Not too far out of Copenhagen is a town called Roskilde (Ross-kill-deh). The capital of Denmark was Roskilde until 1443 and there's still evidence of this powerful past in the cathedral. Almost the entire royal bloodline of Kings & Queens is buried in the cathedral. The second king of Denmark, Harald Bluetooth who lived around the time 950, is entombed in a wall right by the altar. The most recent deceased King, Frederik IX is buried just outside the cathedral with a view of the sea.
When the catholic missionaries came in the 8th century, a foundation for Christianity was laid and Harald Bluetooth erected a wooden church in the spot where the cathedral now sits. Catholicism wasn't what the Vikings expected and during the time of the reformation Denmark became a protestant country. Now the cathedral is used for Lutheran church services.
After exploring the cathedral we went to a Viking ship museum and oar'd a replica of a Viking fishing ship out through Roskilde Fjord. Thank goodness the weather had improved from the first couple of days, it would have been miserable if the weather had been poor. We learned how to work the sail and what life onboard ship would have been like. I can safely say that I couldn't hack it as a Viking. It was fun being out on the water in a little wooden boat but I can't imagine having to spent months on a cargo sized ship crossing long stretchs of sea.
Our guide for the ship sailing (lovingly nicknamed Hot Viking #2 by Katelin) was a lot of fun and he was very gracious, putting up with all of our giggling. He showed us replicas of several different ships and explained what each was used for. He taught us how to row efficiently and he did a nice job of explaining everything we needed. He even helped me, without laughing too much, when I fell into the boat at the begining of our trip. Yep that's right folks, my clumsyness is alive and well here in Denmark!
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