The current study aims to investigate the experience of nostalgia as it is occurring rather than retrospectively. This has been done with help from the museum: Den Gamle By in Aarhus (The Old Town, Denmark) in which its 1974 section was used to trigger nostalgic experiences among people who had been young adults in the 1970s. Den Gamle By organizes guided tours, and it became possible to follow a group of people, who had booked such a tour in the 1974-area. All the group-participants had a personal relation to that specific period of time, which is crucial for the experience of nostalgia. The unfolding process of nostalgia had been captured on camera and dictaphone and a semi-structured interview was conducted with two of the female participants to elaborate on their nostalgic experiences in Den Gamle By.
The study confirms that the immediate experience of nostalgia is primarily positive, evoking warm feelings of joy, comfort, and security. However, these may be followed by less joyful memories of the past, which has firstly been covered in the rosy light pictures of nostalgia.