Having left our overnight wild spot outside Velje, we decided that our next stop would be Aarhus as it looked as though it had a lot to offer and an interesting place to walk/cycle around.

As we drove in to Aarhus, it did not seem that attractive, but often old cities that have expanded over the years are not always elegant suburban sprawls worthy of note.

Again we used the App and selected a spot to park the motorhome, however, the circus was in town… literally and the parking was somewhat chaotic. However, the new van is so much smaller that our previous version, so I managed to slip it in between two cars that an MPV had just vacated. This was perfect… right next to a beach, a marina and a park. Plus, the bonus was it was only a 20-25 minute walk in to the city centre. Which is exactly what we did.

It was a ok all in to town through narrow paths and along main roads, but this was due to extensive construction projects in full swing along the way.

When we arrived in the centre of Aarhus, we found out that there was the Tall Ships Race 2019 happening the following day, with the first few ships having already moored up against the harbour walls. Even in the grey, cloud covered light, the boats were mighty and impressive. They seem to be crewed by many young people all in matching uniforms of a sort, each boat displaying different colours of kit and flags.

Two of the crew of one of the many boats prepared for the weekend's racing, Aarhus, Denmark

Having seen a little of this, we decided that we would leave the tour of the harbour until the following day, hoping to see more vessels coming to race over the four day event.

Instead, we headed inland towards the Latin Quarter. There was one small street, Møllestien, that was particularly unexpected. Between the modern buildings and busy streets was an oasis of calm in the midst of really old building that looked as though they had remained unchanged for many decades. It was strange, but fascinating.

Møllestien, Aarhus, Denmark

As we returned to our van, the circus was coming to a close so the carpark soon emptied out. Within half an hour of our return, there were just a handful of cars and 4-5 motorhomes planning to stay overnight. We took the opportunity to move the van closer to the marina and settled down for another free nights camping. Again, a fabulous nights sleep!

The following morning, we had breakfast, and took the van in towards town and a car park that showed no height restriction and the spaces looked reasonable. We quickly squeezed into a space, paid the fee and walked the short distance to where we had seen some of the first boats to arrive for the Tall Ships Race 2019. Again, although it was grey and rainy, the stroll around the harbour admiring the entrants and their crews was lovely. There were entries from countries all over the world and we had fun with flags before checking their information plate to confirm the country of origin. Again the crews were busy making preparations, whether packing sails, or up the rigging checking equipment or a couple were putting up celebratory flags between the huge masts.

After a couple hours of leaping puddles, having lunch by the quayside and running out of ships within easy distance to view, we headed back to the van and again got on the road heading roughly north through Denmark.

, that was particularly unexpected. Between the modern buildings and busy streets was an oasis of calm in the midst of really old building that looked as though they had remained unchanged for many decades. It was strange, but fascinating.

As we returned to our van, the circus was coming to a close so the carpark soon emptied out. Within half an hour of our return, there were just a handful of cars and 4-5 motorhomes planning to stay overnight. We took the opportunity to move the van closer to the marina and settled down for another free nights camping. Again, a fabulous nights sleep!

The following morning, we had breakfast, and took the van in towards town and a car park that showed no height restriction and the spaces looked reasonable. We quickly squeezed into a space, paid the fee and walked the short distance to where we had seen some of the first boats to arrive for the Tall Ships Race 2019. Again, although it was grey and rainy, the stroll around the harbour admiring the entrants and their crews was lovely. There were entries from countries all over the world and we had fun with flags before checking their information plate to confirm the country of origin. Again the crews were busy making preparations, whether packing sails, or up the rigging checking equipment or a couple were putting up celebratory flags between the huge masts.

Up the rigging, Tall Ships Race 2019, Aarhus, Denmark

Tall Ships Race 2019, Aarhus, Denmark

After a couple hours of leaping puddles, having lunch by the quayside and running out of ships within easy distance to view, we headed back to the van and again got on the road heading roughly north through Denmark.