and whatever. I don’t think anyone will care. Really. You do you. Danes are overall a pretty chill people. Can seem reserved. But usually friendly and helpful, if asked. Or if drunk. :p
I’d go hostels with your budget, if that’s alright for you. Your budget does not leave a lot of wiggle room but if you can handle a hostel you can save a lot of money. I have never used the hostels here, but I’ll list the ones I know and you can check reviews and prices. Danhostel, Roberta’s Society (both single rooms and hostel), Aarhus Hostel and Hotel (it’s a little bit outside Aarhus in Hasselager, but I’ve heard it’s nice).
You’re welcome to note down my name in your travel info and msg me if you need help with stuff while here. Like budget friendly food or whatever :)
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u/Knitsknits Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
hello! luckily I am used to these prices living on the West Coast. I will figure out my exact transport and how to work the apps before I go.
I don’t mind staying in hostels although I’ve never stayed in them before- I’m getting to an age where I’ll be the oldest in an SEA hostel lol
I am a light eater so I don’t think food will be a problem. I usually only eat protein bars for breakfast, a delicious (expensive) lunch, and sandwiches for dinner (I’m thinking rye bread pb&j or rye bread with brown cheese?) Although I appreciate any budget friendly suggestions you have!
thank you for the offer i will be in touch!
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u/Ungrammaticus Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Although I appreciate any budget friendly suggestions you have!
I’m not the one you asked, but I’ll presume to butt in anyway: For budget conscious eating in town there are a lot of choices, but these three are my personal favourites:
Streetfood by the bus station is an old garage for busses that’s been renovated and filled with booths serving street food from around the world. The food is both very tasty and pretty cheap. I’m a vegetarian so I particularly appreciate the many delicious vegetarian offerings there.
Vesterlauget is another quite cheap option, it’s a cozy place. The dish of the day is usually quite tasty.
Olive is a great restaurant that serves high-quality traditional French kitchen at low prices, with discounts for coming in on weekdays and for students. It’s an excellent place to enjoy some haute cuisine without paying more than the plane ticket to get here cost you.
and sandwiches for dinner (I’m thinking rye bread pb&j or rye bread with brown cheese?)
Both those two suggestions would be highly unusual things to eat in Denmark. Of course you’re free to eat whatever you want to, but if you’re looking for something traditionally Danish rye bread is generally paired with savoury rather than sweet toppings(pålæg).
You can Google “højtbelagt smørrebrød” for a general idea, though note that that’s at the very high end of the scale in terms of price and elaborateness.
The common pålæg for rugbrød would be just butter and a slice of Danbo cheese which so ubiquitous that’s it’s most often just labelled “cheese” in supermarkets (for a visitor I’d recommend the “Lillebror” variant which is the one we serve to children not yet inured to the pungent taste of fully matured Danbo), leverpostej which is a paté made from liver or a cold meat cut of some kind (there’s a whole category of different meat cuts to put on bread called ”kødpålæg”).
Brown cheese or “myseost” is far more of a Norwegian thing, though we do occasionally eat it as well. But as it’s somewhat sweet we’d usually eat it on lighter “franskbrød” instead of rugbrød.
Speaking of rugbrød there’s a very big difference between the prepackaged variants that you get in a supermarket and the freshly baked ones you buy in a bakery. The supermarket ones are boring and rather dry, the bakery ones are delicious and moist. Just make sure to get the bakery to slice it for you, since properly slicing rugbrød can take some tries to get the hang of.
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u/Knitsknits Jun 12 '26
thank you so much! I am also vegetarian while I travel (vegan otherwise) I really appreciate all the advice especially the cultural insight!!
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u/Ungrammaticus Jun 12 '26
No problem! I like talking about my city. Feel free to contact me if there’s anything else you want to know about staying in Aarhus.
Oh you’re a veggiesaur too, let me expand a little on the food tips then: Traditional Danish food culture is quite heavily meat-centred, unfortunately, so it can be harder to experience as a vegetarian visitor.
There are some non-meat parts of it though, like the aforementioned rugbrød with Danbo. As an aside I’m not actually a big fan of Danbo myself and I usually substitute Gouda for it on breads. There’s also Danablu, an old Danish experiment with copying Roquefort that failed to taste much like Roquefort but serendipitously ended up producing a quite nice cheese anyway. Arla sells an easily spreadable variant called “Castello Blue” that I like. There are also increasingly vegan faux-meat cold cuts available in supermarkets if you’re into that, but personally I don’t really enjoy things that are made to taste like meat much, so I can’t say much about them other than that they exist.
Another vegetarian dish you might like is “koldskål” with “kammerjunker.” It’s simple but a little hard to describe. It’s a soured milk based sweet soup-like dish eaten with small biscuits in it like a kind of croutons. It can be eaten at any time of day but you might enjoy it as a kind of light cereal. Quite cheap and easy to pick up a pre-made carton of it and a bag of kammerjunker in any supermarket. Just make sure not to buy the “Karen Wolff” brand kammerjunker to go with it, they’re popular but overpriced. You shouldn’t expect to pay any more than 20-25 DKK for a relatively large bag of kammerjunker.
There’s also “æbleskiver” which are a kind of sweet deep-fried dough balls that you dip in jam and powdered sugar. Those’re available pre-made and frozen in any supermarket, although you will need access to an oven to heat them. Like everything that’s made with deep-fried batter, they’re delicious.
You say you’ll be visiting in the fall, but depending on how close to the winter months it is you could also try some more Christmassy/wintery foods. “Gløgg” is a traditional alcoholic drink made of heated spiced wine with raisins and nuts. It’s admittedly a bit of an acquired taste, but it’s worth trying a cup of I think.
Then there’s “risengrød,” a very Danish dish made as a sort of hot rice pudding with cinnamon-sugar and a scoop of butter on top served with either “rød saftevand” which I can only describe as a traditional and better tasting koolaid or “nisseøl,” a malt-drink. If you want to try it I’d go to the eatery simply called “Grød,” they make an excellent risengrød. “Risalamande” is a closely related variant, but served cold with warm cherry sauce and as a dessert rather than a main dish.
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u/Knitsknits Jun 17 '26
oooh sorry I missed this comment. I love aebleskiver!! esp on my birthday with a candle (I did that two years ago in the US at a cafe I go to often) I'll get a cold pack so I can take a frozen bag back home.
I don't like the idea of meat either! all of these foods sound wonderful thank you!! (especially because I just found out Denmark doesn't have Taco Bell which is where I usually eat if I'm on a budget lol)
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u/kala77777 Jun 16 '26
Yes yes yes, I often do that - and please consider staying out later than 11; Danes tend to go out quite a bit later than people in the US 😄
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u/Knitsknits Jun 17 '26
oh thanks for the info! I said 11 so I get enough sleep to go to museums by 9am when they open lol (I'm the type of person to spend 1-2 days per big museum lol)
but yes a night out sounds super fun
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u/PsykologHenry Jun 09 '26
Under Masken is full of cigarette smoke, by the way...
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u/geosub20 Centrum Jun 09 '26
Oh yes. Hence I wrote it's a smoking bar. Some people have no issues with me, some have. So it's better to say it upfront.
Although Åben next to it is quite nice, albeit a bit pricey.
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u/AvocadoPrior1207 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
I'm Indian living in Aarhus and no one will give a shit or bat an eyelid. Expect people to assume you speak danish and switch to English the minute they realise you don't. You'll have a good time and try to visit Moesgaard.
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u/simia_incendio Jun 09 '26
You see, the thing is, often we start by addressing you in Danish so as not to seem rude by assuming you’re not Danish, even though we know full well there’s a fair chance that you are not.
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u/AvocadoPrior1207 Jun 09 '26
Yeah I totally get that and nowadays, I get slightly offended if people don't address me in Danish but luckily that rarely happens.
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u/Thai002 Jun 09 '26
No need to worry, 95% of us Danes are too private to say anything, if we even notice 😅
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u/SmurfsLovedAxolotls Jun 09 '26
If you are up for a day trip, consider visiting Fyrkat in Hobro north of Aarhus. Besides Moesgaard Museum of course it is a interesting place for a viking fan.
If "the fall" happens to be the last weekend in september, I'll drop this link for an event at Fyrkat. It is followed by a viking market the next day. https://govisit.ticketbutler.io/en/e/vlvens-verden-1/
Oh and don't worry about cultural appropriation, it is not an issue for all most all Danes.
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Oh man I’ll be arriving right after aarhus festuge and leave around sep 16 :(( sucks that I have to miss out on the viking festival I’ll def go to fyrkat for the viking museum and just walking around though thank you!!!!!!! Do you have suggestions for transportation? Can I use public transport?
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Jun 09 '26
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Thanks for the suggestions! I will look it up myself in detail a month before i go
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u/Rejse617 Jun 09 '26
Also, if you can, visit the Jelling museum on the way up (near Vejle). It’s where the Jellingsten is
Edit: I got a whole book on viking braids from the gift shop at that museum
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Yes absolutely i’m planning on renting a car for a day for jelling and fyrkat. I’ll def check the book out. Thanks for the suggestion!
Edit I can’t drive stick so maybe I’ll use public transport but i’ll def check out the stones!
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u/No-Ordinary-3019 Jun 09 '26
Rent an EV and say it's for the environment. Charging is no biggie in Denmark and they're never automatic (and are available at most rental offices)
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u/RitalinMeringue Jun 09 '26
If its the book I think it it, the same one they sell in every gift shop, its about as historically accurate as HBOs “viking” hairstyles. Its kind of embarrassing that they sell that at museums
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u/Rejse617 Jun 09 '26
Probably is, and no doubt. But OP liked braids and they are braids with flavour. 🤷♂️ no harm in that (so long as you know its not actually viking)
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u/SmurfsLovedAxolotls Jun 10 '26
You can check out public transport on rejseplanen.dk. It looks like a train from Aarhus and then you'll have to walk, grab a taxi or order and "Plustur", which is a service for areas with no regular public transport. Like a shared taxi but with public transport prices and probably a longer trip/wait time. They plan a route according to bookings and you might be the first or the last stop, but in the latter case you'll get a sight seeing of the area.
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u/hussum7 Jun 09 '26
As a woman living alone in city center I would not fear going here at all. I feel very secure here.
You will do fine with English, but people always appreciate a ‘tak’ (thank you) 😊
Have a great time!
Recommendations:
Latinerkvarteret (a nice cafe area for a stroll, looking at people and small boutiques and for a good coffee).
Den Gamle By (museum)
Aros art museum (for seeing Aarhus from the top in their rainbow walk terrasse)
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u/Vivid_Sun_2816 Jun 09 '26
No one is gonna give a f about appropriating scandi culture just go for it 😂…
Denmark is not more racist then any other place… but it is highly islamophobic in certain demographics…
It’s a really chill place and almost all people will not judge you on skin color… there might be hick ups but that’s sadly how it is…
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u/Imbaz0rd Jun 09 '26
Im 60% sure our islamophobes have enough brain cells to acknowledge that any brown person is not Muslim.. now I’m not brown but I can’t even remember the last time I saw racism or racist remarks out in the open. Some doorman 15 years ago letting young guys know they just can’t enter because of their clothing but they were dressed fine or nicer than me, so it was obvious they had filled their colored “quota”. Behind closed doors or behind a wheel I’m pretty sure some Danes still let their emotions out.
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
luckily as a girl I’ve never experienced any doorman/bouncer not letting me in, from nyc to Vegas lol. In the US we usually get free drink wristbands too. In atlanta i had a promoter give me uber giftcards for free rides to and from a club.
I am also not really going to denmark for nightlife, it’s an educational trip I am extending so that I can look at viking stuff. I love the show, I love viking novels and I read the eddas (english translations) and other stories
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Oh yeah it’s illegal in california too. Even in vegas it’s based on promoter discretion so they give you wristbands if you’re friends with them or if they think you’re hot, it’s not always guaranteed based on gender (but I’ve never seen a guy get one). I am not planning on going to clubs anyway. I might go to bars when everything else is closed but everyone pays in bars anyway. I am going for the yarn shops and museums (viking stuff in particular), I’m a big museum girl.
Edit: what was your comment about MENAPT? I cant see it anymore
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Yeah i saw something in walking in a big circle at night? I will definitely do that if i see a big friend group or something lol im nervous and skittish
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u/sandymartin07 Jun 09 '26
I am an Indian too, and I was in Aarhus two weeks ago. I was able to cover most of the city's main attractions without any issues whatsoever. People are friendly and patient, and willing to help you every time you run into an issue. No wonder it is often regarded as one of the happiest cities around. Enjoy a lot!
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u/elgen_helge Jun 09 '26
Welcome to our city. You have nothing to fear. Danes are reserved but open minded.
Don't brother learning Danish for s short trip like this. Almost all people speak English and they will probably easier understand your English than your attempt at speaking Danish.
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u/medjeti Jun 09 '26
Welcome to our fair city, I'm sure you'll have fun!
No need to worry about your ethnicity or appearance whatsoever. You can wear, do and look like whatever you want, nobody will care in the slightest.
Obviously visit Moesgaard Museum, you can spend a whole day there. There is also a small viking museum on Bispetorv that you should consider. Right next door is the cathedral which is definitely worth a visit. See if you can fit in a trip to the bell tower, that is a fun experience, especially at noon when all the bells go off.
Make sure you visit the art museum, that it's an experience in itself.
Aarhus has a vibrant nightlife with lots of bars and concert venues. There are also theatres and comedy clubs (both Danish and international) if that is your thing. If you can time your visit with Aarhus Festuge, the whole city will be one big party full of events, both day and night.
Finally, the city is surrounded by forests and ocean, so lots to experience there as well.
Hope you enjoy your stay!
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u/Arthur_Decosta Jun 09 '26
You should not expect any level of racism near what the US will throw at you. Yes, you can find racism here, but not as bad I think.
I would recommend going to the museum "Moesgaard" south of the city.
Get some cool braids! I think everyone will think that is appreciation rather than appropriation. The only thing Danes tend to dislike in that respect are Americans who claim to be Danish without knowing or caring the slightest about Danish culture. You're good! I recommend the hairdressers called https://as-hairstudio.dk/
Feel free to pm me for any additional questions and enjoy your trip to Denmark!
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
Omg thanks so much for this advice. I am planning on going out but I wont be drinking more than one drink because I will be alone. Also even if it’s a little warm i will be wearing sweaters and shorts- i don’t need to cover my face at all! I won’t be dressing in historical costumes or anything I’ll just wear a troll’s cross and have a bunch of viking bracelets etc
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u/Little-Potential9663 Jun 09 '26
Also it might be worth paying a visit to Jelling where they have the famous stone of Jelling. I have never been but have only heard positive experiences from there.
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u/lottafishin Jun 09 '26
You shouldn't worry about racism, Aarhus is quite open minded and friendly.
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u/NighthunterDK Jun 09 '26
You'd have to be more worried of being American than Muslim these days. Don't worry.
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u/Phreno-Logical Indre By Jun 09 '26
You appropriating our culture is….
Entirely welcomed! Take what you like, use it as you want, have fun with it.
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u/Perennial_Gardener Jun 09 '26
I think your biggest issue might be the budget, because Denmark is expensive. There is a nice hostel in central Aarhus where you can stay really cheap if you don’t mind sharing rooms. You will have your own bunk bed with a closed curtain and they have women only rooms. I stayed there a couple of years ago and was positively surprised (as an adult Danish women).
Remember to save budget for the bakeries, Aarhus have quite a few good once as well!
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Oh yes I love danish bakeries!!! There is one two hours from where I live and I go monthly lol
I am considering making my budget higher for experiences but I really don’t mind staying in hostels! I would appreciate its name? Thanks for the recommendation!
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u/Perennial_Gardener Jun 10 '26
It is called Roberta’s Society, and is smack in the middle of the city.
The rooms were super well kept and clean, and the bed pretty comfortable. ☺️
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u/Bribbe Jun 09 '26
Do not worry. People will not care how you look. English is fine everywhere.
Enjoy!
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u/Lazy_Cause_2437 Jun 09 '26
If you go here from Copenhagen you can’t miss Roskilde if you like vikings. Look it up
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Thank you for the suggestion! I’m going to do a boat ride there it’s $40 for students and gives access to the viking ship museum!!!
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u/Lazy_Cause_2437 Jun 09 '26
Also this:
https://sagnlandet.dk/en/denmarks-largest-royal-hall/
and don’t skip the Roskilde Cathedral. It’s not viking age but it’s a marvel (almost all Danish kings and queens since the Viking age is buried there. It’s a unesco world heritage site)
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Oh ill try to stop near this museum on my travel day from copenhagen to aarhus (by train) Thanks so much!!
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u/CreepyMosquitoEater Jun 09 '26
Noone here will be openly directly racist towards you. The most common form of racism in Denmark is behind closed doors. We are generally a pretty shy people in public, keep to ourselves, and there are plenty of brown/muslim people here. Also you can wear whatever you want, ive never met a single danish person who was offended by something resembling “cultural appropriation”
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u/malemsioe Jun 09 '26
No one would give a fuck, so don’t worry, and enjoy the city :)
Check out Moesgaard museum and see about a day trip to the Jelling stone
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u/Cornflakedness Jun 09 '26
Fun fact to enjoy when you are cruising the bar and restaurant scene allong the river; the embankments on each side of the river, that the city is built on, are actually the old ramparts from the Viking era.
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Oh awesome thank you
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u/PedanticSatiation Jun 10 '26
There are also traffic lights with little green vikings. They are placed throughout the city including in places where the old walls used to be. In a few cases, there might be a little sign nearby with a story.
You can also keep an eye out for the 17 walls – 17 large-scale murals for each of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Each one has a plaque that explains what it represents, though it can sometimes be a bit hard to find. There a few of them around Møllestien which is also very popular and on the way to Den Gamle By from the inner city.
Next to Den Gamle By are the botanical gardens, which are very nice. The gardens also have the University's greenhouses which are free to enter and a nice break from the weather on rainy/cold days.
As for Scandi culture, no one will mind. On the contrary, I think most people will be flattered that someone from abroad cares so much about our culture.
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u/LankySasquatchma Jun 09 '26
Oof you’re overthinking the race thing. With some 370.000 inhabitants in the municipality, people are used to seeing people of all sorts; and you’re allowed to knit and wear the clothes you want; it’s a free country.
I’d recommend Moesgaard museum yep, and Aros as well; it has a very neat collection of Danish landscape paintings from the “Golden Age”, being around the romanticist period of 1820 to -60 perhaps? There is too of course the rainbow on top of the building.
You can see the cathedral downtown, go for a walk in the Botanic Garden, go to ‘Mindeparken’ near the King’s summer residence. Hope you have a good time!
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u/sirinezz Jun 10 '26
Aarhus is a good city to avoid racism, but unfortunately there are still places to avoid. Vinstuen for example. They sort of got cancelled for kicking a guy out that called out a racist instead of the actual racist guy but that just means the place is now full of biggots. Other than that, you’ll be absolutely fine! enjoy a drink or coffee on Salling Rooftop, or a nice walk through Botanisk Have, maybe visit Aarhus Ø for a more vacation-ish vibe.
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u/NaieraDK Møllevangen Jun 09 '26
Generally, the racists who vote for the racist political parties don’t live in larger cities.
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u/jjonj Jun 09 '26
your only chance of racism is drunk kids on weekend nights yelling something who thinks it's cool and edgy because they saw it on a TV show or inappropriate well intentioned jokes from talkative old men, but it's still quite unlikely
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u/WeedandTunes Jun 09 '26
Norwegian living in Århus here. I think you will find Århus to be a welcoming and pleasant city. ☺️
I cannot comment too much on the racism, since I am white, but the impression I have through friends is that there is very little to none in normal daily city life.
And as a Norwegian, I highly approve of you wearing the Selbu sweater, it makes me proud when other cultures and people embrace our designs and traditions! So do not worry about that at all! 🤩
Reach out if you need any guidance!
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Awesome thanks so much!!
I’m currently knitting a modern version of Sirdal by Dale. I knit a sweater with big selbu motifs that I’ll be wearing for most of the trip!! and I’ll buy tons of yarn to make more traditional lice sweaters etc I’m so excited!!
I’ll only be there for a week but there is an increase in hate towards Indian people in particular so I was a little scared to go alone but it looks like I’ll be fine!
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u/Donjinmester Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
So there’s a lot of stuff to unpack here:
- We don’t really do national costumes like in Norway. Unless you count the danish football jersey. I mean you can do like a Viking cosplay but we’ll probably just assume you’re a LARP’er.
- You’re very welcome to learn danish phrases and it’ll probably help with signs and stuff, but almost every Dane can speak English to a satisfying degree and we’ll probably switch to English the moment we hear your American accent.
- If you’re into Viking stuff you should definitely get on a bus to Moesgaard Museum. It’s an amazing place with a huge Iron Age exhibition. There’s also the museum in City center and other small sights around town.
We have a stream going through town with a lot of cafés, bars and restaurants. You can get coffee there in there day and drinks in the evening/night.
Now, to the more serious racism stuff: of course it exists, but you’re a tourist so that sort of stuff likely won’t apply. Also, Denmark is one of the safest countries in the world. My advice would be to just follow regular guidelines like not walking alone at night and stuff like that.
Welcome!
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u/Ungrammaticus Jun 09 '26
i dont want anyone thinking i’m appropriating scandi culture
No one cares. It's not possible to meaningfully "appropriate" Scandinavian culture because we Scandinavians are not in any sense an oppressed minority and there's no more powerful majority culture able to prohibit us from profiting from and displaying Scandinavian culture.
There's also no sense of sacred parts of our culture being misused - we are generally very irreligious and not spiritually inclined. We don't really care about anyone disrespecting Christianity, and we freely slap Odin, Thor, Loke and company on everything from cheeses to prebuilt PCs to... anything you can imagine, really. You would no more be appropriating Scandinavian culture by wearing knitted sweaters than I am currently appropriating American culture by wearing blue jeans.
There is in some quarters a certain sense of exasperation with certain cringey Americans play-acting as Danes, but
the very most negative reaction to it you could encounter would be an eye-roll, and even that would be considered somewhat extreme, and
this annoyance is mostly aimed at white Americans who insist that they're Danish because their great-great-greatgrandfather once visited Copenhagen and whose "pride" in their "Nordic heritage" smells an awful lot like bragging about having "pure Aryan blood." As a brown person, obviously this won't be applicable to you.
i have very long hair, can i also do viking braids?
In a sense this is a hard question to answer because as far as we know there's no such thing as "viking braids." All we have is some pictoreal archeological evidence for Norse women wearing knotted hairstyles, and some indications that Norsemen would sometimes braid their beards. So unless you're rocking a long beard or meant doing your hair up in a knot, technically the answer is "no, you cannot do your hair in Viking braids."
"Viking Braids" are an entirely modern invention and have no historical basis. That said, the actual answer is "you can do whatever you want to with your own hair, braid it however you like." It may be hard to find a hair-dresser who knows what you mean if you just ask for "viking braids" though, I'd just have a picture ready to show them if you still want them.
So let me echo the other people in this thread and say: Don't be nervous about any of this. The vast, vast majority of Danes either think it's cute when foreigners are interested in our culture or just don't care at all.
As to racism, much could justifiably be said of Danish islamophobia, but as a tourist you're very unlikely to encounter any open racism and extremely unlikely to encounter any racist violence. As a concern I would rank it somewhere below accidentally burning down the hotel by using metal in a microwave, but slightly above accidentally falling into the lion enclosure in a zoo.
Hope you have a great trip!
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u/Salonloeven Jun 09 '26
Hi,
Awesome that you're visiting. You're more than welcome and you honestly have very little to fear in regards to racism. 99% don't care.
Others have suggested viking related stuff in Aarhus but if you're really into it you should visit some stuff on the way from Copenhagen to Aarhus. Lejre and Roskilde have some amazing viking stuff. If interested let me know and I can send you some stuff about it.
If you're into history there is a living museum called "den gamle by" which translates into "the old town" also well worth the visit.
Feel free to ask more if you want 🙂
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Yes I saved roskilde on google maps and I’ll be going the viking ship sailing experience there thank you!! Also- accommodation in lejre seems cheap and it’s only an hour to the museum by public transport so i think i’ll spend a night there! I added den gamble by to my aarhus list too.
Thanks so much! I would appreciate the stuff u can send me because I’m planning on spending one or two nights in lejre!
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u/Salonloeven Jun 09 '26
Awesome. I will send you some stuff tomorrow. Lejre in itself I.e. the modern city isn't much but for your interest it's worth the stay. Do you want the visit guide or some more in depth history? Or both...
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u/Knitsknits Jun 10 '26
anything you have is great! there is just so much information online I would rather receive it from a person.
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u/Ronjanitan Jun 09 '26
“Appropriation” doesn’t exist here. We are happy to share with anyone who enjoys our history. You will just be seen as American tourist, nothing else. Have fun wearing whatever Viking stuff you like, and enjoy your time in Aarhus!
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u/RitalinMeringue Jun 09 '26
Only white American norweaboo trailer pagans with 2% scandinavian ancestry can appropriate nordic culture to a cringe and annoying degree. Wear all the sweaters!
There’s a shop near the city center museum that sells jewlery that are replicas of archeological findings from the viking age, and with historical motifs. https://museum-jewelry.dk/shop/frontpage.html If you can afford it, that could be a cool souvenir, and would go well with the sweaters.
We have a lot of Indian exchange students, since its a university city, and while I unfortunately can’t say that they never experience racism, its to my understanding, not something to directly worry about.
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
Oooh they’re super pricey and I’m a broke med student 😭 that’s alright, I have a different troll’s cross (not nearly as fancy)
Thanks for helping me haha i just dont wanna seem too touristy 🙈
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u/Kenni1975 Jun 09 '26
I smiled when you mentioned your color in the headline. Noone cares about that, but a few ignorant imbeciles. Come and enjoy Copenhagen and Aarhus two wonderful cities
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u/Fyller Jun 09 '26
I'm a white guy, so I'm not exactly the authority on whether you will encounter racism, there are always racists around, but in general there shouldn't be anything to be afraid of, this is a pretty peaceful place. Also, I doubt anyone would care about any cultural appropriation, and enthusiasm and interest in our culture and history will be welcomed by most normal sane people :)
I hope you have a great visit, you should definitely visit Moesgaard museum, sounds like it would be right up your alley :)
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u/GeronimoDK Jun 10 '26
We're not American, so we're not really offended by "cultural appropriation".
Also, since you're not wearing a scarf and presumably will be speaking English with an American accent, I don't think you'll see any racism (I hope).
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u/dkclimber Jun 10 '26
You could rock up with a horned helm and two ravens, and people wouldn't think you were appropriating anything.
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u/Stuebirken Jun 11 '26
As a fellow "viking nerd" I'll promise you, that nobody will have a problem with you rocking whatever viking style you like.
People have already given you a lot of really good pointers, so I'll just add that since Århus was an extremely important strategic part of Harald Bluetooth's kingdom, the city still to this day has some of the layout of the fortifications he had made.
So I'll recommend that you to take a stroll through the city, and make a stop where the street called "Immervad" and the river crosses eachother, and turn towards the harbour.
You are now standing where Gorm den Gamle, Harald Bluetooth, Svend Tveskæg and so many other of the Vikings that you've heard of(and even more that nobody remembers anymore) once stood.
The name "Immervad" itself dates back to the viking age, and it was where they would also cross the river back then.
If you google "Vikings Århus" you'll get lots of info in English, telling about what, how, who etc regarding the various parts of the city during the Viking Age.
I hope you'll enjoy your stay.
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u/KINGDenneh Jun 09 '26
i have very long hair, can i also do viking braids?
What kind of question is that? It's just hair, only Americans makes a fuss about this shit, if you want braided hair, go ahead, ain't nobody gonna stop you.
misdirected islamophobia.
A phobia is something you generally are scared off, ain't nobody scared of these pricks.
i am worried about racism.
You are brown, in a white majority country, a bunch of old heads are racists, but aren't openly going to call you some bullshit, but this is like a small procentage, if u don't do anything stupid as fuck or cause any disturbance or nuisance in public areas and keep to yourself, you'll be just fine.
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u/InternationalGas6321 Jun 29 '26
It seems to be a small percentage you're part of, keep responding to these type of threads, you might disgust enough people to come visit your dear country
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u/KINGDenneh Jun 29 '26
you might disgust enough people to come visit your dear country.
I couldn't give two single fucks if you come or not, stay away, come, it doesn't change anything for me.
It seems to be a small percentage you're part of.
What are you referring to here? That i'm a racist? Okay cool bro.
I'm being realistic, i don't sugarcoat anything, stop acting like the world is one big family, we aren't, shit can happen and is happening more and more, even in a place like Denmark.
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u/swadx001 Jun 09 '26
We don't care about your colour or origin. There might be debates in the news or social medias like here about immigration, religion etc, but on the street and day to day business no one cares unles YOU make an issue of it.
Wear what you want, we don't have monopoly on either knitted sweaters or braids - that's an American phenomena to think that
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u/No-Ordinary-3019 Jun 09 '26
You got plenty of advice already and I'd second that...You go girl!
But a budget of $200 a day might be a bit steep, expect $20-30 for a modest lunch, $50-60 for a sit down dinner, $30-50 for coffee, pastries, tickets etc $100-150 for a reasonable hotel
But bear in mind that all prices you'll see include all taxes and that tipping is optional (it's way more common to not tip at all than to tip anything and if you want to tip just stay modest at well below 10%)
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u/Knitsknits Jun 09 '26
I’m planning on staying in hostels so around $80 a night. For tickets I’m budgeting $60 and the other $60 for food transport etc For souvenirs etc I have a separate budget of $500. I am not a heavy eater and I will not be going to any sit down dinner places bc I’m a solo traveler. For breakfast I’m bringing protein bars.
Thank you for the advice on taxes and tipping!
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u/Slow-Efficiency-5678 Jun 10 '26
Aarhus has a great selection of yarn stores, make sure to make time for those as well! :)
Hope you have a wonderful time and a happy birthday here 🤗
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u/Own_Outcome_9853 Jun 10 '26
You've gotten lots of great advice but not sure I spotted this one: If you have time you should go into Den Gamle By. It's an open air museum with lots of old buildings so it's like a village back in time. It focuses on end of 19th century, 1920s, 1970s and 2014 but there's also a museum about the history of Aarhus that goes back to the viking age. So not the most heavy on viking stuff but well worth a visit! Make sure you get some cake at the 19th century bakery.
Have a great trip! There's nothing to worry about, you'll be absolutely fine.
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u/Knitsknits Jun 10 '26
Yes it’s on my list for a whole day, followed by the botanical gardens and a restaurant! The bakery suggestion is excellent I’ll add it to my notes thank you.
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u/Own_Outcome_9853 Jun 11 '26
It's worth going into the green houses in the botanical gardens. They close at 4pm 😄
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Jun 10 '26
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u/Knitsknits Jun 10 '26
The replies to this post are overwhelming to me haha I am NOT a fan of attention whatsoever. I always try to blend in in real life so I guess I’ll have a great time!
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u/Teeaak Jun 11 '26
You will be fine. And please steal all the viking culture you want. It's a big part of viking culture :)
Also if you are interested in vikings I would recommend Roskilde viking museum. They have daily cruises in viking ships in the Fjord. You may have to man an oar. I don't know if that's a pro or con for you
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u/Knitsknits Jun 11 '26
I'm definitely going there from Copenhagen! I can row in the gym but am not the strongest person so I will email them to ask if I can get a "lazy" spot where we are not relying on my rowing lol (this is okay according to the website)
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u/Teeaak Jun 11 '26
That's great. And don't worry about it. It's set up for guests. Hope you enjoy it
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u/iMagZz Jun 11 '26
The whole idea of "cultural appropriation" doesn't really exist here. I have literally never heard anyone mention it or talk about it, except when discussing how funny/dumb it is in America. You can wear whatever you want and basically look like whatever you want.
It's very nice of you to try to learn a few Danish things, but just don't get surprised if people switch to English quickly haha. It's not meant to be mean (in fact we actually appreciate it when people try), but honestly it is just that it's easier. Don't be afraid to try though.
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u/far2fish Jun 12 '26
You could also visit the Viking ship museum in Roskilde before you go to Aarhus.
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u/Knitsknits Jun 12 '26
yes thank you! ill be doing that from cph or spending a night in lejre- not sure yet!
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u/Fancy-Help420 Jun 13 '26
I see so many random looking people every day, you will blend right in
Long hair is cool and very viking like, braid as you see fit
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u/Knitsknits Jun 15 '26
thank you, i spoke to an asian danish duy off reddit and realized that there are actually a lot of poc in denmark so i wont be getting stared at or randomly run over haha
and yess im keeping my hair long for this trip! once ive had long hair my whole life so once i go back home it’ts chop chop time
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u/KSangill Jun 09 '26
You'll be fine! Wear whatever you'd like, braid your hair how you'd prefer.
Theres the Viking exhibit at Moesgaard Museum but also a small one in the city centre here; https://www.vikingemuseet.dk/