Danish Michelin stared restaurants
In Denmark only restaurants in Copenhagen are awarded with Michelin stars though some of the best Danish restaurants are other places in the country. In 2011 Copenhagen’s restaurants got 11 Michelin stars and maintained its position as northern Europe’s gourmet city. But no restaurants had 3 stars. The world’s best restaurant for the second year in a row, Noma, got 2 stars as the only one in Denmark, while Geranium (also in Copenhagen), where the world’s best chef, Rasmus Kofoed, is head chef was wondering why they didn’t get any stars at all.
In the rest of Denmark we wonder why the Michelin Guides don’t include restaurants in Denmark outside Copenhagen. According to the Danish Gourmet Guide 2012 (Den Danske Spiseguide) the best restaurant in Denmark is:  Henne Kirkeby Kro.  It is placed at the West Coast, exactly 61,3 km from Danhostel Ribe.
Could Henne Kirkeby Kro get 3 Michelin stars if they had the chance? When it comes to the New Nordic kitchen you don’t get better products than those from the salt marshes in the Wadden Sea National Park. And of course you find these products at Henne Kirkeby Kro. In Michael Booth’s blog are photos of some of the dishes they serve.

Danish 3 star Michelin attractions. Maximum three stars awarded attractions in Denmark
Michelin’ green guides award attractions in the world from 1 to 3 stars.
14 Danish attractions have 3 stars.
Attractions in the world with 3 stars you might know:  Tower of London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Empire State Building in New York, the Sphinx of Giza in Egypt, Pompei in Italy, etc.
But we are so lucky, that our view (see the photo) gets both 2 and 3 stars, since Ribe town (Ribe by) gets 2 stars and Ribe Cathedral (Ribe Domkirke) 3 stars.
It’s possible to have the best view of both Ribe Cathedral (Ribe Domkirke) and Ribe old town  for Danish hostel prices at Danhostel Ribe.

A wintertime view from Danhostel Ribe (Ribe Cathedral, 3 stars in Guide Michelin ), Wintertime in Ribe town (Ribe town 2 stars in Guide Michelin)

The only other one with 3 stars in the peninsula Jutland is the Open Air Museum in Aarhus: Den Gamle By – “The Old Town” (see the photo).
In Funen the quarter around H. C. Andersens house has 3 stars, the last 3 starred attractions in Denmark are in Copenhagen and Sealand:  Copenhagen City, Nyhavn Port (photo), the National Fine Arts Museum, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, the National Museum, Rosenborg Castle, the Museum of Art Louisiana, Frederiksborg Castle, Kronborg – Elsinore Castle, Roskilde Cathedral, Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde
The highest awarded cities in Denmark are:  Aarhus, Roskilde and Ribe – 2 stars and Copenhagen 3 stars

What do the Michelin Stars mean?
1 star for attractions the Green Guide finds interesting
2 stars for attractions the Green Guide finds worth a detour
3 stars for attractions the Green Guide finds exceptional and worth a special journey

Confused? Did you hear about placed with 4 or 5 stars?
1-3 Michelin Stars are awarded for the quality of the food and not for the luxury of the place.
1-5 Michelin “forks and knives” are awarded for the luxury of the place, five being a “Luxurious restaurant”.
1-5 In many countries hotels five being “Luxurious restaurant”. Danish hotels are rated 1-5.
1-5 Danish Family- and Youth Hostels called Danhostels have their own rating system from 1 to 5:
Danhostel Ribe has 4 stars.

Nyhavn Copenhagen. Guide Michelin 3 stars

The old town in Aarhus - Den gamle by i Århus. 3 Michelin Stars

Danhostel Ribe in Denmark is working with its neighbours and the surrounding community on a proposed solar energy project, ‘RIBE SOL’. If the project is approved by parliament, it will significantly reduce their CO2 emissions and be much more cost-effective in the long term, helping their town become greener.

The hostel is already certified with the Green Key label and is working on the ‘RIBE SOL’ project with its neighbour, Rio (Ribe Jernindustri), which is a huge factory that produces radiators. Both the hostel and Rio have land in the Wadden Sea National Park nearby and it’s great to see a manufacturing company and a hostel working together to help make the town greener.

Danhostel Ribe, RIO (Ribe Jernindustri) and part of the Wadden Sea National Park seen from top of the Cathedral

Recently a small delegation went to the Danish parliament to have a meeting with its Energy Committee about the proposed project. The meeting had been suggested by one of the 2 local members of parliament, who fully support the project.

The ‘RIBE SOL’ project has received some great publicity so far to help the cause. Michael Boel, the Director of Rio, was interviewed by the town’s biggest local radio station following the meeting and the project was also mentioned on other radio stations too.

Here are some facts about the project: 

• Size: 28000 m2 of the roof on Rio 
• 10000 m2 solar panels (5000 m2 solar collectors for heating and 5000 m2 solar cells for electricity) 
• Investment: 30.000.000 d.kr. (3.529.478,22 £) 

If the project does go ahead, it will produce 55% of the heat and 20% of the electricity for Rio and Danhostel Ribe, reducing their CO2 emissions by 870 tonnes every year. This is the equivalent of 360 cars (Ford Ka) driving 20,000 km a year or a car going around the earth 180 times!

Aalborg University in Esbjerg is also involved in the project. Their aim is to create a big research programme to collect more information on solar energy, which will in turn help the development of solar technology. This is important research, which will help gain further knowledge on the amount of PV solar cells used for bigger industries.

‘RIBE SOL’ is a unique project, which would significantly help the development of green energy. If you have any questions about it, please contact the Danhostel Ribe Hostel Manager, Jens Philipsen at ribe@danhostel.dk.

At Danhostel Ribe we celebrated it by giving free bicycle rent and a map of the Wadden Sea National Park to all our facebook friends that visited us on the 22th – Earth Day. We had just bought 30 new bicycles, so we thought this was a fine way to celebrate both the day and the bikes – and at the same time let our guests experience this fantastic nature just outside our door.

Yahoo! News  celebrated Earth Day by interviewing Gaute Hogh, publisher of the book 100 Places to Go Before They Disappear.
The Wadden Sea in Denmark was the first place that came to Hogh’s mind of the 100 places to go before they disseapear. The Wadden Sea is a low-lying coastal zone in Denmark where visitors can “walk on water” to see varied landscapes and migratory birds. Hogh fears what the rising sea levels will do to this place and its dynamic ecosystem.

 
At the hostel and in Ribe we know about this fear. We have seen the water level rise and the meadow outside the hostel being flooded. We have experienced the water level being almost at the top of the dikes at the Wadden Sea Coast in 1999 – and the only reason that we were not flooded was that the storm surge came by low tide. Had it come a few hours later by high tides our town – not only the meadow but also the streets and houses in Ribe town had been flooded.
So YES come and see the Wadden Sea before it disappears, but better: Listen to Gaute Hogh’s message so that we can enjoy this beautiful place also in the future:
“The whole purpose of this book was to show my children the effects of climate change,” Hogh says. “People usually show someone suffering and I wanted to show the positive side of it: If we don’t do anything, we’ll lose some of these beautiful 100 places.”
“One of my missions with the book is to show teenagers, if you don’t turn off the water or turn down the heat, these places will disappear,” Hogh says.  “They may say, ‘Why should I do this?’ But if I show them these pictures, they start to see it another way.”

At Danhostel Ribe we were happy to notice that the interview sent a lot of people to our article about the Wadden Sea the last couple of days. We hope to see some of them at the hostel
The photo left shows the hostel when the meadow is flooded.

The blog travelandleisure mentions some of the 100 places and ask for more ways to celebrate Earth Day – but you could also comment on this article.

Ribe Viking Market. Reconstruction of Ribe about 700 AD

Denmark’s first “pedestrian street” was founded all ready around 700 AD in Denmark’s oldest town, Ribe. Walking on this “pedestrian street” through Ribe Viking Market, you could meet people from North Scandinavia and South Europe; even Arab salesmen came to the Viking Market bringing exotic luxury goods as spices and pearls.
At the marketplace newcomers’ first impressions were mixes of people shouting for better sales of their goods, foreign languages, smells of food, garbage, and cow flops, and craftsmen producing all kinds of crafts from combs of bone to jewelry from bronze, etc.
Ribe gave probably the most international impressions you could get in Denmark during the early Viking Age.
But why did this Viking market by Ribe River around 700 develop to be an enterprising metropolis with international commercial relations? And why did it quickly grow to be so big that Ribe was (maybe) the most important – town in Denmark? And why did it decline dramatically all ready again 150 years later around 850?

Slave trade could be a reasonable answer for some of Ribe’s rise around the Viking Age.
At the market it was possible to buy goods as drinking glasses, jewelry, spices, pottery, amber, leather, wool, food, wine, combs, grind stones, etc. – and PROBABLY ALSO SLAVES.
In the 150 years from 700 to 850 AD the Danes were still pagans. They believed in the old Nordic Gods such as Odin and Thor. But south of Denmark Europe was Christianized. In the early 700′s AD the Frankish Empire forced Christianity to the people around the Rhine. Christianity didn’t allow Christian people to keep Christian slaves. The Christian Church accepted slaves, but at the same time it was a good deed to free slaves. So what did they do? They probably went to their northern neighbour to get some pagan slaves.

Viking raid at Ribe Viking Centre

But why did Ribe decline again?
As Ribe was a major trading town it was an obvious choice for Christian missionary work. At the marketplace Christians mixed and traded with the pagan Vikings. About 855 the catholic monk Ansgar obtained some land from the Danish King Horik to build the first Christian Church in Denmark in Ribe. From now on Denmark starts to get Christianized and 100 years later, around 965 AD the first Danish king Harald Bluetooth (Harold Bluetooth) was baptized. He erected a runic stone in Jelling for his parents, King Gorm and Queen Thyra, proclaiming that he now had Christianized Denmark. This stone is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Jelling.Well it wasn’t that easy to Christianize the Danes, for many years Christians and pagans lived side by side, but of course it was not that easy any longer to buy slaves.
Another important reason that influenced Ribe’s situation was probably that around mid 800′s the Frankish Empire declined. After Charlemagne’s death (Charles the Great in 814) no strong central power ruled in the Frankish Empire and many wars between France and Germany continued for centuries. The European trade fell, people were getting poorer and also the first Danish Viking raids started in the late 700′s AD and when the Frisian capital Dorestad was attacked in the 830th the raids really escalated. Around 850 Ribe got surrounded by a town moat to protect the citizens. The good times for Ribe were over and didn’t return until the mid-11th century when Ribe rose again as a very important Danish Christian metropolis

Jelling rune stone. Unesco world heritage

I have to emphasize that we don’t know if pagan Vikings in Denmark sold slaves to Christians at Ribe Viking market – it is only a most likely hypothesis. Maybe we will get wiser when archaeologists in this month start excavations to find Ansgar’s first church in Denmark around Ribe Cathedral again, where they all ready a couple of years ago found some of the first Christian burials in Denmark. Millions have been donated for these excavations and it is possible for everybody to follow the excavations all 2011. Ribe Cathedral is 5 minutes walk from Danhostel Ribe.

Sources:
Claus Feveile: Vikingernes Ribe. Handel, magt tro
http://lindegaarden.wordpress.com/

Cristmas Card from Denmark

A new Christmas card from Danhostel Ribe  as a tribute to our beautiful town and as one of the last celebrations of Ribe’s 1300 year anniversary this year.
It’s really been a fantastic year and we have had many happy guests visiting us.

The picture is from the poetic footpath over Ribe River from the hostel to Ribe old town. The bench is just one of Ribe’s many benches where the Ribe citizens sit and enjoy our beautiful town while they discuss important matters when the weather is a little warmer.
The photographer is Gudrun Rishede, who has also made the hostel’s postcards Vadehavskort and all the Ribe and Wadden Sea National Park photos that you can enjoy at the hostel.

The Christmas card can be seen/bought at Danhostel Ribe from now.

Julekort fra Danmarks ældste by. Resume på dansk:

Danhostel Ribes julekort viser gangstien over Ribe å fra vandrehjemmet til den gamle by og én af Ribes mange bænke, hvor ripenserne nyder den smukke by og diskuterer stort og småt, når vejret er lidt varmere. Postkortet er fotograferet af Gudrun Rishede, som også har fotograferet vores andre postkort ”Vadehavskort” og alle de mange fotos fra Ribe og Nationalpark Vadehavet, der har sørget for vandrehjemmets helt en egen stemning.

Julekortene kan ses/købes på Danhostel Ribe fra nu af.

The first animation festival in Denmark is made as a tribute to animation film and to two of the grand old men within animation film: Børge Ring (89) and Kaj Pindal (83). Both of them born in Denmark and both of them turning up in Ribe not only to be celebrated but also to inspire other film animators coming to Ribe to show off their creations, get inspired and create networks.
Kaj Pindal and Børge Ring are fellow animators and lifelong friends. Oscar winner Børge Ring writes to Kaj Pindal´s 80th birthday “We are buddies and we are soul brothers”.
The festival is for everyone. Young and old will have the possibility to see both some rare and some famous animation films and meet the animators.

Ribe Animation Festival 2010 from Amir Avni on Vimeo.

Børge Ring was nominated to an Oscar in 1978 and was rewarded with an Oscar in 1986 for his animation short film “Anna & Bella”. He has also been involved in the early Asterix films as well as ‘The Pink Panther’ cartoons, and the Danish Viking ‘Valhalla’ cartoons
For Børge Ring, who has lived and worked in Holland a big part of his life, it will be a return to his birth town, since he was born in our street in Ribe, 50 meters from Danhostel Ribe, 89 years ago.
Here you can see Børge Ring´s Oscar winner: Anna & Bella

Kaj Pindal has lived in Canada for many years. He is also an award-winning animator.
He worked together with Børge Ring on – among others - the movies Karate Kids (dangers of AIDS) and Goldtooth (drug abuse). Animation films that succeed in telling about serious problems in an easy understandable way. Goldtooth won the Unicef Meena Prize 1996.

You can meet the 82-year old Kaj Pindal Friday the 12th November from 3 pm to 6 pm at the hostel. He will be showing selected films and tell about his life with animated cartoons. Among others he will show parts of his latest film series “Peep and the Big Wide World” for which he received an EMMY in 2005 as the best animation Children’s Tv Programme in the USA.
Friday evening animators from everywhere will meet at the hostel to present their films and enjoy networking.
You are also invited to watch examples of the latest films and meet some of the new talented animators behind them.
This was only a little part of the program. Other parts will take place at Brorsonsminde, Bispegade school, the Viking Museum, Taarnborg and other places in Ribe. See the entire program here: Animation Festival
The Animation Festival is at the same time part of Ribe’s 1300 Year Anniversary Celebrations

Danhostel Ribe is Eco-labeled with Green Key and mentioned among Best Green Hotels

Danhostel Ribe congratulates The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers for having been named the greenest hotel in the world by the travel and tourist organization Skaal International.

The more green accommodation we get in Denmark the better. And the more focus we get on sustainable accommodation the better. At Danhostel Ribe we can learn from Crowne Plaza –  can they also learn from us? Maybe there are things we just should do different because Crowne Plaza is a hotel and Danhostel Ribe a hostel?

 But if you as a tourist would prefer to:

• get sustainable accommodation in Denmark’s oldest and best preserved town in the middle of the Wadden Sea National Park instead of in the middle of the busy city Copenhagen
• get cheap green accommodation because you travel on a low budget
• stay at a environmentally friendly hostel instead of a hotel
• get accommodation on the West Coast instead of the east coast of Denmark

Well, then you have the possibility to stay at Danhostel Ribe. You can read all Danhostel Ribe’s environmental policy on this link: Environmental policy at Danhostel Ribe.  Danhostel Ribe is Eco-labeled with Green Key and mentioned among Best Green Hotels. Danhostel Ribe cooperates with INNOTOUR  for education, research and business development in tourism. It is dedicated to innovation.

HRH Prince Joachim inaugurates the Wadden Sea National Park  Friday 16th October 2010

AND if you come to Ribe this Friday, you can participate in the inauguration of the Wadden Sea National Park just outside the hostel at 12 o’clock. The Wadden Sea National Park is Denmark’s third, biggest and wettest national park. HRH Prince Joachim will inaugurate the National Park and also Karen Ellemann, the Danish minister of Environment will be there. From 10.30am to 2.30pm it´s possible to join different activities and study local wadden sea products, enjoy Rod Sinclair quintet play the new National Park Song, watch the shepherd and his dog work, listen to the local stories about storm surges and pirates - and much more. Welcome.

Eco-labeled Danhostel Ribe, National Park, and Ribe Old town

The official opening will take place on the meadow – Hovedengen – outside the hostel. Hovedengen is part of the national park, and Ribe is situated in the middle of this big new national park, that in Denmark goes from the German border to Ho Bay. All ready now we know it will be a big celebration.

Of course this means now that Danhostel Ribe can boast of this fantastic situation right at the very heart of the national park – and with a panoramic view of both the national park and Denmark’s oldest and best preserved town: Ribe.
And at the same time we are the only ecolabeled accommodation you can get in Ribe and its surroundings, since we have received the Green Key and furthermore been mentioned in Environmentally Friendly Hotel´s list of “Best Green Hotels”.

Another day I will tell you the story of how Hovedengen got it’s strange name “Meadow of the Heads”

The red carpets were rolled out several places in Ribe town and the Queen and the Prince are going to visit all these places in town: Ribe Cathedral, Ribe old town hall, the Viking Museum, the Viking Centre, the boat Johanne Dan, Tårnborg (where the famous bishop and hymn writer Brorson lived) and Sct. Catharinae’ square.
Lunch is served at the Cathedral School – and Danhostel Ribe has a representative at the lunch, because Jens is involved in the preparations for Ribe’s town jubilee…..at the hostel we are looking forward to hear him tell about it.
The queen will be visiting Ribe again at autumn this year

Her er den lille film om Dronning Margrethe og prins Henriks besøg i Ribe vist på dansk