Randers is not a joke

Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kajander Melish. It seems as if every country. has a city or region that is the butt of jokes. The rest of the country makes fun of the locals' abrasive accents and supposedly low-end behavior. In the United States, it's New Jersey. In Sweden, it's Skåne, the area close to Denmark that includes Malmö. I've been told that in England, it's Essex. In Scotland, it's Aberdeen. And in Ireland, it's Kerry. In Denmark, it's Randers. Randers is a city in northern Jutland, about a half hour away from Aarhus. It used to be bigger than Aarhus, and bigger than Aalborg too. But it was a manufacturing town, and when manufacturing fell apart in Denmark after the Second World War, so did Randers. Randers today The stereotype is muscle meatheads, possibly criminal, possibly in some sort of motorcycle gang, with a rough, gravelly accent, lots of tattoos and leather. And that's just the women. The men are the same, but with shorter haircuts. In addition, people in Ronders are supposed to be quite fond of mokai, which is a local alcoholic cider. If your idea of a good drink is blueberry cider from a can or pink apple cider from a metal bottle with a twist cap, Mokai is your brand. Some people call it Rhonda's Champagne. But as a foreigner, I've been insulated from a lot of these jokes and prejudices. So I was excited to go to Rhonda's earlier this month when a very nice company in the green energy business asked me to give a speech there. And I found, in general, there were some real things to like about Randers. It's an unusually hilly city for Denmark, giving it a bit of a San Francisco feel in a country where most things are flat. And it has a very pretty central square lined with lovely medieval half-timbered buildings. The square leads to the Havmæden, one of the oldest shopping streets in Denmark. It appears on maps that are more than 500 years old. Ronders has some good shopping— mostly clothing stores that sell a lot of leather, plus a boutique selling the famous Ronders gloves. The city of Ronders has been a center of glove-making for centuries. Marie Antoinette supposedly wore Ronders gloves while she slept to keep her hands soft. Now, the Ronders glove boutique is gorgeous, with gold and glass ceiling panels that feature delicately painted pastel flowers. This ceiling looks like it could have been in Marie Antoinette's bedroom. And the Ronda's Glove Boutique has very skilled salespeople. Be careful when you walk in to see the lovely shop that you don't walk out with leather gloves that cost 1,000 crowns a pair. It, uh, happened to me. But they are very nice gloves. What has really damaged Ronda's is atrocious urban planning. Right next to all those lovely old medieval buildings are horrible 1970s concrete monstrosities in very poor repair. Whoever thought that was a good idea? In addition, the medieval Old Town is dominated by cars that drive very fast. Whenever I'd step back to take a photo of some inspiring building from 1626, I'd find myself about to lose a limb. Courtesy a speed demon in a car. Ironically, the first pedestrian-only street in Denmark was in Randers. This is true. In 1963, the Halmaden became the first pedestrian-only street in Denmark. But the city fathers and mothers apparently decided that was enough of that. These days, this is a car town. Fast cars. In addition, right on the edge of the medieval Old City, these same evil urban planners decided on a huge concrete ceremonial promenade— quite suitable for an imperial city like Berlin or Paris, but not for a provincial town with a population of 60,000. This wide-open, cold, windy, usually empty promenade is topped off by an absolutely ginormous statue of a horse, at least 2 or 3 stories tall, called the Jutland Stallion. There's no rider on the horse, just a horse by himself. And he's probably a lonely horse, because there aren't many pedestrians in this huge concrete space. Just a lot of cars zipping by in both directions. Anyway, the Jutland Stallion represents the area's strong Muscular workhorses, and it has become the symbol of Randers and the symbol of its rather successful local football team, which are called the Blue Horses or Blå Heste. Strong and muscular has become the Randers brand, and the city has become the de facto center of the Danish fitness industry. My own personal trainer told me that the best Danish fitness influencers start out lifting their barbells in Randers. And then expand their business nationwide. But is Randers a tourist town? Not really, I would say, although I loved their art museum. It has some true masterpieces of Danish painting, and there's a large indoor rainforest attraction that is popular with families. However, the greatest tourist attraction in the area is slightly outside Randers. It's known as the Memphis Mansion. A Danish Elvis Presley fan has entirely recreated Graceland, Elvis Presley's home in Tennessee, in the Danish countryside. It's actually twice the size of the original. You can visit there and see some of Elvis's cars, his stage clothes, even some of the instruments that were played in the background of his songs. It includes an Elvis diner serving BBQ and Elvis's favorite sandwich, peanut butter and banana. And, of course, there is an extensive gift shop with Elvis items. Off to the side is a copy of the little cabin where Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. What Memphis Mansion really is, is an event location, a space for parties and corporate get-togethers, and it would appear to be popular because in early September I noticed that the Christmas parties there were already sold out. You can also get married there. have an Elvis-style Blue Hawaii wedding. Just you, your partner, and Elvis. Right in the middle of provincial Denmark. See now, who says Rønne's is a joke? How can you laugh at a thing like that? And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. Coming soon, our new book, the 2022 version of How to Work in Denmark, With 3 new chapters. Find out more on our website, howtoliveindenmark.com. See you next time. See you next time.