Survived my second week in Denmark. Classes are now in full swing, and I am already behind in reading. There are way more exciting things to be doing than studying anyway. This week I explored Roskilde, a city 15 minutes away from Gevninge (the town I live in) and 40 minutes from Copenhagen. Roskilde is one of Denmark's hidden gems. It is known for its rich history of Viking plights in the Roskilde Fjord, and was the first capitol of Denmark. It is also home of the world-famous Roskilde Music Festival that is held every summer (rumor has it that Rihanna is coming this summer).
On Wednesday I met up with some girls from DIS (Molly, Ariel, Abbey, and Veronica) and explored Roskilde for the day. The Roskilde Domkirke (Cathedral) was definitely a highlight. It was built in 1100, and it currently houses 39 Danish king and queen burial tombs.The Cathedral is constructed in the style of early French Gothic style, and the exterior is constructed of brick. Small chapels line the sides of the Cathedral, which have been added on to the body of the church throughout the years to accommodate additional room for new burials. Current Queen Margrethe's burial spot is already marked out, and a model of her future glass coffin is already on display. It was interesting to see how the chapels reflected the various time period styles of the kings and queens who were buried in them. Highlights included Christian IV's Chapel (built in 1620) which houses large mural paintings of scenes from his life. The Chapel of Magic was built in the late 1400s, and boasts two magnificent marble sepulchers of Christian I and his queen, which is surrounded by beautiful and intricate frescoes on the walls and ceiling. In the middle of the room is a pillar which has red markings on it. Apparently these marks represent the heights of Danish royalty who had visited the chamber throughout the years (for what reasons no one knows).
On Friday night my host family took Molly, Shayna, and I to Roskilde Cathedral for a "Norweigan Mountain Music" concert. It was interesting as you probably can imagine. There was one soprano, a violinist, and a keyboard player. The music was pretty, but was also worthy of being on a CD for curing insomnia.We ended up leaving early and went to the local Irish Pub to watch the European handball semi-finals instead (a bit more upbeat for a Friday night). I am now a huge fan of handball! It is a fast and exciting sport that really should make its way to the States (it is way more exciting than American football will ever be). The Danes won the semi-finals on Friday night, but lost terribly to Spain this evening in the final championship. =(
After a drink at the pub, my host parents Ca and Lennart brought us out to Gimle, a cafe/bar in Roskilde geared toward young people and students. We caught the tail end of a rock concert and then hung out and drank more beer (my first Carlsburg!) in the hyggelig Gimle bar. It was a great night!
Goal for this week:
1. I need to break my pastry addiction. The Gevninge Bakery down the street thinks otherwise, and their fresh-baked danishes and croissants continue to tempt me every morning.
2. I would like to visit some of the art museums in Copenhagen this week, and visit the Little Mermaid statue (which the Danes laugh at as it is apparently very small, and is blown up in all the tourist pictures to be a highlight of the city). I still would like to see it anyway. After all, it is the Little Mermaid! =)
