scrapheapstuart3

5 BOATS.

I once stayed in a nice guest house in the historical town of Stamford, Lincolnshire. The breakfast room overlooked a large garden surrounded by an old wall and in the far corner of that wall was an interesting- looking plaque. The owner told me that the border being Anglo-Saxon England and the Danelaw used to run right across her garden back in the “Dark Ages” This gave me a strange thrill as I ate my porridge. You see, it reminded me that the Danes had once invaded and conquered large parts of northern and eastern England, setting up their capital in Jorvik or York. My excuse is that I used to be a History teacher. Initially they were sea-pirates ( or Vikings) sailing across the North Sea in their fast longships and raiding the English east coast. For instance they attacked and pillaged Lindisfarne or Holy Island off the coast of what is now Northumberland. The part of England that the Danes or Vikings finally came to control was called the Danelaw. At one point a Danish King, Canute or Knut, ruled all of England as the wars between the Danes and the Anglo-Saxons ebbed and flowed. They lasted until 1066 when the Normans came across the English Channel and took control.

Why am I telling you all this? Well it’s because my wife, Chris, and I recently “invaded” Denmark, going on an extended city break to Copenhagen. We were returning the compliment although we decided not to row or sail across the sea but take a more convenient plane instead. While there I was determined to hunt down some ancient Viking longships. We had missed out in Oslo last year because the Norwegian longship museum was being renovated and was closed. This time I would succeed. We took a train west from Copenhagen, across old Zealand, to Roskilde only 30 minutes away. Roskilde is the former capital of Denmark. It was founded by the wonderfully named King Harald Bluetooth in 980 CE. It has a World Heritage listed Cathedral and Royal burial site, plus a Viking Ship Museum. The museum houses the remains of 5 original longships from the 11th century. As we paid our Kroner to get in, the girl at the ticket office asked where we were from. When I said Britain, I joked that we were from the land that the Danes had invaded and we were now returning the favour after a 1000 year hiatus.

The museum and its adjoining harbour sit at the tip of a fjord. As we entered the complex we saw people building longships using original material. At the harbourside floated replicas of the boats inside the main hall, complete with sails. It was if they were ready to nip across the North Sea and invade Norfolk, Yorkshire or Northumberland all over again. Joking apart, visitors can go on rides out to sea on a replica Viking vessel and get to do some rowing if not raiding. We had to queue to get into hall. The ancient boats were a major attraction. At last, after 10 minutes of shuffling, we slipped through the revolving doors and were in. In front of us on the right was an exhibition and the shop which was doing brisk business. To the left, down below, were the 5 longships. They are set against a large glass wall that faced on to the fjord. So if you have a good imagination you could picture the old Viking boats floating out on to the waves again.

The 5 vessels were discovered at the bottom of a narrow channel of the Roskilde Fjord. They had been weighed down by stones over a thousand years ago, possibly scuppered to form a blockade against invaders. The discovery by a fisherman was in 1962. They became known as the Skuldelev Ships after the place where they were found. A whole millennium had almost passed and there they were in front of us.

To be honest I was slightly disappointed. I had expected to have my socks knocked off, like when I saw the Mary Rose in Portsmouth or the Vasa, the rescued 16th century Swedish warship in Stockholm. But this was a bit of an anti-climax. I had imagined something big and spectacular, with a reconstructed sail and oars. But we only saw the bare frames of the boats which were surprisingly slender and small. The original wood had been put together like a complex jigsaw after the ships had been carefully raised from the sea bed. Not all the wood had survived. The longships range from 25% to 75% original material. They have been reassembled on metal frames which revealed their shape. They are: an ocean going trading vessel, a 30 metre warship, a coastal trader, a 17metre warship and a fishing boat. They didn’t seem designed to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who saw them appear on the horizon. It was a major imagination job. Chris said she felt an air of menace in the room. Maybe she had a better imagination than me. I gradually got drawn in though, read the information panels and walked round the ancient boats. We learnt a lot about Viking traditions and culture. Some of it was X Certificate stuff. So it was a mixed experience. In the cafe we had very good coffees but were served some of the worst cheesecake we have ever tasted.

Before visiting the 5 Viking boats we had had a very enjoyable meander round Roskilde. The town has a pleasant, pedestrianised shopping area and in the main square, in the shadow of the 1884 City Hall, was a picturesque open air market. The City Hall or Radhus is in dramatic, neo-Gothic style, built of decorative red brick with white stone detailing. It has a prominent clock tower topped by a spire, arched windows and decorative gables. It’s a pity we couldn’t go inside as it is still being used as a local government centre. I think visitors can get on guided tours but we didn’t have time.

The main square was enlivened on one side by an absolutely beautiful flower border, which included blooms we had never seen before. Just off the square is Roskilde Palace from the 1730s. It was used by the Bishops for many years and then by the Danish Royal family when they came to the town for funerals. The palace is in a Baroque style with yellow rendered masonry and red roof tiling. The sash windows are in a neat symmetrical line, as in Georgian buildings back in Britain. The town is interesting and pleasant but apart from its celebrity buildings , its centre is not as old or historical as I had imagined. Maybe a lot of the older stuff had burnt down or been destroyed in the war. Anyway the star attraction, boats aside, is definitely the Domkirke or Cathedral.

The city hall in Roskilde is neo-Gothic but the UNESCO listed cathedral is the real thing. It was the first, brick- built, Gothic cathedral in Scandinavia. It was started in 1170 CE, largely finished by 1280CE, and was built on top of the foundations of a previous wooden church. A series of fires, renovations and changes wrought by the Protestant Reformation have seen it rebuilt many times. Approaching the Domkirke from the town centre, the building looked very impressive with its twin Gothic spires piercing the sky.( both 77 metres high.) It also features a small dome and beautifully decorative brickwork. We paid a small fee to go in but it was worth it. We got a booklet in English to guide us round. The reason it is a World Heritage Site is because it has been a Danish Royal burial place for 7 centuries. The first monarch laid to rest there was Queen Margrete I, who died in 1412. She lies in an elegant marble tomb near the alter. An effigy of the queen in prayer lies on top of the tomb. Nearby are 15th century carved choir stalls and a 3-sided, wooden alter-piece carved in Antwerp. ( 1560.)

In one way, Roskilde’s Domkirke is a living document of 850 years of Danish history and architecture. Apart from medieval Margrete, there is King Christian IV’s Baroque tomb made from wrought iron. He died in 1648. Then there is the graceful. neo-classical tomb of Frederik V from 1766. Altogether, 21 Kings and 18 Queens lie in this spectacular regal cemetery. A modern tomb has already been prepared for Queen Margrethe II, who abdicated in 2024 in favour of her son after over 50 years on the throne. It seems she trusted her son a bit more than the UK’s late Queen Elizabeth II.

It was a fascinating visit to the most famous cathedral in Denmark. It was also very sobering. Each side chapel and each new tomb reminded me of my own mortality. Despite the large number of visitors there was still a quiet, spiritual atmosphere inside the place. As usual, we sat quietly for a while and just soaked it all in. Then we were walking through a lovely park down to the aforementioned Viking Ship museum before returning to the town and the rail station for the quick journey back to the capital. Luckily, by now we had learnt how to work the ticket machine.

ONE SPECIAL BRIDGE.

The majestic Oresund Bridge links Copenhagen with Malmo in Sweden. Malmo is Sweden’s 3rd largest city. The bridge spans a narrow part of the Baltic Sea called the Oresund Strait. As well as linking the 2 cities, the bridge and its accompanying tunnel join Sweden with the rest of continental Europe. It took 5 years to build, after a fierce, forty year debate. I imagine the arguments ran on similar lines to those in England and France before the Channel tunnel was finally built. The Oresund Bridge, was opened in 2000. It is the longest road and rail bridge in Europe with a total distance of 16 kms. The bridge has 2 levels. On the upperpart is a 4 lane highway while the lower section had 2 sets of train tracks. A tunnel takes the trains and traffic south of Copenhagen and on to a specially built artificial island, 4 kms long. At that point the road and railway come out into the daylight and on to the bridge. We saw the whole thing from the air when we flew out of Copenhagen and it looks like the bridge suddenly appears out of the water like magic. Eventually it crosses the sea and reaches the Swedish shore.

We had a day trip to Malmo, Sweden’s 3rd biggest city, during our stay in Copenhagen. It was exciting to think we were crossing the actual bridge made famous in the hit Swedish -Danish TV series “The Bridge” or “Bron” back in 2011. It starred the acclaimed Swedish actor ( actress) , Sofia Helin as Malmo crime investigator Saga Noren and the Danish actor Kim Bodma as her Danish counterpart. They had the usual awkward relationship but had to cooperate because a corpse had been found exactly halfway along the bridge; half of it was in Sweden and the other half in Denmark. To make matters even more complicated, the corpse was actually parts of two bodies — the torso of a high profile Danish politician and the lower body of a Swedish sex worker. It was a very successful thriller series. We were hooked on it as were many others although those who refused to read subtitles missed out.

Trains are frequent between Copenhagen and Malmo. The journey takes a mere 35 minutes. Since the building of the bridge, many Copenhageners have moved to Malmo where the property prices are significantly lower. They then commute back into Denmark for work. We decided to go on this adventure on a Monday as that was the day when all the museums and galleries closed in Copenhagen. It would be an exciting journey both under and over the sea and then we could have a relaxed potter around a small city we had never visited before. To be honest the actual bridge crossing was almost over before we knew it. In no time we were heading into the Swedish province of Skane and were soon disembarking on to one of the underground platforms at Malmo central station.

We walked out into the Swedish city. Our passports were in our rucksacks but we never had to show them to any official. We had crossed seamlessly from Denmark to Sweden as both countries are in the Schengen zone of the EU. In fact, we never had to show our British passports in Denmark either because we had entered the EU while changing planes in Amsterdam. Malmo and its province of Skane had actually been part of Denmark until the mid 17th century. In fact, Malmo had been Denmark’s second biggest city after Copenhagen. Then in 1658, the Swedish King Karl X marched his armies across the frozen Oresund Strait and forced the Danes to cede these territories back to Sweden. Karl is thus feted as a hero in Malmo and his equestrian statue sits in pride of place in the middle of the city’s main square. It forms the background to thousands of tourist selfies. The city had originally prospered because of the rich, herring fishing grounds just off shore. It was said you could easily scoop up the shiny fish with a trowel. The fishing attracted German merchants and businessmen. An Eric of Pomerania gave the town extra significance by building a castle and a mint there in the 15th century. After joining Sweden again, Malmo suffered a period of neglect and stagnation. The fish were no longer so plentiful ( an early example of over-fishing) and the city was a long way from the capital, Stockholm and thus went under the radar. Industrialisation later revived its fortunes, ship yards were constructed and the harbour enlarged. ( in 1775.) However, more decline followed as the shipping industry went down, but the famous bridge across the sea has helped to revive its fortunes in the 21st century.

We wandered out of the rail station, crossed a canal which had possibly been part of Malmo’s original defences and soon reached the main square which is called Stortorget. This is the one with the statue of a proud King Karl mounted on his charger. Stortorget also has some beautiful flowers, an impressive old Radhus ( City Hall) from 1546 and some more gabled old buildings. Much of the town’s medieval core had been knocked down to make way for this statement square. The Radhus was unfortunately covered in scaffolding but, straight away, another not quite so old building took our eye. It was the Apoteket Kejonet, an art nouveau style pharmacy from the late 19th century. It means Lion Pharmacy — in Sweden, pharmacies are always named after creatures of strength. The pharmacy is now protected by the state and you can wander in at will to see its wondrous interior. We admired: carved shelves of inlaid wood, etched glass, antique medicine bottles and a glass painted ceiling. The assistants just ignored us as we took photos. They probably get more tourists in there than prescription collectors.

We wandered through a smaller, older square with some half timbered houses, pretty flower pots and cobbles. The bridge over the canal at the other side of the centre had metal models of famous people’s shoes. At least they were famous to the Swedes who took a great interest in them. They included the footwear of a musician, a dancer and an illusionist — none of whom we had ever heard of. We saw Sweden’s oldest operating cinema from 1912. It announced itself with art nouveau swirls of dark oak and beautiful bevelled glass. We explored a quiet and sombre old cemetery and then joined the throngs in one of Malmo’s busiest pedestrianised, cobbled shopping streets. We popped into some stylish art, craft and design stores and enjoyed drinks and delicious cakes in a pleasant coffee shop. We tried hard to realize that we were now in a different country — Sweden not Denmark. But to tell you the truth there were no obvious differences in our eyes. Everyone we encountered spoke perfect English, like in Copenhagen, and we paid with a credit card so never got even a glimpse of a Swedish bank note. The architectural mix is similar too. In a perverse sort of way, I almost felt too comfortable, as one of the attractions of foreign travel for me is to experience some sort of culture shock. Scandinavia is so easy to negotiate that I am surprised that a lot more Brits don’t go there. I suppose it’s the relatively high prices and the harsh winters that put them off.

We saved the best to the last as it turned out, for we called in at the impressive, brick, Gothic church of St Peter( St Petri Kyrka) on our way back to the station. Although dark and slightly forbidding on the outside, its interior is light and airy. It has a lofty and elegant vaulted roof. Only a few people were in there so it was a quiet, calm oasis. St Peters had been founded by the German community in the 14th century CE. They came here to pray and give thanks for the “sea silver” ( herrings) in the Baltic. During the Reformation a group of Swedish zealots destroyed much of the fancy interior in a gross act of ecclesiastical vandalism. It was drastically changed into a strict Lutheran church. This was in 1527. The elaborate murals that had decorated the church were white-washed over. Thus the interior today has a rather stark appearance and one’s attention is grabbed by the impressive, 17th century pulpit and a 4-tiered alter-piece. A highlight of a visit today is the Merchants’ chapel, tucked into a corner near the entrance. Here the whitewash has been removed to reveal the original, elaborate murals of the former Catholic church — biblical figures, angels and mythical beasts located in a forest of twisting branches and leaves. To see the whole church painted like this must have been mind boggling, but then again, the protestant reformers may have had a point as the busy decoration could well have distracted the congregation from the worship of God.

So back we went over the famous bridge, seamlessly crossing from Sweden into Denmark. There were no passport checks, interrogations or whole body scans. It was just an everyday journey made by thousands every day. The European Union has reversed the divisions cause by wars and rivalries in the past. We had no adjustments to make when we arrived back in Denmark. We just continued speaking English and flashing our Mastercards. Not a Kroner was in sight — either Swedish or Danish. It was the end of another enjoyable day on our trip to this fascinating corner of Scandinavia.