Pillaging and Plundering in Denmark
Our last full day in Denmark was all about Vikings. We headed to the old city of Roskilde where many of the Viking kings ruled from. There we visited an interactive Viking museum where we got to mint our own coins, watch rope being made, and witnessed Viking ships being built using only tools that were available during the Viking Age (roughly 800-1000 AD).
The museum also had 5 Viking ships that had sunk in the harbor that they had pain stakingly reassembled over a 25 year period. The ships were over 1000 years old and their excavation taught us a lot about the Viking Age. Archaeologists previously didn’t think they had the technology to build 30 meter long ships but it turns out they built even bigger boats.
We also learned that many of the stereotypes we think of when we think of Vikings aren’t super accurate. For instance they were a fairly hygienic people, bathing at least once a week. They were also highly disciplined and collaborative. They did however pillage, plunder, rape and reave just as we’ve always thought. As the museum guide said, the Viking history was actually not written by the victors in their case but instead written by those that could actually write. Hence the negative image we so often see portrayed.
In the evening we took part in a wine and cocktail tour around Copenhagen. We went to a couple lovely places and had some good drinks. Including natural wine which is becoming very trendy and is much more similar to what the Romans would have drunk. Our tour guide answered all our questions about Danish culture and we learned all about their education system, their politics, and thier rivalry with Sweden. It was the perfect way to end the land portion of this adventure. Thanks Denmark for a great couple days!
Up next we board our much anticipated cruise. Us girls are beyond excited and are already counting down the hours!