If you are planning on being in the Jutland region of Denmark, a must visit is in Aarhus, especially right now. Originally known as Aros and lying on the peninsula of Jutland, the Aarhus Festival first began in September 1965 and has developed not only into a major local cultural, but also an international festival. For 10 days every year, the entire city of Aarhus is swarming with entertainment events. Several performances are free.

“Aarhus Open City” is the theme of 2008 Aarhus Festival Week. This yearly festival will only be active from the 29th of August to the 7th September, so hurry and get to Denmark! All over Aarhus, the city is buzzing with music; activity and artistic and cultural events.

The best way to truly indulge in these ten days is to obtain a vacation rental of a cottage in Jutland area and live the life of both a native and visitor. This festival guarantees to be a full throttle of entertainment. No matter where you stay in Denmark, all motorways lead to Aarhus from the north, south and west and easy to reach from anywhere in Denmark.

If you can not make it to the festival, it is good to know that Aarhus and the rest of the Jutland region have much to offer any time of the year. Even if you miss the festival, you’ll find an array of museums, attractive villages, and history.

Things to do in the Jutland Region

Aros Museum – This is the newest museum in Aarhus and the largest art museums in northern Europe. With 10 stories to explore, one day will just not do it. Offering a good variety of paintings, sculptures, and drawings from the Golden Age up through contemporary it is a wonderful visit for the whole family. There are even on-hands art activities available for the younger members of your group.

Den Gamle By – Re-live Danish history in this open-air museum depicting early Danish life throughout all the regions of Denmark. With 75 historical houses, gardens, exhibitions, houses, shops, and workshops situated in the old town of Aarhus, your day will surely be spent understanding the Danish culture. The structures were originally erected between 1550 and the late 1800s in different parts of Denmark and dismantled and reconstructed here.

The Skagen Art Museum– Located in the quaint small city of Skagen is the place to be for those that enjoy Nordic art. Most of these paintings depict the beauty of Skagen and the surrounding sea. Besides a permanent collection, many different exhibitions from throughout Scandinavia make its way to this museum.

Silkeborg Museum – Silkeborg Manor in Silkeborg was erected in 1767 and became a museum in 1951. It houses some of the most amazing museum exhibits you will ever see. The world renowned “Tollund Man” can be found here. The “Tollund Man” is the well- preserved body discovered in 1950 who originated from the Middle Ages in the Village of Tollund. Other artifacts range from the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age (where the Tollund Man is displayed), Viking Age, and Middle Ages.

For information on the venues and transportation options for “Aarhus Open City” view: http://www.aarhusfestuge.dk/

For details on activities with the Jutland region throughout the year visit: http://www.visitdenmark.com

Parasites belong in the guts of someone (or something) other than me. 130 different species living in a bodily container that usually holds chocolate parfaits and Kung Pao chicken is not something I want to see outside the walls of my stomach. But sensible people rarely listen to me, and they proceeded to create a museum dedicated to parasites.

The Meguro Parasite Museum in Tokyo is a short, fifteen minute uphill walk from the subway stop. How many neighborhoods in Tokyo have this type of museum? Only one. So on Tuesday afternoon, I bought a map (just for reference) and pointed to my stomach several times as I walked down the street asking for directions, trying to create some cultural middle ground.

The official name “Kiseichuu Hakubutsukan” might mean 30 foot tapeworm because that’s one of the main attractions upstairs on the second floor. There are actually five parasite museums in the world. This one boasts the longest of the tapeworms.

Parasites and museums are usually not spoken of in the same sentence, so I wasn’t surprised when I approached the nondescript, two-story brownstone. Its lack of architectural dimensions actually soothed me. I couldn’t imagine a Frank Gehry-like monstrosity housing a dedicated presentation of parasites.

As I stepped through the front door, I looked forward to the number of times I would say “Gross” and “That’s ” disgusting – my expectations soon met my reality.

The first floor consists of a general overview of parasites while the second floor focuses on the parasite life cycle, showcasing 300 actual specimens. Walking up the stairs, one thought badgered me: Do I really need to see a few hundred parasites? I think after two or three I had a pretty good idea.

On the second floor, I found maps pinpointing areas all across Japan where specific types of tapeworms are found. Drawers and free standing displays educate the tourist. This is one place where tourists are encouraged to ask lots of questions.

Not surprisingly, I was the only one there on that Tuesday afternoon. A guide suddenly appeared from some back room and gave me a private tour, escorting me to several long, shiny white tables where more tapeworms and parasitic creatures existed. There is not enough room for all the exhibits, she explained. Lucky me.

While being granted twenty more minutes for the privilege of observing more preserved parasites and experiencing my guide’s unbridled parasitic enthusiasm made me wish the day would never end, what I enjoyed most was the gift shop. Even in a tiny museum like this, a reserved chunk of space existed to shill souvenirs.

Counter and glass case held all parasite souvenir essentials. Japanese culture loves to turn almost anything (beer foam, poop) into a cute rendition of its former self; a representative that allows a certain kind of intimate relationship that no one would ever acknowledge or desire otherwise.

The mascot is very similar to a mutated butterfly with exaggerated ears. They call it Diplozoon. It’s part of the motif for cell phone straps, key chains, pens, postcards, rulers, and stickers. There’s even an amber sealed parasite key chain. If that doesn’t get you excited, they offer t-shirts and jewelry with embossed rainbow colored tapeworms.

As I left the museum, I shook hands with my guide and asked if the museum ever gets busy. When do people show up? I wanted to know. She looked at me, smiled wistfully, and said, mostly before lunch.

Although by the 1920s Route 66 was on its way, and the Bucket of Blood Saloon had the appearance of a respectable establishment, sidled up to a general store and across the way from an early gasoline station, the saloon still captivated travelers, who stopped in to see the bullet holes in the walls and a stain on the floor that reportedly remained from the gunfight that gave the bar its name.

In the mid-1880s, the little western Arizona town of Holbrook was known as a place “too tough for women and churches.” There was no law enforcement to speak of and a group of cow punchers from the Aztec Cattle Company had moved into the area. These cowpunchers called themselves the Hashknife Outfit, and they soon became known far and wide at the “theivinist, fightinist bunch of cowboys in the west.” Rustling cattle from other cattle companies, as well as stealing and shooting were everyday activities for the Hashknife cowboys. They were major players in the Pleasant Valley Feud, one of the longest and bloodiest land and cattle feuds in the history of the United States.

The year 1886 was a notable one for the Hashknife cowboys and the Bucket of Blood Saloon. That year alone there were 26 shooting deaths in Holbrook, a notable number for any western settlement at the time, but especially for a town with a population of only about 250. Most of the shootings were attributed either directly or indirectly to the presence of the Hashknife Outfit. The Bucket of Blood Saloon rose to infamy that year when a brutal gunfight broke out between members of the Hashknife Outfit and a group of cowboys who accused them of stealing cattle.

Gunfights and even casual gunfire were common at the Bucket of Blood, in fact, a painting hangs in the local museum bearing two bullet holes from a target competition between two betting cowboys who both turned out to be poor shots.

But the gunfight that took place was like nothing that had ever been seen in the saloon before. Historical documents don’t offer a count of how many men died or were injured, but written records say that the result was “buckets of blood” on the floor. Thus, the name of the saloon was changed to Bucket of Blood.

Today the Bucket of Blood is boarded up, and sits in a lonely part of town. The trees hide the site where one of the bloodiest gunfights of the west took place. Residents of Holbrook haven’t forgotten about the Bucket of Blood however, and now embrace the wild west history, claiming to have a past “wilder than Tombstone, but made up of events that really did happen.”

The street that runs in front of the old saloon was renamed from “Central” to “Bucket of Blood Street,” a move that landed the street on a number of top ten lists citing the most unusual street names.

Travelers going down Route 66, just a block away, still take a turn off the America’s Highway to get a glimpse of the remains of a saloon that witnessed a time in history when the west really was wild.

The saloon has stood for more than 120 years, right next to the train tracks where the cattle rustlers of yore loaded their cattle for shipment to the east, surviving floods, fires and the constant vibration of trains that continue to pass by. Much of the building was constructed using local sandstone, which lends a rich red color.

And while the beautiful stonework on the front is still in nearly pristine shape, a protective layer of stucco on the back is falling away, revealing the stacked stone construction in the back that is beginning to give way to the ravages of time.