UK and the Baltic Day 17 – Out of Copenhagen

 Today we checked out a few significant sites out of Copenhagen. The first was the part Romanesque part Gothic Century Cathedral in the town of Roskilde. Roskilde was the original capital of Denmark, and this Cathedral, which dates from the 12th and 13th centuries, is where the Danish Kings and Queens are buried.

Buried is perhaps the wrong term as they are all in sarcophaguses in chapels off the sides of the Cathedral. Here is where Christian the Fourth with the missing eye wound up.

Slightly more creepy, here is where the current Queen will be interred. They have it all finished but it is kept covered till it is needed.

Our next stop was at the Viking Ship Museum at Roskilde. Back in the 11th Century, the inhabitants here sunk a number of old ships across the fjord mouth as a protective measure against other marauding Viking tribes. They were discovered by a fisherman in the 1960s and a wall was built around the wrecks, the water pumped out and the remnants recovered.

The 5 Viking ships that were discovered are displayed here as well as replica warships and cargo ships that they have constructed. You can see them building further replicas using the original techniques. This is a fabulous museum and one could easily spend a day here, and yes Gary, I should have listened to you and allocated more time for our visit here.

Reluctantly we dragged ourselves away and headed to Frederiksborg Castle. This place is billed as the largest and most beautiful Renaissance castle in Scandinavia, and I would wholeheartedly agree with that description.

Externally it is stunning,  internally you pass through magnificent room after room, each full of amazing art works and beautiful furnishings. There is literally just so much to see here, it overwhelms your senses. You could spend days here.

Their gardens also are magnificent 

Feeling dazed and stunned from sensory overload, we hit the road again to Kronborg Castle where Shakespeare is supposed to have set Hamlet. Now if one was looking to save time to spend more at the Viking Ship Museum or at Frederiksborg Castle, you could easily give this place a miss.

It’s an old castle that has had a hard life. Having been destroyed by fire, captured by the Swedes and used for a couple of centuries as an army barracks, its interior is understandably, rather sparse and ordinary.

The one interesting feature was the chapel. Built on the ground floor, it had a stone roof then a ballroom built on top of that. This protected it from the fire that destroyed most of the rest of the castle and the licentious soldiery subsequently in residence probably gave it a wide berth so its 15th century interior is virtually complete. I am not saying it’s pretty or cheerful but it is complete.

We made it back to Copenhagen around 6:30pm fairly exhausted.

Around 11pm we were awoken by loud explosions. It turned out to be a fireworks display in honour of the Tivoli Gardens’ 175 birthday. We had a ringside seat from our room on the 11th floor.