donderdag 10 mei 2012

Row, row, row your boat

(Post in English for convenience of Danish Youth Goodwill Ambassadors) 

Last week the university park transformed into the scenery of an incredible event. Maybe totally insane is a description that fits more accurately. Thursday was Kapsejladsen. The boat race.

An annual competition where the different student groups compete at the lake, surrounded by about 25 000 students, cheering and drinking. A lot of them start arriving as early as eight o'clock in the morning to pick the best spots on the hills around the water - some even bringing their tents there on the previous evening.

As for the exact concept of the competition: each team has to do some sort of relay, crossing the lake by boat, running out of it to quickly finish a beer and spin around 10 times (!) and finally get back to the other side to let the next person literally jump in, to take their place. Footage below shows the competition's final (straight from Aarhus University's Vimeo channel):

 

In my home university in Leuven, the event resembling this the most would be the 24-hour run where all student societies participate. Quite amazing as well, but this is an entirely different league.

And for once, even the Danish Weather Gods decided to cooperate and made it the most beautiful sunny day we've witnessed in many months. And thanks to the sun rising here so early, when we got there at eight it was already too warm to wear jackets. Before nine in the morning (but only after breakfast!), we finished our first beers. Many hours/beers later we would end this wonderful Thursday in the Student House at the after party - at least those of us that survived that long.

I almost forget to mention the spectacular "team introductions", including dressed up sea battles or a totally naked stripping (female) student. It was no coincidence that Lucie and Guillaume (friends that were here on Erasmus last semester) chose these days to visit Aarhus again. More about their visit is coming up soon.

Below you find more pictures of the Kapsejlads and its atmosphere that is best compared with large festivals. It is safe to admit that the next day, our bodies were hurting - and not only because of the sun burn we all got.












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