This morning I took the train out to Roskilde to visit the Vikingeskibsmuseet (Viking Ship Museum). On the way to the museum I stopped at the Domkirke. It is a beautiful cathedral where many of Denmark's kings and queens are buried. The current king and queen will be buried in the St. Bridget chapel which is currently being excavated for its future use. A model of their sarcophagi is on display. Rather morbid.
Strolled down through the park to the harbor to see the Viking ships. These ships were dredged from the mud at the bottom of the Roskilde Fjord in 1962. The theory is that they were intentionally sunk to block the entrance to the fjord from invading Norwegians. (Back then Roskilde was the capital, not Copenhagen). The archeologists then labeled all the pieces and put them together.
From these ships, archeologists have learned a lot about how Vikings made their ships, what kind of wood was used, and even from what part of the tree certain parts of the ship were made from. From these ships, they have been able to make reproductions including the Sea Stallion which has sailed from Roskilde to Dublin and back.
They have also set up a boat building area where they make longships with traditional tools. I got to test my Viking heritage by going on a cruise in a reconstructed longship out in Roskilde Fjord. I was pretty good at rowing, but was glad others were handling the sail once I helped pull it up. The trickiest part was putting the oars into place and then putting them back along the inside sides of the boat. One guy got poked in the eye with an oar.
Wish I could post some pictures, but my camera won't talk to my tablet and I lost my iPhone on the train :(
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