Aalborg

Questionnaire about our experience

• What do the streets and public spaces look like?

Aalborg has wide, clean streets with cycle paths and green parks for people to enjoy. The streets are very beautiful. Some houses are very colourful and others are very detailed. I noticed that the step that divides the road and the pavement is very small. 

In Navarre, the streets are narrower with old buildings with a lot of history.

• What are the differences between your home in Navarre and your partner's home in Aalborg?

In Navarre, old houses tend to have thick walls and tiled roofs. In contrast, houses in Aalborg have larger windows and tend to have a simpler design.

The difference is so big. Many of us in Navarre live in flats, which are tiny compared to Danish houses. Houses in Aalborg are big and beautiful and  they also have a big garden. 

• How do the windows open? What are the differences with respect to the ones you know?

In Aalborg, many windows open outwards, allowing good ventilation. In Navarre, windows often open inwards or slide sideways.

• What time are the meals? What kind of food is consumed in each of them?

 People in Aalborg eat breakfast around 7:00, lunch at 12:00, and dinner by 18:00. They drink a lot of juice or soda, instead of water. In addition, they eat a lot of sandwiches, and they don’t eat normal bread.

In Navarre, lunch is larger and served around 14:00, while dinner is later, around 20:30.

• What time do they usually go to bed? When do they usually wake up? How many hours do they sleep?

In Aalborg, people go to bed at 22:00 and wake up around 6:30. In Navarre, it’s common to sleep later, going to bed around midnight and waking up around 8:00 am.

• How do they walk at home?

Many people in Denmark take off their shoes when they come inside to keep the floors clean. In Spain, it can depend on family traditions; some may keep their shoes on.

• How is the school schedule structured?

They have longer lessons. Their lessons last an hour and a half and then they have some breaks of 15 minutes.

They start at 8:15, have an hour and a half lesson and at 11:30 they have lunch and continue with the classes until 15:15.

People can walk in and out of class and they can eat whenever they want.

• What are the classrooms like?

They are very new, the whiteboards move up and down, and all the classrooms have windows so you can see the corridor. Some of them have special walls, and you can take them off and 3 rooms become 1 big classroom. 

Classrooms in Aalborg are bright and have lots of space for group work. They have modern tools like smartboards. In Navarre, classrooms are often more traditional with desks in rows.

 The chairs are very comfortable and they usually sit in groups, as the tables are close together.

• How is the teaching? What are the lessons like?

In Aalborg, teaching is creative and involves group projects. Students discuss and participate a lot. People pay a lot of attention to teachers and tend to participate in class. 

In Navarre, lessons can be more about listening to the teacher and taking notes, but are starting to include more activities.

• What are the most important facts and what are your impressions about…?

  • Aalborg

Aalborg is a friendly city with a mix of modern life and history, full of culture and activities. It is divided by the fjord, but there are two bridges and a tunnel. The small houses are so pretty and there are no big buildings. In general, it isn't very noisy.

• • The Sanded Church

It is a very small and secluded church (there is nothing around it). It is very difficult to go up and down because the stairs are very small and steep.  It is very interesting because more than half of the church is covered by the sand.

• • Grenen

It is very nice to see how the two seas meet at the tip and to see seals at the same time. The change of the waves of the seas is incredible. The bunkers are also so interesting.

• • Skagen

It is a small fishing village with very nice and cute houses. The houses are very different from those in Spain, and it looks like the village is taken out of a book. It's very pretty but it smells like fish. The yellow houses are very pretty.