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Denmark, Roskilde Viking Museum, 4th August, 2012 pm

Posted in Denmark, The Viking Islands, tagged , , , , on August 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The Viking Ship Museum is also to be found in Roskilde. This working museum is on the shores of the fjord.  Over 60 vessels can be seen at the museum.

Some of them are very old including the wrecks of five Viking ships dating from the 11th Century.  These were found in the fjord near Skuldelev.  They were lovingly raised from the mud and are now preserved under cover at the museum.

The beautiful lines of a Viking ship    (P1000156 © DY of jtdytravels)

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One of the five 11th Century Viking ships in the museum
(P1000154 © DY of jtdytravels)

The museum’s boatyard is the working part of the museum.

Modern-day craftsmen build wonderful wooden boats from old designs.

Replicas of Viking ships    (P1000165 © DY of jtdytravels)

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Quietly tied up at the wharf   (P1000169 © DY of jtdytravels)

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ship under construction    (P1000168 © DY of jtdytravels)

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Oared and ready to go! (P1000175 © DY of jtdytravels)

In 2000, the museum started a major project to build an exact copy of a 30 metre long trading vessel, one of the five ships found in the mud not so far away.  This ship was originally built in Dublin in 1042, a fact that was established from the timbers used in its construction.  The wonders of modern science!

The new ship was christened the Sea Stallion of Glendalough, (Havhingsten fra Glendalough).  In June 2007, with a 65-man crew aboard, it successfully sailed back to Dublin.

We made one last stop before heading back to Copenhagen.  We stopped at a Viking orientated Outdoor Museum.  Here, families lived as the Vikings would have making clothes, cooking, dyeing and other activities for a ‘different’ weekend.

A Viking dwelling    (P1000177 © DY of jtdytravels)

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New-age Vikings   (P1000180 © DY of jtdytravels)

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Pots of old   (P1000181 © DY of jtdytravels)

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This one is definitely not a sea-going boat   (P1000184 © DY of jtdytravels)

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The simple interior of a Viking house   (P1000191 © DY of jtdytravels)

Just as we left the village, a heavy thunderstorm broke and followed us most of the way back to Copenhagen.  On arrival, however, the skies had cleared and we spent a lovely night at Tivoli having a meal overlooking an area through which many people strolled and kids played.

Next stop on our Viking Islands Adventure was to be The Shetlands… next musings    D

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Denmark, Roskilde Cathedral, 4th August 2012 pm

Posted in Denmark, The Viking Islands, tagged , , , , on August 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

We headed out of the city to Roskilde for lunch. You can check out this old town on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roskilde .

Unfortunately for me this trip was in exactly the same direction as the train trip I took to get to the tram museum of a couple of days before!  In fact, Roskilde was one of the stations I could have gone to if I’d continued with that quest.

Roskilde is the former Medieval capital of Denmark.  Lying at the head of the Roskilde fjord, the city nestles on Zealand Island.  The population (1 January 2012) was 47,828.

The town centre is well preserved with many of its old buildings still in existence. One of these is the stately Roskilde Cathedral.

Side chapel, Roskilde Cathedral (P10001382 © DY of jtdytravels)

Roskilde Cathedral was the first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick.

It was constructed during the 12th and 13th centuries.

The Roskilde Cathedral     ( P1000132 © DY of jtdytravels)

The cathedral is a major tourist attraction, bringing in over 125,000 visitors annually.   Now, that should be 125,006 for 2012 – but the cathedral was closed when we visited because of a wedding. I understand that you have to be born in Roskilde to claim the right to be married in the cathedral.

Another facade of the Cathedral (P10001391 © DY of jtdytravels)

Since 1995, this Cathedral has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Danish monarchs have been interred in the Cathedral since the 15th Century.  As such it has been much altered over the centuries to accommodate newly needed burial chapels.

Another view of the Cathedral (P1000148 © DY of jtdytravels)

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A view through the colonnades (P10001462 © DY of jtdytravels)

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Old dwellings in Cathedral precinct (P1000133 © DY jtdytravels)

The area around the cathedral has some lovely old buildings, all well maintained and lived in.

Our next stop for the day, after lunch, was the Viking Museum – my next musings.   D

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Denmark, Copenhagen, Canal Cruise, 4th August, 2012

Posted in Denmark, The Viking Islands, tagged , , , , , on August 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The morning started off with a drive to the canal area near my last hotel.  It’s always pleasing to return to familiar territory when travelling, somehow it seems to act like a comfort blanket.  We had to wait for our open-top canal boat so a walk around the area filled in the time. Sonya was our local guide for the day.  She was very good.

It was very pleasant being on the water seeing Copenhagen the way it would have been seen by the early settlers and visitors.  Old warehouses, now turned into expensive waterside apartments nestle beside modern buildings.

Old warehouses, new apartments   (P1000080 © DY of jtdytravels)

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Little boxes, little apartments    (P1000081 © DY of jtdytravels)

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Just which city am I in?    (P1000085 © DY of jtdytravels)

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Modern architecture melds with the old    (P1000097 © DY of jtdytravels)

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The spire on Christiansborg Slot   (P10001111 © DY of jtdytravels)

Havnerundfart  (P1000114 © DY of jtdytravels)

Wonderful old spires associated with significant buildings pierce the skyline as there aren’t all that many high rise buildings in Copenhagen.

Havnerundfart    (P1000116 DY © of jtdytravels)

After our canal cruise we boarded a bus and visited the Royal Palaces.  It’s amazing how close the public is allowed to get to the palaces considering the security in place in so many places.  Mind you, the royals tend to leave the capital during the summer when there are so many tourists around.  They were in London for the Olympics on the day we visited the complex.

Nyhavn Royal Palace complex and The Marble Church    (P1000124 © DY of jtdytravels)

Our visit to the current capital over, we set off to visit the old capital, Roskilde.  D

All Photography ©  DY of jtdytravels

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Denmark, Copenhagen, 1st August 2012

Posted in Denmark, The Viking Islands, tagged , on August 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

My first day in Copenhagen was Wednesday 1 August  – the day that all thoroughbred horses in Australia are deemed to be one year older.   Why?  So that horses can be standardized for age related races and other competitions, all horses turn a year older every year on the same day no matter what their actual birthdate – but you all knew that anyway. But did you know that in the northern hemisphere the date for horses to enjoy a birthday cake is 1st January?  I didn’t either!

So what did I do on 1st August 2012? I walked for 3½ hours around the city of Copenhagen on a sightseeing and fact finding mission.

Tall masts (P1000018 © DY of jtdytravels)

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Along the docks (P1000042 © DY of jtdytravels)

A quayside building   (P1000052 © DY of jtdytravels)

While I was out and about on my wanderings,  I found out all about the tram museum I hoped to visit and bought a pre-purchased train ticket to use the next day.  I had to work out which trains are met by a bus from the museum.  There are a number of trains and buses so I knew that something would work.  I also found the Radisson Blu Royal where I had to move to on Friday.  It’s a good half hour walk from my Clarion Hotel but as I would have around two hours to kill between checking out and checking in, that was OK.

The day was beautifully warm and sunny  – forgot my hat as it wasn’t sunny when I set out. Camera performed beautifully, as would be expected.  I had my free afternoon cup of coffee so I settled down and see if I could upload some African ‘dymusings’.

My hotel was the Clarion Collection Hotel Neptun, at Sankt Annae Plads 14-20, Copenhagen.  I found it on Wotif.  It’s a 250 year old brothel!  Now that may take some explaining but nothing compared to what would be required should it still be a practicing brothel!  I believe the place is quite legitimate – rooms are charged for by the night, not by the hour!

It was not a particularly up-market hotel but very adequate and as they serve breakfast, afternoon tea and a light dinner, it makes for a very convenient place to stay, and not having to bother about food, makes it even more so!  And all that is included in the very reasonable tariff.

The light dinner was a lovely spread: a soupy thing (thick), rice cooked to perfection with a topping of very finely chopped herbs, 3 or 4 different FRESH breads, (a novelty after Africa), salads, pestos, peanuts, savoury biscuits and 3 or 4 different cheeses and sliced cold meats. And of course, there are all the pickled things that Scandinavians like.  More than adequate!  There were beers on offer, 2 Australian wines and a Californian Zinfandel at the equivalent of $10 a glass.  Probably much the same as at home!  I had a glass of the Zinfandel as I can have the Peter Lehmann at home anytime.

I’m afraid my mind did not stay easily on the writing/ blogging job at hand.  There was some soprano warbling somewhere within my earshot – far, far too close for my comfort.  She was still going an hour and 20 mins after she started!  If there was a pharmacy close by I would have bought their entire stock of pain relief medication and offered it to her as she must have been in extreme pain to be uttering such sounds!She’s still going, an hour and 20 mins after she started! I hoped that guests might all be spared the agony on the next night as her throat would hopefully be too sore to perform – I fear not though.    D

Photography Copyright © DY of jtdytravels

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