June 7 - How to Be a Viking, Part 3

Our next objective was the Roskilde Cathedral. We hiked back up the hilltop from which the cathedral reigns over the area.

It is a very pretty cathedral, with graceful twin towers.

We went inside and tour the cathedral following Rick Steve's self-guided tour.  One of the first things we came to was a crazy clock. It was almost 3:00, so people were staring up at the clock expectantly. We said, hey that looks like fun, we should stare at it, too.

This clock is from the 1400's.

At 3:00 the horse reared up and St. George slew the dragon, and the dragon made a screamy noise, then the woman rang the little bell three times by hitting it with a hammer and then the man rang the big bell three times by pulling the cord. Too much excitement for one day.

But seriously, this was a fascinating church with an amazing amount of history and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There have been churches on this site since the 900's when our old friend Harald Bluetooth built the first church. The present brick church was started in the 1170's by another old friend, Bishop Absalon. Construction lasted for 100 years.

The altar

This dome is on top of the elaborate pulpit.

All of the Danish royals have been buried in Roskilde Cathedral. Many have their own chapels. The current monarch, Queen Margrethe 2 has worked with an artist to design her future tomb.

The Chapel of Christian 4 (d. 1648). Coffins of Christian 4, his wife, son Frederik 3 and his wife, and son Christian who predeceased his father.

The ceiling of Christian 4's Chapel 

Queen Margrete I was buried here in 1413

The Chapel of the Magi, King Christian I's Chapel, built in the second half of the 1400's. The sepulchres of Christian 3 (d. 1559) and Frederik 2 (d. 1588).

The private box of Christian 4, circa 1600

After spending over an hour exploring all the nooks and crannies of the cathedral, including a little museum way up in the top, we made our way back to the train station, stopping at a grocery store called Netto for some snacks.

When the train came we accidentally sat in first class, not realizing there was a first class. The conductor came and explained to us, so we left that car and proceeded to the correct car. On our way out another passenger reprimanded us (I assume - he spoke in Danish) and pointed repeatedly to the door which apparently said "first class." Apparently Danes are quite fond of correcting foreigners. It would have been more helpful if someone had let us know about first class BEFORE we entered and sat down. Telling us after we left the compartment felt too much like scolding. We slunk away in shame, trying to ignore this strange man who was berating us. Maybe we should have stood up to his bullying. What would a Viking do?