New in Aalborg

But what was important for me during my first days in Aalborg and how did I make it work?

Meet people

If you want to meet people from all over the world during your first days in Aalborg you can go to Studenterhuset, the student house, a café and meeting point. All the students who work there speak and address you in English. But also going out to a café, galery or bar, waiting at the bus stop or visiting a sports match on your own are easy ways of getting in contact with someone - no matter if its Danes or internationals. You just have to start talking and asking questions. I had some nice talks.

Phone and transportation

In order to stay in touch with family and friends who are not in Denmark and also to be able to call Danish numbers without paying a lot of money, I thought about buying a Danish SIM card for my mobile phone. It would also be useful regarding mobile internet as I don’t have WIFI in my flat and there is free WIFI only in a couple of spots in Aalborg city.

So I just walked into the shops of Telia, Telenor and 3 and asked them what might be the best option for me as I’m only in Denmark for a short time. And, as always, the friendly Danes could help me. Tak!

It was also important for me to get around in Aalborg. One of my colleagues mentioned that ”rejsekort” could be a ticket option for me, a card with that you earn points while using public transport. I went to the ticket office at the Busterminal, had to draw a number and wait until it showed up at the display so that I was allowed to go to the counter.

While waiting I had a look at the brochures and leaflets about the city as well as bus and train timetables. Nearly all of them just in Danish. One had at least ”Køreplan” and also the English word ”Timetable” written on the first page but inside it was Danish only.

Luckily - as nearly everybody I talked to - the guy at the counter could give me good advice in English: The ”rejsekort” wouldn’t be the best for me as I’m only here for two months and I wouldn’t earn enough points to get anything out of it. To buy two monthly tickets would be cheaper for me.

Alright. But, the guy asked: ”Do you have a picture of you with you?” I answered: ”Yes, of course” and showed him my ID card. But he meant a real photo that he could use for issuing my monthly ticket. No, I didn’t. But, hey, not a problem, he just copied the picture of my ID and put that in my ticket instead. Easy. Tak! So I had a monthly ticket.

Language course

But how would I know if this bus really goes to Nordjyske or any other place I planned to go? I wanted to be able to ask the bus drivers in Danish. So how could I improve my Danish? For an official language course by the city I am ”not qualified” as I’m not a registered citizen in Denmark. I asked some of the international students I had met if they knew any Danish student who would be interested in learning German and teaching me Danish instead. They didn’t know anyone. But they remembered that in their language class they got a card of an organisation who offered Danish classes for everyone for free.

So I went to one of the eleven places that were mentioned on this card: to Haraldslund Sprogcafé (language café) in Kastetvej 83. Every Monday and Thursday from 15 to 17 o’clock everyone can go there to get help with Danish. Kirsten Nielsen, a friendly, open-minded 63 year old lady, is one of the volunteers of the Dansk Flygtningehjælp, the Danish refugee aid, who organises the so called ”language café”. She and five other colleagues gave me and the other participants a warm welcome. Every volunteer took a seat next to one of the internationals and helped with everything they needed. Karin told me how to ask if the bus goes to Langagervej and we played memory so that I learned the names of animals in Danish. Karin talked Danish slowly and constantly. Only if I didn’t understand what she meant after she had repeated it a couple of times she explained in English - and then immediately switched to Danish again. I think that’s a good way. Because in everyday life it’s hard to learn Danish as most of the Danes speak English so well. If they realise your Danish isn’t that good they switch to English and you will never improve your Danish. That’s what some international students mentioned as well. Then it might be even more difficult to find Danish friends.

What’s going on in Aalborg

In order to get to know what’s going on in the city I think the easiest way is to ask people. Best is to ask Danes as they are able to understand all the information that is given. Most of the posters, leaflets and brochures that you find in the city, and also in the tourist information are in Danish. On the main websites for tourists, www.visitaalborg.dk, you find out a lot in Danish and English and sometimes even in German. Many museums have websites in English, too, but the cultural center Nordkraft for example only offers information in Danish. Also the websites of AAU and UCN give general information about Aalborg - which is not only relevant for students.

The city itself offers information for citizens on www.aalborgkommune.dk: There is an English version of the website but it contains not all the information they have in Danish. So if you are lucky you’ll find what you need. If not, bad luck.

Everybody who is interested in Aalborg and the region and doesn’t only want information about tourist attractions might have a look at media news. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any newspapers or homepages that offer regional news in English. There is www.cphpost.dk with Danish news but I wasn’t too fond of it. Then I figured out that the student radio, www.studentradio.dk, offer at least some news in English - but it depends if there are local news in a show or not.

If you look for a sports club to participate in you won’t be too successful finding something in English about it online. Most clubs only offer Danish information. But on nearly every homepage you will find a telephone number which can be understood without Danish skills.

What I would recommend to foreigners who come to Aalborg is: Be open, use your English, ask everyone you meet for tipps and ask stupid questions. The Danes are friendly and helpful. And you will have a good time.