Walking Tour | Sinclair Community College Study Abroad in Europe

One of the main objectives of our Study Abroad Program included studying Danish culture. Roskilde Cathedral plays a significant role in the history and culture of Denmark. We walked through the center of the city towards Roskilde Cathedral and passed through some beautiful shopping areas.

The shopping district in Roskilde was quaint! Caution, shopping in Roskilde and Denmark in general is very expensive.

Roskilde Domkirke (or Roskilde Cathedral in English) is an amazing monument to and showplace of Denmark history. Since the 12th century, Roskilde Cathedral has served as a royal burial place for nearly 40 Danish Kings and Queens. It has at least 11 chapels and crypts that branch off from the main cathedral area.

Roskilde Cathedral is very, very old. It was built in the 12th century and has been expanded many times over the years. — Roskilde Cathedral is very old. It was built in the 12th century and has been expanded many times over the years.

The interior of Roskilde Cathedral was stunning! Our tour guide gave us individual headsets so we can hear the dialogue despite our position in the group. This allowed each tour group some privacy as we progressed through the cathedral. When you have multiple tour groups moving through the cathedral, it can be distracting. The Danish were focused on using innovative technology to ensure tourists have a positive experience.

Here is the monument to Christian III in Roskilde Domkirke.

Here is the sarcophagus at Roskilde Domkirke for King Frederik V.

Here is the sarcophagus of Danish Queen Margrethe. Margaret was the first queen of Denmark, although Danish law did not officially recognize her as a queen. She ruled over Denmark, Norway and Sweden and she fought to win back terrorities that Denmark has lost previously. She was a powerful woman and fought strongly for the country.

As you can see from the photos, the Danish pay a great deal of attention to detail. Creativity and artistry are key artifacts of the Danish culture.

We proceeded to walk down the steep hill to the Viking Ship Museum and the Roskilde Fjord. It was a beautiful journey through a lush, green walking path. Roskilde has invested significant resources in ensuring they have plenty of green space available for residents, students and tourists.

The Viking Ship Museum was built in 1969 as a monument to the five ships that were sunk at Skuldelev in the Roskilde Fjord. Around the year 1070, the king ordered the sinking of five viking ships to protect Roskilde from enemy attacks. Excavations began in the 1960’s and all five ships were successfully excavated and restored.

This Viking Ship is ready to set sail in the Roskilde Fjord!

These two ships have been repaired and are on display in the museum.

Roskilde’s Viking Ship Museum was impressive. It is interesting to think that these ships that were built around 1070, spent years sitting at the bottom at the Fjord and yet they were able to be successfully restored. It is a true testament to Denmark’s focus on and commitment to high quality building processes and supplies. How many products that are produced now could withstand this test of weather and time?

We began our second day in country with a walking tour of the City of Roskilde. It quickly became evident that the Danish walk everywhere which is a sharp contrast to our American culture of driving everywhere. Our tour guide was Kirsten Graversen and she did a marvelous job orienting us to the city. She walked fast also so our group had to hustle to keep up!

We began our tour with a discussion on Denmark’s bicycle culture. She discussed the Danes’ love of bicycling and discussed the efficiency of this past time. She said it has cut down tremendously on traffic congestion because many people bike to work and school. We observed many places around the city where people could safely store their bicycles while they were working, shopping and dining.

There were many bicycle storage places like this around the city. — There were many bicycle storage places like one this around the city.

Rabalder Park was the next stop on the tour and was located close to RBC. Due to recent climate changes, Roskilde has had a problem with storm water and flash flooding. We have a similar problem in Cincinnati, although not to the extent that the Danish experience in Roskilde. In response to this problem, architects and engineers from a Danish firm, Nordach, developed a storm water harvesting system that has the ability to collect up to 23,000 cubic meters within 3 basins which equates to the amount of water that 10 standard swimming pools can hold. In addition to its practical function, the park serves as an outdoor entertainment complex with a skate park, trampolines, swings, jogging and cycling trails. The complex even won an international design award in 2013 for its innovation and creativity!

Our group toured Ribalder Park. What an innovative solution! — Our group toured Ribalder Park. What an innovative solution to a long standing problem!

Two applications - stormwater management and skatepark/entertainment complex. Brilliant! — Two applications – storm water management and skate park/entertainment complex. Brilliant!

The skate park and recreational areas are part of a larger complex called “Musicon”. Serving as a creative district or complex of sorts, Musicon is a new hot spot of growth for Roskilde. In all my travels throughout the U.S. and internationally, I have not seen this type of culture and business incubator. Musicon is situated in a former concrete factory that covers a very large area and 39 organizations are currently located on the complex. The long term goal for the area is to develop housing and workplaces which will result in a vibrant, thriving creative community.

Musicon is intended to be the center of innovation and creativity in the future.

After our walk through the innovation park and swinging on the swings, we proceeded to walk through some beautiful, quaint neighborhoods on the route to downtown Roskilde.

The houses were set charming and the neighborhood was idyllic. — The houses were charming and the neighborhood was idyllic.

Our tour guide discussed the upcoming EU elections and pointed out the election signage. We encountered a significant amount of political propaganda throughout our tour of the city. The European Union elections were scheduled for Sunday, May 25th and there was heated discussion about whether Denmark should remain part of the EU.

There were political signs on just about every street corner.

Walking, walking and more walking. We arrived at the Roskilde Kloster.

The Kloster was originally built in 1200's and changed ownership over the years. It has a special place in Roskilde history. — The Kloster was originally built in 1200’s and changed ownership over the years. It has a special place in Roskilde history.

We stopped at a local restaurant and had a nice Danish meal together, family style. The Danish like to include candles at mealtimes, so we frequently had candles at our tables. It was interesting to note that the Danish regard dining events as a time for social gathering and they focused on making dining a memorable event, This was a nice contrast to our dining experience here in the U.S. In our country, dining often tends to serve a utilitarian function in our dine-and-dash culture.