Arrive in Århus and your first sight will (more than likely) be Århus H, the central train station, designed in 1927 by State Rail Company's architect K.T. Seest. Although nothing too exciting from the outside, the inside is wonderfully light and spacious (a characteristic common to many public buildings in town, it would seem). My favourite features are the PH lamps used throughout the building, hanging alone and in chandeliers (below). An obvious choice for a Danish public space, maybe, but a very effective one. Those disembarking from the direct services from Berlin and Prague will have no confusion as to what country they've arrived in...
Alight from the train at Østbanetorvet just north of Århus harbour and housed in the station house is Paustian, a design store of the calibre you quickly become accustomed to in Denmark. It's got a lot of cool stock, including €410 child-sized Jacobsen chairs (only the most hardcore of Danish design nerds could justify that one), Norway Says products and even a Castiglioni stool, but I think my favourites were the understated kitchen bowls below. The name of the designer currently eludes me, but I will check the next time I'm there.
