New Year 2006! Boxes of fireworks were placed in the streets and set off – these weren’t the damp squibs you often see going off in someone’s back garden either. People were setting fireworks everywhere and it began to resemble a war zone as you fireworks were going off at different angles and from different directions, some landing again while still lit. Mischievous folk were tying industrial size banger type fireworks (though I would have called them dynamite sticks) to traffic lights and blowing them up and sending the traffic light itself to the ground. Others were putting them in vents in the size of building making huge booms and in some cases causing more damage.

Other people were walking around with a type of firework that resembled a rifle and these were being fired down streets and at the glass in a clock tower. All quite dangerous but exciting too! Eventually this began to quieten down as the bars and clubs began to fill up. All the while though, everyone appeared happy and in control. There was not a sign of trouble and the atmosphere was very friendly and people were chatty. We actually stayed out till 6 or 7AM and wondered where the time had gone.

Those crazy Danes! New Year Eve abroad rather than in the overfilled pubs and so called clubs of the UK which are in reality just an arena for a rumble not long after midnight and not long after everyone has shaken everyone’s hand and wished a ‘happy new year, mate’. I was in Liverpool a number of years ago for new year and by 02:00, fights were breaking out everywhere in the city centre and the majority of chaps who I saw in the fast food shops either had bloodied faces, or if they were the lucky ones, only bloodied knuckles. What an absolute jungle.

So what about Aarhus? One of the best nights I’ve had actually. We arrived at about 11AM and went for a couple of beers in the city. Aarhus isn’t a very big place, but still big enough not to feel that there is nothing to see or do. After these strong jars of winter warmer, we went to the supermarket and got a few snacks and beers for later on. After that it was off to the hotel, a bit of relaxation and then a snooze in preparation for the night’s activities.

Upon rising again, we had a few beers in our room, chatted and made ready. Dinner was a Greek restaurant at about 21:00 and we eventually finished by about 22:30. Upon leaving, the town looked dead – very unpromising so we went for a wander and a few drinks in a number of bars. Gradually though, from about 23:30 we noticed that the town had started to get busy and people were milling around on the streets. By midnight all hell began to break loose.