|
|
City Break in Aalborg - Leisurely shopping
|
|
With an international touch
Feature by Journalist Louise Wendt Jensen
She lives in brussels and has shopped in Paris, London, New York and Milan. We asked freelance journalist Louise Wendt Jensen to review Aalborg as a shopping destination.
Her conclusion: When a city break should allow time for relaxation, fun, culture - and great shopping - Aalborg is an ideal choice.
|
People who say money can’t buy happiness, just don’t know where to shop. Those of us who were born with a shopping chromosome know what we’re talking about. This is why we’ve all made our pilgrimages to the major shopping meccas of Paris, London, New York and Milan.
But these mega-tropolises can be exhausting when you’re out hunting for the very latest for your wardrobe or home.
In fact, it can easily be more stressful than enjoyable to spend time in a huge city if you’re a true shopaholic. You can come home feeling that you never even scratched the surface.
Or even worse, that you’re absolutely certain you missed out on a great buy or a haute couture coup, just because you couldn’t manage it all.
|
Home with experiences in the bag
This is why smaller metropoli are often better for a brief city break. You have time to actually relax at a café, and sip the energy you need to react impulsively at the sight of an interesting art gallery, an exciting building or an unusual museum. This way, you come home not only with a full shopping bag but a whole packet of experiences, as well. So if it’s leisurely, enjoyable shopping you’re after, along with a little cultural input and guiltless relaxation, then Aalborg is AOK.
The shopping streets are relatively concentrated and easily accessible. This gives you the luxury to check out the small shops and big department stores before you make your choice. There’s always time to go back and make the right one.
Aalborg’s shopping district is also a picturesque quarter of downtown with narrow, winding streets, leaning buildings, exciting galleries and a delicious selection of cafés and restaurants that can refresh a tired mind and aching feet.
|
|
|
Aalborg offers the unique
Aalborg is to Copenhagen what Brussels is to Paris: There aren’t nearly so many stores. On the other hand, there isn’t nearly so much repetition, either.
|
When it comes to selection, there’s little difference. You can still find the expensive international brands and good basics, but also the special and the unique.
And all of us incarnate shoppers know that nothing is more thrilling than finding THE special item that you KNOW nobody else has back home!
Up on your heels
Aalborg offers an array of top international brands.
If you’re a fan of the TV series, “Sex and the City,” point your toes to the Kenza shoe boutique on Østerågade, which has exclusive rights in Scandinavia to sell the famous Manolo Blahnik brand.
Kenza is a collection outlet, and the sizes typically range from 36-38 for women and 41-42 for men, but it pays to ask for other sizes because you may get lucky. Kenza sko • Østerågade 25
Original arts & crafts
There is no shortage of unique and beautiful items for the home in Aalborg. Try Lange Kunsthåndværk in Hjelmerstad, where the idyllic country courtyard also houses a ceramic workshop, a glassworks and sculpture garden. Even Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary shop here! Also make a visit to the former icebreaker, “Elbjørn,” down at the harbour, which the “captain” has converted into an art glassworks and restaurant.
Go underground
When your credit card begins to melt, it’s time to go underground - literally.
In Algade, you can take a lift down to the underground ruins of the Franciscan Friary Museum. In the calm beneath the bustling city, you can see how the friars lived their lives in the Middle Ages. It’s a fascinating glimpse of a bygone age and, because this is Aalborg, you have time to enjoy it. |
Wednesday, January 05 2011
A variaty of opportunities to make a good bargain
General opening hours for speciality shops:
Monday - Thursday 10am-5.30pm, Friday 10 am-7 pm, Saturday 9.30 am-3 pm.
General opening hours for department stores: Monday - Wednesday 9.30 am-6 pm. Thursday - Friday 9.30 am-8 pm and Saturdays 9 am-5 pm.
Take a break
Cafés have sprouted up all over Aalborg over the past decade and, weather permitting; you can enjoy your café latte at a sidewalk table.
 You can find some of the biggest sandwiches in town at Stygge Krumpen on Vesterå. Just across the street is Café Vesterå, which also runs a nightclub on weekends.
The Caféministeriet on Mølleplads is a popular spot, as is C.W. Obels Plads, where the tables are packed throughout the summer. In winter, you can strap on a pair of skates and take a twirl. Top it off with a steaming cup of hot cocoa or a freshly-brewed beer at the city’s newest microbrewery, Søgaards Bryghus.
Don’t forget your stomach A satisfying shopping trip is not just a matter of what you put on your body, but what you put in it. On Saturday mornings, the French-style market in the dockside warehouse at Rosdahl’s offers a cornucopia of fresh produce, cheeses, seafood, flowers, sweets, specialities, wine and more.  And visit the Penny Lane wine shop on Boulevarden, which also boasts some wonderful delicatessens. How about some fresh-ground coffee at Kronen on Algade, where the aroma leads you in by the nose?
|
|