Hi everybody.
Now it is time to get excited about the Midsummer visit to the ‘Land of Light’!

Everyone here in Aalborg is very busy working on the arrarangements.

Following are some links and some facts:
· If you want to look at Aalborg in birds perspective you can visit
http:www.krak.dk/kort/
Select kort / skråfoto / Aalborg
· If you want to know more about the Viking museum you can visit
http://www.visitaalborg.com/international/en-gb/menu/tourist/oplevelser/attraktioner/museer/produktside/gdk016245/lindholm-hoeje-museum.htm?CallerUrl=1

· If you want a look on paintings from famous Danish painters depicting midsummer at Skagen (The Skaw) with the one and only danish midsummer song you can visit
http://da.netlog.com/go/explore/videos/videoid=da-145743

· And some historical facts about Aalborg:


Aalborg.dk > English
The development of the city from the stone axes era to a city of knowledge
But first came the Vikings...They settled down on Lindholm Høje a few km north from Aalborg.
Lindholm Høje Lindholm Høje is Denmark's most famous burial place from the Stone Age, and consists of 700 graves. The place was actively inhabited from the year 400AD through to 1000AD, where Sven Tveskæg (fork beard) reigned. In the years that followed there were some powerful sandstorms, covering the fields and graves with sand.
Lindholm Høje.
Though much has happened since the sand evicted the Vikings. The city became one of Jutland's largest market towns and already before it received its trade rights from the king in 1342, King Hardeknud had pressed coins in Aalborg in 1035. The city blossomed and the Grey Brother monks came here. They arrived in Ribe, Denmark in 1232 on foot from Germany and were part of the growing Order of Francis. The Order of Francis was established in 1223 by the holy Frans of Assisi in Italy. The monks preached about living as Christ had, in faith and poverty. They lived primarily off gifts and begging and were therefore known as the beggermonks. The additional name of Grey Brother came from the colour of their robes. Between 1240 and 1250 the Grey Brothers reached Aalborg. An unknown founder granted them a plot of land on a built up area on the south side of Algade and close to the city harbour in Østerå. The placement was ideal for a begging monk convent, as the brothers could easily gather listeners to their preaching's. The many passers by also meant good charities. (You can visit the remains of the convent if you take the lift outside of Sallings entrance on Algade.) Catholicism became the foremost religion over the next couple of hundred years, though its fate was sealed during a feud with the Count, where Skipper Clement became known as the leader of the farmer's revolution in 1534.
Jens Bang Calmness was restored in the city and it regained its great position in the renaissance as a market town. The merchant, Jens Bang, built his house of stone in 1624, Jens Bang was an incredibly composed person and ahead of his time.
Jens Bang's Stonehouse.
He was allegedly born in Horsens around 1570 and came to Aalborg the latest in 1592.In 1605 he paid 24 shillings in citizenship money and with that earned the right to run businesses and trade in Aalborg. The same year it was apparent from the city's accounts that he had invested in a ship and furthermore the accounts from Aalborg House showed that he had delivered timber and Spanish salt to the vassal. On this new ship he sailed with corn to Norway and took timber home on his return. In some cases it was freighted further to Spain. During 1617-27 he exported, by his own accounts, 3000 bullock southwards. The good times though were ended abruptly for Jens bang in 1639 when his wife died. There needed to be changes so that the creditors could receive their share. The number of payment demands on Jens Bangs exploded in the 1640s. During 1641-43 he fired his trusted co-workers, broke into people's house to acquire valuable papers and became involved in illegal fishing. Jens Bang died in the beginning of 1644. Afterwards the city changed character from being the city of traders and sailors to also becoming an industrial city.
The industrial development stamped Aalborg on the cigar label Not just Denmark's, but also the largest Nordic and 2nd largest European tobacco factory lay in Aalborg. The story of CW Obel has been told many times. The related events stretches from the ground work in 1787 to 1995, when the last cigarillo was rolled in Aalborg, but the significant year was 1961, when CW Obel merged with Scandivisk Tobakskompagni (The Scandinavian Tobacco Company) In the 1950's over two thousand were employed and much of the manual labour was undertaken by women. They were quick both with their fingers and mouths. The Obel-girls actively mixed into the social scene and they had money in their pockets. Obel did not under pay women. The Aalborg movement started with chewing tobacco and ended with chewing tobacco. How many would be aware of the latter part? There is still a small chewing tobacco production in Sofiendal, where the last cigarillos were rolled in 1995. Just 15 workers still produce chewing tobacco - almost like 200 years ago.
Aalborg as a shipping and industrial city With its placement on the Limfjord in the middle of the North Sea and Kattegat, for centuries Aalborg has been a shipping city and where there are a lot of ships, there are also Ship yards. In 1912 the Stuhr brothers founded the yard which since has influenced the cities development. In 1914-18 the yards grew quickly to produce the many transport ships that were needed during the First World War, but after the war new orders were a rarity and in 1927 Aalborg council had to take over the yards. The shipping company, J. Lauritzen bought the yard in 1937 and gave it the name Aalborg Værft A/S. This developed into becoming the cities largest workplace and boasted in the 1980's around 4000 employees. Until it closed in 1988, the yard built not just many ships but also Alborg Tower, the span of the Limfjord bridge and the steel construction for Budolfi churches tower. Aalborg Værft specialised already in the 1940s in building of cooler ships for shipping company J. Laurtzen. The last one was built in the Soviet Union in 1985 and 86. The foundation for another of Aalborg's largest industries - the cement development - is due to the large mass of chalk under the ground.
And since then the "børsterne" came to town A flock of unstable "børsterne"(men who worked hard and socialised hard), they were called, yet it is precisely these cement workers, who largely can take credit for Aalborg's reputation that it was Denmark's working city above all others, as well as that Aalborg is today one of the country’s largest cities. Even though their era is as good as over, it is still to a large extent the cement workers and their neighbourhoods, which characterise Aalborg's development and appearance.
Aalborg became a modern benchmark in the 1930s Large, visionary investments in the Limfjord bridge, the countries first provincial airport, new roads were laid and new parts of the town amongst others Vesterbro and Boulevarden made Aalborg, in a few short years, one of the countries most modern cities. Aalborg was in the 1930s a national icon, and many times arranged the North Jutland Exhibition with guests from all over the country - including members of the royal household and government, headed by the Prime Minister, where Aalborg & Northern Jutland showed off its best attributes and presented new fashions, new lifestyles, new architecture and new technical wonders from various professions. This thread has been taken up again, after Aalborg's time as an industrial city was thought to be over. The phrase "city of knowledge" has become more fitting.
Aalborg as the city of knowledge Aalborg University and many others of the cities places of education produce a large highly qualified workforce thus creating a variety of highly technical businesses. In 1988 three of Northern Jutland's largest businesses closed down and an already badly affected part of the country lost another 2000 workplaces. Something had to be done. On this basis the idea of NOVI (Nordjyllands Videnpark A/S) was born as a spearhead for Northern Jutland’s business development and as a connection between research and production.
NOVI.
NOVI was planned and established within the then current county borders and at the event in 1988/89 the place was referred to as the "centre of knowledge". NOVI was at that time only 5.500 m2 and housed a variety of companies including a line of research institutes and technological service institutes. Its neighbour, Aalborg University was a decisive cooperative partner with close relations between the tenants at NOVI and quite a few of the technical based university institutes. NOVI has grown from its younger days, in the late eighties, and the research park now covers a whole 29.000 m2 For more information, click onto
Aalborg dominated by art and culture The City centre has also developed from being dominated by the big corporations from the past to being dominated by art, culture, Danish 'hygge' (cosiness) and charm. The city offers a wealth of experiences, whether you wish to visit the swimming baths or finer cultural experiences. Become inspired by walks around the city, which guide you around its streets to discover the areas gems. Aalborg is known for its wide range of education. This broad array of education has also resulted in a full spectrum of spare time activities. Here there is everything that your heart could desire in entertainment offerings and sports activities. From parachuting to floorball to football.
In Aalborg there's sport on all tangents You can go to Herning to watch Ice hockey, Copenhagen to see football, Århus to see basketball and to Viborg to watch handball, but there can't be found a place other than Aalborg where in the same weekend, you can follow all the sports at the highest level without having to travel. Aalborg is the top sports city.
Aalborg Stadionhal
As the only city in Denmark, where you can find equal amount of top level teams, men's or women's, football, ice hockey, basketball or volleyball. Rarely have we seen such a collection of sports in one place. It's all going so well with all teams at the top level.
Samba - you are the juggler and the street is yours Every year Aalborg hosts the largest carnival of the Nordic countries, where 25.000 samba happy people participate in a bubbling procession throughout the city.
The spectacle attracts 100.000 onlookers, whom enjoy the fantastic costumes and samba rhythms.
The carnival is a medium for creative folk culture, where participants are immersed into character and throw themselves into a rhythmical musical self expression with their faces as the canvas and their bodies as sculptures. The carnival is homage to life, the spring, the fantasy oblivious to religious or political tendencies.
Near to everything -especially when you're going far Whether you are going to the bakers or to Barbados, it takes almost no time. Aalborg offers all of the cities delights within a reachable distance. From standing and gazing over the Limfjords blue waters, to standing on the middle of the glowing tiles of the shopping streets, there does not go five minutes. On bicycle you can reach all the suburbs in less than 15 minutes, and if you are travelling further it couldn't be easier. Aalborg has its own express route to the rest of Denmark, the E45, and if that is not enough, the airport, which offers a large variety of domestic and international departures, is just 20 minutes away from the city centre. Last but not least, Aalborg is divided by the beautiful Limfjord river, offering everything a sailors soul desires.
A cocktail of international enjoyment The Street (Jomfru Ane Gade) attracts every weekend many thousands of party happy people from all over the Nordic countries to come and party the night away.
Jomfru Ane Gade.
In the furthest, intimate streets there are numerous clubs and bars, something for every taste with prices like Eastern European lands and on many a summer evening you can find yourself having a refreshing drink under blue skies watching the beautiful sunrise.
The text above is an extract from http://aalborg.dk/Engelsk/default.aspx?ctrl=1689&data=133%2c2191885%2c3194&count=1

We are really looking forward to seeing you
That’s all for now – We will be back.
On behalf of OF-2
Frode