Wednesday | June 1, 2016
My day began around 5:30 AM, shortly after the ship lifted anchor and pulled out of Kiel, Germany.
After eating breakfast in the apartment, I cleaned up, changed, and headed into town.
Aero Island is a small island in the North Sea that is Danish territory. Modern day travelers in search of "old Denmark" would find much to admire on Aero Island, from quaint villages with terra-cotta, red roofed, half-timbered houses along well-worn, cobblestone streets, to tumbledown country churches and Viking burial grounds. Modern touches are found here as well, including one of the largest solar power plants in the world and windmills, both old and new, turning in the steadfast breeze.
Roughly 120 mi.², the entire island has a population of only 6300 permanent residents, although the population swells considerably with vacationers during the July-August summer season. While we were on the island today, it appeared a ghost town. (By contrast, island or beach resorts in the United States are often well inhabited during the off season before becoming overwhelmed during the high season.)
Surprisingly, the tender ride took almost 30 minutes, laying to waste our plan of taking the 12:30 p.m. shuttle bus to the medieval town in the middle of the island. Instead, once the tender reached shore, I dined alfresco at Restaurant Fru Berg, where local fishermen deliver fresh caught fish from surrounding waters, and the ingredients are transformed into artistically crafted plates.
I was resigned to something resembling fish and chips.
Then, we boarded a large bus for a twenty-minute ride to a medieval town called Aeroskobing. The bus ride was a bucolic drive through the Danish countryside.
The scenery vacillated from the fields to the sea.
But the stories about the solar farm proved true as we saw acres and acres of large solar panels dotting the landscape.
We also saw cows, horses, sheep, and other animals along the way.
Along both sides of the road were fields and we asked both drivers what was being grown. People told us that it was corn, but in reality, it was probably canola and barley.
I found a fantasy house – no, not THAT kind of fantasy!
The town was very picturesque, with houses dating back to the 1520s.
I think this bicycle was almost that old too.
Some of the houses were absolutely adorable, painted in bright colors and adorned with entertaining and enchanting trim.
For example, this house had a medieval cross above the door and it had probably been there for several hundred years.
The streets really were deserted, sometimes with nobody to be found for blocks on end.
Look at this quaint little street, with all the gardens neatly manicured behind white picket fences in front of their respective houses.
I also made some friends on the dock before heading back to the ship.
Back on the ship, it was time for me to go downstairs and for my first ever facial. I never realized that a facial was so involved and required the client to remove his clothes and lie face up on a warming massage table, covered by blankets. The equipment in the room reminded me of a cross between a dentist’s office and an ultrasound technician’s lair. For a few moments, as the aesthetician began to rub my face with cream, I thought she would apply the same cream to my belly and tell me whether I was going to have a boy or girl. The entire experience lasted about 90 minutes and was wonderful fun. She explained much of what she was doing– including the pumpkin extract lotion, and the assorted creams and jellies – all followed by a glacial water treatment and a vacuum that applied pure oxygen to my face. It was so relaxing that I fell asleep a few times. If this is what women enjoy doing on a monthly basis, I can't blame them!
After that, I enjoyed a sushi dinner with friends and drifted off to sleep, comfortable knowing my face would live to battle the sun another day.
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