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Jylland

© Povl Thim & Britt Koch Franczek-Pedersen

Jylland

The Maersk Air flight DM 248 has begun descent to "Legoland International" or as it is officially known Billund Airport, in the southern part of Jylland, the Jutland peninsula. It is a clear summer's day, and from the Boeing 737 we can see both the North Sea to the west and part of the Baltic known as Kattegat, the waters between Jutland and Sweden to the east. Jutland is no more than 60-70 miles wide, but despite that there is a great variation in the landscape, from the undulating low hills on the east coast, the highest point being "Yding Skovhøj" at around 567" above sea level, to the flat and sandy plains of the west Just before we touch down on the runway, the plane passes right over the original Legoland with all the fantastic models of buildings and landmarks, You can clearly see a Norman Castle with turrets etc., a copy of Mt. Rushmore with the heads of the 4 US Presidents, most likely erected because the artist Borglund who created the monument were of Danish descent. Many more buildings are to be found, like a model of the Royal Residence in Copenhagen "Amalienborg", plus town "pictures" of typical small towns from around the world. In Legoland you can also find an exquisite collection of Dolls, and a magnificent tollhouse known as Titanias Palace, as every little girl know, Titania is the Queen of the fairies. But not only is this dolls house fascinating to see, the story behind it, how it came to be, is just as fantastic, as is the story of how it came to end up in Legoland. Well we have landed in Billund, and soon we are through Custom and Passport control. I am going to Århus, the 2nd city of Denmark, and will be catching a bus just outside the terminal. The bus is operated on behalf of Maersk Air, and is painted in the same blue colour as the Aircraft's and indeed the ships of Maersk Line are painted in, so it is easy to find. The trip to Århus takes just under an hour and a half, with only one stop at Vejle, a medium sized town about 45-50 miles south of Århus. The City of Århus has its origin back in the early Iron Age, when a small settlement grew up around a ford where the stream known as Århus Å entered the Bay. The name comes from "Aros" an Old Norse word for a crossing of a stream by the way of a ford. Several traces of houses from the early parts has been found, some of those which were found when a bank building were redeveloped, and the actual site is now incorporated as a permanent feature, showing the reconstructed buildings or huts, together with the implements found on the site. This exhibit is open during normal banking hours.

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